Ride into Lima – Last update from this trip.

On Sunday we finally arrived in Lima by the same route as all the racers and there were thousands of Dakar fans lining the streets to cheer; like riding in a monstrous and unruly 4th of July parade.

At our final fuel stop we had a mob scene of people wanting to get involved and be photographed even though most of them realised we were not real competitors; just gringo wannabees enjoying the palely reflected glory.

By the time we had dropped off the bikes, found the hotel, and made ourselves respectable – what my dad called “a shit, shave, and shampoo” – we had missed most of the Dakar celebration action at the Plaza de Armas but it was still quite a street scene; with the Dakar circus overlaid onto a normal Sunday in Lima where the centre of the old city is blocked to traffic and occupied by families in their thousands enjoying the evening air.

Every branch of the police and armed forces seemed to have been pressed into service for security around the Dakar but there were also dozens of “bouncers” manning the barricades. How did that word enter the Spanish language?

On Plaza San Martin, honouring the man who helped steer South American countries to independence from Spain in the early 19th century, groups were gathered to air their political grievances; everything from indigenous indian rights to education issues. This group surrounded a well mannered debate on the effects of western capitalism on the Peruvian food supply and the resultant effects on both economic independence and health.

So, there we are. Two weeks that seem to have flashed by. Three thousand miles from the Atlantic, through steamy Pampas, over the Andes, and along the Pacific through the dunes and cliffs in the world’s driest desert. We moved at a speed that meant we did not have enough time to stop and see and absorb everything we would have liked (as Jim said “it feels like we ran through the museum”) but our pace was dictated by the Dakar and it was wonderful to be swept along by the enthusiasm that everyone here clearly has for this race as it has expanded and settled in South America.

Everyone we came across was courteous and helpful and even the police seem to have received orders to behave. We were sorry to lose Gale along the way when she got injured but the group all got on well (L-R) Jim Hyde, who organised the whole thing, Charlie Walton, Michael Ruppert, Wim DeBruyn, and me.

Where are we going next guys?