We are in Lima. Final destination of this leg/ Chegamos em Lima, destino final desta etapa

We left Huaraz yesterday morning. An incredible road, with so many curves like we never saw. We dropped from 4100 meters (around 13,400 feet) to sea level in less than 200 km (124 miles). Very cold up there and also very cold down in the desert, due to the sea current of Humboldt that run along the coast of Peru and that's why it is so rich in fish, like no other country in the world.
Driving in the desert is a pain (with my troubled Coxxis it is always a pain in the butt, anyway) the side winds forces you to constantly drive making curves even though you are on a straight road. Besides being cold, the gusts and lose sand on the road makes it very stressful. The real danger is when you overtake a truck or a bus. The absence of side wind sucks you towards the truck and the bike accelerates like a rocket, but as soon as you are free of the sidewall of the truck, you are thrown away to the other side violently, so it is not fun, it requires your full attention and doing that after 200 km, not to mention the very fine sand you have to avoid eating and breathing. It is interesting that after a long drive there, your mouth and teeth are grinding sand.

When we left the desert and arrived on the outskirts of Lima, we were faced with another danger: the Peruvian taxi drivers. The cab drivers in Rio look like British Lords compared to the Peruvian colleagues. They drive like they were skiing downhill with cones, crossing from the left to the right. Extremely aggressive, honking all the time... We felt we were in a bull fight and we were the bulls...
But we survived and arrived in Miraflores, a very upscale part of Lima. Most hotels there were charging from $80 to $150 usd and we did not want to spend that much especially that we needed 3 days to prepare the bikes until we return to Peru in a month. Because every time we stop, a crowd is formed around us, asking, most of the time, the same questions: how much cost a bike like that, how fast it can go, from were we are coming, were we are going and how fast do we drive...
So it was not surprise when two young guys came to talk with Gildo, while I was checking another hotel (120 usd...) one of them, Luis, runs a small tour operation in Lima and knows a lot of hotels. Luis talked to one of his friends and got us a fantastic deal: a 5 star apart hotel, with all included, (fast internet on the room, buffet breakfast, garage etc) for just $44 usd. It is so good that we were thinking of staying three weeks... Jokes apart, Luis just felt from the sky. He used to be a tour guide and took us for a night tour of Lima. I was in Lima with my parents 30 years ago and the impression I had at that time was of a big gray city, but what a difference today. Full of history and beautiful old buildings. The pictures are somehow out of focus because it was a small camera with no tripod (sorry for that)
The more I learned about Peru, the more I like it.

Saimos de Huaraz ontem de manhã. Uma estrada incrivel, com tantas curvas como nunca vimos. descemos de 4100 metros para o nivel do mar em menos de 200 kms. Um frio do cão lá em cima e outro cá em baixo, no deserto, devido as correntes frias de Humbolt, que passam na costa do Perú, e por isto é um pais tão rico em peixes.
Dirigir no deserto é um saco, pois alem de ser frio, é um vento lateral danado e nos força a prestar muita atenção com as rajadas, principalmente quando ultrapassamos um caminhão. Como não tem vento do lado do caminhão(ou onibus) a moto é literalmente sugada e dá uma acelerada violenta nos puxando para perto do caminhão (perigoso), e logo que saimos na frente dele, somos brutalmente jogados para o lado oposto pelas rajadas.Um terror. Por isto é tão cansativo viajar no deserto (alem de ter de proteger o nariz e a boca da poeira fina que fica dançando na pista)

Ao chegarmos nos arredores de Lima, presenciamos o transito mais violento de toda viagem. Os motoristas de taxi do Rio parecem lordes Inglêses perto dos Peruanos, que costuram os carros como se fossem motos, fazendo zigzages perigosissimos. Uma verdadeira tourada como nunca vimos antes.

Fomos para o bairro de Miraflores que é o melhor de Lima. Hotel em cada esquina, alto luxo, tudo na faixa de 80 a 200 usd, e a maiorida cheio, sem vagas. Como cada vez que paramos a moto sempre junta um monte de gente ao redor, sempre perguntando: quanto custa a moto, de onde viemos, quanto corre e pra once vamos... achamos natural quando dois rapazes perguntaram a mesma coisa para o Gildo enquanto eu checava preços no hotel ( 120 usd...) Bom, os dois rapazes, cairam do ceu. Um deles, Luis, tem uma operadora de turismo e nos arranjou um apart hotel, 5 estrelas, com todas as mordomias ( café da manhã, estacionamento para as motos e internet no quarto) por apenas 44 usd...
Alem disto Luis foi guia de turismo e nos levou para ver Lima de noite. Uma cidade fantastica repleta de Historia. Vamos tentar deixar as motos no apart hotel até nossa volta dia 21 de Novembro.

Sorry que as fotos de Lima by night ficaram tremidas, mas sem tripé e com uma camerazinha simples foi o melhor que pude fazer, mas dá pra ter uma ideia da grandiosidade da praça Mayor