If it can go wrong, it will.... and it will take a long time after for it to go (at all).
So after my last flat I have been a little less keen on riding way out in the middle of the dessert alone with out the necessary tools to fix a flat if I get one. I was lucky last time that my tire went flat right on the edge of town before my friends hostel, instead of in the middle of nowhere. Many of my rides have been with friends just a little ways out or just around town.
Last weekend there was a big salsa party here in Huanchaco that I went to with a bunch of Peruvian and Gringo friends. As it turned out we were the only gringos there and had front and center stage. Most of the locals were getting a kick out of us, but some didn't seem to like our presence as much. Anyways, the next day I was feeling quite the hangover and pretty out of it when Ronato, the surf instructor here, came and told me someone from the Honda dealership was here. It was Jose the salesman who sold us our bikes. He looked down and saw I wasn't wearing shoes and said something to the affect of me needing shoes and get my bike and Justin and lets go. Damn, this is just what I need right now I thought. Reluctantly, I grabbed Justin and some shoes and got on my bike and followed him, he had said something about wanting to go for a ride a few days ago but I didn't take him very seriously. We drove a few blocks down the road and there was the rest of the people from Honda and a few others. They handed us Honda t-shirts told us to put them on and said we we road took some photos with us and then we road out to the edge of town. I have to admit I felt a little dorky and thought that this looked pretty ridiculous. Once we got out of town a little ways I felt my front tire going flat. Not even 250ks and my I've had two flat tires already. Luckily there was a truck with us so we loaded it into the back of to the truck and I rode back with them. They took it back to the dealership and then said our plates and SOAT would be in by Tuesday. Finally we will be free from this place.
Tuesday I got up early and headed out to the dealership to get my bike and all the other things we have been waiting forever for. The bus ride took forever because there was a street that was closed. By the time I got there it had started to rain. I hadn't really seen any real rain here yet. Of all the days for it to rain it had to pick the day for I had to ride back to Huanchaco. We got to the dealership and I finagled my way into having him fix my tire, which he said would be done until later. This is the moment I realized you have to be firm in Peru if you want something to get done on time. They closed down in the middle of the day and said we had to come back later for Justin to get his first maintenance and for us to receive everything else.
When we returned after lunch it had started raining even harder and some of the streets were flooded. I didn't even bring any rain gear. The finished the maintenance on Justin's bike and then said we could go now. What about the plates and SOAT I asked. They said that will take eight more days. I'm not sure I understand how they though it would be better if they lied and told us it would be sooner.
Okay... so I will ride back through the city, in the rain, illegally, with no rain gear, and no clue where I am going. I got on the bike and, due to the street being closed, I instantly became lost, and soaked. This is really a steep learning curve. I ended up in the Plaza de Armas (city center) and just found myself randomly taking turns. It didn't take long for me to get the hang of driving around in traffic, although some of the streets were pretty flooded, which made the whole experience even more interesting. After probably about a half an hour of riding around aimlessly, I saw a Huanchaco bus heading in the opposite direction. I whipped a U-turn and began to follow it. Good thing it was a fast bus driver otherwise this would be painfully slow ride. I managed to keep up with him until we got to the road to Huanchaco and At one point I followed him down a one-way road. Finally, I followed him to the mall, which was on the road to Huanchaco, and then passed him and continued on.
A few Kilometers down the way I saw a police officer sitting on the side of the road. This is going to be fun. Sure enough he pulled me over. "Documentos" was the first thing the he said. I handed him over everything and told him I only speak a little Spanish and that plates and SOAT were in processing. After about five minutes of him saying "no SOAT", they got bored and moved on to a different subject. They were trying to get me to buy them gas. Half because I was sure I was misunderstanding him, I told him "no voy a compar ti tu gasolina", which I am pretty sure means I am not going to buy your gasoline. Then I think he said lets go to the police station and he drove away. Down the road at the security checkpoint there were even more police stopping just about everyone. I handed him my documents and then he asked what I do for work. I told him I worked for the United States Government and he handed me my papers back started whistling and waved me on. I rode about 10 meters through the gate and immediately got waved to the side of the road again. "Documents" he said, I handed them over again and then another cop called him over where there was a scooter pulled over. He ran over said something to him, came back handed me my documents, and then hopped on the back of the guys scooter and left. His friend then told me to put on my helmet and then I left. Okay Peru, I see how this works.
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