The Grand Tour - Part 1 - To Cajamarca

Now I had the bike ready I felt it was time to do some serious touring, so I armed myself with a 2014 road map, which was actually a guide showing things to do around Peru, and planned my trip. Not knowing what to expect once I left the Panamerican Highway as information on Peru is sadly lacking as not many people do such trips, especially solo on a motorbike, I decide to plan conservatively - shortish daily rides under 400 kms (250 miles) and to book my accommodation in advance. I had no wish to arrive in a strange place and then have to start looking around for somewhere to stay and park my bike safely, so the hostals (Peruvian spelling - something between a hostel and a hotel) had to have secure parking, single rooms, and preferably en-suite facilities.
I had used Booking.com before so this was my starting point - and I soon realised that several of the lodgings mentioned in the map guidebook didn't have a web presence, and weren't on any booking website either! This limited my search considerably, and though there were maps on the booking site as I didn't know the towns I wasn't sure how safe the areas were, or how accessible they were! I also used Google to research some of the places, but again several hostals claimed websites that they didn't have, so again it was no easy task. Eventually I had planned my whole trip! I had booked stays of varying lengths in 4 towns, including a few days here and there for sightseeing, and left my return journey open at this stage.
With the carriers securely bolted on, a gallon of petrol in one of them, I strapped on my bags, and set off! The Panamerican Highway is, for the most part, in pretty good condition, but it is so boring riding for mile after mile through the Peruvian coastal desert - miles and miles of sand in both directions, with tantalising glimpses of the Andean foothills to the West, but once I reached Pacasmayo, about 100 kms into my journey, and turned inland it got a lot more interesting!

First sign of green - rice fields

The Pacasmayo district is renowned for rice growing, and the incredible green was a welcome diversion after the dusty sand  landscapeI had travelled through so far, and soon I started climbing off the coastal plain. I passed a huge lake, which I later found was a reservoir for irrigation of the rice fields, and stopped close to it for lunch - fried freshly caught Tilapia from the lake!

Gallito Ciego Dam

The road was in pretty good condition, and traffic fairly light, though I did come across a lot of quarry lorries travelling slowly, heavily laden with rocks mined for the other thing the area is famous for - cement! I came across my first one-way bridge, with a man at either end with stop-go boards, though they didn't indicate for me on the bike!

Overhang cut in the rock on the approach to the bridge

Pretty bleak looking near the bridge

This bus was actually on the wrong side of the road - under the overhang - to get a good angle for the bridge

Wooden planks made up the bed of the bridge

While I was stopped here my phone rang, and I saw I had missed two other calls - it was my hotel calling to ask when I would arrive. I had no real idea, but said I thought I would be there by about 16.00, and they said they would meet me, so how was I arriving! Most foreign travellers come by bus so it is commonplace for the accommodation to send someone to meet the bus and take them to the hotel, but I explained I was travelling by bike and so they offered to have someone meet me on the main road as they said they were a little out of the way! I had a map, though, and wasn't sure when I would get there so didn't want anyone waiting for a long time, so said I would try and find my own way but call if I got lost!

The road started climbing seriously after this 

Riverbed near the bridge

I was headed up into the clouds in the distance, but Oli (the bike!) took everything in its stride and never missed a beat.

From the top looking back - I had travelled along the valley below!

I finally arrived in Cajamarca, and more by luck than judgement as street names are not that common, and the one-way system (grid system with alternating streets one way on opposing directions!) designed to catch out the unwary, I found the hotel quite easily. It was quite expensive by Peruvian standards, but my research had shown it as one of the few options with parking on-site, and it was close to the route I needed to take out of Cajamarca for the next leg of my trip - and at just over US$100 for the 3 nights, including breakfast, it was still reasonable, and was very luxurious! It was quite a way out of the centre of Cajamarca where all the restaurants are, but they had an excellent restaurant in the hotel, and those prices were cheap, so I ate in every evening I was there.

Distance travelled 320 kms - 200 miles.