26 - Arequipa to Nazca

Monday 9 April 1973. By truck from Arequipa back to Paty.

Got up real early, did my laundry and bought foodstuffs in the market. Had breakfast and then on to the bike shop. I was lucky: he had two tubes and three tyres on offer. Second hand but in good condition. I bought one tyre and two tubes, then went to try and find transport to Paty. Not easy. The buses were either full or too late. Decided to try hitch hiking instead. Took a local bus halfway out of town, and pretty soon I got a ride to the police station on the outskirts of town. After waiting about 30 minutes, I got a ride from a truck driver. A bit further along, he picked up another 30 passengers, so it got pretty crowded. Some of the were car sick, and soon it got cold, and then it started to rain. Happy to arrive in Paty by dark. I had planned to get on my bike straightaway but was invited by the owner of the restaurant where I had parked my bike, to stay there. Had a meal of rice with eggs, and then put myself to sleep on the floor of the restaurant. Soon asleep.

Tuesday 10 April 1973. Paty to Camp 36: 100 kms

Another hailstorm during the night, so I was happy to have slept under a roof. Quickly changed my back tyre and tube. Started full of energy. A nice clear sky with a light following wind. Initially no punctures. Uphill, downhill and so on. I soon got pretty warm.

My first tyre trouble was right next to a large lake where I took pictures of a group of llamas. And when I say trouble, I mean trouble: it actually exploded. The tyre had a large hole as a result, and I had to sew it together with dental floss before patching it. (Note: I remember to this day the unreal sensation of sewing a rubber tube: sticking the needle through the tube, making all thse holes, while the whole idea of fixing a puncture is to stop the holes from leaking. In my family I am known for fixing everything with dental floss. The one I am most proud of was during a bike ride in the U.K. when one of the young men in the youth group I was part of had a broken chain, and I managed to fix it with dental floss.)

Patched the tube, and then came first a hard stretch: dusty road, going up and up and up, and much of the time I was riding in the clouds. Cold, because the wind was blowing straight in my face. Finally the long-awaited descent started. This lasted for about 20 kms all hairpin corners. The first half no problems but then the road got very rocky and my back tyre started exploding again. Three times, but then I was down in a valley. I camped close to a fast-flowing river about 27 kms before Arequipa, at the foot of the last set of hills on that side of the city. Made a campfire and cooked soup. Another can of sardines complemented my dinner.

Wednesday 11 April 1973. Camp 36 to Camp 37: 195 kms

After patching my tyre, climbed the last hill before riding towards Arequipa. The first part of that downhill stretch was gravel, and then it turned into bitumen. And at exactly the place where the gravel turned into bitumen, another puncture. After fixing that one, I was flying into Arequipa. Checked the post office for mail, got my side bags stitched, bought two more tyres and solvent and then got back on the road. A dry sandy area, sometimes going up and more often going down.

It was a warm day, especially the part just past Uchumayo where I was going uphill for a while. Then back down to Reparticion where I had something to eat. Then the road went through a desert-like area, no vegetation whatsoever, just sanddunes. I crossed a few rivers and then all of a sudden, there was a sudden outburst of green. I had a cup of coffee and a sandwich just past Tambillo. While I was the there, the sun set, but I decided to keep going: good quality road, not much to look at as far as the scenery was concerned, and especially: I wasn’t at all tired yet. Had another cup of coffee later on. A nice warm evening. The last ten kilometres the road went down at a good pace through a narrow valley, and all of a sudden I heard the thundering surf. About 5 kms before Camaná I made camp on the beach. A satisfying day.

Thursday 12 April 1973. Camp 37 to Atico: 137 kms

Back on the bike at first light. I expected a road like the one along the Adriatic coast of Italy: close to the beach, fairly flat and somewhat monotonous. However, the road was more like the west coast of Italy: winding up and down following the coastline, but rocky outcrops prevent it from staying close to the water, sometime having to go up quite a way to find a way forward. Ever changing panoramas; I wanted to keep taking pictures all day long. In the morning the wind came from the right (the landside) and in the afternoon from the sea. My Japanese friend had complained about the wind in Peru always being against him, which is good for me, as I am going in the opposite direction.
I had breakfast in Camaná and lunch in Ocona and I had a bath in the ocean about 40 kms before I got to Atico. Washed my clothes, patched my spare tubes and put it all to dry in the sun. Just before packing it all up a large wave broke against the rocks so I had to pack it all up soaking wet. A bit further along I had two punctures, and I decided not to keep going in the evening: tired, bad road, more traffic and I would miss all the beautiful vistas. I had dinner in Atico and went to sleep on the beach.

Friday 13 April 1973. Atico to Camp 38 near Acari: 151 kms

Not as spectacular as yesterday, so not as many photos, but more kilometres and fewer punctures. After a few kilometres I found a restaurant that was open and had some breakfast. The road stayed much closer to the coast now. I had lunch in Chala, stayed a couple of hours on the beach cleaned up my chain and oiled it. At 3 pm the bank opened so I exchanged another travellers check. Then a long climb on a poor quality road. Just past Chala, during the only reasonable climb of the day, I had a puncture. It was an old wound that had gotten bigger. Before I patched it, I had to sew the two sides of the leak together. Otherwise no problems with the bike. When I got to the highest point of that climb, the sun set. The descent into Tanaka went without any mishaps even while riding in the semi darkness of the early evening, and after that a long flat stretch on the beach by the light of the moon. The road was at times covered with sand blown over from the beach.

When I came to Yauca, I was surprised to find myself riding in a forest. I can’t remember the last forest I have gone through, it must have been the other side of Jujuy. I could not find a place to eat in Yauca, so kept going to the turn-off for Acari, about 13 kms past Yauca where I found a restaurant. I had fish soup fried fish with rice. Just a bit further I laid down for the night: out of view from the road, but within the comforting sound of the surf.

Saturday 14 April 1973. Camp 38 to Nazca: 109 kms

Got going early once again. Looking for a restaurant for breakfast. The restaurant at the exit for Puerto Lomas was still closed, and then I had to climb a fair bit before coming to the next exit where there was a restaurant where I had more luck. The service was bad, and the bread rolls tough, but a bit of rest did me good. The going got better to the next exit: a breeze from the sea had sprung up and was blowing right from behind, so it got warm. It is like I am going through a desert: sand and more sand with every now and then some stony hills and no green. The only things that change is the distance on the kilometre markers by the side of the road. At the restaurant at the next exit, the service was good and the soup was excellent. I stayed for a while to rest a bit, as I wasn't in a hurry today. I got back on the road at 1 pm. The wind had picked up even more speed, and I didn’t even have to paddle going uphill. About 20 kms before Nazca civilisation started again. More green: cotton fields in large fertile valleys with a number of rivers coming out of the Andes being used for these fields. Irrigation canals everywhere and people working energetically in the fields. Nazca is situated on a fast flowing river, where I had a good wash. High time. Washed some clothes while I was at it, and then looked for a hotel to stay for the weekend as there was no camping. A friendly town with a lot of people out and about. Went to bed at 10 pm. Tired.

Sunday 15 April 1973. Nazca

I slept in, then ate some then walked around some, and then slept some more. When the worst of the heat was gone, got up, had a shower, went for a long walk, then had a good meal and by 9 pm I was back in bed. My plan is to get up very early tomorrow morning.
I checked my weight yesterday: 73 kgs, my typical weight on bike trips.