Cajamarca and down to Pacasmayo

Our one hour flight from Lima gave us impressive views of the Andes as we flew north to Cajamarca where a few miles in to the countryside Dave has based his business in a lovely 3 storey house that looks out over small farms and simple homes. We met Franco and Horje who will accompany us and were soon settled in to the comfortable accommodation - Dave was pleased with his new support vehicle - a flexible Hyundai people carrier and we took the opportunity of the Dias Del Morte celebrations (our Halloween) in town to go out for a meal and visit the stunning cathedral in Cajamarca itself. A christening was taking place and the cavernous interior enhanced some very emotive singing as we stood respectfully at the back.

On the Sunday we went in to Los Banos Del Incas to get the van washed and cleaned and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of this colourful town - I was very much reminded of Morocco with the half finished houses, multiple small stalls and shops, roadside repair shacks and scruffy streets and took to it all immediately. Traditionally dressed locals mixed with hip youngsters in the hot sunshine whilst I remained amazed that, despite the total disregard for any rules of the road, the melee of minibuses, tuc tucs, taxis, trucks and scooters all seemed to progress safely. Horns were obligatory and roundly ignored by all and I would have relished the challenge of negotiating the chaos in the van.

Monday saw us heading for the monthly livestock market which is an important regional event and provided a heady mix of sights, smells and sounds as farmers from miles around had descended with their families and stock on the hot and dusty market ground. It seemed chaotic but good natured and we managed to avoid bidding on anything before returning to Cajamarca and chasing up a number of pre trip tasks including corporate and safety signage for the Hyundai, some paperwork and food shopping.

That evening we went to a local club and enjoyed relaxing outdoors in the natural thermal pools that had attracted the Incas thousands of years ago - sunset is around 6.30 and it was a sublime experience to be in a steaming pool under the stars.

A trial run with the van up in to the hills introduced me to the Ventanillas of Otuzco which are old Inca burial chambers carved in to the rock face. On a rough track seemingly miles from anywhere we came across a large trout farm in a valley and had soon bought ten of the slippery, shining fish for supper that night - with over a million reared there at any one time it was a substantial operation. We climbed higher to Combayo with more of the carved out graves - some seemed impossible to reach and at an altitude of 11,000' I found walking up the steep slopes quite tiring despite a few days already acclimatising at 8,000' in Cajamarca.

The rough track passed remote and simple homes  where mostly women were herding small flocks of sheep and the odd cow as we descended in to a small town before returning via tarmac roads to Villa Buena Vista where Franco's partner Sue cooked the trout expertly.

So today we finally set off on our trip for real with Franco leading the way on a Honda TransAlp and the four of us seated very comfortably with our kit, spare fuel, tools and tyres jammed in the back beneath a mountain bike that will soon be augmented by two more on the roof.
As we left town a routine police check caused some amusement as it was the same transport official who had stopped us  yesterday - he waved us on and we soon stopped again at a panoramic viewpoint above the city which gave us a chance to orientate ourselves before we descended some 3000 metres towards the coast. The harsh steep mountains surrounded us and small farms and houses clung to the less vertiginous slopes with terraced fields reached by narrow paths that would be many hours walk from any road or other vehicular track. We stopped at a roadside timber store to price up some eucalyptus poles for a project Dave had in mind and guessed that it was all cut and carried by hand or donkey from the distant slopes - a remarkable achievement.

As we reached lower altitudes the vegetation and crops grown changed with mangoes, rice and maize replacing the sparse livestock grazing of the higher slopes.

In Chilete we stopped for a break giving me time to wander through the shady market - the low tarps slung above the stalls kept things cooler as it was nearly 80 in the streets and I was impressed by the variety and quality of fresh fruit, veg, nuts, herbs and spices on offer. Prices were a quarter of those back home,  as was the case with diesel, eating out and accommodation.

The driving was at times erratic with some interesting overtaking manoeuvres on all sides but Horje seemed competent enough and there was little I could do other than distract myself with taking photos and Go Pro footage - the suction clamp proving very capable of also clinging on for dear life.
Lunch was taken above a large reservoir with fish from the blue tinted waters washed down with in my case a blue tinted drink and we were grateful for the cool breeze as it was still in the high 70's.
We took a short section of the famous Pan American highway which differed little from other local highways down to Pacasmayo on the coast where we booked in to an old, traditionally built hotel right on the beach. We enjoyed coffee on the wooden balcony as the sun set over the Pacific which I had last seen from Australian shores before retiring to our rooms for a rest before dinner. I took advantage of reasonable wifi to catch up with events back home after which we strolled through town before dining well on Chinese style food as outside the streets hummed with activity. A slight hiccup with vehicle documentation may require Franco to nip back over the tops but it will be no hardship if we have to stay another night - or ten.

Anyway a selection of photos can be found by clicking here and you can see via Google Maps and the trusty Spot where we are lurking here.