We planned to Leave Lima early in order to get ahead of the rush hour traffic however, between checking out, packing, getting the bike out of the parking etc we got out of the hotel at 9am, smack bang in the middle of rush hour!! I mentioned in a post back in 2010 that the Tanzanians and Egyptians were the worst drivers in the world! Scratch that! The Peruvians take that accolade! Not only do they drive like maniacs trying always to get just one car ahead as if their entire families lives depended on it but they do so with such reckless and naive abandon that an experience on two wheels in Lima during rush hour is enough to age a few years in just a few hours!!
Lima to Trujillo…
We finally got through the outskirts of Lima after 10am and then still had 500km ahead of us to Trujillo where we are spending the night. The Sechura Desert (not sure if there is a name change when crossing from Chile into Peru?) which stretches all the way from Northern Chile right up along the Peruvian coastline into Northern Peru is barren and HOT like most deserts. Riding the Panamerican highway through the Sechura is a mixture of beautiful (because of the way the light changes the way the landscapes look), desolate and exhausting because of the monotony and the way the heat and the repetitive drone of the motor wears you down and makes your eyelids heavy!
M O N O T O N Y…….
Peru in many ways reminds me of many African countries, and the desert part of Peru, the Sudan in particular. The economy is under developed for the size of the country and population. Notwithstanding its natural beauty and abundance of tourism opportunities, there is an enormous amount of poverty and it is reflected in the towns and villages you pass when riding through this country. Anybody that has travelled north of Namibia/Zimbabwe into Zambia/Malawi/Tanzania/Kenya etc will know what I am talking about. The towns and villages are built up in either makeshift mud brick houses along the main road or shanty structures. In addition, the towns have poor sanitation facilities and the garbage, accompanying rot, animals and vultures that mount up on the side of the roads leave a stench and impression of heightened poverty and unfortunately this is the prevalent theme in Peru other than the islands of luxury which are invariably the primary tourism hubs. Sound familiar?
We got into Trujillo at about 4:30pm and had fortunately pre-booked a hotel. The Libertador is a beautiful old colonial building right on the Plaza des Armas and its accompanying churches and nightlife. Dinner was at a small local place called Chelsea (but not really) and then we had an early night.
Hotel Libertado..
The Trujillo Church on the Plaza des Armas..
