Catacocha, Ecuador, to Piura, Peru 165 miles

Catacocha is the real deal. We are the only tourists here. The city itself is small, and somewhat picturesque, but our reason for being here is strictly practical. Its was about to start pouring and we are close to the Peruvian border. Despite the five year old who tried to pickpocket me, the people are friendly and we had a fine evening.

We put or fleece on before hitting the road this morning because the Andes have been cold, but as soon as we got out of Catacocha, we started our descent. As we went down, the temperature was going up just about as fast. The misty green mountains quickly changed to orange, red, and pink rock and we had to stop to take the fleece off.

Riding through the mountains today was a lot of fun because it felt like we were somewhere really different than everywhere else we’ve been. The road was in good condition and there was no traffic to speak of. We only had to slow down for goats and donkeys in the road. Other than that, we were zooming.

We got to the border of Ecuador and Peru just before noon. I was hoping we would get through before everyone quit for lunch. The route we chose to the border is not the primary road. We made this decision for two reasons, better scenery, and smaller border. A smaller border means less people, less chaos, and less hassle. This border crossing was the best so far. Amie doesn't make eye contact with anyone while she "does her job" (which is watch the bike). Shes says eye contact says "Hello, come touch my motorcycle and maybe try to steal something from me if you like." So she just avoids it all together. Whatever works. About 20 minutes on either side (exiting Ecuador and entering Peru) and we were done. The people at immigration and customs were both friendly and helpful.

Into Peru we rode. The landscape was barren and hot. The buildings, if you can call them that, were made of sticks lashed together with rope. The people here are noticeably poorer than Ecuador, and things cost more. Go figure that one out. Gas is double ($1.50 in Ecuador vs. $3 in Peru) and water is double ($0.25 vs $.50 Peru). Those are our two essentials and Barometer. Even still, we should be able to continue to meet our $50/day budget.


Piura is where we will rest our heads tonight. It is the last town before the 150miles of desert we will cross tomorrow. Hotel is nice, $25 is expensive for here, but its the last town with malaria risk, so we don't mind paying extra for window screens. They had a secure parking lot as well where I finished off the moto maintenance. Wireless internet too?? Hot damn. Amie caught up with the family, I posted this blog. Now I think we will retire to our room and watch "The Break Up." Some days are so much more civilized than others.

Hello little lady

and good day to you senor

Sharp blue shirt Usted!

On the road to Peru!

Si or no? Can we leave Ecuador??

Nice photo Amie!

Zoooooom!!

Peruvian hombre

Watch your ass!!

Time to change the airfilter

Have a closer look...