Now that we are three people traveling, we have to be even more careful about water than before. So every day, we fill up our 7-gallon jerry can with tap water – which we use for cleaning dishes and ourselves – and our Coleman shower bag.
Dan takes a shower in the morning
In addition, we make sure to have at least three gallons of drinking water, especially when we are about to cross a desert.
After spending two days at the beach in the Zorritos vicinity, we went back on the road with some difficulties due to the heavy rain in the past days. We left around 2 p.m., after took care some minor fixing on the car, like reinforcing the exhaust pipe attachments, or the back drawers, tired of intensive use in the last three months.
I was now driving toward the Sechura Desert, and we intended to stick along the coast as much as possible in the meantime, to take advantage of beach camping.
Mountains, close to Canoas and Cabo Blanco
The first afternoon, around the town of Cabo Blanco, we crossed a region of small mountains and hills made of what appeared to be mud. Because we were told the surrounding could be somewhat dangerous, we camped behind a gas station close to Negritos few hours after we left.
The desert, close to Bayovar
The morning after, we went in town to shop for fish and vegetables, and resumed our trip toward Bayovar. In the afternoon, we arrived in the Sechuran Desert, where an infinite sea of sand awaited us.
Here and there, there were fishermen villages, where puzzled people watched us drive down the bumpy roads. Close to Bayovar, we stopped at a small town famous for their woodwork. We had late lunch there, ceviche as usual. Later in the day, in a fishing village called Playa Blanca (recommended, free camping anywhere), we parked for the night.
Our campsite, close to the cliff. A fisherman fixes his net
We were close to the cliff, and there cooked the swordfish steaks we bought at the market. Unfortunately, the wind was strong during the night, and as we could not find sleep, we moved the truck more inland around 2 a.m.
Fishermen get ready to go get the nets
We took off around 11 a.m. the following day, and continued in an even more arid landscape. There was barely anyone driving the road southeast that leads to the Pan-American. You can’t help but think that you would be in a difficult situation if your car breakdown in the middle of the 100-miles wide sandy patch.
The Sechuran Desert
But as always, everything went well for us, and two hours after departure, we were back in an irrigated area were crops such as rice were growing.
Back in a more hospitable area
At last, we arrived in Tucume, and visited the ruins of a huge adobe city built over 1,000 years ago.
Giant adobe pyramids in Tucume
After trying out some traditional food on the site, such as goat stew and corn beer, we drove toward the coast and the town of Pimente, close to Chiclayo. There, we found Playa Rochas, a surfing beach where we decided to spend the night.
Again I have to apologies for this delayed update. In the meantime, I was able to cross Ecuador and reach Peru. The truth is I had the same trouble than in Colombia. I was not being able to connect to my server from Zorritos, the town in northern Peru we arrived at. There may be some websites hosted on my server that doesn’t fit some governments, which would be the reason for its inaccessibility in some countries that censor the internet access.
But let’s start from the beginning. We picked up my friend Dan at Quito’s international airport at 1:30 on a rainy day. He flew from New York City with a stop-over in San Jose, Costa Rica. Dan works at the United Nations in NY, and was able to take three weeks off that he intends to spend with us. It is nice to have someone additional to help with taking photos, so I can just walk the streets of old cities without carrying my camera and worrying about taking good shots.
Plaza in Quito, EcuadorQuito from Above
After picking up Dan at the airport, we drove to the historic center of the city, and quickly found a cheap hotel (Hotel Grand, US$7 per person, recommended, inside parking).
Despite the rain, we went out for some drinks and Ecuadorian food (great ceviche) in the northern and more modern part of town. There were a lot of people there, in bars and dancing, and it looked like Quito is a lively metropolis, something that I would not have imagined.
Rainy day in Quito
At night, the old city seemed dead, and somehow not very welcoming. On the Sunday morning, it was the inverse. Probably the best capital city we visited since the beginning of the trip. We took a two-hour stroll around, and were able to see the inside of churches, a difficult thing in Latin America, as those are often closed when there’s no mass. Also the traffic is reduced in the old streets, so you can have a pleasant walk. There are no modern buildings there, making Quito old quarter a well-preserved historic gem.
We had good coffee, bought croissants in a panaderia, and had excellent time walking all the way to the northern part of town – Mariscal – to have lunch. I wish the pictures of the city would show better how Quito is, but I would recommend anyone to spend few days here, to enjoy the city and its delicious food. The Lonely Planet walking tour of the old city is recommended. Eventually, we came back using the electric trolley system, and were leaving the city around 4 p.m.
Our next destination was Banos, a small town of 20,000 inhabitants at the foot of Volcan Tungurahua. It took us more time that we thought to get there, and it was pitch black when we arrived, after a very difficult drive in the night and rain. We camped on the soccer field of the city this night, after cooking pastas.
Cooking pasta
In the morning, we drove through the city to reach the municipal baths, where one can take advantage of the mineral-loaded water in concrete pools of various temperatures. We stayed until noon, roasting in the hot water. Then, we were back in the mountains, this time to reach Guayaquil, the economic capital of the country.
Baños
The drive was pretty interesting. We were high again, at 4,000 feet. People in the mountains – especially women – wear the traditional attires, which is something similar to Bolivia. When we began to go down, an opaque fog stayed around us for few hours, sometimes so thick I could not see few yards in front of the truck. That, combined with a sometimes poor road surface, did slow us down, and we arrived to Guayaquil at the beginning of the evening.
There, we were invited by Oswaldo, the owner of the Regina hotel (http://www.hotelreginaguayaquil.com/) to spend a night (thanks Paul, my friend). We slept like rocks in the quiet hotel, after getting quick diner and drinks in the center of the city. There is not much to see in the big town, as the place is mostly a step for travelers to reach the Galapagos Islands, which we will not visit on this trip, unfortunately.
Peruvian border
After that, and saddened by the rainy weather, we decided to push as far south as we could, possibly passing the Peruvian border, which we knew was open 24 hours. Exiting the big city was a nightmare, and it took us almost two hours after getting lost. Most of the day, there were banana farms on both sides of the road. Before the border, we made sure to fill up all the jerry cans and the tank of the truck, since gas is way more expensive in Peru. You can’t beat Ecuadorian prices, at around $2 a gallon.
Of course, customs officials were not so happy when they saw our gasoline reserves, but they waved us through anyway with it, after saying first we could not take the precious load with us. This is the first border crossing we take at night, and we were the only people on the Peruvian side, which made the formalities faster than ever. No fees to cross the line, import the vehicle, and get a temporary driver license.
Not happy with gas reserves
In the darkness, we found a camping on the beach, few miles south of Zorritos, and were happy to open the tent there, after a long day of driving. In the morning, as the sun came up, we discovered a really nice beach, and agreed we should stay until the day after to relax, and enjoy the sun. In addition, I had some overdue work on the truck to do, and I intended to take care of it there.
A nice surprise in the morning
The camping we were at, Three Puntas, was great, and was no more than US$3 per person and per day. A leak in the gasoline stove forced us make a fire on the beach the second night, and use it to cook. One more thing I would have to fix.
I calculated that since we left, we drove an average of 95-miles a day. At such speed, you have to manage yourself some stops when you find a good place. Being constantly on the move may become stressful after a while, especially when you add up the lack of comfort synonym with camping.
Stopped by landslide
Anyhow dear readers, we are back on our way south, and we know we will have to face some difficult weather while we cross Peru, as there are some episodes of strong rain and we suspect landslides may have caused road closing between here and Trujillo. I hear the Machu Pichu, victim of flooding, is still closed for at least three weeks, so I guess we will miss that.
