Day 8 Tingo Maria to Campanilla

An absolutely crazy day. We began in deflated and confused spirits, following the tragic death of a fellow competitor. This only heightened our own sense of danger as we entered the most dangerous section of our journey, the "narcotics trail" through the Amazon.

All advice told us to drive only in the light, and the clear the full distance from Tingo Maria to Juanji in order to get out of the danger zone before nightfall.

Consequently we were up before dawn again, and on the road by 5am in a complete torrent of rain. Our eagerness to make progress was immediately scuppered by breakdowns. Nick's mototaxi developed electrical problems which took over 1 hr to get fixed. The mood was pretty tense and this delay only added to already high anxiety and we knew by noon that we'd unlikely make it through the danger zone.

A mixed message from a heavily armoured police checkpoint seemed to tell us that we would inevitably be robbed regardless of time of day or night. The implication was that the next 150km of road was unpoliced and that the checkpoint was more to stop bad things getting out of the danger zone than anything else. We cheekily asked for an escort through the danger territory, which the police declined to give, instead ushering us onwards in a "if you really want to drive that way, fill yer boots chaps" kind of way.

Foot-to-the-floor we pressed on. The smiles and waves we'd enjoyed previously were no longer there, and  soon enough the road was blocked by a group of silver-toothed folk wielding pump-action shotguns. I think we all had the same sinking feeling of "here we go, this is it" and feared the worst.

Remarkably though, we ended up befriending the "banderos", gave them a couple of bucks to thank them for 'protecting the area' and enjoyed good spirited conversation with them and even took photos.

After that we felt more at ease, though still wary and began to enjoy the spectacular jungle. The driving was tough, with corrugated bumpy stone roads and quite a lot of climbing. The mototaxis were taking a beating, but our main concern was making progress.

Late in the day our Aussie buddies struck problems, rupturing their oil sump and we had to call it a day early, crossing a huger river before seeking refuge and getting mechanical help in a small (recently guerilla occupied) town. It turned out to be brilliant.

The small garage became a makeshift bar and we enjoyed a few beers beforew taking the mechanic, his wife, child and mate out for dinner, before playing table football until late!

What a day.