by Lon Haldeman
I recently returned from a PAC Tour scouting trip across Peru. I was exploring and charting our new PAC Tour adventure that will include cycling, canoeing and hiking.
My trip began in the coastal city of Lima. Lima is a sprawling city of 10 million people that reminded me of Paris, France. The architecture of churches and government building is similar to Europe of the early 1800's.
My traveling companions would be Rafael Belmonte, owner of Peru Expeditions, based in Lima and my friend Rubby Correa who lives in the rain forest city of Iquitos. Raphael would drive the six passenger truck for our overland portion of our tour. He is also three time National Cycling Champion and has raced his bicycle many times over the mountain roads we would be scouting for PAC Tour. This would be Rubbyıs first time away from her native hometown. Crossing Peru was trip of a lifetime for her and her enthusiasm was contagious for Rafael and me.
Our goal for PAC Tour would be to organize a 5 or 6 day cycling tour from the Pacific Ocean and head 500 miles into the rain forest jungle. We would have to cross several 12,000 and 15,000 foot passes over the Andes Mountains. Rafael said no cyclists have ever ridden this entire distance. I told him I thought I could find twenty American to take the challenge.
Our plan was to leave Lima and head east over the Mountains. We would bend north and follow the mountain ridges for 200 miles. We would finish our land portion by turning east again and following the road until it dead ended in the Amazon rain forest. We would drive through some of the most beautiful and desolate countryside in the world.
After leaving the coastal plains of Lima we drove fifty miles to the start of the Andes foothills. The traffic here was light and would be a good place to begin the cycling portion of our tour. This would be the start of the first day of our PAC Tour. Our goal was a rural hotel in San Meteo located 39 miles away and 7,000 feet higher. As we climbed up through the canyons it reminded me of dry mountainous parts of Arizona or Utah. The road was smooth and climbing a steady 3-5% grade with several switch back sections. By the time we reached our hotel I knew the cyclists would have completed a good days work. We would sleep at 9,200 feet that night.
Our next day we would begin the last 20 mile grade to the summit. We would climb another 6,000 feet to the town of Ticlio topping out at over 15,000 feet. This climb reminded me of the long grades above the tree line in Colorado. The views were amazing as the road meandered along the face of the slope. Roadside monuments to truck driver fatalities lined the shoulder of every switch back.
At the top a small alpine lake and rocky treeless landscape surrounded the elevation sign of 4,818 meters. There wasn't really a town. Just a gas station and old store. Today was sunny and cool and I could tell the air was thin at this elevation. This is going to be a monumental and challenging climb for PAC Tour riders.
The descent down the other side is straight and gradual for the next 20 miles. We then head north up the valley. We have a few small climbs during the next 50 miles but we stay above 12,000 feet most of the day.
Our next hotel is in Tarma. We descended the last 10 miles into town and dropped another 3,000 feet. Our hotel has a large spacious courtyard surrounded by glass porches. The nights are cool here and a space heater and extra blankets are welcome. Downtown Tarma is a five minute walk from the hotel. It is clean medium size town with a nice city square and street market area including several good restaurants.
Our third day takes us through the back country of the Andes. We follow smaller gravel roads to Huagpo Cave. Even in the dry season an underground river flows from the rocky cliff. During our PAC Tour we will have time to explore and even swim in the deep pools of the cave.
After the cave we make a spectacular climb with seven visible switch backs. We ascend to over 13,000' to the village of San Pedro De Cajas. Some of the best wool blankets are made here on looms over one hundred years old. The prices are cheap and the quality is better than many of the tourist areas of the Andes. I felt guilty buying a highly detailed blanket for $25 which probably took the old woman a week to make.
The middle of the day we pass through a wide open valley that reminded me of a Wyoming grassland. We were at 12,000' and snow capped mountains were visible high above us in the distance. The road was wide smooth pavement with few vehicles. Copper mining towns were the main population centers with a few houses, a school and stores. During our last fifty miles we descended the canyons and bluffs into Hunaco. Larger trees and more vegetation added to the beauty of the valleys.
We left Hunaco and started a 20 mile climb past many thatched roof houses. At the summit we entered a long dark tunnel that would be a landmark of our tour. On the other side we were in the Amazon rain forest. Thick ferns and trees expanded as far as we could see to the east. We would drop down from 10,000' to 3,000' during the next 60 miles. This is one of the best gradual down hills I have ever seen. By the time we reached Tingo Maria we were deep into the jungle. Our hotel was a tropical style lodge with open upper walls and beam ceilings. Parrots roosted in the rafters and hammocks lined the porch. This night was probably the closest I would ever be to a tropical paradise.
The final 200 miles of our overland tour would now be through the thick jungle of the Amazon. No bicycles have ever traveled this entire section of road. The pavement would end and the road became a narrow path of gravel and cobble stone. As we drove deeper into the jungle I wondered if this road would eventually reach the river in Pucallpa. We were occasionally reassured by the sight of an oncoming truck carrying a load of wood or fruit from the river. The driving was slow and deliberate, dodging the larger bumps and washed out road sections.
Our guide Rafael is used to providing complete self contained camping accommodations during his tours on the Inca Trail. When PAC Tour crosses this desolate jungle section we are going to have the opportunity to sleep in the Rain Forest for one night. As we drove, Rafael and I discussed possible campsites. We were looking for someplace safe with enough room to set up ten tents and a good water source for bathing.
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Near the 100 mile point in our day we found the perfect spot. We can camp on an old closed steel bridge that crosses a clear river filled with waterfalls and deep pools. We will be able to easily walk down to the river to a nice swimming beach. The food truck will be able to park close by and cater our meals. This will be a picturesque and enjoyable location to spend a unique night in the Rain Forest. The last 100 miles into Pucallpa are divided by longer sections of pavement. Army checkpoints are located at the crossroads to check for illegal cargo coming from the jungle. I always felt safe traveling in Peru. We were stopped several times and questioned, but never harassed. We were treated by guards similar to the way fruit inspection stations act at the Arizona - California borders. By the time we arrived in Pucallpa the road dead ended into the Ucayali River which then joined with the Amazon River. I knew this route from Lima would be a great bike route for PAC Tour through some of the most diverse scenery possible. | 
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Our next portion of this trip would be one of the most bizarre and disgusting adventures of my life. It was time for Rafael to drive the truck back to Lima and Rubby and I would continue by riverboat for 1,000 kilometers to Rubbyıs hometown of Iquitos. We knew this would be uncharted travel territory for both of us. We had heard reports the boat would take from four to six days to make the trip. No one knew for sure. We had heard the boat was overcrowded with bad food. We had heard that we need our own hammocks to sleep in. Even with these reports we we not ready for the conditions of the boat we would travel along with 100 other poor souls.
We knew we would not be taking a PAC Tour group on this type of boat but I wanted to experience this type of travel first hand. During PAC Tour we are going to charter a private boat that visits some of the wildlife areas near Pucallpa. We will have two days for canoeing and one night sleeping under the stars on the riverboat. We will then dock again in Pucallpa before flying back to Lima.
Rubby and I still wanted to take this old riverboat to Iquitos so we spent the morning shopping for bottled water and canned food. How much liquids do we need to carry for four days when it is 100 degrees? Everything had to fit in one small dufflebag. Rubby and I packed and repacked until we boarded the boat with 30 pounds of snacks and beverages crammed in one small bag.
It was now noon and the boat was schedule to depart at 5:00 PM. We arrived at the docks to board the "SANDRA". It was a barge style ferry boat with an enclosed lower deck for cargo and a large second floor room for passengers. We strung our hammocks across the inside of the steel hull with plenty of room to store our baggage.
Every hour more and more hammocks and baggage filled the large room. By 4:00 PM we were elbow to elbow with our neighbors. By 5:00 PM we were hoping the boat would depart before more people arrived. Unfortunately the boat was delayed and more people hung their hammocks above and below ours. Chickens and small children filled in any remaining space on the floor. It was like camping with three people in a two person tent with all their gear piled on top. It was 7:30 when we finally left the docks. The hammocks were packed so tight that someone five people away could start your hammock swinging.
As we were about to leave, one of the dock policemen informed the captain that bandits were blocking the river near some narrow islands. They were stopping boats and searching for valuables. Our boat would need to travel upriver and then turn back around the other side of the islands. We spent the first thirty minutes going the wrong way to Iquitos. The captain was on the bow with a bamboo pole checking the depth of the shallow muddy bottom. Finally we reached the main channel of the river without any bandits in sight. It was now late and people were getting ready for bed. I was still looking for bandits and lay awake most of the night on the open upper deck.
Just getting to the staircase at the front of the boat, and the toilets at the rear of the ship required ten minutes of crawling and pawing over and under a pile of bodies. We quickly learned it wasnıt worth the effort. Rubby found that by crawling out the side window she could pull herself up on to the flat sheet metal roof above. There were no railings up there but there was fresh air and stacks of more cargo. Picture yourself crawling up the side of a two story boat in the middle of the night as the wake of muddy Amazon passed beneath you. I figured if Rubby could do it, so could I, so window crawling became our escape to the free world.
One advantage the men had was that they could climb on the roof and urinate off the back of the boat. Now imagine being on the roof of a tall house with one foot in the gutter with no railings on a windy day. That is what it was like to piss off a moving boat. I made sure I was up to pressure before getting close to the edge.
The boat did have toilets. The first day I used them I almost threw up from the smell. I had to leave and return with 45 second of new air in my cheeks to finish the job. The next day they werenıt so bad and I could breath through my mouth. By the third day I could take short breaths and I didnıt think they smelled too bad. My logic was the rest of the boat was beginning to smell as bad as the toilets and I was getting used to the overall charm of the place. The toilets flushed directly into the river. Out of courtesy to the plumbing I guess, you were instructed to throw the toilet paper out a small porthole before flushing.
The sheet metal upper roof would clank and buckle as people climbed above for a break from the dungeon below. This metal noise combined with the cry of babies and crow of roosters made the inside of the boat a continual assortment of sound. One man's solution was to play his portable tape deck as loud a possible. He came aboard with one tape with six songs, enough batteries for four days and a tape player with auto reverse. All day and all night his radio played the same songs over and over. I learned that Peru Disco sounds a lot like German Polka.
Even with the uncomfortable conditions I found myself really enjoying the chance to ride this boat. Single mothers would leave their children with Rubby and I to baby sit in our hammocks while mom went above for fresh air. We would play with and entertain the children for hours while the sweat rolled down our faces.
I learned to wash my clothes in the river when the boat would dock for a few minutes at a village. I would remove my shirt and use it as a sponge to wash my back and hair while I crouched on the muddy riverbank. Wearing a wet shirt was really quite comfortable during the afternoon heat.
Each evening I would lay on the sheet metal roof under a full moon. The jungle trees silhouetted on either side of me. The chug of the diesel smoke stack drown out the sounds of people below. The cool night breeze of the moving boat was a relief from the afternoon heat. Yes, this was paradise, and I will always remember it as a highlight of my life.
Now that the cycling and river portion of our PAC Tour trip were scouted it was time to plan hiking the Inca Trail. My brother had left me in Lima to join an organized tour that would head to Cuzco and Machu Picchu. He would report back to me on what he found. My friend Rafael has led many hiking tours there and that is the bulk of his touring business. He said during some months the trail campsites resemble a State Park with 100 tents from various hikers. The more Rafael and I talked about the Inca Trail he started to consider a better option for us.
Raphael has been scouting a new longer version of the Inca Trail that goes around the back side of the mountain. This route is 15 miles further, but it is not traveled by many organized tours. He hiked it with local guides before and thought a physically fit group of PAC Tour people could handle the extra distance. We would still see the main highlights of the area but from a different angle. The more we talked we decided this would be the best route for our group.
Altogether with travel days this will be a 14 to 15 day tour. Most meals will be provided for American tastes. There will be few evening dinners on your own so you can experience local restaurants. Rafael will be providing support with two large overland buses that can carry people and gear. Rafael rents bicycles but most riders will want to bring their own. A basic mountain bike with 1.75 inch street tires should work for all conditions. A road cross style bike with fat tires would also be fine. Costs are yet to be determined but they should be typical to other PAC Tour events. More updates and details will be available in the months ahead.
Schedule | Route Scout Details | Why PAC Tour is Going to Peru