The Grand Tour - Part 14 - Rancho Santana

For my trip homewards I had looked for an overnight location near Olmos, near where the Tarapoto road met the old Panamerican Highway, which would have been around 320 kms (200 miles) from Florida. That may not seem like much for a day's ride, but experience had now taught me that average speeds, accounting for stops for photos, meals, fuel, and "comfort", were in the region of 50kph, so that meant around 6 hours riding - and by then my butt was telling me (remember Oli is a trail bike, so doesn't have a touring-comfortable seat!) to stop for the day. Also I never wanted a repeat of the 9 hour ride between Cajamarca and Chachapoyas!
Unfortunately the booking site I used had nothing near Olmos, the closest being at Pacora, or even further at Lambayeque, and Rancho Santana sounded lovely, though it was so cheap I was a little concerned what it would be like. As it turned out it was wonderful, and I have made 4 further stays there, including a three-night one to explore the area (I actually intended to try some horse-riding, but the Swiss lady owner politely told me that at the time they only had small ponies available who would not be able to carry me!!).
My "room" was a large bungalow a little way from the farmhouse, which had a double bed and a bunk bed, plus a very big en-suite, and outside it had a small "garden" with a seating area and a hammock! Breakfast was included in the price, but other meals had to be taken in the town of Pacora, which was a five minute walk away, though I tended to use the bike since it was a dark and dusty track to the town.

"My" bungalow

Often one of the 5 cats would come over to visit - this was the friendliest

The farm is owned by Andrea, a Swiss lady married to a Peruvian man, and specialises in horse riding excursions, though is such a beautiful and peaceful spot that it is great just to stop off and recharge the batteries. There are 6 dogs on site, 5 cats, several horses, a couple of cows and goats, lots of chickens and a few ducks, as well as numerous birds that abound in the area - but the piece de resistance is they have Burrowing Owls on site, who pose nicely for photos!

This was one of the entrances to the owls' nest

I first spotted an owl in a tree outside my window

... who didn't seem that bothered by my attention

I then spotted two more, and asked Andrea about them and she told me they were nesting nearby

Although like all owls they hunt at dusk and during the night, these do spend a lot of time out during the day

... and pose happily for photos!

Beautiful ducks

Wattles around the face

This little duckling was wandering around alone - the adults chased him away if he approached, and I was told that he was the only survivor of the clutch. He did seem to be managing, though

2 of the 6 dogs on the farm

Some of the chickens

Horses

Horse riding is the main part of the farm's operation and people come from far for day trips out, as well as staying in the accommodation and visiting the local archaeological sites. They also take on volunteers at times to help with the care of the horses, in exchange for accommodation and free riding!

Mockingbird

Another Mockingbird in a tree

Pacific Hornero - related to Ovenbirds

While swinging gently in the hammock I looked up and saw these wasps - but they posed no threat

I saved the best till last - I freely admit I am a cat person, and as there were 5 on the farm, and most very friendly I was in heaven!

2 watching from a distance

This male was unsure about me so hid on the roof of the chicken coop

This lovely lady had just come back from the vet where she had been spayed, but seemed in fine spirits

... and visited me as I relaxed outside

... even having a gentle nibble on my finger

The following morning I had a leisurely breakfast with Andrea, after she dropped her daughter off at school - I was in no hurry to leave this wonderful place, and knew I didn't have a very long ride ahead of me, but eventually had to pack up and get on my way. Ahead was about 250 kms, mostly along the very fast Panamerican Highway, and home!

Back in Peru

Lima roundabout

After a very uneventful journey from Brazil, though a 4 hour lay-over in Sao Paulo culminating in a 4.00 am departure is not funny, I arrived in Lima. I went to Immigration and requested the maximum allowed 183 days as a tourist, and had to explain why I wanted so much time - had a motorbike here, wanted to see more of the wonderful country, blah, blah, blah ... - and was reluctantly granted the full visa, but told that in future my time would be reduced (meaning I will have to border hop to Ecuador to renew, so no big deal really!) as it appeared I was trying to get residence. I explained that I did not fulfil their residence requirements so had to make do with only 6 months a year here.
Customs in Lima is like no other I have ever come across! Previously you collected your bags and proceeded to the Customs area of the hall where there were several queues leading to gates with a button by it - you pressed the button and waited. A green light meant you were clear to leave, a red light meant you had to submit your bags (including hand luggage that had been checked before boarding - though I assume you have had time to move any "suspect" items from your checked luggage to hand luggage in the baggage claim area!) for X-ray screening. If the operator didn't like what they saw they then opened and searched your bags. Now, however, every piece of luggage has to be X-rayed before you can leave the airport!
My hostal had a taxi waiting for me, who remembered me from a previous visit, so we headed for Brena - right in the middle of morning rush hour! Traffic in Lima is always a nightmare (with 8 million residents it is a big city), but rush hour is something else - however the Police do actually help. Most major intersections have officers on duty and they will over-ride the traffic signals by allowing traffic on red to proceed if there are no vehicles approaching the green lights! This helps enormously, as does stopping "green light" traffic from encroaching onto the intersections in the exits are blocked!
Although it was early for check-in I was allowed access to my room and after a shower and shave decided to head out and explore a little. The young lady on reception was very solicitous and even offered to help me find a taxi, but I decided to walk instead, and eventually made it to Larcomar (in a taxi as it was much further than I thought!), a large shopping Mall built into the cliffs overlooking the sea.

Larcomar, in the cliffs at Lima

I had hoped to get some GoPro accessories there, but despite three shops stocking it none had much of an accessory range! So I had lunch, and then tried to get a sim card to use while in Peru. The nearest outlet was several blocks away so I walked there - the Claro cellphone provider shop didn't have any! - and found a large Department store that had sims, but the system was down so I had to wait 30 minutes until it was working again!!

I walked a little further on my way back before getting a taxi back to my hostal, but came across one of Lima's delightful parks that is over-run by cats! I had heard about these but was not prepared for the reality of it. I was under the impression that these were feral cats, but they all happily accepted petting, as well as the food left in large containers all over the park.

Really chilled out cat

I saw at least 50-60 cats, but there were probably a lot more.

They all seemed very contented

They also appeared to live in harmony together ...

Park-goers petting a cat

... and didn't mind being picked up and stroked. It appeared they even had sandy areas left especially as "toilets" and I certainly didn't notice any smells.

I got back to my hostal and the lack of sleep the previous night made me decide to have a siesta, which lasted 3 hours - but when I woke up the need for more sleep overtook the need for dinner, so I fell asleep again and slept through the night!!