On the Bandit Trail
- 6 Nov 07, 02:13 PM
Posted from: Ayacucho.
John, our fixer, is in our vehicle and says that the road ahead is notorious for bandits holding vehicles up at gunpoint. He says there are two roads to Ayacucho and to keep safe we should not take the left fork ahead as that’s where the bandits hide ready for an ambush. We take the right fork - hopefully the bandits don’t try this road for once!
We stop to take in an amazing vantage point overlooking Ayacucho. There is a stunning sunset and we film a few shots. A police car pulls up and the police ask if we have seen any bandits. They seem a little disappointed when we say we haven’t and, heavily loaded with AK47s, they head in the direction we’ve just come from.
When we approach the town many of the roads are closed off and there are rumours of a civil strike. We end up travelling around the crumbling suburbs trying to find a way into the city. After numerous zigzags through the streets we make it to the safer lit areas and finally to our hotel. We unload at around 11pm and I channel hop through Spanish TV for an hour or so in order to wind down from the journey. I decide to sleep on top of the bed in a sleeping bag as the sheets have rather too-fresh stains of something manmade on them.
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