On the road again. I have my spiffy new Klim suit. Black. I can’t imagine wearing this back at the Salvador border, standing in 110 degree heat for hours. So vanity won out over common sense. I’m not alone. About 50% of riders out here are melting away in black. Oh well.
We’ve been down this road before, so just the track detail into Huacachina
Start off with a second coffee down at the Lima waterfront
A beach town about 5K down the track
Another, about an hour further south. The towns are empty so we ride around on the sidewalks
We see another pair of riders and do the usual thing. Stop, make a mental note that the ride plan just got blown by at least an hour, and happily chat about where they’re from, where they’re going but most importantly where we’ve both been. This is a wonderful ritual. This time, same as about 95% of the time, it’s a couple, Marlieke and Paul from Holland. A very impressive story here. They’ve 32 and have been together for 15 years, have travelled super-extensively (second time to Peru) and their riding story is terrific. From Netherlands to Turkey and from Iran to Nepal. And way too smart to be wearing black suits.
We are headed to the same town (anyone one on this section of road would be) so make arrangements for dinner. A bit further down the road there’s a big moto parked at a good lunch spot. He’s a Colombian kid who lives on the road. He works in kitchens until he has enough to go further, etc. Because I’m so far behind on my posts I’ve forgotten his name. Sorry amigo
Seeing three people in one day is unusual. For instance, as I write this I haven’t seen anyone in 10 days and don’t expect to for another 10. A few hours later we pull into Huacachina. An incredible little place. Population 115
It’s a real oasis, just like we saw in children’s books
You can walk around it, past little (and cheap) hotels and hostels and enjoy the views
Little fish
You can row a boat for free
Or hang out at the main square and wait for the Dutch kids
The main thing is the dunes. They’re several hundred feet high around the oasis and further back up to 1000 feet. I had a bike epic (the starting problem) and spent a day figuring out the next move on that, when Paul came back and said ‘hey, it’s like Lawrence of Arabia back there!’. They’d gone on a group buggy ride. So the next morning, determined not to be a passenger for hours I asked a guy how much for solo. He said they had little buggies and for an extra 20 solas ($7) I could go out for an hour with a driver. My plan was to drive the thing and sure enough he let me drive when it wasn’t rediculously steep
Cool view
Looking over the oasis
Not exactly adventure moto riding, but what the heck, enjoy it while we can.
Saludos
Comments
Congratulations ! To the new Klim gear. But why you are looking so serious ? Don´t Forget to smile. 🙂 You have a great ride and a great time. Ride save fred
Dank, Fred