Paracas

 Bored out of my mind, I took a night bus from Arequipa to the coastal reserve of Paracas, an extension of the Atacama desert. While being shuttled from sight to sight, my guide got a phone call saying a whale had been beached a few minutes from where we were.

 It had been there for at least seven hours. Over a hundred people were there, shouting at each other about what should be done. People had managed to get it onto a net, but the equipment was inadequate to haul the thing across the deep, sticky mud.

 Eventually, all other plans having failed, it was agreed that the whale should be rolled out to sea. This was accomplished, to great cheers, but I'm afraid the whale was completely exhausted, and probably crushed by rolling over its own weight. The last news I heard of the great beast's well-being before leaving Paracas was not bright.

 I'm reading Che Guevara's Motorcycle Diaries now. Some of his struggles are eerily familiar. I wish, though, that we'd been able to take more opportunities to engage people along the way, instead of rushing through the landscape and sleeping in hostels. The junket proved that an adventure of its grade doesn't tolerate a timeline. It didn't help that I was one of seemingly only a few people who spoke much Spanish—it seems not many Britts learn it in school.

This trip was meant to be and opportunity to get some distance from my life and contemplate my future. I've certainly achieved the distance, and my attitude toward my life at home has shifted, but I can't say that I've come to any pointed conclusions. Contrary to my expectations, being "out in the world" has made me less enthusiastic to go join a project somewhere. I need to think more subtly about how to feel like I'm contributing to the world while keeping happy. I've warmed a little to the idea of getting some more education, and to finding incrementally different lines of work in Seattle.

I'm greatful for this trip, and especially for everyone I've met, from the Lima lawyer on the bus to Huancayo, to my great companions across a thousand miles of mountain and desert.

I'll get dinner now and contemplate my life a minute more, then gather my things and head for the airport. See many of you soon. Thanks for listening.

Mission Complete

We drove out to a viewpoint before Mt. Mismi, the farthest source of the Rio Amazonas. The river itself was a several-day hike around to the other side, but on this side there were alpacas and pink flamingos lolling around a small lake, which was good enough for us. We declared victory.

Yesterday was pretty easy. The trip between Chivay and the principal highway, which took us 7+ hours on the way in, we covered in about half that time on the way out. It was strange to finally see the landscape we had previously trudged through in darkness: a totally barren, lunar-esque pass at 4800 meters, with views of massive volcanoes in every direction. Even Mismi got its viewpoint.

When we got to the highway, we confronted our final trial. It turns out that the road between Juliaca and Arequipa, of which we

SMS Update

made it to Arequipa! mission complete! turns out the Juliaca Arequipa road is part of the Panamericana but the cops were lenient.

SMS Update

im done with this mess. going to make the most of it in Peru drop off my bike and see what there is to do

SMS Update

mechanics in Cusco messed my choke up. mostly better now. Juliaca in two hours then camping.

Phase One Complete

Well, that was certainly an adventure. We arrived in Cusco last night, ascending through thunder, lightning, and pelting hail. It took us three and a half hard, long days to cover the 900+ km. The roads were often rough, and always super-curvy.

We left Ayacucho on Sunday by the scenic route, winding along the side of a gorgeous valley and climbing to a pass at over 4000m (just short of the peak of Mt. Rainier) just at dusk. We paused at the top to observe electrical storms on both sides and a nearly full moon rising. Bundled tight, we descended through light rain for two hours in the dark to what's meant to be the lovely little town of Chimbes, but we wouldn't know because we got in at 9 at night and left at 5 in the morning.

It's been mostly like that since. The Andes are immense, and through our days we are confronted with panorama after breathtaking panorama as we fall and climb again from pass to pass. Except for a few flats, my chain coming off a few times, and an unfortunate decision to follow a particular road sign, we really haven't had many problems. It's just been physically and mentally exhausting.

A number of teams have collected in Cusco now. More are in Puno awaiting additional paperwork to cross the border into Bolivia. At least 11 teams have despaired of waiting, left their vehicles in Puno, and continued on by bus. We're hitting up Machu Picchu tomorrow and hoping that the timing will work itself out.

For my part, I'm still hopeful. I have more time than most people, and hope some of my companions will be able to accompany me as far as Salta, Argentina, where I can drop off the vehicle and fly back to Lima. This trip has been highly disorganized, but I still want to make the most of it.

I can't upload photos because the people who run the Internet cafes in this part of the world only vaguely know what a computer is. I'll look for a better one and write soon.

SMS Update

through hail storm and over countless passes, finally in Cusco.

The First Day: Ayacucho

Bureaucratic problems abruptly came to an end for us Saturday morning at about 3 AM, when the paperwork for our vehicles showed up by taxi from Lima. By 6:30 we were packed and on the road to Ayacucho, about 250km away.

Climbing up to a pass outside of Huancayo at about 15 km/hr, I was worried that it would take a week to get to Cusco, and that we would have to camp that night. Over the course of the day, however, we broke our engines in, and they're now puttering along at a cool (or hot) 40-45 on good roads. I was lucky enough to get one of the 150cc bikes, and between the stronger engine and my lighter weight (teams have two people), I've been cruising. Some people have had terrible luck with flats and weak engines, while others of us haven't had hardly any trouble.

The longest part of the trip yesterday was along a river valley with vertiginous cliffs. We took it easy, especially around the narrow, sharp, blind curves. I got separated from most of the caravan, and raced to make it to safer ground by sunset. I really wish we'd had a little more time because the scenery was stunning. I'll try to post some pictures in the next couple days.

We're traveling now in a caravan of between six and eight vehicles. It makes for slow going, but it's nice to have this companionship at the start of our journey. We're being looked after by some family friends of one of the teams, who are traveling with us to Cusco in a pickup truck. They've proven to be lifesavers, as the team with the worst mechanical troubles would have been stranded on the bad road at dark with a flat tire.

Traveling slowly and tightly, with the pickup at the lead, we made the last about 100 km by dark on good-to-middling roads, and arrived here in Ayacucho after 11 PM. I'd love to stay and explore but we're heading out in a few minutes to put in at least 100km on bad roads today, with the hope of making Cusco on better roads tomorrow.

Ok that wasn't the most interesting post but I wanted to say that I'm still alive and things are going at least as well as expected. I'll probably post some pictures and reflections when we get to Cusco.

SMS Update

looking for a place to stay.

Huancayo, Peru

The journey of 2,500 miles starts here, in Huancayo, Peru, at an altitude of nearly 11,000 feet. 130 adventurers from around the world have converged in this town over the last week. Truly, we are the most foolhardy crew to grace these mountains since the time of Lope de Aguirre.

As Wednesday approaches, you can feel the nervous excitement build. We're comparing notes on routes, sharing suggestions of tools and supplies to bring, and confirming our suspicions of just how ridiculous a thing we are getting ourselves into.

Last night was our (early) leave-taking party. There was tons of food, beer, pisco (local brandy), two live bands, dancing, and such great merriment that many have sworn off drinking until we hit Cusco. And now I can say that I have sampled guinea pig (*"cuy"*).

Yesterday was also my first chance at driving the mighty mototaxi. The experience did nothing to improve my trust of the vehicle, which bucked its chain off the rear ring on a left-hand turn. Supposedly they are undergoing further adjustment before they are handed over to the teams. I'm sure that by the end of the trip, I'll be very familiar with how every piece of the beast fits together.

I've taken a bunch of pictures but I forgot my USB cable on my way to this Internet cafe, so you will have to wait a bit for pictures. Sorry.

For official news from The Adventurists, check out [their news page](http://mototaxijunket09.theadventurists.com/index.php?mode=news), including a report from a press conference and the story of how 63 mototaxis were brought in, in some cases by raft, from the remotest corners of the country at the last minute.

If the mood strikes, you can text me from [this page](http://mensajes.claro.com.pe/smsWebApp/mensaje.htm). My number is LIMA-991440352. The country code is I think 51 and the area code should be 1 for Lima, but I'm not sure about that.

Ok, I've got to get back to the laundromat. I'll try to get some pictures up before we leave on Wednesday.

Peter