August 5th 2024 – Huánuco, Peru

We stayed 2 nights at “The Blue House”. There were a couple of other moto travelers visiting. It was interesting to hear about their adventures. Dewey from the US had been on the road for as long as us. He started out on a KLR. It got stolen and he continued on a 250 Rally. Aluísio from Brazil was on a month-long trip riding a 660 Tenere. It was his first visit to the Andes. There was also a couple from Colombia riding two-up on a fully loaded CRF 190cc.
La Casa Azul was a construction site during our visit. Victor has big dreams for the place. I hope they come true.

We rolled out the gate on a glorious morning. With snow capped mountains against a clear blue sky as backdrop we traveled south along the Santa River. After about an hour we left the main road to have a closer look at the gorgeous mountains.

After an initial climb on small twisty roads of mixed quality we entered Huascarán National Park and the landscape opened up. It put me in mind of Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park as you head towards Beartooth Pass.

The fun began in earnest when we reached the head of the valley. A spectacular serpentine road slithered up the mountain. It’s difficult not to wear out the superlatives when describing the roads and scenery in Peru. This was a good example. It was a challenge to concentrate on the riding. We had to stop several times to take in the views.

Eventually we drew level with the glaciers and reached Túnel Punta Olímpica – the highest road tunnel in the world outside of China. My GPS clocked out as 4.752 meters.

The level of awesomeness continued to leave us breathless as we made our way down the western slopes.

We decided to call it a day when we reached the small town of Chacas. It was Saturday the 27th. The picturesque town was dressed up for “Las Fiestas Patrias”. It is one of the most important national holidays in the country and commemorates Peru’s independence from Spain. The two day celebration takes place every year on July 28th and 29th.
We got one of the last available rooms in town. It was located at the town square and a bit above our usual price bracket, but we managed to haggle for a reasonable price. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get. The town was nice and we had been warned that finding available accommodation this specific weekend could turn out to be a hassle. We agreed to stay for 2 nights.
The afternoon was spent strolling around town enjoying the festivities. It was focused on the kids with different shows and activities.

We bumped into Dewey from La Casa Azul just as he was leaving town together with Dennis, a German on a T7. It should turn out not to be our last chance encounter of the day.
After dark we went looking for a place to have dinner and ended up at the only open pizzeria in town. As we walked in I noticed a familiar face at one of the tables nursing a beer, surrounded by empty bottles. It was none other than the distinguished Mr. Doyle from Colorado. It was a pleasant surprise. We shared some of the local brew and talked long into the evening.

In the morning I refilled the chain oilers on our bikes. It’s normal that the hose delivers a few drops of oil when I refill the reservoir, but I noticed that the one on Katrine’s bike seemed to suffer from severe incontinence. When I checked it again later all the oil had drained from the reservoir. Luckily I had the service kit that came with the oiler (Gedibii Nemo2). I took the unit apart, cleaned and inspected its part, replaced the lower sealing ring and the hose connector. It was an easy job and it seems to have fixed the issue.

Fin had also decided to stay 2 nights in town so we met up with him for lunch and later dinner – or rather I met up with him for dinner. Katrine had started to feel nauseous during the afternoon and decided to stay home. When I got back to our hotel after dinner Katrine had been throwing up and clearly had a fewer. She was sick as a dog all night.

The festivities in town went on throughout the day. Unlike the day before, the entertainment was now aimed at a more mature audience. It involved a lot of live music, dancing and drinking from early morning until late evening. There was a lively atmosphere.

Fin would be leaving town later in the morning. He joined me for breakfast at our hotel to say goodbye. Katrine was still in bed and had no appetite. Breakfast was included in our stay. That earned Fin a free meal.
After breakfast I supplied Katrine with a selection of beverages and bananas to help her get back on her feet.
I also extended our stay with an extra night. Katrine was in no shape to get on her bike.

With an unexpected extra day at my disposal, no gym in town and Katrine bedridden I wanted to set something straight.
The previous day I went for a 5k run in the mountains. Elevations around 3.500 meters/11.500 feet got the better of me and I had to walk on one of the climbs. Determined to do better I set out on the same route for the second day in a row. It was tough but this time I managed to keep the pace all the way. Victory!

Katrine slept most of the day and gradually felt better. She decided to join me for dinner. It did her well to get some proper food. In the morning she was fit enough for us to head out.

The journey continued on dirt roads at high altitude. There wasn’t much traffic and the scenery… yes, you know the song by now – the scenery was spectacular.
The road quality varied a lot from well maintained gravel to rocky and muddy. At one point we reached a locked gate. It turned out that we had been traveling on land belonging to the Antamina Mine – one of the largest copper/zinc mines in the world. When the gatekeeper learned that we were foreign travelers he let us through.

On the other side of the gate we connected to the mine’s official access road. It was a pristine blacktop and took us most of the way to the day’s destination Huallanca. The second hotel we stopped at was a winner. They provided secure parking, a clean room and a warm shower at a reasonable price.
Katrine was completely drained of energy and crashed right after dinner.

The bikes had spent the night next to the bed from “The Princess and the Pea”. They didn’t complain about anything and were ready for another day on the road. They would probably have been less eager if they knew what was in store.
For the next 7 hours we would be traveling through a 160 km construction zone on PE-3. The road conditions threw everything at us from sand, mud, rocks to deep loose gravel, but the common denominator for the day was dust. It was extreme.
We arrived in Huánuco after a day spent mainly in 1st to 3rd gear.

After a couple of tough days on the bikes we decided to take a break.
Despite being founded almost 500 years ago Huánuco has very little to offer in terms of attractions. With nothing interesting to see or do in town I focused on giving the bikes some well deserved TLC.

After breakfast I went looking for what I needed to do an oil change. The bikes had only done little over 7.000 km since the last oil change (the recommended interval is 12.000 km), but considering what we had put them through since entering Peru I found it prudent to shorten the interval.
The local Honda dealer looked fancy, but didn’t have anything I needed in stock. If I came back a couple of hours later, they would have oil filters and crush washers ready for me.
A small shop next door had the oil I wanted.

Back at the hotel I discover that Katrine’s bike has a flat rear tire. I inflated it and could hear air leaking from a tear in the tread.

I prefer working on clean bikes so before doing anything else we stripped them and took them to a car wash a block away. I asked the guy at the car wash to be careful with the pressure washer. To my surprise he actually listened, turned down the pressure and kept the nozzle away from bearings and other sensitive areas. They did a great job and charged us 7 soles ($2) per bike.

With clean bikes we zipped past the Honda dealer to pick up the oil filters and washers. They were now closed for siesta. We always try to carry filters and washers for an oil change so back at the hotel I set up shop and started working on the bikes. After changing the oil on both bikes I took a look at Katrine’s rear tire.
The tear was almost as big on the inside as on the outside. The tube had a smaller tear. I replaced the tube and refitted the tire.

We walked past the Honda dealer on our way to dinner that night. They didn’t have anything ready for us. We waited for the better part of an hour for the oil filters to be delivered from another Honda dealer in town. When they finally arrived it was the wrong filters. The sales clerk claimed that they were correct even though they had a completely different design and the wrong part number. He was friendly and accommodating but obviously incompetent. We left with only a couple of overpriced crush washers.

The next morning we took a taxi downtown in search of parts for the bikes. When we stepped through the door to Dragon Riders I could feel our luck was about to change. We were greeted by Edwin. He knew his stuff and put in an effort to help us out. He was a rider himself with dreams of traveling. 3 kids and his business meant that the occasional day ride was all he could squeeze in for now – but hopefully one day…
We left the shop with a bag full of good stuff and a heavy discount.

Just around the corner we came across a motorcycle tire shop with a big selection.
With our rear tires more than half worn and the tear in Katrine’s we went in to have a look. They didn’t have any of my preferred tires in stock but the owner turned my attention to a chinese brand that he claimed was good quality. I had never heard about Timsun before. They had a model that seemed to fit our needs. The tire looked good, was cheap and the price included mounting.
We agreed to drop by with bikes the following day.

After a pleasant morning with MotoGP from Silverstone (first race weekend after the summer break) I went to the garage to work on the bikes. I cleaned and lubed the air filters, adjusted the chains, checked all bolts and nuts. Finally, I replaced the well worn fork socks that had served us well since we set out from Arizona 14 months ago.

After lunch we fired up the bikes and returned to the tire shop.
I removed/installed the wheels and lent a hand with the tire change. Kat kept an eye on things and chatted with all the nice people hanging out around the shop. There was a pleasant atmosphere.

Having worked on the bikes for 3 days it was a pleasure to mount the Mosko Moto harness and leave them covered up in the garage of the hotel ready for new adventures.
3 busy days had earned us a day’s proper rest with nothing on the schedule. I spent the morning watching MotoGP live from Silverstone before updating my travelogue.

The plan was to leave town tomorrow, but staying (yet) another day will allow us to refuel our SIM cards, do laundry and visit the gym one last time. One of the local gyms runs a Marvel theme. It must improve gains and stimulate growth.
This is how a planned 2 nights stay turns into 6 nights.