Day 327: 2011年6月16日

Cuenca to Loja (Hotel Metoropolitano)
32,925km to 33,237km = 312km

今日は快晴ではないですが雲の合間に青い空が。一日出発を延ばして良かった。

9時には準備が出来てウベに別れを告げて出発。セザールの修理屋に行ってスタッフにお別れを。残念ながらセザールは出勤してなかったのでお別れできませんでした。

途中まで天気が良かったのですが、山を登り峠を越える辺りは霧が濃くて視界悪し。所々で雨に降られましたが濡れるほどでなし。

しかし土砂崩れの後でしょうか道に泥水があふれていて、「ブシャー!!!」っと。ヒザから下が泥だらけです。もちろんバイクも・・・。



ロハには12時半頃つきました。約3時間といったところですか。ビルカバンバまでは41キロ、そのまま進みます。途中の飯屋で昼飯。フリターダとユカを食べたのですが、肉、肉、肉で満足。しかし5ドルも請求されました。こりゃボラれたな。

ビルカバンバには2時前に到着。しかし、あんまりグッと来るものがないのでロハに引き返すことに。何故かと言うと、ワシが超えようとしている国境マカラ(Macara)はここからだとダートで行くことになるんですね。だからもともと国境へはロハに引き返してから行こうと思ってたんです。もしビルカバンバが楽しそうなら2泊しようかな、なんて思っていたんですが、早めにペルーに入ることに決めました。

ロハには3時前に到着。ロンプラに乗っている安宿オスタル・ロンドレスの前を通りましたがバイクを入れられそうにはないので、オテル・メトロポリターノに宿泊。ガレージ代2ドルで、シングル12ドルです・・・。全部で14ドル高い。まぁ、WiFiあるしいいか。

バイクを拭いていたら宿の人が車を高圧ホースで洗い始めました。洗い終わったらワシに高圧ホースを貸してくれました。これでバイクもキレイ。洗車屋に行ったと思えば14ドルも多少安く思えます。

明日は早めにここを出て国境の街マカラに向かいます。そして土曜の朝に国境越えです。
恐らくしばらくネットにアクセスできないので（ピウラ - Piuraという街まで)ブログの更新は3-4日お休みになります。

Day 327: 16 JUN 2011

Cuenca to Loja (Hotel Metoropolitano)
32,925km to 33,237km = 312km

The weather of Cuenca this orning was fine. I was glad that I stayed 1 more day here.

I got ready by 9am. I said good-bye to Uwe and went to Cesar's
Smash Repair shop to say good-bye. But Cesar wasn't in yet. So I said good-bye to all staff and took off.

It got really cold on the top of the pass to Loja, and it was very foggy. It rained sometimes, but wasn't hard enough to get wet. But there was a place (I guess just removed mud from the road after a landslide), full of muddy water on the road, so mud splashed onmy GS and and my boots! I need a big wash again!!

I arrived Loja before 12:30pm. Vilcabamba was 41km away, so I continued.

I had lunch at small village. I had Fritada with Yuka. Lots of meat and I liked the dish, but I was charged US$5! That's a rip off!

I arrived Vilcabamba before 2pm. I thought I could spend 2 nights here, but nothing was appealing. So I decided to go back to Loja. Anyway, the border I am planning to cross is at Macara. From Vilcabamba, I had to take a dirt road to Macara, but from Loja, the road would be sealed most of the place.

I came back to Loja before 3pm. I went passed Hostal Londores, the cheapest hostel on Lonely Planet, but it did not look like I could park my GS. So I went to Hotel Metropolitano. The single costs US$12 and I had to pay US$2 to park my bike. It was expensive, but I was a little tired and it had WiFI, so I am staying here now.

When I was wiping dirt off my GS, those staffs at the hotel started to wash a car with a high pressurerised hose. After they finished washing, they rent me the hose. Now my GS is clean again and if I went to a carwash, it would cost US$3 or 4, the rent of US$14 wouldn't be bad.

Tomorrow, I will leave here early and head to Macara. Then I will cross the border to Peru on Saturday morning.
I guess I won'thave Internet access for 3-4days till I get to Piura, Peru, so the blog will not be updated  for a while.

[3回]

Day 326: 2011年6月15日

Cuenca (La Casa de Cesar)
32,925km

今日は出発の日!　しかし、起きたら雨…。恐らく南下すれば雨から逃れることが出来るのでしょうが…。
アダムは強行突破で行くことに決めましたが、ワシはなんだか悪い予感がしてもう一日留まる事に。
ウベはエリザベスとのロマンスが進行中なのでもちろん留まる事に。まぁ、カオル先輩もクエンカに到着したので今日は先輩と遊んでもらうことに決めました。






雨は8時ごろに止んで曇ってますが道路も乾き始めました。アダムは9時ごろに出発。キトからほぼずっと行動を共にしてきたので別れるのは寂しいですがペルーの何処かで再会できるでしょう。それまで友よ無事で良い旅を！ Buen viaje, mi hermano inglaterra!

朝飯を食べてカオル先輩の宿泊先Hostal Tourista del mundoを訪ねます。幸い先輩は寝てました！
先輩を叩き起こして珈琲まで淹れてもらって歓談。ネット。最近のことを報告。

それからウベと待ち合わせして3人でメルカドへ昼飯。先輩はクイを食いました。皮が硬くて生臭かったそうです。

ウベは一旦家に戻り先輩とワシは近くのプーマプンゴ・インカ遺跡(Ruinas de Pumapungo)へ。入り口が分からずウロウロしましたが博物館から入れることが判明。
博物館も遺跡もタダでしたがたいしたことはありませんでした。

なんか今日は眠いなぁ、と思ってたらどうも体調がよろしくないようです。先輩とペルーでの再会を約して、早めに家に帰り昼寝。
夜飯を食べて今日は寝ます。明日は雨が降っててもビルカバンバに向けて出発です。



Day 326: 15 JUN 2011

Cuenca (La Casa de Cesar)
32,925km

It was raining hard this morning. Adam was having a cabin sickness, so he decided to leave. We had a feeling that the rain just stayed here and once we went over the mountains, it would be clear.
But I had a bad feeling to leave today, so I decided to stay one more day. Also my friend Kaoru was in town, so I could meet him.

Uwe had something going on with Elizabeth, so he was happy to stay longer here.

The rain stopped around 8am and even though it was clouded, the street got dry. Adam left around 9am. Since Quito, we had been together most of the time. So it was sad to see him off, but we were solo anyway.  We will meet up somewhere in Peru for sure Till then have a safe and fun adventure, my English borther! Buen viaje mi hermano Inglaterra!

I went to Hostal Tourista del mundo where Kaoru stayed. Luckily he was there. At the hostel I updated my blog and uploaded photos to Facebook, then we went out for lunch at Mercado. We met up with Uwe on the way. Kaoru had Cuy there. But he said the skin was hard and it smelled a bit.

Uwe went home and Kaoru and I went to Inca ruins - Pumapungo. We could not find the entrance but we found out we could go into the ruin from the museum. The entrance of the museum and the ruin was free. But they were not really great.

I started to fel sick, so I said good-bye to Kaoru and went home to have nap. He wa also heading to Peru, we will meet up again.

Tomorrow even it rains, I will head to Vilcabamba.

[3回]

Day 325: 2011年6月14日

Cuenca (La Casa de Cesar)
32,925kmm

今日はエルネストの誕生日。もし彼が生きていたら83歳です。おめでとう。




今日はビルカバンバに向けて出発する予定でしたが、天気が悪かったので中止。セザールの家でのんびりと過ごしました。

夕方セザールが訪ねてきてしばらく歓談。明日は朝からオフィスにいるそうなので出発前にお別れができます。

ウベはエリザベスとデートに出かけたので、夕飯はアダムと作りました。

明日は早起きをしてビルカバンバに出発です。



Day 325: 14 JUN 2011

Cuenca (La Casa de Cesar)
32,925km

Today is Ernesto's birthday. Happy birthday mi amigo. If you are still around, you will be 83.

We supposed to leave Cuenca and head to Vilcabamba, but it rained hard. So we decided to stay here one more day.

Uwe went out with Elizabeth, so I cooked dinner with Adam.

Tomorrow we will leave Cuenca and head to Vilcabamba if not raining...

[3回]

Day 324: 2011年6月13日

Parque Extremo to Cuenca (La Casa de Cesar)
32,872km to 32,925km = 53km

昨晩は風が強かったです。7時前に起床。曇ってますが風が北から吹いているのでそのうち晴れるでしょう。

テントを畳む前に風に飛ばされてフライに穴が…。ビニールテープで修復だな。

8時過ぎに出発。快適にワインディングをスイースイー。9時半にはクエンカに到着。セザールのオフィスを訪ねたら、ドローレスが「彼まだ出勤してない」とのこと。今日も彼女は機嫌悪し。一体なんなんだ？

家に戻り荷解き、シャワー。そしたらセザールが訪ねてきました。いやいやまたお世話になります。夕食を一緒にすることに。

12時頃に街に出て昼飯。そしてオースストリアン・カフェでインターネット。一週間分の日記をブログにアップ。マークとクレアからメールが来ていて、無事にペルーに入国。晴天を楽しんでるとか。
調べた結果ペルーでは車両保険の加入が義務付けられていて１ヵ月で97ソル、2ヶ月で150ソルもします（1米ドル=2.76ソル）!　思いの外高い!! ホルへ・ファンを夕食に招きましたが残念ながらキトに出張とか。

それから両替所（Vas Corp)でドルをペルーの通過ソルに両替。100米ドルが270ソルになりました。

家に戻る途中セザールを訪ねてしばらく歓談。ドローレスが珈琲を淹れてくれましたが、まだ機嫌悪し。夕食はまたタージ・マハールにて。

家に戻りラムを飲みながら歓談。「クエンカに来たらいつでも訪ねてきなさい」と。本当に本当にセザールにはお世話になりました。彼もファンとペドロと一緒に年末年始にダカール・ラリー観戦に行くそうなのでアルゼンチンで再会できるかも!

Day 324: 13 JUN 2011

Parque Extremo to Cuenca (La Casa de Cesar)
32,872km to 32,925km = 53km

The strong wind blew whole night. I got up before 7am. Sky was very dark at the southern side, but the wind was blowing from north, so it would be cleared later.

Before I put away my tent, it was blown off by the strong wind! And my tent fly got a few small holes... I need to patch them up....

We left Parque Extremo around 8am, we rode through the curves very comfortably. We got back to Cesar's place before 9:30am.

After unloaded gears, we went to see Cesar at his office, but he wasn't in yet. Dolores was very grumpy again. I don't know what's wrong with her...

Back to the house, while I was taking shower, Cesar came to visit us. How could we thank you, Cesar. We invited him for dinner tonight.

We went out for lunch in the town, and went to Austrian Cafe for Internet. I uploaded my diaries and photos to my blog.

Claire and Mark sent us an e-mail saying they were safely crossed the border to Peru and enjoying hospitality of Peruvian and blue sky!

They said having Insurance in Peru was compulsory (they checked with Tourist Information) and it would cost 97 Soles for a month and 150 Soles for 2 months. That's expensive!! We invited Jorge Juan for dinner, but he replied that he had to go to Quito, unfortunately. We wanted to thank him properly though.

Then we went to Currency Exchange at Vaz Corp. We changed US$100 each and it became 270 Soles.

On the way back to the house, we visited Cesar at his office and had chat. Dolores made us coffee but she was still grumpy...

We went to Taj Mahar again for dinner. Back to the house, having rum and listening electronic punk, we had good evening.

Cesar said to us "Any time you come back to Cuenca, visit me. Remember you have a friend in Cuenca." We would like to extend our gratitude to you, Cesar. Luckily he is also planning to see Dakar Rally at the end of this year with Juan and Pedro, so we might be able to meet in Argentina.

[3回]

Day 323: 2011年6月12日

Parque Extremo
32,872km

---1週間分の日記をアップしました。ご覧ください!! (ネットにアクセスできなかったもので）---

昨日はちょっと信じられない夜になりましたが、今日はもっと信じられない一日となりました。運命って本当に不思議なものです。

昨晩は暗くてよく見えませんでしたが、窓の外には絶景が！　そして中東の宮殿を模した建物が。外に出て散歩。山が谷があり、素晴らしい風景。そして宮殿。こんなところに自分が招かれているとは。ちょっとそこら辺を歩いただけでも30分です。






昨日の夕飯の残りを電子レンジで暖めて食べてしばらく歓談したたら、「朝飯が用意できた」と。しまった!　母屋に行ってセビッチェとモルシーヤを。それから動物園に。







ライオンにこんだけ近づいたことなんてこれまで無いですしこれからも無いでしょう、ってくらい近づきました。
オシロット（ティグリヨ）、プーマとか素晴らしい猫科の動物。尾長ざる、ケイマン・ワニ、熊、ダチョウ、色とりどりの鳥たち。ワシは一体何処にいるのでしょう??

一旦部屋に戻り、ホルへ・ファンのお父さんホルへとお母さんルベッカに挨拶。とても気さくで素晴らしい人たちです。






そして今度は教会へ。アラブ式の概観に十字架。内部は本格的な教会。塔があり最上階まで登ると、絶景かな。なんでアラブ式の外観かというと、お父さんの一族は昔レバノンから来たからなんだそうです。






下に降りたらホルへ・ファンが待っていて、「母屋を案内するよ」と。母屋にはホルへ・ファンのお父さんが収集した美術品などが飾ってあり、素晴らしいの一言。テラスにプール。そして絶景が目の前に広がります。いやー、素晴らしい。テラスで珈琲タイム。こんな経験もしてみるものです。

しかもお父さんとお母さんにランチに招かれました。クエンカ郷土料理のコースを。ワインやシャンペンも最上級。本当に気さくな方々です。「いつでも戻ってきなさい」と。いやー、ファン、セザール、ホルへ・ファンとご家族と知り合えて、本当に旅をしてて良かった。

もしアダムのパニア・フレームが壊れなければ。もしワシがこけてパニアが凹まなかったらセザールに出会わなかったでしょう。もしあの晩見晴台のTuriに行こうとセザールが言わなければホルへ・ファンに出会わなかったでしょう。ちょっとした巡り会わせで普段知り合うこと無いであろう人たちに会えました。







それからパルケ・エキストリーモに戻り人口池の畔で野営です。フェリペ運転のラリーカーでコースを一周する予定でしたがウベが一周して帰って来たらボンネットがいきなり開いて窓ガラスにガンと!!　残念ながらアダムとワシはラリーできませんでした。ホルへ・ファンは明日朝早くから仕事とのことでクエンカに戻りました。本当にありがとうホルへ・ファン。クエンカで再会しよう!!

日は暮れてアダム、ウベとワシの3人だけ。仲間と最高の景色に囲まれての野営。プライスレス。



Day 323: 12 JUN 2011

Parque Extremo
32,872km

Last evening was incredible but today was even more unbelievable day.

Last night it was dark to see surrounding, but when I woke up, I could see an amazing scenery through a window.

There were mountains I could see from the distance and a palace in Middle Eastern style in front of me.

I got up from the bed and walked around. The hill where the palace located was surrounded by mountains and a valley. Very very beautiful place.

I could not really believe I was invited here. Just walking around took me 30mins.

Adam and Uwe were up too. I nuked the left over from last night and ate it. I was chatting with them and we were told that "Breakfast is served." Ouch, I was full already.

But I could not say "no" to Ceviche and Molcilla. I was so stuffed.

After breakfast, we walked to the "Zoo". As Jorge Juan said last night, there were 10 lions!

I had never been so close to lions before. 2 lions were just 1 year old but they were already very big girls.

There were many Ocilotos, Pumas - very beautiful cats, Bears, Cayman, Monkeys, birds (even Ostrich) etc, etc.

Back to the room once and we met Jorge Juan's dad Jorge and mum Rebecca. They were very very friendly and wonderful people.

Then we went to see the church. It looked like Arabic outlook with crosses. Inside was very proper church. I went up to the top of the tower, and there was an amazing view I cold see.

The reason why the palace and the church were built in Middle Eastern style, Eljuri family came from Lebanon long time ago.

When I came out from the church, Jorge Juan was waiting down there. He said he was gonna take us a tour inside the palace.

There were quite a few arts corrected by Jorge senior displayed in the house. I particularly liked the bronze works.

There was a swimming pool at a terrace. Both side of the swimming pool, there were terraces with a magnificent view. We were served coffee there. Fantastic.

The experience was very unusual for me, not in my reality, but it was good to experience the difference.

We were invited for lunch with Jorge senior and Rebecca. The typical cousin of Cuenca was served. It was excellent.

Wines and liquors severed were top quality as well. We talked about our trips, and Jorge senior talked about his passion on arts and auction.

They told us "You are welcome to be back any time." How wonderful they were.

If Adam's pannier frame was not broken, if my pannier was not dent, Juan did not take us to Cesar. If Cesar did not suggested us to go to Turi that night, we did not meet Jorge Juan.

Just by chance we were invited to Parque Extremo and the Eljuri's. That's why the trip is very very interesting. We don't know what will happen next.

We went back to Parque Extremo and at the lakeside, we pitched our tents. Jorge Juan suggested us to get into his Rally Car driven by Felipe and go around the course.

Uwe took the first round. But unfortunately, the bonnet came loose somehow and smashed into the front screen! No major damage but it was unsafe to go next round. So Adam and I missed out the opportunity...

Jorge Juan had to get back to Cuenca. We saw him off and went back to our camp site. The wind was strong, but camping under the stars, just 3 of us in Parque Extremo, it was priceless.

[3回]