El Burro - Home from Buenos Aires.

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I decided to head to the coast after bird watching. Most folks who take this trip spend a bit of time on the panamerican in Peru. My time has been limited but I wanted to see the Pacific and cherry picked the 50 mile run into Mollendo. AR109 to get to the Pan-American was a mix of paved road to start and then a 60 mile stretch of increasingly dusty and sandy road. But it was a fun ride. A view of the canyon looking back to the Cruz.





Staying at the Villegas III hotel, 3* luxury for USD25 a night. Best room in a while, big parking garage which I took advantage of today to change the rear pads out.

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Wandered into town first thing and met Jose Chaves and Lisbeth Roque, who work for the local university. As it happens they curate a small private museum in the offices, artifacts from the Chiribaya peoples in the pre-Incan era. They unlocked it and gave me a private tour....nice of them to do that.



I took photos but they didn't come out so well.

Outside the offices, which occupy the old railway station, is a 200 year old wooden building that once operated as a hotel. I hope they find a way to preserve it, one end was in a pretty poor condition.



Pretty nice coastal town with a good view of the Pacific.



It was then off to get the bike washed, just around the corner from the hotel. 10 sols....I was happy with their work.



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Then the pad change, they had a few miles left in them, but were just below the wear indicator... the chamfer on new OEM pads really cuts down on the contact area, plus of course they need to bed in. Braking on the rear of a CB500X is sh*t to begin with, but after a brief ride I was at least able to lock the rear wheel on the loose stuff, which is what really matters.



All set.



All for now. Cheers T2

That chamfer is misalignment you know and it's important to grab the caliper and make sure it floats or rocks in order to correct the misalignment.

Loving the ride report...down the road major dude....

Hi inroads...the chamfer is on the new pad....I think it is done to prevent the new pads grabbing too hard. The pads and caliper are set correctly, I double and triple checked ….I had just forgotten how feeble the rear was when I picked it up new three years ago. 10 miles made a difference another 100 and hopefully it will be much better. No ABS on this bike (though it is available) perhaps explains why Honda shaped them that way as the CB500 series from Thailand is an 'entry' bike for many.

Thanks for following along.

Cheers T2.

Forgot I had the helmet camera going on the ride from Chivey, captured few nice shots of the road to entice other travelers to the canyon and beyond.





T2

Had to quote this as it made me laugh damn hard, like the commentary.

That town looks amazing @TeeTwo! Finding quiet places like that with a good vibe is always nice when traveling - especially since you're solo.

Catching up after missing the last couple updates, looking forward to reading more

That's simply incredible, to think of that work being done without the aid of power tools like we have now...wow. And as @DavidM1 mentioned, I'd say post as many scenery pics as possible - they only add value to the words written and for those of us who might never get the opportunity to visit, it's fantastic to experience the locale vicariously.

What a killer place to have visited, both the town and the terraces. Well done @TeeTwo

So, how is the little bike performing overall? Looks like a pretty heavy load. Got enough motor at those high altitudes? Stock suspension, I presume. Is it doing the job? Do you have enough room or is it a little cramped? Just curious.

Loving your RR. You can’t have too much in the way of historical commentary and photos, for me. Same for comments on cultural observations. I love it. Please continue.

BarryB - thanks for joining along.

The bags at rear weigh about 50lbs. I have lightweight camping gear and a 2 person tent, so there is more bulk than mass. Plus the electronic toys and tools....I am at the limit of my minimalist packing. The bike puffs a bit uphill over about 13,000ft, but on the basically flat altiplano today at 14,500ft I was running 70mph easily with more to spare......so for the type of roads I am doing the CB500X has enough, for me at least. High up a little patience helps, the roads up are a buffet of switchbacks anyway. Enjoy the view.

The suspension is not stock, it has the Rally Raid mods at the front end to accommodate the 19 inch spoke wheel and Tractive suspension at rear. The Tractive is every bit as good as the Ohlins I ran on my R12GS and is less service intensive. The bike sits 2 inches higher than stock.

I lowered the foot pegs, added risers on the handlebars and fitted Renthal Fatbars…...those mods opened up the cockpit and I have been standing for long periods no problem. 5' 11" , 32" inseam and 170lbs (I lost 30lbs to get fitter for this trip, now I am eating rice and fries on the same plate.....jeez )

I am happy with my mods and choice...and 70-75mpg gives me a +300 mile range.

Hope that fills in the blanks.

Cheers. T2

Thank you. Perfect. You answered all of my questions. I should have known about the RR bits by looking at the photos.
I have a R12RT I am thinking about selling. My wife is no longer interested in going and this bike is on my
short list for a replacement. Thanks again and travel safe.

Lonely Planet states '....Puno has its share of both grit and cheer...'; I only found grit, though I did mentally cheer when I left. Puno is on the shore of Lake Titicaca and could do so much more given the location, perhaps in time things will change.

However, Puno is a logical stepping stone to Bolivia, the border being 80 miles away. A redeeming comment, Nak Hotels served the best breakfast in several thousand miles, and they had hot water at the sink, highly unusual!





The altiplano has to be crossed to get to Puno from Mollendo, it ran for near 100 miles at an altitude of more than 14,500 ft; 15,000ft was breached on two occasions. Scrub land and miles of high desert. Rainbow colored rock formations, with blue/green being much in evidence, disclosed the copper that lies beneath.



Anglo American mining are developing a new copper mine in the Moquegua region, several new bridges were being installed to accommodate the mine traffic.

Passed a Harley Davidson, two-up, heading to Puno. Caught up with them briefly when they pulled over by a parked van. Turned out they were travelling from Brazil. The guy was anxious about the direction to Puno, which is odd since there is basically one paved road. When he went behind the van to take a pee I scooched as I needed to make time.

Eventually the town of Puno came into view, revealing the first glimpse of Lake Titicaca.



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Onward to Bolivia, just 80 some miles to the border and 5 miles further on to Copacabana where I will hang for a few days.

The entire crossing process took just an hour, it would have been quicker but I had to wait for one person in front of me in customs on each side of the border, darn it! Open from 8.30am-7pm, but Bolivia is an hour ahead of Peru and they take lunch from 1-2pm and close the border, plan accordingly.

The chain marks the entry/exit to Peru. I chatted with the guys in the camper van heading north from Argentina.



The arch marks the border, to not much fanfare.



Hotel Utama is close to the center, up the hill a bit and at 12,600ft it had me gasping for air on the walk back from the lake. Big parking area to house a good group of bikes. Nice room and breakfast...well; OJ, coffee (real) on tap with hot milk available, cereal, pot of yogurt, fruit cup, pancake and scrambled eggs, bread, butter and jam. Unheard of.

Lake Titicaca is stunning, with a lot of bird life on the shore....



…… but seriously....



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Copacabana is a decent town, lots of restaurant choice, full of backpackers, those seeking themselves and others clearly lost, but comfortably settled in town.

Cool church.



I wandered down to the shore late in the day and as night approached the sky was on fire.



Off to explore a little more today and a boat trip planned for tomorrow.

Cheers. T2

Flag sticker means it is official, right?

Strong storms rolled through Copacabana last night, hail and heavy rain continued into the morning hours. That is unusual this time of year I am told. Undeterred I headed for the 8.30am boat north to the Isle del Sol and enjoyed 3-4ft swells (it is normally uber calm...again as I was told) further rain and a period of snow until 10 minutes out of the Isle.

The guy outside with his foot on the tiller was not equipped with conventional boating foul weather gear.



But when it brightened the surroundings were nice....



Pisac the Isle del Sol is not, but it does have some decent ruins on a small scale to take a look around.

The ceremonial alter.



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...and the Palacio de Pilkokaina. The sister to Isle del Sol, the Isle de la Luna, can be viewed through the portals of the Palacio.





Those who have been to SA know that the sanitary plumbing is relatively narrow bore, 3 inch usually, so no paper down the toilet is the order of the day. Wandering around the Isle I perhaps discovered an additional factor...how to restrict a pipe in one easy step!



The pictures show that a good weather day came out of a bad start, as I wandered back to the harbor for a more tranquil return journey I spotted a couple of traditional reed built boats sitting off to the side.



If you find yourself in Copacabana with a day to spare you could do worse than take a day trip to the Isle del Sol.

La Paz tomorrow.

Cheers. T2

Great stuff !! Enjoy your ride.

Outstanding @TeeTwo! So cool to be in Bolivia now, had a good laugh at the bird life comment at Lake Titicaca...lol. Great capture of the sunset over the lake - stunning.

How was it riding all those miles at that elevation? Ever get short of breath, etc?

Looking forward to the next update, enjoyed all the pics from your trek out to the island and smaller set of ruins

A cold morning awaited, even after 9am sub 40F, for the journey to La Paz. To get there from Copacabana you either have to go back into Peru for 30 miles or take a ferry across the Tiquina Strait, the narrowest point in the lake separating west and east Bolivia.

The ferry itself has caused some angst and issues among other recent ADVrider users, so I was a little anxious to be honest, but it is the way to go. Enjoyed the ride even though a little snow dropped at the higher elevation

Kudos to the pothole patching technique used on the scenic road to the ferry, super smooth and seemingly durable.



No other pictures until after the ferry, just shot video.....I know what a ba$tard...LOL! Well, I couldn't do that to those suffering through my ramblings so since the internet is blazing here in La Paz I dropped a short video on Google drive...so, come take the ride.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kcxoap16iWO75mK9JU575LOaCF3A0S8e/view?usp=sharing

All went well and with planking across the entire deck (well mostly), I could turn the bike around to exit, the challenge that had befell others.





Once in a while a photobomb works to one's advantage.



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The road after the ferry is under various stages of construction for about 20 miles, then it links up to a 4 lane highway into the city. Nice views of the snow covered Bolivian Andes along the way.





A stop for fried trucha lunch in El Alto, La Paz, a stones throw from the San Sebastian hostel (recommended by others that have gone before me).





After dropping the bike off and getting into civvies a wander around and a view of the city and the Teleferico cable cars. I will be riding those tomorrow to explore downtown. By the way, colder than a witch's tit here at the moment.

Ciao. T2