Hi everyone following this thread. I was waiting until I left Peru to add my final impressions. But anyway, here goes.....

I left Ecuador and crossed the border at Macara (border point La Tina). The border was pretty simple with nothing to pay. I changed some money with the taxi drivers - no official office there. The recommended route from Vilcabamba looked a bad option given 3 days of rain. Shame.

Route south took me to Chiclayo - Panamericana was maybe not so interesting for anyone coming from the south but from the north, the appearance of desert made a change from the mountains.

Chiclayo to Cajamarca. Nice ride on paved roads into the mountains but the town was a bit of a let down. At present they are installing a new water main in the historic centre and it looks like a building site.

Next stop Huanchaca on the coast next to Trujillo. Nice place to hang out for a couple of days. Hostal Naylamp had a nice garage.

Up to this point riding had been good but was about to get much better. Rode up to Huaraz via the Cañon Del Pato. This includes a 100km unpaved stretch through the very impressive canyon where there are numerous narrow tunnels carved out of the cliffs overlooking a long drop to the canyon. This is a strongly recommended route for anyone with a little off-road capability.

In Huaraz, pay a visit to Marcello at the Vagamundo bar.

From Huaraz, I continued down to Lima using the standard paved route back to the Panamericana. Up in the Cordillera Blanca this is marvellous scenery. The type that makes your yaw drop and your tongue hang out. Nice descent to the Panamericana but after that pretty boring to Lima.

From Lima, I took the Callatera Central over the pass at 4800m and descended to the jungle in La Merced. The diversity of scenery on this route is tremendous for just one day on the bike.

Next day rode to Huencavelica via Tarma and Huancayo. There are some great paved and unpaved bits. This was true rural Andes scenery and my best riding up to this stage in Peru.

Next day returned to the coast at Pisco via a particularly rough but incredibly beautiful road. Had a bit of snow as I summited the pass before Santa Ines but the views as much as the altitude took my breath away. Further on there was a section of 50kms riding next to a canyon with a drop of more than 1000m to the river below. Were it not getting dark I would have stopped and taken more photos. Would say this was the highlight of my riding in Peru. I have no idea what the name of this canyon was. 10/10

Next riding has been along the Panamericana from Pisco to Huachina near Ica and then to Nazcar. Getting a bit tired of the desert now.

Currently in Arequipa after coming down teh Panamericana. Would have preferred to go to Cusco first via teh Abancay road but that is the way my trip has worked out.

Hope this helps someone else.

Matt