Ride Peru

[HotShot]

DBD34 thankyou so much for the pictures.   

[DBD34]

Heading back  out into the desert this morning, deep sand so it has been tough



Dodging mototaxis in Ica

[MacGyver]

Thanks DBD34 for the excellent "insider" pics  Great job ! 

[DBD34]

Charito and I rode back up into the Andes for several days, it's the rainy season and a lot of roads were closed so we took alternative routes, we didn't get here we wanted to go but overall a good ride. On the weekends in the Central Andes there are a lot of restaurants and families that serve pachamanca, a traditional Inca meal that is cooked on hot rocks, in a word the food is incredible, here are the photos.

[rarepartbuilder]

great pictures! Are those three wheeled bikes in your last pictures like a taxi or a family car?Are most roads on a GPS or is it better to take a paper map to see all the roads you encounter?

[oldstove]

Wonderful pictures! No only is it a very photogenic area, but your camera skills are top notch. Thanks for letting us share your adventures. 👍


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[DBD34]

Thanks oldstove & rarepartbuilder. Those three wheel vechicles are taxis (mototaxis), most of them are Chinese built 125 or 150's, there are also rear-engined Bajaj's all over Peru.  I've seen 125's running at 14,000+ feet, amazing, here is my mototaxi album http://www.flickr.com/photos/motoperu/sets/72157627790783903/
PeRut has a GPS project here in Peru, maps can be downloaded with no charge http://www.perut.org/english.htm   I use a a GPS and a paper map.

[rarepartbuilder]

i viewed your entire mototaxi album thank you.. there is many styles for sure.Most it appears to only have drive/power on one rear wheel ,,maybe the gravel road units have two rear drive wheels . Is there many problems to get the home made units licenced for the road or is only factory moto taxi's allowed?Here it is getting difficult to get even a factory bike that is modified approved for the road {hard tail bobbers etc}

[DBD34]

My guess is that you could get a plate for just about anything down here, there are restrictions here in Lima though, some areas don't allow mototaxis.  Out in the provinces, especially in the jungle it is common to see motos without plates.

[ptxyz]

as my wife's from callao, i know these by the name "cholo taxi".

is that offensive?

from talking with a tour guide, i'd learned most (at least in iquitos) are rented.  the driver makes very little.  many drivers dream of being able to pull together the soles (peruvian currency) to buy their own.

unless we were going far, i'd perfer to ride in one of these!

[DBD34]

In Peru they are usually referred to as mototaxis, "taxi cholo" is a nickname, nothing at all negative about it.
I've got an amigo over in Iquitos that is the only gringo mototaxi driver in Peru (he is a little crazy), yep, it is a tough business.
I remember talking to a mototaxi driver in Chiclayo, he told me that he had to work sixteen hour days, seven days a week to make it, he grosses about $300 a month, all expenses including his mototaxi payment come out of that, his family lives on whatever is left.
A new mototaxi cost about $3500-$4000, financing is usually for five years with interest rates over 50%, I have also heard that some drivers rent their mototaxis until they can afford a down payment.

[dwell]

50% finance charge!  Wow!  Sounds like a guy could do well financing moto taxis in Peru.  An honest guy could charge 12% and become pretty popular with the locals.

[Dave S]

DBD34...you are way out there Amigo...good on ya my friend. I am lovin your pics and words...and thinking that I want to get to south america to. Currently in Pto Vallarta acclimating to warm Latin culture..

Keep up the great story telling and images.

[dwell]

DBD34...you are way out there Amigo...good on ya my friend. I am lovin your pics and words...and thinking that I want to get to south america to. Currently in Pto Vallarta acclimating to warm Latin culture..

Keep up the great story telling and images.

I'm not sure Peru is a good idea for you just now Dave.  Apparently there is a new risk for North Americans for now.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-02-15/peru-guerrillas-plotting-to-kidnap-americans-la-republica-says