Trujilla to Lima

October 24th Trujilla to Lima
A long today, 348 miles. I set off before 8am but after stopping for fuel and a few miles down the road to check my front tyre, I did not really leave Trujilla until 8.30am. The front tyre felt a little wobbly, so I stopped to check the air - it was fine. the new tyre has a very high profile, more like an off road tyre, so on a less than smooth surface, at slow speeds it seems less stable. This is especially noticeable with the weight of a full tank of petrol.
The drivers in the towns are absolutely awful and one has to be on one's guard the whole time or they'll knock you off - I suspect motorcycles are at the bottom of the internal combustion engine food chain. There is also incessant noise, as the drivers peep their horns continually. I always feel a sense of relief once on the open road,  where the traffic is very thin - mainly lorries and buses.
Today's road was magnificent going through the most amazing desert landscape. My preconceptions have been shattered - I never thought a desert could be beautiful - but today proved otherwise. The scale and the colours of the desert are awe inspiring, I found myself inadvertantly shouting words of wonder around every bend or on every summit. I took a few pictures but they do not really capture the size and the magnificance of this inspiring landscape.

 These photos give no sense of the scale of these dunes, they are truly enourmous

 There is hardly any traffic on this magnificent road, making it easier to day dream and admire the views

On the crest of a dune seeing the sea

Where the desert meets the ocean

From Trujilla to Lima is virtually all desert,with the exceptions of a few large towns which presumably are centred upon an oasis. The desert road is never far from the sea and I often got wonderful vistas, which would instantly disappear as I sped by. My helmet and visor were my TV screen looking outwards into the every changing world. 
The downside to all of this was the wind, it was an extremely strong onshore wind, which was also a cold wind. Along this part of the coast there is a strong cold current that has the opposite effect of our Gulf Stream. This equatorial country is quite cool because of it. Today was between 23 and 25 degrees, but with the wind it felt much much cooler. I never broke into a sweat and this was with my motorcycle jacket with thermal liner and a thermal tshirt. More problematic than the cold was the effect of the wind on the bike and myself. I had to lean the bike into the wind whilst simultaneously leaning my head in the opposite direction. The wind was actually physically making my head lean to the left (the sea was on my right ) at one point I tried supporting my neck with my left hand - but that was too dangerous, as sudden gust of wind would shake my bars and with only one hand steering, it did not feel safe. The only relief was when i found the shelter of an outcrop momentarily, or when overtaking a bus or lorry.
The road itself was superb and well surfaced, though I had to watch out for the swirling sand across the road. At one point I had evidence of the cold current, when I suddenly hit some dense sea mist, caused by the cold air meeting the warm air on land. It was an awesome day and it affirmed my belief that there is more joy and beauty to be found in nature than in any museum or art gallery.  Because the desert stretches for hundreds of miles, with very little civilization, it is not in the main littered by the rubbish of the modern world - which is what you find within 20 miles of any settlement.
Upon entering the outskirts of Lima, my peace and tranquility were shattered by the mayhem that is city traffic. Lima is a huge city that sprawls out for tens of miles and the tut tuts, buses, taxis and lorries beep their horns continually, switch lanes and make sudden stops in a frenzied, disrespectful game of chicken; which puts one's nerves on edge. It is truly frightening and I can't count the number of times I was missed by millimetres or cut up and sandwiched between vehicles. I was so angry that I began screaming at the drivers as I avoided them - they looked at me as if to say 'DON'T YOU KNOW THE RULES OF THE GAME?'. Strangely, because of my demented rants, I never enccountered the same driver twice!! It was a great relief to find the hotel and get off the bike. Lima I suspect is probably the worse I'll experience in Peru, it is the sheer number of vehicles here that makes it so excessively hostile.
Having saved time with some big rides last week it means I can now have some shorter days before arriving in Cusco on Friday. This will be great, as I wont have to rise too early and I can get to the towns well before dark. I might also find some time to explore as well as do basics like washing and maintenance on the bike. Poor old Bonito looks a state, with desert sand everywhere - although I think it makes her look more gnarly. But God knows what all that sand is doing to the chain. 
I haven't researched it yet, but I suspect I will leave the desert as I head further south and inland, but this might bring rain!