Blatant dishonesty

Just after I woke a couple of days ago I heard very loud talking in the street outside, and went to the window to see what was going on. A neighbour, from about a block away, was talking to another at the corner. He is naturally very loud so I could hear every word clearly, though had not heard the start of the conversation.
He owns a large guest house down the street, and on occasion coach-loads of tourists come to stay, though sometimes the coaches refuse to drive down the steep street so the guests have to walk down the hill. The gist of the conversation was that he had not yet erected a signboard outside as if he did he would have to start paying Council Tax on the guest house, but currently was only paying a nominal amount as a residence (Council Tax is very low here on domestic premises). He was complaining loudly about the tax rates, and was going to avoid them as long as he could.
I went down past his building today and he was outside and we started talking about a plot of cleared land opposite, which I though was going to be turned into another residence, but he said that he, and other neighbours, had cleared this to make a "leisure area" near the river, and allow for additional parking/turning (no doubt for the coaches, which have to reverse back uphill at present!). He invited me in (we are acquaintances) and he showed me round. Currently there are 18 en-suite rooms, with plans for more, and a large swimming pool almost completed, and he has a superb view over our small river.
He proudly told me that he didn't advertise much locally to keep "under the radar", but relied on external tour companies to bring guests to him. He also works as a local tour guide so has contacts with tour agencies outside the region. As well as not paying local taxes, he is not registered as a local business so pays no income tax either! This also means he is not covered by any health and safety measures, and I would also bet that he has no public liability insurance!
One of his neighbours is the Secretary for Tourism, working for the local government, and obviously is aware of the situation regarding non-payment of any taxation, but he also runs a local restaurant so benefits from this influx of tourism, and, in his opinion, any additional tourism is great for the town, so turns a blind eye.
What was ironic was that the guest house owner was complaining that he was having to fund some of the work to build the "leisure area", along with other neighbours, as the local council wasn't interested - appearing to ignore the fact that perhaps the council did not have sufficient funds if he, and others, were avoiding paying all their taxes!
I have always prided myself on my own honesty, have never, and would never, steal anything, cannot even walk out of a shop if I have been undercharged, or over-changed, would never try and evade my taxes (local or income), even if I felt they were too high (though I would protest through legal channels if I felt I was being treated unfairly in any way), and always try and be fair and honest in all my dealings, so seeing someone doing this so blatantly, and seeming so proud of the fact, really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

The Grand Tour - Part 4 - Chachapoyas

When I arrived in Chachapoyas the previous evening it was already getting dark, and light rain was falling. I struggled to get off the bike as my legs/buttocks were so sore, and the hostel was up a flight of stairs! I had stayed there before, and Jose and Donna are wonderful hosts, and luckily Jose helped me get my bags up to my room - the welcome, as always, was like being greeted by old friends. Parking was not on site, but in a secure parking facility about a block away, so I decided to get the bike tucked up before showering and changing - I carry a protective cover (bought in the UK), which fortunately fits over the carriers too, so soon the bike was safely stored and I could get out of my wet clothing!
None of the rooms at Chachapoyas Backpackers are en-suite, which is usually a pre-requisite for me being an "older" traveller, but the rooms are great, and the bathroom only a door or two away, so I have never found that to be an issue there, nor the lack of included breakfast - there is a wonderful bakery a block or so away that serves a wonderful, cheap breakfast!

Bedlinen in the hostel

My room

I was still very sore from the ride so didn't go far for my dinner that night, and slept like a log. I hadn't really made any plans for sightseeing this time, and had only booked 3 nights, as on my previous visit I had gone on some organised trips, but I was hoping to go back to the Sonche Canyon, which is a 700 metre deep river valley, and was so tranquil. As it turned out I never ventured out of the town - I was still sore and it rained quite a lot, which doesn't really make for happy bike riding!
I also found that one of the hinges on the carrier had come un-welded, so went looking for a welder to sort this out. It wasn't long before I found a place, but the owner was out, and his assistant told me it would cost around 100 soles! This was for about an inch of solder! I queried this and he huffed and puffed, but said it would be up to the boss when he got back from the bank. I waited for about 20 minutes, and then the boss called to tell the assistant he was delayed, and when he heard there was someone waiting said it was better for me to go back that afternoon.
I duly went back later and showed the owner the problem, and he re-welded all 4 hinges for good measure, and charged me just 10 soles!

Strange that parking in parts of Chachapoyas is in the middle of the road!

I decided to take things easy the rest of my time there since my next long ride was going to be over and down the other side of the Andes into the Amazon basin. So I just wandered round a bit, visited the market, and generally chilled out - oh, and got my hair cut by Donna! I had asked where the barbershop was and she offered to do it for me - for free!

Plaza de Armas

Another small square near the hospital

Produce market

More rain rolling in

Police out in force doing document checks of bikers

One of the delightful restaurants in a courtyard where I stopped for lunch

After Donna's haircut

Something I had forgotten, but was reminded of with the photo of my haircut - sunburn! The morning of the first day to Cajamarca when I stopped for lunch I noticed how badly burnt my face was - through the eye part of the crash helmet! For the rest of that day I used a handkerchief as a protector over my cheeks, but while in Cajamarca I fashioned a more permanent solution from a t-shirt, so from then on only my eyes were exposed - and this worked fine until later in the year when I visited Huaraz and bought a proper sun-mask headband.
Only one other thing of note during my stay in Chachapoyas - on the counter at the hostel were business cards from local restaurants and the like, and I picked one up for a restaurant I had been past not far away so decided to go there for dinner that night. I checked on TripAdvisor and it had excellent reviews, but prices were somewhat higher than the norm for the town. I sat down and was brought a menu, and the waitress told me there were several specials, but I chose a duck dish off the menu - but she said their duck special, in a Green Sauce, was a better option, so I agreed to have that. I generally drink fresh juice with meals, but they only appeared to have fancy ones, so I ended up ordering melon, but asked them to hold the garnish. The drink arrived and it had something running down the insides of the glass, which I was told was Algarrobina, which is a sweet syrup from the Carob tree, used a lot in Peruvian cuisine and as an alternative sweetener. I took a taste and was not impressed - the taste of melon was overpowered by the sweetener, and was not that pleasant. My dish arrived and I tucked in, or tried to - the duck was as tough as leather, and the small piece I managed to cut off was tasteless. The green sauce was equally disgusting, and after tasting that I realised I could not eat the meal. I called the waitress over and explained that I was not happy with the food, and couldn't eat it or drink the juice - the first time ever that I have sent food back. She asked if I wanted anything else, which I refused, so she brought me the bill - and I was charged in full! It was one of the most expensive meals I have ever eaten in Peru is over 3 years total time here, was inedible, and I still got charged for it. I was particularly unhappy as I only selected the dish on her recommendation, and had asked for the juice without the garnish, but still got it - so as soon as I was back in the hostel I posted reviews on Facebook and TripAdvisor, still amazed at all the rave reviews they had been getting from everyone! I did get one response, simply stating that "maybe the chef had an off day"!
Next morning after breakfast I set out for Moyobamba.

Lobitos, Peru

It is a while since I have done a long road trip in Peru, though I am hopeful that this year I will reacquaint my buttocks with the rather uncomfortable bike seat on Oli over long distances.

2 years ago I headed North again, with the charming town of Zorritos as my destination, and during my stay went again to Puerto Pizarro, a beautiful fishing village not far from the Ecuador border.

Puerto Pizarro

On my homeward journey I had planned to revisit Cabo Blanco, the old stomping ground of Ernest Hemingway, so researched where to stay nearby. Cabo Blanco is still regarded as an "elite" destination, so accommodation there was expensive, but I found lodging in a hostel in Lobitos, which was only about 30 kms to the South, so booked it online and armed with a map downloaded from the booking site, I started my trip. I had stayed in Mancora before, but that is considered a "party town" so can be very noisy, but all accounts of Lobitos stressed how quiet and peaceful it was. I did stop off in Cabo Blanco on the way to have some lunch, though.

Ceviche for lunch in Cabo Blanco

Typical fishing boat of Cabo Blanco

The view from my lunch spot - with Oli centre stage

One thing I didn't realise was that to get to Lobitos you had to leave the Panamerican Highway and travel some 20kms on dirt - very rough, loose, bumpy dirt! I took this stretch very cautiously, not only because of the poor state of the road, but because there was a distinct lack of road signs! This region of Peru has a lot of natural gas, and pipes cris-crossed the area, with much of the signs referring to the gas company, and many unsigned roads leading off in all directions. Usually on roads like this the most-used one is the one you want, but here many of these "side" roads appeared to have had much more traffic than the "main" one!

I finally reached Lobitos and set about looking for the hostel - it appeared there were 2 part to the town - and I could only find one road linking the two (though I found later than many locals use a concrete storm drain to drive between the two halves as it is quicker than the road!) so followed the map to where it stated the hostel was - and there was nothing there! I went a little further and asked someone and they directed me back about a kilometre, but I still couldn't see any hostels, or anything resembling one. By now I had been in the saddle for over 4 hours so not in the best humour and the booking confirmation didn't have a phone number either. I went back to the other half of town, which seemed busier and asked there, and was directed back where I had been, but took a road I had not been on before and spotted a small sign pointing to a hostel, which I thought was the one I was looking for, so I turned in and asked about my reservation.The lady there didn't question anything but showed me to a dorm room - so I explained I had booked a single en-suite, so she told me she would get it ready if I would wait as it needed cleaning. So I settled down to wait in a hammock.
When I eventually got in it was a dorm room, but with only me in it - and it had an en-suite, which I found out later was the only room there that did - the others shared an outdoor toilet block. It was only later when I went for a walk that I came across the hostel I was supposed to be in - which was only a few minutes away - so I went in to cancel and explain how the map led you nowhere near the place (I showed him the map and he agreed!), so they agreed to waive the cancellation fee. Then I had to go back and eat humble pie at the place I was staying! They must have thought I was a crazy person arriving and demanding my room, which they knew nothing about - though in my defence at no time did they tell me they had no clue what I was talking about, but simply prepared a room for me! They were OK about it, though, and I ended up having a great stay there.

Sunset from viewing deck at the hostel

The next morning I intended to do some exploring round the area on my bike, with a view to getting some fishing done, but discovered I had a flat tyre - not totally flat at this stage, but needing air - so asked the lady if there was a garage in Lobitos. The closest was in Talara, some 25 kms away but she was sure if I went back to the upper town I would find someone with a pump! The main square, where the bus stops, had several people about so I asked there and they told me there was guy at the other side of the square who had an airline, so I went there, but the connector was too straight to fit on my bike (designed for cars!) so he sent me back where he said there was someone with a stirrup pump! He wasn't around but someone went off and came back with a pump and pumped my tyre up, so I rode down to the fishing pier to have a look round.

Lobitos pier

The flat tyre had delayed me so I decided to have some lunch, then go back for a siesta, but when I got up I discovered the tyre was again flat, so was more serious than just losing air, though couldn't detect any nails or other reason for it. Nacho, the owner of the hostel, told me there was a tyre repair guy not far away and he would take me there if I followed his car - and took off at a fast speed, with me trying to keep up riding on a rear flat! The tyre man wasn't there, but we left the bike with his wife, who said he would be back later - so we returned around 6.00 to find the place completely shut up and no-one responding to our shouts! We had no choice but to leave it till the following day, Sunday.

When I had arrived I mentioned I was interested in doing some fishing and Nacho told me if I wanted he could arrange a trip out Sunday morning with a local fishing boat!! Was I interested? I was ecstatic! Early Sunday morning the captain arrived in a mototaxi and we headed to the pier, where he got a lift out to his boat and brought it alongside -

This was to be our boat

Soon land was far behind us!

We anchored over a reef and started fishing, using mackerel chunks for bait and soon were pulling in fish with every line we dropped - I had a cheap telescopic rod I carried in my rucksack (though I also had a 6 piece beach rod back at the hostel), and it proved to be well up to the task. There were three of us fishing - the captain and mate, as well as me - and the fish were biting well. I have no idea what any of them were, though!

Soon the box was filling with fish!

The sea was much rougher than it looked from the shore, but being on deck and seeing the horizon meant I was not having any problems - that is until I snapped my line on a snag and had to attach new tackle! Looking down instead of at the horizon I soon started feeling queasy with the motion, and spent the rest of the trip alternating between fishing and heaving over the side - and when the captain offered to make fresh ceviche with some of the catch I politely declined, though I did take some fish back for the hostel owners.

Seals on an old gas platform

The seas around Lobitos are full of oil and gas platforms, some abandoned, but some still operational though unmanned, however all of them have resident seals taking advantage of a safe sleeping place! We passed by a few on the way back to shore, which was a nice end to a wonderful outing - despite the sea-sickness!

I eventually only got my bike back late Sunday, and never did find out exactly what the problem was as the guy had been and gone again (apparently he works in Talara, so spends much of his time dealing with tyre emergencies there), but the tyre gave no more problems the rest of the journey home.

Sunday night I had one of Nacho's famous pizzas, and I can vouch for the fact that it was possibly the best one I have ever eaten!

Monday morning I set off for Piura, the next stop on my trip home - I have stayed in Piura 4 times now, in the same hotel, which is conveniently located not far off the Panamerican Highway, but also close to the centre of Piura and good eating places. My stay in Lobitos was extremely pleasant, and the fact that I went to the wrong hostel was instrumental in the opportunity to fish from a small boat in the Pacific Ocean!