Riding into Peru at La Balsa
We are now in Peru. Another country! This is the 11th country we have entered with our bikes. With something like 11,800 miles (19,000 kilometers) we crossed the Ecuador border into Peru at La Balsa. This was the quietest and most rural border crossing we have done to date. As the immigration officer stamped our paperwork, a chicken roamed the room pecking at crumbs, a herd of cows passed out front and the money changers sat on the bridge enjoying beer on this late Saturday. No one came up to us asking if we wanted to change our money from dollars (which they use in Ecuador) to Soles (Peru's currency). That was a first.
From the border we started off following a river and actually had a flat road for 7 kilometers. Yes flat. We heard that Peru is flatter then Ecuador but we could not believe it. Of course, we found out otherwise in the morning, as the road rose above the village of Namballe. The people were so friendly on our ride from Namballe to San Ignacio! We feel like rock stars once again. Everyone waves and beeps and everyone says hello and "welcome to Peru". We even got filmed by a couple passing by on motorcycles. He explained it is for marketing material promoting tourism in the town of San Ignacio. Along the route a young boy ran after us with two papayas in his hands to give us as a present. His name was Carlos and he had no shoes but he had a wonderful smile to go with his kindness. We have found the people much more outgoing and less intimidated than the reserved folks of the highlands of Ecuador. We like it when people think we are special. We make more contacts and find out more about the people we see along the way.
The roads so far are dirt and very rough, no smooth grading like in Ecuador. However, our first road was more gentle in slope - we were able to ride all of it, with no pushing. All the culverts seemed to have been washed away or never existed. As a result we find ourselves riding through huge mud holes. One spot seemed about 50 feet long and the whole width of the road and no way around, so we were forced to ride through it. The coffee-colored mud was consistency of thick yogurt. In some places it may have been 6 inches thick. I know I could not see where I was steering. I just rode blindly, holding tight to my handle bar. I just hoped I would not slip and fall into the slop. The final section offered two deep ponds of mud. Randy told me the left hole was the better one and I should ride through it. At last, I did not have the courage or the skill to maneuver through it. I dismounted my steed and waded through the mud and around the ponds, adding to the collections of mud I had been accumulating all day. When I got to the other side, I looked back and saw I had an audience watching us with our fully loaded bikes making our way through the river of mud. I wonder if they had made bets if we would make it through or wipe out.
We stopped for lunch on top of a hill and watched the local Sunday afternoon football games. People came from all over dressed in their Sunday best for the afternoon festivities. As I we sat down on top of the hill to prepare lunch the papaya slipped out of my grip and rolled down the embankment, and came to rest against a parked motorcycle. Everyone waited to see my reaction. I started laughing seeing the fruit down near the foot ball field. Everyone else joined me laughing. I climbed down the embankment and retrieved it. It still tasted wonderful and just a little bit smashed. We had it with peanut butter on our bread - a great combination. I fed the peel to the chickens, the dogs and the donkey who seemed to enjoy it the best.
That day we rode only 44 kilometers (about 28 miles) and climbed 4300 feet (1300 meters). I was tired because of the technical riding, the bad surface and many muddy areas. I slipped off my bike just once and ended up upside down with my bike. Yes, my bike ended upside down resting on its handlebars and seat with me lying next to it on my back, laughing away. Randy wanted to take a picture of me but he thought it would be better to make sure I was OK. I did appreciate his kindness and consideration but I was really fine and was again amused at the silliness of the situation.
We where concerned at the end of the day we would not make it to our destination and started to look for camping spots. It turned out we had a great downhill stretch and made it before dark to San Ignacio. After looking at 3 hotels, we found a room in a house for $8. The owners seemed to have a party until 3am so we did not rest well and moved to the Hotel Dorado the next day where we paid $10 for a night, which seems normal so far. Meals (all basically the same) cost between $1 and $1.50. Breakfast looks like lunch and like dinner: Rice with chicken with yuca.
Tomorrow we will follow the river south for a day or two. We had been told the road is flat and paved. We since found out it is not paved, but more dirt like before. This is ok and I can live with this. But I do hope it is not as steep as some of the roads we've ridden recently. I really want to ride some more flat before we have to climb the giants of the Peruvian Andes. I hope it is flat, I hope it is, I hope….
