Por el Amazonas y por el horno del Norte
In the Amazonian region and into the oven of the north
(Perú, from 22.08.2007 to 20.09.2007)
We staid in Trujillo around 7 days and in that time we relaxed sufficiently and visited enough cultural places. Then we saddled our bicycles and went back to the Panamericana highway following this route to the north. The road was easy to ride and the traffic wasn’t so much, also we got some tail wind starting in the afternoon so it was an easy going on the route. After Trujillo our first stop for the night was in Paiján. We arrived early in the afternoon and to figure out where the hotels are I asked a policeman who was staying beside the entrance to the town. First we chatted a little bit of our bicycle trip and the he told me, that in this town, 2 month ago, the robbed a tourist. So he advised me that it would be better that he and another officer would accompany us to the hotel. Really I didn’t felt unsafe in this place but this was the first chance to get a free police escort and I didn’t want to rebut directly his safety advice. It wasn’t a big town so after 5 minutes or less we arrived at the hostel. He gave us the advice for the next day when we want to get outside the town, first get to the police station to get another escort out of the town. Well, this town wasn’t really different to other towns that we had already crossed, so at the next day we didn’t follow the advice and we rolled outside this town as we have done it many times before. I had to say that we normally asked people or police officer for some safety advices but I think, after the 09/11 the people had changed dramatically. When I traveled around 18 years before the first in South America, this place wasn’t safer us now but, as I remember, the people wasn’t so frighten about the safety us now. Well indeed, in my opinion, this is one of the bad 09/11 results.
On the way to Chiclayo with a sign for a bicycle house
The next stations on our route were Pacasmayo, finally a town directly on the seaside, Chepen and Chiclayo. The ride wasn’t so strong but the heat now was the tamper part. On the entrance of the city of Chiclayo surprised us to other cyclist because there was the first Peruvian sporting cyclist what we saw on our trip. Both, Ower and Aaron, accompanied us into the city and directed us directly to an economic and good hotel. Again some culture was on our schedule plan as the Adobe pyramids and excavation site of Sipan.
The excavation site of Sipan
It is very interesting that after 2000 years with such a temporary material al well as adobe up to now the can find more and more historical artifacts. And when you are crossing this area you will belief that they will found rather more because so many places up to now are untouched. Right now when we visited this place the archeologists found a new cave from a important priest, so the said. But it was forbidden to take photos from this area.
The cave of the Señor del Sipan
The death mask of the Señor del Sipan
Since we came down from Huaraz we was thinking about a trip, without bicycles, to the Amazonian area. Chiclayo now was the perfect site for a start for this adventure, because in the hotel there we could store our bikes very safe and well and so, at the 28th of August we took the chance and where sitting in a bus to Tarapoto. When we arrived early in the morning we noticed very well that we are now in tropic region, because the temperature was high and the air very humid. But for our jungle trip what we decided to do, we had to get deeper inside. So at the second day we took a taxi very early in the morning hours to Yurimaguas and when we arrived there, directly we jumped on a boat that took us downstream.
Our boat on the Amazonas river
Hammock resting area on the boat
These boats are going for 3 or more days down to Iquitos but our destination was Lagunas only 12 hours away. We’ve got the information from our travel guidebook that very close to Lagunas is the protected Pacaya-Samiria Park. We thought about a 4-day trip to this park. The time on the boat was pleasant, sitting our lying in the hammock and looking around to the green river banks. On the boat we met Miguel, how is a Guide for the Pacaya-Samiria Park. He give us details about the possibility for a trip to the park but also, he explain us that there is another possibility for a trip of around 4-days on the Aypena river with untouched rainforest where we possibly will see more wildlife in this time range. Well, after 12 hours we arrived in the evening in Lagunas and Miguel assisted us to find a good hostel.
Typical houses in the Amazonian region
After a shower we made a visit in the office from Miguel and there we decided to make a trip on the Aypena river for the next 4-days.
Map from the Aypena river area
So at the next day after the breakfast we started our trip on the river into the Amazonian jungle. First we had to wait a little because there was no life jacket on the canoe and Mun Suk as a professional non-swimmer insist on a jacket for her. But then it was time to start in our dugout. The to guides, one in the front and the other at the backside, was paddling the canoe.
Our canoe for our jungle trip
Our guide paddling the canoe
San Pedro bird on the banks of the Aypena river
The first 4 hours we drive downstream on the Huallanca River and then we turn into the Aypena River. On the Huallanca River the banks where inhabited and cultured but now on the Aypena River only pure tropic rainforest covert the banks of the river. The watercolor changed from brown to black and there was no significant current any more. Then after two hours on the Aypena River we saw our first sweet water dolphins, very close to our canoe. So we stopped for a while to watch theses beautiful animals. Also we could figure out many different birds. For the lunchtime we had already stopped on the Huallanca River banks and there we got the first nice contact with the pleasant small creatures from the tropical area. You know the small ones who are crazy about your blood; I mean the mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects.
Lunch time on the river banks
Then, in the evening this plague was getting worse and worse. Thousands or millions came to visit us and they took no notice of our mosquito repellent. With repellent the bite us just as much as without. So we took our meal very fast and then we slipped under the mosquito net, well with some bloodsucker also. So the night wasn’t really for relaxing and with a lot of bites all over the body we stand up in the morning. This wasn’t the way that Mun Suk like to travel and I, of course agree with here to go back to the civilization. So at the second day we drive back the way that we came before. We didn’t regret our choice but for this reason we didn’t saw so much wildlife. But in fact this is more like a gambling, to see or not to see. Wild animals in the jungle are not present as like in a zoo and so to see them is more a matter of fortune.
With bones and muscles without any feeling we arrived late in the afternoon back in Lagunas. One night more we spent in this town and at the following day we took a boat back to Yurimaguas. We driven trough the night and it was nice because there was one site a very nice sunset and on the other side a thunderstorm with flashing lightnings. Very early in the morning, at 05:00 a clock we arrived in Yurimaguas but this was to late for a ride to Tarapoto, because the road to Tarapoto was in construction and only in the nighttime public traffic was allowed. So first we went to the center for a breakfast and then we was waiting at the taxi station for a ride.
Mototaxis in Yurimaguas
Dried fish, dried beef and living turtles, all the best for a good kitchen
It was a long waiting time but then we could start. I don’t know why but I think every driver is thinking he is like Michael Schumacher. Speed limit is unknown and everyone likes to overhaul the next car in the lead. Fortunately the car got safety belts and we made this trip without an accident, so we arrived late at night in Tarapoto.
We wasn’t content to go back directly to Chachapoyas so we decided to make a stop in Chachapoyas. Chachapoyas was on the half way back to Chiclayo and a little bit inland. After the hot and humid area now we arrived in the highlands on around 2000 meter of altitude. Here it was fresh, a little bit cold and pluvially. Nevertheless this change was alleviation for us because the humid and hot climates aren’t easy to sustain. Merely our equipment wasn’t the right for this area, like our sleeping bags, as we let our good sleeping bags in Chiclayo and traveled only with lightweight fleece sleeping bags for the hot region. So the nights in Chachapoyas where good cold for us, in fact that the blankets from the hotel where only heavy and scratchy, without any warming for the body.
Town church near Chachapoyas
From Chachapoyas we made some trips around. The first was to ruins of Kuelap (900 to 1100 BC.) a preinka fortress and ritual place again on the top of a hill at 3000 meters. The fascinating of this place wasn’t that they constructed it on high altitude, no, the most interesting was that all building as well as the walls where constructed in a round shape or in circles and that for this construction they have used more stones as for the big Pyramid in Gize in Egypt.
Ruins of Kuelap
Reconstructed houses in Kuelap
At the next day we made trip to another curios place. It was Karajía with his sarcophagi’s. They weren’t situated in a Pyramid or in a burial mound no this sarcophagi’s were placed directly in niches of a rock wall under Karajía. As our guide told us there was more of this sarcophagi’s but after some earthquakes some of them felt down and where destroyed. Also interesting is, that they have discovered this sarcophagi’s first in the end of the ninety eighties. Best of all is that they didn’t transport them in a museum no, they placed them back in the rock with wall a little bit of protection as they stayed before.
Sarcophagi’s of Karajía
We’d like to stay longer in this fantastic area but our equipment and dirty clothes induce us to go back to Chiclayo. We thought we cold came back from Chiclayo to Chachapoyas, but after a horrible bus trip from Chachapoyas to Chiclayo this possibility wasn’t any more a question.
Back in Chiclayo first we dropped all of our clothes from the trip in a laundry service, the smell was too strong to use them any more in public space. Also we’ve got in contact again with our friends from Chiclayo. We visited the shop from Ower who is a tricot fabricant. For our surprise he had made a special tricot only for us signed with our names. This was a really surprise and of course now it our first sponsor from South America.
Ower in his shop fabricating our bicycle tricots
And as we drive out Chiclayo with our bikes, Ower, Aaron and Edwin (another cyclist from Chiclayo) accompanied us up to Tucume. As they are traveled without luggage with racing bicycles they had have to slow down their speed but I think that they enjoyed also this ride with us.
Aaron, Ower, Mun Suk and Edwin
It wasn’t a long ride to Tucume, the distance was only 39 km and so we arrived early in the afternoon there. After the lunch the three cyclists went back to Chiclayo and so we got time to visit the ruins from Tucume. These ruins, again an adobe pyramid construction were enormous and the first time we could get a overview over the whole terrain because we could climb a hill beside the ruins. It was really impressive.
Pyramids and ruins of Tucume
The following route got along the old road. The new Pan-American road now is crossing the dessert and there for around 200 kilometers is nothing but the old one drive around this desert. But this doesn’t mean that there was a nice climate to ride. It was getting hotter and hotter and we thought that we are back in the north of Argentina. The thermometer climbed again up to 45°C. There were some threes and bushes but no sign of water.
On the road in the north of Peru
Very well we could figure out these situation in a small town, called Ñaupe. Here the inhabitants had to acquire their water from a deep fountain that is around 80 meters profound operated only with a crank handle. I’d also had to push this crank handle because we needed water for a short bath and as a little bit of helping I pushed 20 buckets more up for the town. After this I’ve got some stiff over-worked muscles in my arms for the next days.
As we remembered for the reason of the heat to the north of Argentina so for the route more we keep in mind that we are back in the south of Chile. There was again up and downs following the next up and downs and so on. Fortunately these up and downs wasn’t such as high as in Chile but with the heat the emaciation was strong enough. In two other small towns, Tambo Grande and Las Lomas we rested and then Peru was accomplished. At the 20th of September we arrived and crossed the border to Ecuador.
In the Amazonian region and into the oven of the north
(Perú, from 22.08.2007 to 20.09.2007)
We staid in Trujillo around 7 days and in that time we relaxed sufficiently and visited enough cultural places. Then we saddled our bicycles and went back to the Panamericana highway following this route to the north. The road was easy to ride and the traffic wasn’t so much, also we got some tail wind starting in the afternoon so it was an easy going on the route. After Trujillo our first stop for the night was in Paiján. We arrived early in the afternoon and to figure out where the hotels are I asked a policeman who was staying beside the entrance to the town. First we chatted a little bit of our bicycle trip and the he told me, that in this town, 2 month ago, the robbed a tourist. So he advised me that it would be better that he and another officer would accompany us to the hotel. Really I didn’t felt unsafe in this place but this was the first chance to get a free police escort and I didn’t want to rebut directly his safety advice. It wasn’t a big town so after 5 minutes or less we arrived at the hostel. He gave us the advice for the next day when we want to get outside the town, first get to the police station to get another escort out of the town. Well, this town wasn’t really different to other towns that we had already crossed, so at the next day we didn’t follow the advice and we rolled outside this town as we have done it many times before. I had to say that we normally asked people or police officer for some safety advices but I think, after the 09/11 the people had changed dramatically. When I traveled around 18 years before the first in South America, this place wasn’t safer us now but, as I remember, the people wasn’t so frighten about the safety us now. Well indeed, in my opinion, this is one of the bad 09/11 results.
The next stations on our route were Pacasmayo, finally a town directly on the seaside, Chepen and Chiclayo. The ride wasn’t so strong but the heat now was the tamper part. On the entrance of the city of Chiclayo surprised us to other cyclist because there was the first Peruvian sporting cyclist what we saw on our trip. Both, Ower and Aaron, accompanied us into the city and directed us directly to an economic and good hotel. Again some culture was on our schedule plan as the Adobe pyramids and excavation site of Sipan.
It is very interesting that after 2000 years with such a temporary material al well as adobe up to now the can find more and more historical artifacts. And when you are crossing this area you will belief that they will found rather more because so many places up to now are untouched. Right now when we visited this place the archeologists found a new cave from a important priest, so the said. But it was forbidden to take photos from this area.
Since we came down from Huaraz we was thinking about a trip, without bicycles, to the Amazonian area. Chiclayo now was the perfect site for a start for this adventure, because in the hotel there we could store our bikes very safe and well and so, at the 28th of August we took the chance and where sitting in a bus to Tarapoto. When we arrived early in the morning we noticed very well that we are now in tropic region, because the temperature was high and the air very humid. But for our jungle trip what we decided to do, we had to get deeper inside. So at the second day we took a taxi very early in the morning hours to Yurimaguas and when we arrived there, directly we jumped on a boat that took us downstream.
These boats are going for 3 or more days down to Iquitos but our destination was Lagunas only 12 hours away. We’ve got the information from our travel guidebook that very close to Lagunas is the protected Pacaya-Samiria Park. We thought about a 4-day trip to this park. The time on the boat was pleasant, sitting our lying in the hammock and looking around to the green river banks. On the boat we met Miguel, how is a Guide for the Pacaya-Samiria Park. He give us details about the possibility for a trip to the park but also, he explain us that there is another possibility for a trip of around 4-days on the Aypena river with untouched rainforest where we possibly will see more wildlife in this time range. Well, after 12 hours we arrived in the evening in Lagunas and Miguel assisted us to find a good hostel.
After a shower we made a visit in the office from Miguel and there we decided to make a trip on the Aypena river for the next 4-days.
So at the next day after the breakfast we started our trip on the river into the Amazonian jungle. First we had to wait a little because there was no life jacket on the canoe and Mun Suk as a professional non-swimmer insist on a jacket for her. But then it was time to start in our dugout. The to guides, one in the front and the other at the backside, was paddling the canoe.
The first 4 hours we drive downstream on the Huallanca River and then we turn into the Aypena River. On the Huallanca River the banks where inhabited and cultured but now on the Aypena River only pure tropic rainforest covert the banks of the river. The watercolor changed from brown to black and there was no significant current any more. Then after two hours on the Aypena River we saw our first sweet water dolphins, very close to our canoe. So we stopped for a while to watch theses beautiful animals. Also we could figure out many different birds. For the lunchtime we had already stopped on the Huallanca River banks and there we got the first nice contact with the pleasant small creatures from the tropical area. You know the small ones who are crazy about your blood; I mean the mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects.
Then, in the evening this plague was getting worse and worse. Thousands or millions came to visit us and they took no notice of our mosquito repellent. With repellent the bite us just as much as without. So we took our meal very fast and then we slipped under the mosquito net, well with some bloodsucker also. So the night wasn’t really for relaxing and with a lot of bites all over the body we stand up in the morning. This wasn’t the way that Mun Suk like to travel and I, of course agree with here to go back to the civilization. So at the second day we drive back the way that we came before. We didn’t regret our choice but for this reason we didn’t saw so much wildlife. But in fact this is more like a gambling, to see or not to see. Wild animals in the jungle are not present as like in a zoo and so to see them is more a matter of fortune.
With bones and muscles without any feeling we arrived late in the afternoon back in Lagunas. One night more we spent in this town and at the following day we took a boat back to Yurimaguas. We driven trough the night and it was nice because there was one site a very nice sunset and on the other side a thunderstorm with flashing lightnings. Very early in the morning, at 05:00 a clock we arrived in Yurimaguas but this was to late for a ride to Tarapoto, because the road to Tarapoto was in construction and only in the nighttime public traffic was allowed. So first we went to the center for a breakfast and then we was waiting at the taxi station for a ride.
It was a long waiting time but then we could start. I don’t know why but I think every driver is thinking he is like Michael Schumacher. Speed limit is unknown and everyone likes to overhaul the next car in the lead. Fortunately the car got safety belts and we made this trip without an accident, so we arrived late at night in Tarapoto.
We wasn’t content to go back directly to Chachapoyas so we decided to make a stop in Chachapoyas. Chachapoyas was on the half way back to Chiclayo and a little bit inland. After the hot and humid area now we arrived in the highlands on around 2000 meter of altitude. Here it was fresh, a little bit cold and pluvially. Nevertheless this change was alleviation for us because the humid and hot climates aren’t easy to sustain. Merely our equipment wasn’t the right for this area, like our sleeping bags, as we let our good sleeping bags in Chiclayo and traveled only with lightweight fleece sleeping bags for the hot region. So the nights in Chachapoyas where good cold for us, in fact that the blankets from the hotel where only heavy and scratchy, without any warming for the body.
From Chachapoyas we made some trips around. The first was to ruins of Kuelap (900 to 1100 BC.) a preinka fortress and ritual place again on the top of a hill at 3000 meters. The fascinating of this place wasn’t that they constructed it on high altitude, no, the most interesting was that all building as well as the walls where constructed in a round shape or in circles and that for this construction they have used more stones as for the big Pyramid in Gize in Egypt.
At the next day we made trip to another curios place. It was Karajía with his sarcophagi’s. They weren’t situated in a Pyramid or in a burial mound no this sarcophagi’s were placed directly in niches of a rock wall under Karajía. As our guide told us there was more of this sarcophagi’s but after some earthquakes some of them felt down and where destroyed. Also interesting is, that they have discovered this sarcophagi’s first in the end of the ninety eighties. Best of all is that they didn’t transport them in a museum no, they placed them back in the rock with wall a little bit of protection as they stayed before.
We’d like to stay longer in this fantastic area but our equipment and dirty clothes induce us to go back to Chiclayo. We thought we cold came back from Chiclayo to Chachapoyas, but after a horrible bus trip from Chachapoyas to Chiclayo this possibility wasn’t any more a question.
Back in Chiclayo first we dropped all of our clothes from the trip in a laundry service, the smell was too strong to use them any more in public space. Also we’ve got in contact again with our friends from Chiclayo. We visited the shop from Ower who is a tricot fabricant. For our surprise he had made a special tricot only for us signed with our names. This was a really surprise and of course now it our first sponsor from South America.
And as we drive out Chiclayo with our bikes, Ower, Aaron and Edwin (another cyclist from Chiclayo) accompanied us up to Tucume. As they are traveled without luggage with racing bicycles they had have to slow down their speed but I think that they enjoyed also this ride with us.
It wasn’t a long ride to Tucume, the distance was only 39 km and so we arrived early in the afternoon there. After the lunch the three cyclists went back to Chiclayo and so we got time to visit the ruins from Tucume. These ruins, again an adobe pyramid construction were enormous and the first time we could get a overview over the whole terrain because we could climb a hill beside the ruins. It was really impressive.
The following route got along the old road. The new Pan-American road now is crossing the dessert and there for around 200 kilometers is nothing but the old one drive around this desert. But this doesn’t mean that there was a nice climate to ride. It was getting hotter and hotter and we thought that we are back in the north of Argentina. The thermometer climbed again up to 45°C. There were some threes and bushes but no sign of water.
Very well we could figure out these situation in a small town, called Ñaupe. Here the inhabitants had to acquire their water from a deep fountain that is around 80 meters profound operated only with a crank handle. I’d also had to push this crank handle because we needed water for a short bath and as a little bit of helping I pushed 20 buckets more up for the town. After this I’ve got some stiff over-worked muscles in my arms for the next days.
As we remembered for the reason of the heat to the north of Argentina so for the route more we keep in mind that we are back in the south of Chile. There was again up and downs following the next up and downs and so on. Fortunately these up and downs wasn’t such as high as in Chile but with the heat the emaciation was strong enough. In two other small towns, Tambo Grande and Las Lomas we rested and then Peru was accomplished. At the 20th of September we arrived and crossed the border to Ecuador.
travel report, south america, bicycle world tour, latinamerica, adventure, travelling, bicycle travel, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia
