Motorcycle Explorer June 2015 Issue 6 | Page 82

Alberto Lara takes us on an action packed tour of Peru, home of the Andes and of course alpaca! Chasing the Past in Peru After two nights spent in Cajamarca with Alberto's parents we (myself, Alberto and our two Keeway 200cc motorcycles) needed to get back on the road. Ending up in Cajamarca was already an unplanned detour so we were starting to fall behind in our quest to ride to Pataz, a mining town from Alberto's childhood memories,via back road. Based on the information on our paper map and GPS there was still aroad to connect through Bambamarca so that is where we were heading. Pataz may not be on every adventure rider’s list but it is a place that Alberto remembered from his childhood growing up in Peru. His memories included giant scorpions, scary tarantulas, orange supernaturallysized centipedes, poisonous snakes, unsupervised pigs, lost’ citadels of ancient civilizations in the jungle nearby and +48C temperatures. All during our riding in Peru, and for quite a few months before we even left Canada, I was being told of scary animals I had to keep watch for when camping and taking bathroom breaks. Alberto’s dad worked at the local gold mine in the early 80’s and his family (mom and siblings) spent the summer months with him in Pataz. Him and his brother would look for snakes, ‘play’ with angry rams, and slide down the mountain on locally handmade wooden ‘Tonka’ trucks, among other unsupervised activities. What great adventures they had when they were 5 years old. As Alberto remembered “'Don't lie' said the teacher in front of the class when I was asked what were you up to last summer Alberto?' and I proceeded to tell them some