Peru

Location:	Arequipa
Mileage:	15,800

We cross the border with ease. It is very quiet and we ride south to Chiclayo. It’s a ride across the Sechura Desert. There are no facilities on this road. No fuel, no services, no food or drink. This 130 mile stretch almost catches a few riders out, as they crawl into Morrope on only fumes. Riders are quite shocked by Northern Peru. The change is immediate. Life is obviously hard. Houses are straw mats in the desert, no water and no electricity. Rubbish is dumped on the edge of town and blows across the scrub, plastics clinging to the small thorny trees.

There is some relief in the small seaside town of Huanchaco. It’s on the coast and we get some blue sky before the normal low mists and fog swirl in and drop the temperatures so we need fleeces again for the first time in many weeks.

From here, we take the gorge road of Canyon del Pato. It’s pretty rough this year and roadworks on part of the section does not help as riders struggle over stretches of deep gravel and some sandy hairpins. We have four riders with passengers. Their efforts constantly surprise us, as they all make the canyon without dumping their passengers or bike on the ground. Maybe they don’t get too testosterone fired up, to rip up the road when their loved one is on the back. Everyone enjoys a cold beer in Caraz and then take Kevin out for birthday celebrations.

From here we take the tarmac road back down to the Pan Am, have a noisy night in the rough and ready town of Barranca, then battle our way around Lima in the rush hour, before making the relative calm of Nasca and at last, our first rest day since Colombia. The flight over the Nasca Lines turns a few green! We’ve been joined by two other GlobeBusters guides (Peter and Alan), who have arrived early for the Patagonia trip (it’s a standalone ride with ten customers booking for the five week stretch from Santiago to Buenos Aires). They spend time with Jeff the Van Man to try and sort out Paul’s bike, which gradually has been getting more problematic to start each day. They identify a problem with the starter motor, which is resolved and the bike now starts first time, every time.

We are now on the gringo trail of Southern Peru, taking in Cusco and Machu Picchu, Puno and Lake Titicaca and the white city of Arequipa. It’s the first time we have had contact with tourists for a long time and it also means that the quality of restaurants and accommodation improves too to cater for the mainstream holiday maker. We have only few problems to sort out over this period – a few riders are suffering from altitude symptoms and Jim’s bike has conked out. Between Van Man Jeff, Peter and Alan, we manage to get the one Suzuki V-Strom back on its feet and Jim is all smiles, narrowly escaping van riding until Santiago. It’s great that all the bikes are still rolling; the only time the bikes have ended up in the van is because the rider is not too good.

We have a final group meal in Arequipa to mark the end of Peru. Everyone is in high spirits. So far, so good.

Ecuador

Location:	Chiclayo
Mileage:	13,700

We have a bad border crossing into Ecuador. There is only one guy issuing bike permits, one computer and a bad internet connection. It sometimes takes him 45 minutes to do one permit and there are 20 bikes waiting. By the time he finishes, it is dark. We have 80 miles to ride to Otovalo and the final group does not make it in until 11pm. Everyone is pretty exhausted, but our hostess, Margaret is amazing, the fires are blazing and food and drink await. The difficulties do not dampen the smiles that we are now in our tenth country.

Ecuador is home to the Equator. This is a huge milestone for the group. There is much congratulation as the bikes line up on the equator line. We have all come so far and it is a very special time. This is our first time that we have led a group across the equator, thanks to riding in Colombia – now we are riding south over the mid-point of the earth and it feels different.

Ecuador is also tiny. It only takes us a few days to ride north to south, through Quito and down to Cuenca. From there we have some amazing mountain roads to get the border. For Nigel, it’s a bad day. He is caught out by a drifting vehicle, a tight bend and a little too much speed. Once again, we are lucky. He is hurting badly, is very bruised and his bike looks battered, but he manages to crawl into town. The next morning, he still climbs aboard the bike to continue the ride to the border. Riding all the miles is a non-negotiable for many.

Picture - The Equator: another milestone

Colombia

Location:	Pasto
Mileage:	12,500

Picture - Views from the roads in Colombia

Kevin and I last rode here in 2003. It was on the Trans Am World Record. We still have contacts with the local riders that helped us back then and all are eager to welcome the GlobeBusters team to Colombia. It is a huge event for BMW in Bogota too. Although some independent motorcycle travellers have been coming back to Colombia for a while, we are the first big group that they have had the opportunity to welcome and we attend a huge presentation, talk about the travels and GlobeBusters, and speak with the press.

It is the same in Medellin. Another enormous welcome from local riders, who come out in the evening to hear us speak, watch our films and are hugely happy that at last groups of riders are coming back to Colombia. They are so keen that we have a fantastic time in Colombia.

How can I describe Colombia? A country which retains a bad reputation, despite how security has improved over recent year. Two Colombians, Mauricio at Ruta 40 and his good friend, Carlos, accompany us on our ride through Colombia. They want to show us some of the smaller roads and some of the great places to take a break. Having such local insight is a massive bonus, as most stick to the main Pan American. There is no doubt that you do see a heavier military presence than in other countries, but this is good. It means that they are maintaining security.

The countryside and roads are some of the best we have ridden on. There are full days when the road are constant bends, tight, swooping through lush jungle landscapes, then as we push south through pine trees and then in the end, barren, brown desert. Everyone in our group is ecstatic at riding here. The landscapes, the people do not disappoint. The infrastructure is good, hotels are excellent, food is delicious.

We could not have had a better time here. We have been one the first of overseas motorcycle adventure companies to come back to Colombia and no doubt others will follow. . . .