Canon del Pato -Chimbote.Pacific ocean

From Caraz we headed north into the Canon del Pato. This route was unexpected surprise for me. For about 15 kilometres the gravel road  ran through a very steep narrow canyon with 40 tunnels for vehicles.

Twenty five km from Caraz the road turned to gravel. Joe and I stopped many times to take photographs and some video footage.

We stopped in Huallanca a hydro electric service town and had a drink. Suddenly after quite a few weeks we had lost some altitude and it was hot and sunny again, we could get rid of some clothing.
The ride out was interesting with more canyon to negotiate with dust now and rough roads with roads that hadn't seen a grader for a while. Large gravel aggregate made concentration a must.

 The hydo trucks all had these mesh cages over them.

As we headed west down to Chimbote and the Pacific ocean I hit a rock that threw my rear wheel sideways what seemed like a foot whilst I travelling at 80km/h another close call. Not many people living in this area dry and arid.

We got about 80km from Chimbote the road returned to tar seal and land was being irrigated with crops of cotton and berries. Chimbote was a busy city with traffic  honking on there horns and trying to run pedestrians over. The smell of the fish plants was strong and many fishing boats were moored in the sheltered bay  at Chimbote, We found a hotel that had seen better days. It had hot water and wifi of sorts.Joe got a haircut for three dollars NZ. I was starting to lose the plot with Peruvian drivers who never give way to you on pedestrian crossings.