Mototaxi Junket, Day 4: Drove 220km through the most beautiful stretch of “cloud forest” in the Amazon region of Peru, heading east toward Tarapoto and the ancient Inca ruins nearby. My mototaxi/ducky mobile is holding up nicely after getting the carburetor repaired. The starter still doesn’t work, my average speed is hovering around 25km/hour, the brakes barely function and sound like a dying whale (I hear a lot of that when I’m going downhill), but otherwise, she’s truckin’ along.

At this point, I’ve driven through 700km of deserts, mountains and jungles and given away a lot of rubber duckies. (It’s not too late to donate! Help me reach my $3000 goal by the end of the junket. Right now I’m at about $800. http://mototaxi.therubberduckies.com/ )

(Yes, this day 3 update is coming on day 5…I somehow thought I’d be able to upload a video, but decent wifi is hard to come by in Peru!) — in Naranjos Alto, Amazonas, Peru.

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Rubber ducky preview! If you donate to my charities (SOS Children's Villages and Cool Earth), you also get to sponsor a rubber ducky which I will give away to a child I meet on my journey. Here are some of the duckies I've given out to kids so far on behalf of people who have donated (thank you all)! Right now, I have raised $800 of my $3000 goal…help me reach it before the Mototaxi Junket is over! Donate at: http://mototaxi.therubberduckies.com #mototaxijunket #rubberduckies #peru

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Day 3 of the Mototaxi Junket complete! Back to a tiny bit of society after two days driving precarious mountain roads on a rickety machine slightly more powerful than a riding lawnmower. Two mechanic visits and 15 hours of driving later, I am now in Pedro Ruiz, in the Amazon region of Peru. Last night, I was stranded in a roadside town and befriended some locals who were drinking in celebration of the election results…I ended up sleeping in a guy named Victor’s garage after muchas cervezas. Today, I descended from the desolate rocky mountains into colorful and humid Amazonia. Happened across another Mototaxi Junket team here (the first non-Peruvians I’ve seen in a day and a half) and am getting some much needed sleep. I’d post some pictures, but the internet here is waaaay tooo slooow. Needless to say, I’ve given away a ton of rubber duckies and am having a great time!
— at Pedro Ruiz Gallo – Amazonas – Perú.

Made it to Chulucanas, Peru after a loooong first day of mototaxi driving, and a few breakdowns. But so much for sleeping. The regional election results got announced and there has been honking and shouting and chanting in the streets for an hour straight…at 1am! Hopefully the mechanic gets some sleep, because I have an appointment with him first thing in the morning. ‪#‎mototaxijunket‬ — in Chulucana, Piura, Peru.

…and we’re off! More updates to come along the way, when I can find an internet connection. You can seem my progress LIVE here via my SPOT Tracker. Or check my Instagram page or Facebook profile, which I’ll probably update with photos and statuses slightly more often than this blog.

I made it!

After a little mishap of discovering that the Adventurists had moved the starting like 77km away from the listed starting line in Piura, I have arrived at the Luna Nueva hotel in Colån, Peru. It’s a quiet, sleepy fishing village on the northwest Pacific coast of the country…perfect place to start an adventure!