Twisty, scenic mountain roads. Just what we all needed after a few days of boring riding through the desert. It was a short ride to Cajabamba today, so we decided to hang around Cajamarca for a bit and get a late start to the day.

Back on the road, it a was a good mix of twisty mountain roads, small villages and a few bits of dirt track.

Once into the small town of Cajabamba, we followed our routine of riding to the central plaza (which is usually in the middle of the town and nicest part) and then searched for a hotel and dinner.

This place is pretty much off the backpackers trail, so not many gringos come here. The young local guys are always interested in the grande motos.

With not much else to do in a small Peruvian town on a Sunday night, we played some cards and drank beer before calling it a night.

 

The next day, we were on the bikes early for a possibly long day of mountain roads back down to the coast and the popular beach town of Huanchaco.

Shortly down the road, we came to a bridge that had been washed out the day before.. and it wasn’t expected to be repaired for another 2-3 days.  We were told to back track to the small town of Marcabal and from there we could find a dirt trail that would take us South.

This dirt road turned out to be awesome. 20 kilometers of remote backcountry riding along a spectacular mountain road with great views.

After the ‘detour’, we made it into a town and stopped for gas and a quick break.

From here on out it was all pavement to the coast. Along the way we rode up over 13,000 feet. It was definitely cold and I made sure to use my heated hand grips.

A few hours later and a great ride down the mountain, we were back at sea level and the dry desert of the Peruvian coast.

We aimed for the small beach town of Huanchaco, which is another popular tourist place on the coast. I think it’s a bit cleaner and nicer here than Mancora.

We decided to take a day off here in Huanchaco to relax and hang out. I spent a few hours sorting through all the photos and videos from the past few days but was unable to get the blog updated since the internet was too slow.

Later on in the afternoon, we went to check out the Chan Chan ruins. Unfortunately we arrived just as they were closing, so we didn’t get to inside the park.