Livermore made
some new adventure riding friends during a Peru pit stop. The Peru riders
traded travel information and wanted to be photographed with “Motorista
Global” as Livermore’s freshly printed business card read, or translated to English, “Globe
Rider,” which he was far from being but liked people to think he was.
Peru, laundry and chicken and more Zen teachings.
Exiting Ecuador and entering Peru was the third border
crossing for Dr. G and Livermore. The
paperwork process on the Ecuador side of the border was quick and
painless. However, on the Peru side the
duo learned to be patient as they watched the Customs employees enter painfully
and slowly handwritten details in a thick paper notebook. Added to the patience
learning curve was having a family move to the front of the line ignoring those
already waiting, a test of Dr. G’s friendly nature given the hot sun and
waiting for 30 minutes wearing his hot riding gear.
A car wash worker
carefully gave the motorcycles and engines a cleaning and refused any cash
payment, wanting to contribute to the rally adventure, but did gladly accepted
a rally sticker from Dr. G. To him, the rally sticker was worth more than the cash he
would have to turn over to his boss.
“You can avoid your underwear washing time, usually taking a
day of downtime, by hand washing them during the shower you take each night,
and then drying them the next morning after affixing them under your luggage
tie down straps.”
Livermore was not Zen or adventurous enough to thrive on seeing his tiddy-whitties underwear
blowing in the wind, sand, dust and truck fumes using this option. That left what Dr. G called the “five day au natural Irish trick."
“On Day 1, wear the fresh undies. On Day 2 wear the Fruit of the Looms turned around. On Day 3 flip them inside out, wear them front to back. On Day 4 rotate them back to front. After washing them in your shower or sink on the evening of Day 4 hang them in your room to begin to dry. They will take two nights to dry, and when done you can start the cycle over again.
“On Day 1, wear the fresh undies. On Day 2 wear the Fruit of the Looms turned around. On Day 3 flip them inside out, wear them front to back. On Day 4 rotate them back to front. After washing them in your shower or sink on the evening of Day 4 hang them in your room to begin to dry. They will take two nights to dry, and when done you can start the cycle over again.
“Where does the au
natural part come in?” Livermore asked.
“Ah, that’s on Day 5, when you have your semi-wet underwear wrapped inside a dirty T-shirt in your regular clothes bag. That day, Day 5, you don’t wear any undies,
you ride au natural.”
Peru was many
seemingly endless miles of desert riding with reasonably good paved roads and
time to reflect passing through what Dr. G called “The Big Empty.” An occasional pot hole or
animal crossing the road would keep the riders awake. Any ventures off the pavement into the deep
soft sand resulted in immediate bogging down of the heavily laden motorcycles
and was avoided if at all possible
.
Livermore had prepared both 1983 Honda GL650s prior
to the South American stage of the pair’s adventure. At the end of each riding day, while Dr. G
self-medicated claimed arthritic joints and former broken bones with a cool swill
and pills, Livermore could be found for a few minutes checking his oil levels, tire and suspension
pressures and attending to any mechanical parts that may have worked loose
during the day of hard driving.
The 1983 Honda GL650
engines ran cool in the heat of the Peruvian desert. Once in a while, when
stuck in thick traffic passing through towns, the radiator fans would
automatically turn or for 10-20 seconds.
Adjusting their diets while traveling found Livermore and
Dr. G comfortable with skipping lunch and snacking at gas stations during the
day. Chicken was the primary meat on dinner
menus, and part of their adventure included trying to order non-chicken items
for their main course. Sometimes what
was served was a mystery meat but by the time they had reached Peru neither had
mistakenly ordered chicken foot or chicken head soup.
Typical of taxis in
Peru were moto taxis, a three wheel vehicle with a small motorcycle engine as
the power plant, usually in the 125 cc range. In thick city traffic they could
be likened to errant bugs, zipping in and out of stopped cars, trucks and
buses. Often they would swerve right and then make a quick left or U turn. This one was not typical in design and
deserved a photograph.
As the pair approached Chile, Dr. G offered his epicurean experience
on Chile from his two previous adventures through the country, saying, “Less
chicken guts and parts for dinner in Chile and a higher probability of a Big Mac with some good
medication mixed with the fruit of the vine or local brew along the way.”
Part of Dr. G's 'Patience Learning Curve' had been the discovery of a mix of swill and medicinals at the end of each riding day, and opting to dine away from the more particular Livermore's choice of hotel restaurants. Dr. G said, "I dislike only dining in hotel restaurants, prefer getting outside of the compounds and mixing with the locals. However, after eating local foods while looping the globe day-after-day, I've never met a Big Mac I didn't like."
Part of Dr. G's 'Patience Learning Curve' had been the discovery of a mix of swill and medicinals at the end of each riding day, and opting to dine away from the more particular Livermore's choice of hotel restaurants. Dr. G said, "I dislike only dining in hotel restaurants, prefer getting outside of the compounds and mixing with the locals. However, after eating local foods while looping the globe day-after-day, I've never met a Big Mac I didn't like."
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