The drive from Chachapoyas to Cajamarca

This is Mike...
The drive from Chachapoyas to Cajamarca was insane and 212 miles (342 kms) long. The drive took 10 hours and at least 70 miles of the journey was an absolute nail biting event. Elise and the girls took something for the drive so they could finish the journey. I cannot fully explain how it felt when we were driving on the highway through a cut in the hill, made a slight bend to the left, and all of the sudden the edge of the mountain dropped 13,000 feet (4,000 meters). We were stunned, as just moments prior to that we were in a highland plateau and had now idea about how high we were, nor what was about to happen. From that nerve racking moment of having an airplane's view of the world, the road was predominantly 7 to 8 feet wide for the next 70 miles with no guard rails. The big saving grace is we only encountered 12 vehicles in all 150 miles of windy, but paved, mountain roads. The last 72 miles before Cajamarca was your typical average highway (and plenty of cars), nothing like the prior portion. If you are driving a motor homes or other large vehicle be aware there are very few areas to pull over up there. Which means if you meet someone face to face on the highway someone needs to reverse and maybe for a long while. I had to reverse twice which is a stomach churning feeling at such heights. On the flip side, this is why the undiscovered and less discovered areas or Peru are so cool right now. My advice - if you are driving your own vehicle and are not 100% comfortable with reversing do not attempt this drive. If you decide to do this drive all the power to you.

The beautiful highland plateau just prior to making the bend in the highway at 13,000 feet.

Straight down and nowhere to turn.

I stopped in the pueblo of Chacanto and picked up 5 gallons of gas just to be on the safe side. Many of the small pueblos have someone selling gas out of there garage. The gas is more expensive but it is there when you need it and you also support a small business. Don't be afraid to ask for gas in the pueblos, it is better than running out in the middle of nowhere. In the picture above they are using a garden hose to get the fuel from the plastic bucket into my tank. If you are wondering how the gas got from A to B, the owner of the company created a vacuum in the line by sucking on the hose and actually gagged on the gas when it entered his mouth. Elise and the girls got grossed out watching that.

Cacti and bananas side by side, only in Peru.

There was a dry valley between the mountains which we had to cross over.

Notice how close the white strip is, then the soft gravel, then nothing.

70 miles of this one lane road.

The desert region was very interesting.

No way to turn around here.