Since we are trying to make it to Chile, it's time to giddy up. Although Mancora seemed awesome, it would be so easy to get stuck there forever. But we can't leave too quickly... Gotta at least check some things out!
First thing's first - let's go for swim in the ocean. We heard the waves crashing all night, so we might as well ride a couple! This was Jo's first time swimming in the pacific ocean without scuba equipment, so that's neat. The waves were big, the bottom was sandy, and the sky was blue. What more could you ask for? After a quick dip, we went back to the hostel, which had a pool with a slackline. (For those that don't know, a slackline is a strap pulled semi-tight and walked along like a tightrope, but less tight) So the trick here was to walk along it without falling into the pool! Needless to say, we all got wet. A lot of fun!
The rest of the day was a lot of the same stuff: desert, desert, and more desert. We went through various types of desert... Some parts had small trees and shrubs, some parts had grass and sand, some parts were super extremely flat, and some had crazy valleys. Either way, it was still desert.
A couple parts were kind of cool. Some bridges had been washed away from excessive rain (what?? Where does the rain come from?) and were being replaced by huge new ones. It was cool seeing the kind of damage rain can do to what seemed like well built roadways!
About one hour from our destination, the excitement started. Dave's bike suddenly died (while going 120 km/h of course) and he pulled off the road. Upon further examination, there seemed to be two problems:
1) the chain was broken, and one end was wedged between the engine case and the counter shaft sprocket, and
2) a spacer between the rear swing arm and sprocket drive was nearly completely gone, and the sprocket was wiggling on the axle and scratching the swingarm.
After about an hour of failed attempts to unjam the chain and reassemble the spacer setup, we admitted defeat. Neither problem was a roadside solvable one, and the sun was starting to go down. Time for plan B.
Luckily, we were broken down right near a military base security gate. We put the back wheel back on the bike and Dave went over there and worked his Spanish magic and showed them the problem. Luckily, they knew a truck was going to drive by in about half an hour, and they told us we would be able to get a ride.
When the truck came, the guys were more than happy to help. Of course, there was no ramp or anything for hours in every direction, so it was time for another lift. We got the bike (not securely) into the truck, Dave hopped onto it to keep an eye on it, and we hit the road.
After about an hour or more, we made it to Chiclayo. The recommended hotel by the truck driver turned out to not have any parking, so the hotel manager hopped into the truck with them to show us another. The second hotel had parking and looked very safe. We unloaded the bike and put it into the garage for the night (at least it still rolls!) Only after that did we learn the price for a night... Oops. Dave's footing the bill for this one! The rest of the night was spent enjoying the nice hotel beds and a hot shower, for once. It was a nice way to end a super hectic-ending day.
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