We almost made it to Chile, but we have been waiting at the border town Tacna for 2 days now and have to wait until Sunday to get back on the road.  We were about 100 km from Tacna when my back tire started ripping apart.  Knobbys were acctually ripping off.  I didn´t want to ride for a hundred kilometers with my tire in this shape but Tacna was the closest city and on the way.  It  was getting dark and riding in Peru is a death wish.  In Peru bandits will put up steel trip ropes to stop (kill)  bikers.  We have ridden at night a few times but only when we had the option of following a bus.  Anyway so we wanted to get there fast before it got dark, but navigating mountians at high speeds with no ralings and dropp offs  thousands of feet deep I wasn´t looking forward to it knowing that my tire could give out at any point.  So off we went, it turned out to be a very uneventful trip we made it there without incodent (thank God) I was praying the entire journey.  So the next morning I went out in search of a new tire but after going to a dozen places I was out of luck.  The KLR has a strange size tire for down here so I had to get one shipped in from Lima.  Tires are expensive down hear so its been a bit of a discuaging hold up once again.  We are staying optamistic, but getting axious to get back on the road and out of Peru.  So there is little to report, we are just sort of held up in this town until I can get my tire replaced.  Hope to here from all of you, once again any questions you have about the trip please leave your comment and I will address them in my next post. 

Caleb Dykstra

You'll get out of there soon and in one piece.
e and Emma miss you and we wish you a safe journey. Emma says Hi. We love you Caleb.:P

Hi Cal&Liz,

Nice Dog?? Bummer about your tire, it's an unexpected delay, but sooner or later you would have had to replace them anyway. I have three
questions this time. Are those tires Mefo Explorer 99, and if so, how many Km's did you get out of them before they started to fly apart? Also, did you carry any spare parts with you, ie: spark plugs, cables, brake pads...?
Have fun, ride safe!!

Man....what and ordeal. Have you ever heard of Gresham's Law? I know you'll be happy when you leave Peru and cross in to Chile. Be safe, be happy, and be in touch.