Towards the Coast Again

March 6, 2010

Celendin was a crummy little town. I got “poached” in front of one hotel and led to another, only to be told lies about there being hot water, there was construction going on in the hotel and there was dust everywhere, an while I paid top dollar (25 soles=$8.50) there were quite a few seedy characters in the hotel. I was a bit grumpy for all this and did not take any pics except this one.

I went down the street to have breakfast and was offered soup. Ugh! I don’t want soup for breakfast, I wanted eggs! I got even grumpier when the waitress grumped at me, but I finally got some untasty eggs and some Nescafe coffee. I didn’t like my attitude so I decided to change it by leaving the grumpy waitress a big fat tip. Her shocked face turned my morning around.

The road out of Celendin was pretty flat

And I kept seeing family groups and livestock along the road. I started joking to myself that it was National “Bring your animals to Market Day”.

Lo and behold I came across the market!

Here it is from further away. I was feeling pressed for time, now almost 7 days behind on the 7th day of my “Plan” to reach Ushuaia. I truly regret not stopping and taking more pictures. How often does a gringo get to participate in such an event?

ha! These mules were headed to market without a person! Good mules!

I pause here to take a picture of this stone wall. For those of us that live in New England USA, stone walls are common. For me, traveling in CA and SA, this is the FIRST one I have seen…and I found it ironic since most of the animals seem to roam loose and free…

I rise high into the neblina again…

I’m not sure if you have noticed, but there’s a lot of political advertising…on walls, houses, etc. It’s not particular to Peru, it just happens that I started really trying to take pics of it here. [I commented on it was back in Honduras, and George told me that Honduras had just outlawed it.]

I’m descending and the road is getting straighter and wider.

Towns are getting more frequent as I descend towards the coast and leave the mountains behind.

Wait. Turn around. A FISH? I must be getting closer to the coast…

WHAT?!? Is this…could it be…

PAVEMENT?!?

I am SO excited to be going more than 35 mph that I take a picture.

I get to Cajamarca and decide to pass right through. I figure I will get something to eat here, but nothing really appeals to me…

On the other side of town I see a pottery shop. something tells me to stop.

The artist encourages me to take pictures and to show my friends his lovely artwork…

he is selling these 3′ diameter wall arts for about $110. Hm…I’ love one but impossible on a

motorcycle.

I fee badly. He tells me that he knows God has sent me to him so he can sell more of his stuff (sounds hokey as I am tying t but he was sincere–he wants someone to import his stuff to the USA).

The road gets rougher a suddenly i am “out of town”. oops.

I get ga and ask if there is anywhere to eat. The fellow tells me that I should return to town. When I say I don’t want to, he says, well, one of the ladies in the house across the street sometimes cooks food for people. I go and check it out.

You know when your gut tells you something and you override it? I was H-U-N-G-R-Y and didn’t listen to my intuition. The place was a grubby mess with chickens and kittens in the dining area, but I was H-U-N-G-R-Y and didn’t listen to my intuition.