Lima to Ica

October 25th Lima to Ica

I checked out by 7.30  but decided to do some maintenance on my bike - the chain needed attention and lubricating. I hurriedly adjusted the chain and lubed it, then got going. In order to do this I had to take off the panniers and luggage in order to get the bike on the centre stand. All of this takes time, but by 9am I was stopping in Lima for petrol. I re-entered the mad morning Lima traffic and risked life and limb yet again. I wasn't happy with the feel of the bike so pulled into another garage on the outskirts and took another look at the chain. It was way too tight. I began the labourious process of adjusting the chain. 
By the time I was back on the road it was 11pm. Fortunately I only had 170 miles left to do, so there was no need to rush. The scenery was not as striking as yesterday, but desert none the less. The day was a typical British day, overcast and a little misty but a little warmer at 23 degrees. It felt colder than that, because of the on shore wind which characterises the weather here. It was not trying to rip my head off however, so that was a blessing. I didn't warm up until the sun started to poke through at around 2pm. I kept the speed down as I still wasn't happy with the chain - it still felt too tight. Keeping it to 50 mph I managed to arrive by 3.30pm.
I like the small towns as everything is a little more human, I really find the large cities unpleasant, noisy, aggressive and overcrowded. I am torn over staying in Santiago, as I really want to see and feel the city, but I really dont enjoy the crowds and driving my bike at snails pace through aggressive traffic. The other observation I made while in Lima was that the shanty towns that hug and climb every possible hill (possibly because this is the unusable land nobody else wants), often have some 'Hollywood Style' inscription; though theirs usually has some religous sentiment such as 'Jesus Lives'. If he does then he certainly isn't helping them out on their hill. I'm a supporter of Marx's comment that religion is the opiate of the masses. It certainly seems strikingly poignant when one sees the gulf in wealth between the few and the many.
Getting off my soapbox and on more mundane matters the main roads are all Toll roads, though motorcycles are exempt, as they were in Ecuador or was it Colombia. Will have to check. The difficulty I have is sometimes the lane allocated for motorcycles is quite narrow and I have to drive a dead straight line or I'm in danger of smashing my panniers against post and concrete. On entering Ica  I determined to attack the chain as soon as I got there.
I found the hotel relatively (see much easier in a small town) easily and parked my bike in the underground garage.  The doorman watched curiously as I began the process of taking off all the lugage and panniers and then the rooting out of my tools (in the bottom of my pannier - keep the weight low- but always a pain to get at when needed). I also enlisted him to hold a spanner whilst I tightened the nut on the other side of the wheel, Somehow with someone watching I felt more confident in getting it right this time. I also managed to do it within 10 minutes - perhaps  I am a frustrated performer after all. 

After a Pizza for late lunch and early tea I had a facetime call from Jen, Dan and Sal. They are staying in Cardiff with Dan and seeing the show  Mama Mia. It is amazing to have them in my hotel bedroom whilst I'm in Peru - what did we do before technology. There are pluses and minuses though, you never feel too far from home (which is nice) but you do not get the clarity of thought that once used to come from being outside of your particular culture. In the 70's when I went walk about for 4 months, I think I sent 2 postcards and had no contact at all from home. I came back with a completely different worldview of my own and other cultures.
Tomorrow just a hundred mile day and the hotel has a pool, so might be able to take a dip