The Grand Tour - Part 13 - Florida to Pacora

This was going to be a ride of almost 400kms (250 miles) but as it was along the 5N highway (Carreteira Fernando Belaunde Terry), the main road over the Andes in the North of Peru I was expecting a fairly easy ride! I was to be mistaken.
The first third of the journey was straightforward, and I was making good time, and stopped a couple of times - once for a comfort break, and the second overlooking a beautiful lake/dam

Vulture watching me at my comfort stop!

Unidentified dam/lake along the way - the colour of the water should have warned me there had been heavy rain along the route!

As I headed up to the highest pass on this stretch of road I got stuck for some time behind a bus - the road twisted and turned as it climbed, and was too narrow to safely pass for quite a while, but eventually - just as we entered some light mist - I got past. As we climbed the mist got thicker, slowing me down, and then it turned to fairly heavy rain - with visibility down to maybe 25 metres! With a sheer cliff bordered by a deep (50cm) rainwater gully to my right, and a drop of some 500-1000 metres to my left, and nowhere to pull off once I passed the summit it was a nerve-wracking descent! Most of the corners were hairpins, and many not indicated, so my progress was painfully slow - and all the time I felt that the bus would be catching up with me in this poor visibility!
Oli had knobbly dirt tyres, which are not idea for wet tarmac, so I approached each hairpin with much trepidation, and cornered very slowly. By now I was also very wet - I had a good jacket on, but my legs had no protection, and I could feel water in my boots as well! All the time I expected the bus to come bearing down on me, as he knew the route and would probably not have been as cautious as I was. Just as the rain ended and I rode out of the mist I saw a large open area to the left, so pulled off into that (I needed another comfort break desperately too!), and a few moments later the bus indeed thundered past!
The sun had come out, too, so I knew I would be dry soon, and continued on my journey. We were now following the Utcubamba river, and the smooth sweeping curves made progress a but quicker - except that there were many places where the rains had caused landslips, with mud and boulders partially blocking the road! The road crews hadn't arrived yet so it was a bit of a slalom through these, with boulders the size of small cars in the middle of the road in places. Fortunately it was easy to weave my way through on Oli, and I even passed the bus during one of these blockages as he had to approach them with much more care - though I always kept one eye on the mountainside above me in case more earth came down! Traffic was thankfully very light throughout the day, something which I was grateful for on most of my journey.
I was able to maintain a good speed once out of landslip territory and soon found myself looking for a place to have something to eat - by now I was dry and hunger was my next concern! I was riding along unknown roads - I had come this way by bus to Chachapoyas the previous year, but this stage of the journey had been at night - so wasn't sure where I could stop, and was also getting to the stage where I needed to refuel (though this wasn't desperate as I was carrying a spare jerry can which would give me about 60kms), but eventually found both a petrol station (there were actually many along the way) and somewhere to have lunch, and take the opportunity to check my map to see where I was!
It appeared I was only about 80kms (50 miles) from my booked accommodation, and despite the mist, rain and landslips had made reasonable time, so after a leisurely lunch I continued on my way. I seemed to have left the high mountains behind and the rest of the journey was along a fairly straight and flat stretch of road, the N1 (called the Old Panamerican Highway!).
As always I had printed a route map to the accommodation, which was reasonably detailed, but when I reached Pacora, which is a tiny place, I could not find anything that looked like the turning to the small farm. I stopped and asked a couple of people and they didn't seem to have heard of the place, so eventually I just turned down a dirt track and by luck found it, despite no signs! The buildings were quite a way from the locked gate so I hooted and a lady came and let me in 

My bungalow

she had several dogs with her, and though I had petted them as I introduced myself one of them chased me and nipped me on the leg, putting a small hole in my trousers, as I rode up to the bungalow! This was the first of 5 stays I have now made at Rancho Santana!

Distance travelled today 395 kms.

The Grand Tour - Part 12 - Tarapoto to Florida

I mentioned that on my way to Moyobamba and Tarapoto I had paused at Florida, Lake Pomacochas, and booked a couple of nights for my return to explore the lake - 2 nights because the next leg of my trip to Pacora, was going to be my longest at almost 400 kms, so felt I needed a whole day to gird my loins before this stage.
I was retracing my steps on this stage so the familiarity with the route made it a reasonable ride 

Alto Mayo forest, from the way up - and in the dry!

Toll station - one of several - but motorbikes are exempt from payment, though not always clear which side you should go through!

and I arrived in Florida early afternoon.

This was one of the cheapest places I stayed at, but this is what greeted me in my room!

 Lake Pomacochas is a destination for Peruvian tourists, so prices are very reasonable, though it is quite a long way from anywhere so does not get that many passing through, meaning prices are very reasonable - I think my single en-suite room (which included a simple breakfast) cost me S/.20 a night, which is £5!

Lake Pomacochas from my bedroom

Looking up towards the main road

My route home would tale me along the winding road in the middle distance

The only downside to Florida is that it was an internet dead zone! There was an internet cafe but they themselves admitted that the service was poor, and were not letting people connect in protest to their ISP, who were planning to install an upgrade "soon"!
On my way through to Moyobamba on the main road I had passed a Hummingbird Sanctuary, not that far from Florida, so decided to visit that before I explored the lake the following day, which was Sunday, Mother's Day, so duly rode up there next morning arriving just before 09.00.

View of the lake from the road to the Hummingbird Sanctuary

Hummingbird Sanctuary

The gate was locked, and there was no sign indicating opening hours, nor any contact information. It was quite a distance from the gate down to the main buildings - too far to be heard calling - so I simply waited a while, admiring the views.

I was back in the Andes so the scenery was spectacular

The route I would be taking tomorrow

Panoramic view

I was higher than the clouds

  I waited for over half an hour, but with no sign of any activity decided to return to the lake - I had researched the sanctuary while I was in Moyobamba and there was no mention of opening hours, or any other issues, but I found out later that it doesn't open on a Sunday! I would have thought that Sunday - and Mother's Day - would have been a perfect opportunity to show off their wonderful work to the public, but it was not to be.

Stopped off on the way back to Florida

Sunday, however, was the day of cattle sales in Florida (the whole area is renowned for dairy products)

Some magnificent bulls tethered well apart

Vultures hoping for some scraps!

The same Black Vulture we have in Brazil

It appeared to be quite a celebration with much alcohol being consumed!

The short road to the lake passed the showground, but the lake was very quiet still. I walked along the wooden boardwalk to the boats and agreed a price for a tour of the lake, which was S/.20 (about £5.00), and climbed aboard. We were just about to set off when a family of 3 arrived, and I hear him quote them only S/.15.00! I wasn't that concerned as they were Peruvian, and often their is a "national" and "international" rate, but he came along and refunded me S/.5, saying that S/.20 was for a solo trip!

The vessel was pretty basic, but very stable

Dark clouds all around

Some of the larger boats - to the right - did have rain covers, but I am not sure if they sailed in them

The far end of the lake looked equally overcast

Eventually we set off and left the shore behind

Separated from the lake in that direction was a Trout farm - kept away from the voracious Tilapia bred in the main lake

Florida, behind us

We came across large flocks of nesting Great Egrets

... who were not too bothered by our proximity

The clouds were still closing in ...

... and we did get some light rain

At one stage the boat headed straight for a small gap in the reeds, and we pushed through to where some people were waiting - the boat doubled up as a water taxi, and collected 4 people with several bundles wanting to go to Florida!

We headed in here to pick up some passengers

 On the way back we stopped at the Tilapia "nursery", where they feed the smaller fish before releasing them into the main lake.

Tilapia "nursery"

Feeding time - Tilapia are predatory fish and will eat anything, so the Trout have to be kept separately

Low clouds over Florida

We diverted to pass another Great Egret colony

Once back I went for lunch in the visitor centre - the lady remembered me from my trip on the way through, and I had fried Tilapia for my late lunch! There were now a few people around, it being Mother's Day, but not as busy as I expected it might get.

The cloud cover had kept the sun away, which I was grateful for as I burn very easily.

I took a short siesta before heading out for dinner

A common sight in Peru - this lady, outside her front door, selling Anticuchos (skewered meat) and fried plantain (a type of banana) on a small barbecue

... but did give the street vendors a miss. I didn't want to risk an upset stomach for the long ride in the morning!