Today’s scenery has been very different. Once we left the built up area south of Chimbote, we joined the Auto Pista, we would call it a dual carriageway. It is the Pan American Highway, the 1N.
Into the desert
The Auto Pista runs through desert. Nothing but bare mountains and sand. Looking out of the windscreen you would expect it to be scorching hot, but it is cool, only 18/19 degrees. It is attractive, in a barren way. One big difference with the built up areas, is that it is clean. There is no rubbish littering the roadside. It is quite shocking the amount of litter in built up areas, which often smells unpleasant too.
We are on a parallel course with the ocean and catch frequent views of it. All day it has been very windy and we have been buffeted by it and battled into strong headwinds, making fuel consumption poor. In places sand wafts across the highway and sometimes a sea mist comes drifting in towards us.
When we approach habitation the road reverts to single track with numerous speed bumps and tuk-tuks to slow us down. We left at 09.30 and after 3 hours of driving, decide it’s time for a lunch stop. We pull off into the sand and shelter beside the wall of an abandoned building, just north of the large town of Barranca.
Beyond Barranca the scene changes again. We have lost the extreme desert and are in a more built up area, which is obviously irrigated, intensely planted and very productive. The major crop is probably sugar cane, but there are large areas of maize, potatoes, blue berries, avocados, asparagus, artichokes and even strawberries. We stopped and purchased a punnet from a roadside stall.
From Huacho the scenery reverted back to desert. Attractive though with such a variety of colours to the dunes and mountains. Reds, ochres, yellow, orange, white. Really pretty. From time to time we see rows of parallel sheds. Dozens of them. We suspect they are chicken farms and later we learn that this is the case, along with pig farms too. This area is important for producing chicken and pork.
The white raised judder bars are to tell you you are approaching a corner, left a corner, about to go downhill etc., Things you would have no idea about, if they weren’t there!
All afternoon iOverlander was telling us of different corrupt police stopping points, however only one police vehicle was seen and no stopping points. Every day is different.
We notice some mining. Apparently illegal gold mining is an issue here, with more money coming from illegal mining than from the narcotics trade
Lima had been our goal, but I think this was a bit ambitious. We could have made it, but it would have been late in the day. Traffic entering the city would have been a nightmare and we had to find a hotel with parking for Poki. Not always easy in big cities. We have stopped about 60kms short in Chancay.
Hotel Sunset is in a quiet street and has turned out to be a little gem. Big gates let us into an enclosed area. Partly paved parking, with palm trees, grassy areas, a seating area with a barbecue overlooking a terrace with a swimming pool and the sea. Next to the hotel is a “castle”.
A folly of some sort which seems to be an amusement park, with themes from cities around the world.
We were warmly welcomed by the owner, George, who speaks good English. We had intended to have a room, but George thought as overlanders, we would want to sleep in our vehicle. He explained that the hotel was almost full, just one room left. They are housing Chinese workers who are building a new mega port here.
In the end we decided we would camp as we were able to park Poki on the concrete parking area and put up the tent on a patch of grass behind. I had wanted a room for a hot shower. The last hotel only had cold water and I could not face washing my hair in freezing cold water. However, George advised there was a hot shower we could use, so camping we decided, would be fine.
Trouble in Lima!
Later George came and gave us some bad news. There is a protest and strike tomorrow in Lima. He advised us not to travel but to stay at the hotel. There will be road blocks and could be violence on the streets. It’s a nuisance, but one of those things. I also met George’s wife, another Jenny. She speaks excellent English, too. It turns out they lived in the US in Tampa, Florida.
The protest tomorrow will not affect Chancay so Jenny said we would be able to walk to the local market and shops.
We looked online for information about the unrest and found it was supposedly due to last from 10 – 12 Oct. George said it won’t last longer than a day, though, as people will not be able to afford to give up more than one day’s pay. We will await developments.
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