Peru 2013

Caramachi to Yurimaguas             45 miles             700 feet of climbing

As we ride into the jungle things just seem to get more mystical.  The Peruvian version of Urban Legend has had roads washed out ahead of us for days.  In fairness, it’s only a slight exaggeration.  Avalanches and rock slides do take out portions of road and occasionally necessitate bypasses.  The rumor for this leg was that modern day highway men were stopping people and robbing them at machete point along the road.  That too is not entirely unfounded.  We were not challenged on today’s ride. 

The ride today was fairly flat with a few rollers to keep things interesting.  Art and Lon lead pacelines and I was able to tag along.  We covered the distance in under three hours with one roadside rest stop.

So the question of the day was whether there was, as reported, and “Eduardo” boat leaving today at 1:00?  And could we book passage.  Nayda had ridden with Bob in a taxi from Caramachi to Yurimaguas to make arrangements with the boat.  We figured we needed to be in Yurimaguas two hours before departure to avoid chaos.  We were able to book passage. Projected sailing is tomorrow at 5:00.  Our hammocks have been procured and set up on the upper deck near our cabins – windowless small rooms with bunk beds.  Food is “included”.  If the timing is right 5 or 6 of us will leave the boat in Nauta Monday morning to ride to Iquitos on bicycles.  There is a good chance we could beat the boat because the boat must follow the indirect course of the river.  That makes this, day 12, the penultimate day of cycling in Peru.  So much fun.

A paucity of pictures today because I dropped my camera at the waterfall yesterday.  Shopping for a camera in Yurimaguas was so much fun.  WE wandered the streets for a half hour looking for a camera store.  The Kodak storekeeper desperately wanted to make prints for us.  After a while he realized we were trying to buy a camera and directed us to a store that also sold TVs, stereos, motorcycles and appliances.  Once I had picked a camera, the fun began.  The listed price was 370 Soles.  I asked the clerk for the price, she were onto her computer and wrote down a price of 407 Soles.  I wrote down 300 Soles.  She went back to her computer and after a bit wrote down 279 Soles.  Aren’t I a great negotiator?  Then I need to present my passport (for permission to spend money?).  The credit card verification process took quite a while.  Eventually I signed and was lead to the check-out desk where the tech set the date on the camera, tested it and showed me that it worked.  A long, tedious but interesting process was all conducted in ?hand signals?

 

Road Scene

24/7 Peruvian alarm clock (wanted or not)

Welcome mat -Our hotel

Our riverboat

Our Accomodations

Lobby art