Oct 2 nd to 28 th 2015

Transcription

1 Oct 2 nd to 28 th 2015 Recce Day 14 & 15 Puerto Maldanado to Urubamba Distance: 524kms Driving Time: 8.5hrs Departure time: 8.00 Arrival time: It was a Sunday and we were up early and so was the rest of Puerto Maldanado. Opening the windows of the hotel we could see young lads playing their Sunday football game at 06.30! Clearly it was going to get very hot later. We had been told by the border guard that the road to Cusco was busy but we felt we should set off at the same time as the rally will next year so left at Refuelling on the way out we were quickly onto the main road which had a reasonable amount of traffic, but nothing like the dire warnings from the guard perhaps his idea of heavy traffic is different from ours. For the first 250kms the road is a gentle rise as we head for the Andes. The road is all tarmac apart for the occasional section which is under repair but the Peruvians do seem to be taking the condition of the road seriously. They are also very safety conscious excessively so in our opinion as all villages and little places of habitation have School sports day at 3,000 metres drempels (Dutch for speed bumps a term we adopted from Suriname) before and after as well as often in the middle too. With the slow speed of the traffic generally and the low density of the population they seems pretty pointless. The road then climbs spectacularly, rising to 4,650 metres but sitting in a car you barely feel it. It only hits you when you get out of the car and start to walk then you become short of breath. For the next 5 days we don t go below 3,000 metres so become somewhat accustomed to the altitude. Having done rallies at this height before we find that very few people actually have any real adverse reaction, apart from shortness of breath. And, by using the Diamox tablet, the effects are nullified. I did get a headache on the first day but decide it was lack of water that caused it as I drank too little on the first day at this height. Once I had rehydrated the headache went. Being a Sunday it was also market day along the route although we were somewhat surprised to be held up in the town of Quincemil which translates as fifteen thousand, although it has nothing to do with its height above sea level. The reason for the hold up was the school sports day which involved

2 groups of kids running along the main road between two drempels. The police meanwhile stopped all traffic with an impromptu road block. Half an hour later we were let through during a lull in proceedings and continued on our merry way only stopping at a local market to take pictures of the colourful costumes the women were wearing. The rally will also go along this route on a Sunday so hopefully the market is a regular event. Our destination for the night was the impeccable Tambo del Inka hotel in the Sacred Valley at Urubamba. Having just spent the best part of 10 days in average accommodation this luxury hotel comes as something of a relief. The rally will spend three nights here to get properly acclimatised and have a chance to visit Machu Picchu as well as Cusco. We did take a day off here to also get used to the altitude, look round Cusco, do some laundry (we found a great laundry nearby the hotel which washes by the kilo) and check the car over. Busy market day Recce Day 16 Cusco to Puno Distance: 514kms Driving Time: 6.40hrs Departure time: Arrival time: It was sad to leave the comfort and luxury of the Tamba del Inka for our trusty Shogun which had performed faultlessly so far. We turned right out of the gates and through the Sacred Valley with the Rio Urubamba to our right for the first 38kms to Pisac. We climbed gently at first and then more steeply to our maximum of the day of 4310 metres after 217 kilometres, then remained over 3900 metres for the rest of the day in to Puno. The high plateau was pretty barren with a small amount of tree cover but plenty of spectacular views. Traffic was steady but fairly light until we Local political party entered Juliaca where they are creating a one-way system to alleviate the traffic but in the meantime it s was pretty heavy. Hopefully by October next year it will have been completed as the Peruvians do seem to be pretty expert at roadbuilding these days. In Puno we will be staying at the wonderful Libertador which shimmers on the shoreline of Lake Titicaca like a luxury cruise liner. In the reception of the hotel they serve Matte tea, a local drink to help with the altitude as we are pretty high here. In fact Matte is available for the next few days before we drop down to the coast. We arrived early afternoon in plenty of time to take a boat to the floating islands which is the major attraction of Puno. They are well worth visiting and we will ensure there are boats waiting to take us there. If you have the time take a trip

3 into town as there are plenty of shops to buy traditional Peruvian gifts to take home with you, although you will have to dodge the touts who encourage you to go into their shop. Of course Peru is the land of the Guinea Pig and here, along with Alpaca, it is regarded as a delicacy. Knowing that tourists are a little squeamish about eating Guinea Pig, they do make a bit of a joke of it with one bar offering a Pisco and Guinea deal during happy hour! Recce day 17 Puno to Chivay Distance: 355kms Driving Time: 7.5 hrs Departure time: Arrival time: This is the day you will be truly glad of your high clearance and 4x4 ride as we will be taking a fascinating but rough in places route to Chivay. Instead of going back along the main road to Juliaca and then on the new highway towards Aeriquip before turning off for Chivay we decided on the more picturesque route that contains a section of about 25kms which has the roughest roads on the entire trip. All you have to do is take it slowly but the upside of this route more than compensates for this section of road. Forty eight kilometres into the day we went through the little town of Mana where the entire population seemed to be queuing at the local government offices. Maybe it was Pension day or a local election. Slipping past the queues we were soon onto dirt again and strangely it felt good to be off road. For a while the road the road followed the valley floor before climbing in the most glorious hills. Stunning views unfolded as we drove higher and higher, once again reaching 4,000 metres high. For 20 beautiful kms we had a superb surface and the road to ourselves apart from a solitary motorbike. It s impossible to describe the unexpected beauty of this area and the surprise to find so many flamingos. Flamingos feeding

4 This was still the Panamerica highway which then presented us with a fork in the road. First we tried left but that took us away from our route, so we returned and tried right which tuned out to be clearly the correct road but it quickly deteriorated into an ungraded rough surface. As we bounced along the road dropped to a series of small salty lakes with an abundance of wildlife taking the waters. Foremost among them was the Flamingo, hundreds of them, filtering the water for the algae that they live on. As we progressed we caught up with a French couple who had become slightly disorientated so we directed them to Santa Lucia, where we were heading, so that they could get back to Aerequipa and their hotel for the night. They were in a normal 2WD which would have made progress painfully slow. Once at Santa Lucia we hit the tarmac and caught up a considerable amount of time before turning towards Chivay and the mountain road to our night halt. A brilliant road with tremendous Llamas by the side of the road views once again, it also reaches the heady height of 4,300 metres before dropping down for Chivay and Colca Canyon, a place guaranteed to see the Condor in the early morning as it rides Birds by the lake the thermals out of the canyon. On the rally we are exploring staying at Colca Lodge, undoubtedly one of the best hotels in the Colca canyon as its located on a natural hot spring. We aim to arrive mid afternoon to allow you to take advantage of the relaxing waters and even use the spa. The next morning we will get up early to see the condors and return to the hotel before driving to Aerequipa for the night to stay at the superb Libertador hotel there. Recce day 18 Chivay to Nazca Distance: 733kms Driving Time: 12 hrs Departure time: Arrival time: As you can see from the driving time this is not the viable for a rally of this nature which is why we will go from Chivay to Aerequipa on the event and break the journey there. However, there were some mitigating factors for the length of the day. Firstly we did explore some alternative routes which put around an hour on the day, secondly we wasted time finding our way round a new intersection under construction, thirdly were held up for nearly another hour at a set of roadworks on a mountain section and finally we stopped for 45 minutes for some lunch and to refuel. On the rally we will do the 175kms to Aerequipa on the previous day so will be able to start early and escape the heavy traffic of this town. That will also save a considerable amount of time.

5 For the recce we drove out of the Colca Canyon early in the beautiful sunshine on virtually empty roads allowing us to stop and take photos at will without having to worry about backing up the traffic. Once we were on the brand new highway to Aerequipa we made good progress although around one or two industrialised areas lorry traffic was heavy. But they do move slowly so there are overtaking opportunities. We arrived in Arequipa in the rush hour which was not helped by the construction of a new intersection with no detour instructions. This was nearing completion so will be ready for the rally. Nazca lines by the side of the road Further down the road there had been an embankment collapse which is where we had to stop for the best part of an hour while they scraped the rocks off the road. By now we were well behind schedule but were getting peckish and finally found a great little roadside restaurant at petrol station where they had an expensive menu all cooked fresh. They also seemed to be patisserie experts as there were numerous delicious looking cakes being made. We arrived in Nazca after following a fabulous coast road just after sunset but with the Casa Andina easy to find we were soon in our rooms and ready for a beer. The Nazca lines are north of the town and it is from here most of the flights are made to see them. However, most flights are a short sharp and belly churning experience and coupled with the package tour nature of the hotels in Nazca we have a better solution. Up the cost from Nazca is the town of Peracas where the hotels are better and the flights are in better regulated aeroplanes. It s a longer flight but it also includes an aerial view of the coast and hinterlands altogether a better experience and a lot less frantic. Recce day 19 Nazca to Paracas Distance: 218kms Driving Time: 3.0 hrs Departure time: Arrival time: Not difficult day on the road but this is the section that will be added on the rally day from Aerequipa as we think it s a much better option to stay in Paracas than Nazca. Crossing the Nazca lines Looking at the timings Arequipa to Paracas is will still be a long day of around 8 to 9 hours driving but the roads are easier and the destination is a great place to stop. The hotel is superb and will make a better two night stop than Nazca as it has a range of activities apart from a better quality operation to see the Nazca lines to trips to see the islands or even relax on a day boat in the harbour.

6 Recce day 20 Paracas to Lima Distance: 253kms Driving Time: 4.0 hrs Departure time: Arrival time: The first hour of this route is very busy until we pass the town of Chinca Alta which really could do with a bypass. Then we hit the Panamericana Sur highway which is a dual carriageway most of the way into Lima where we once again hit the traffic and how. In Lima you need patience and calm as it is cut and thrust. On our first day in we will simply get to the hotel we have two good options at present and then on the second day drop the cars off at the container depot before leaving on the third. Anyone wishing to stay longer can book extra nights. While getting into Peru was relatively painless the exit process is more involved as documents need to be notarised. Our aim on the rally is to get A thorough clean for the car this process completed in Paracas on our day off where we can get a Notary Public to come to the hotel so that the exit can smoother in Lima. It will certainly be better than our afternoon tour of Lima with the agent to find a Notary Public who was able to sign the car papers. We then went to see Customs who signed off all the documents only for the Fingerprint required on the notarised documents shipper to be short of 20 foot containers! Still it gave us time to get the car cleaned properly which is a requirement and do a spot of shopping. One of the most extraordinary features of Lima is the quality of some of their restaurants and I can honestly say that we were blown away by the three restaurants we tried so there is plenty of scope for having a really excellent final meal to celebrate the completion of the Great Amazon Adventure. Footnote: Having completed the recce we have decided to add a few days to the itinerary to ensure that after a long drive there is a rest day ahead. As most people will only do this once we want to ensure everyone has a chance to see some of the sights along the route and experience the people and their culture. A new itinerary will be sent out with the event starting on the same day, October 2 nd but arriving in Lima on the 26 th with flights home on the 28 th. We have also decided that starting in Paramaribo in Surinam is the right decision from a shipping viewpoint as well as routing so that we can stop in Kourou instead of Cayenne which is probably the least interesting of all the towns in the region. We also confirm that we have an absolute limit of 12 participant cars on this event. If you haven t already sent in your entry form and deposit please do so asap to ensure your place.