Decker Trip - Panamerican Highway 1966

Nov 14. Had a very relaxing night's rest. I fixed rice and pancakes (makeshift) for breakfast, but at least we got filled up. Then we went into town to check it out. Bought 2 pineapples and some mangos to get rid of our sucres.
Crossing through the aduanas took some time, especially on the Peruvian side, though everyone was friendly. Seven kids are a good passport in these countries.
Though Huaquillas in Ecuador is booming with new housing projects, Aguas Verdes has almost nothing.
The Peruvian countryside is scrubby dessert. It's difficult to see how anyone can live in this region. There seems to be no food for cattle here.
We got to Tumbres before noon and stopped at the marketplace (Shell vendor and garage). Like most markets, it was smelly and squishy underfoot. To the usual overripe vegetable smells was added the smell of salted fish brough from the ocean. Even though the smell wasn't inviting, the thought of fish chowder was, so we bought a kilo of filleted fish and vegetables to go with it. What a tempting variety of fresh veg. More than we had seen in many days.
After leaving town, we found a spot beside the road under a tree to cook our lunch. Since there wasn't time to soak the salt out of the fish, the chowder turned out to be a salty brine that nearly strangled us. I boiled the rest of the fish for a salad for supper. A poor drunk happily fell into the stream across the street from us after teetering on the edge for a while. His family finally got him bedded down in a hammock to sleep it off.
In the afternoon, we passed through some of the most fascinating and beautiful scenery on the trip. Ocean on the right hand with bright sandy beaches and dessert hills on the left with a dry wind blowing the sand across the road. The kids were delirious with delight when we stopped beside a stretch of smooth and grassless sand dunes. They tumbled and slid until we brought it to a stop after taking some movies, though we won't need pictures to impress it on our minds indelibly.
After climbing up and down a stretch of mountains, we came out into flat dessert land near Talara. We needed some items to complete our supper, so decided to drive into Talara, instead of past.
At the gas station in town (an oil company community with the first jet airstrip in Peru) Ken met an American geologist with the Shell Oil Company (George Tappan) who graciously invited us to park in his driveway for the night. It was a godsend for us and, as it turned out, that park in the driveway turned into a royal reception into their lovely home which was tastefully furnished with curious from many parts of the world. The time passed quickly in congenial conversation over a delicious supper, and then the kids were bedded down--some in the trailer, 3 on sleeping bags next to us who had the privilege of sleeping on sofa beds in front of the fireplace.
The American community here has dwindled down to 40 families who maintain active cultural interests in spite of their isolation. I was even able to do a load of wash and get it dried overnight. And we were offered the use of tub and showers which we gratefully accepted. Though they didn't entertain angels unawares, they certainly were God's servants unawares through their kindness and hospitality.