Huanuco to Cerro de Pasco

You've no idea how wrapt I was to be getting back on the bike this morning, having spent the last week or so in the truck. I mean sure I was trying to get over a rotten cold, but (and no offence to Conan or Mark) but I was worried I was beginning to turn from cyclist into a fireman, I was spending so much time in the back of the truck. 

Essentially they are former fire trucks from Germany, which have subsequently been reconfigured to carry a million bits and pieces of camping, cooking gear along with a few bikes, riders and of course all the luggage we've brought with us....

Whilst I obviously must have missed the starter's gun, the majority of the peleton not being in sight as, Carmen, Julia and myself headed out of town. Being tail-enders, though at times marginally faster than several of the back markers, no alarm bells were rung, as we anticipated catching up to several of them at least, before the obligatory coke / coffee stop. It wasn't to be however and so we did stop had some light refreshments at around the 30KM point and then continued on up the road, as the Three Musketeers. 

By the time we had ridden a further 30KM and what we believed to be some 7-8 past where we anticipated seeing the lunch truck, we'd begun to get more than a little hungry, given that by this stage we'd spent close to four and a half hours in the saddle, riding up a somewhat boring stretch of road. Fortunately the lunch truck had come out / found us, just as we were about to enter into a cafe / truckie restaurant for lunch.Being that it was getting close to 1.30PM we subsequently decided to call it quits for the day and to pop our bikes on the roof. With another 40KM ahead of us, and about 1000 metres of vertical climbing (at altitude) it would have taken a month of Sunday's to reach our final destination had we decided to continue on!

Jumping into the truck after we had eaten, didn't mean the fun and games had concluded for the day, given that we became somewhat bogged and on a rather precarious angle, when our driver - Walter - endeavored to give some oncoming traffic room to pass and had the front of the truck slide into a ditch given the soft growth on the verge of the road. 

Fortunately the spectators of a local football match put down their supporters banners and so on, and helped pull us out of our predicament something for which we were eternally grateful. I think in a way it made their day being able to help out some daft Gringos!

Rest Day - Huanuco

Being a rest day, both Julia and myself took a wander around town to see what if anything that it held in store as far as interesting architecture or tourist attractions and unfortunately I've got to say we didn't come across any particularly appealing sights.

That said, we did enjoy taking a stroll along the river, exploring a "Sunday" market where the locals were all trying to sell one another all sorts of useless memento's before finding a coffee shop where we enjoyed lunch and so on....  

The central part of Huanuco is an absolute mess rings with a cacophony of noise and activity at all times of the day (and night as we were later to discover) however some of the residential "suburbs" of the city, which are built up and into the sides of the mountain (they are mud brick homes, so there is very little wastage of materials, with the bricks being made from the soil which was removed in order to level the block / street) seemed a lot more peaceful!  

Jiva to Huanuco

Today's journey, I'm still on the truck barking like a dog, took us along roads that can only be described as breathtaking and downright terrifying, fortunately I was in Robert's safe hands and he maneuvers the truck like a pro. What's also brilliant is that in addition to be exceptionally cautious he's also quite willing to stop to take photos.

Inevitably we had to stop a frequently owing to landslides or any manner of farm animal wandering across / down the road, a situation which is considerably easier on a bike of course. 

An Andean Mountain referred to as "The Inca Crown"!

We came across a small village who were having some type of celebration and I have to say the joyous looks on the faces of locals and bike riders alike, despite a full understanding of what another was saying, reminds me yet again how lucky I am to be on this trip.

All the villagers, regardless of age or gender seemed to have enthusiastically joined in and they all seemed to be having the time of their lives, singing & dancing. It astounds me as to in so how musically inclined they all are! Whilst they may live in simple mud brick houses, with few "luxurious" possessions or things that those of us in the West consider essential, yet almost all of them seem to have musical instruments. It really is impressive! Once photos had been taken, we then proceeded on our way to Huanuco with several of the faster riders having caught up to us whilst we played National Geographic photographer, etc. 

Huallanca to Jiva

Tonight is our third consecutive night of bush camping and I've got to say we've (Carmen, Julia and myself) became a fairly adept team when it comes to putting our tents up and so on. I just hope it won't rain as it did last night, cause i woke up this morning to find the end of my sleeping bag damp / wet where it had rubbed up against the tent material during the night. The only blessing I suppose is that I hadn't felt / noticed it during the night. That's one vote for Mont Adventure Equipment 

I gotta say whilst I'm looking forward to checking into a hotel tomorrow night, hopefully it will have a hot shower, cause your right I do smell a little, as do most (if not all) of my colleagues, there is something to be said about being able to retire to your own little oasis at the end of the day to chill out or what have you.

As for today's activities, well I trucked it once again, still not feeling too flash hot. The worst of my cold / flu seems to be behind me, not that I'd advocate camping in negative zero temperatures as a means of a cure but what the heck. No more headache, blood pressure feels like it's returned to a more normal level, heck if I could only stop barking up my lungs I'd feel so much better. 

PN Huascaran to Huallanca

Having done a bit of bush camping now, I've got to say we've (Carmen, Julia and myself) have become a fairly adept team when it comes to putting our tents up and so on.

I just hope it won't rain as it did last night! I woke up this morning to find the end of my sleeping bag damp / wet where it had rubbed up against the tent material during the night. The only blessing I suppose is that I hadn't felt / noticed it during the night. That's one vote for Mont Adventure Equipment sleeping bag. 

I gotta say whilst I'm looking forward to checking into a hotel tomorrow night, hopefully it will have a hot shower, cause right now, I do smell a little, as do most (if not all) of my colleagues, I might add..... 

As for today's activities, well I trucked it once again, still not feeling too flash hot. The worst of my cold / flu seems to be behind me, not that I'd advocate camping in below zero temperatures as a means of a curing a cold, but what the heck. No more headache a blood pressure that feels like it's returned to normal. Heck, I'd be laughing right now, if only I could only stop barking up my lungs up!

Trucking it today meant at least I was to be able to pay a visit to Huanuco Pampa. It's an Inca site somewhat midway between Machu Pichu and Tomebamba (now referred to as Cuenca in Ecuador) which these days is seemingly rarely visited given it's location, etc.

It was an interesting site, though isn't greatly appreciated or understood partly I suspect because the Incas left very little in the way of written text and it's a culture / history that hasn't had the interest or funding for archaeological research that other historical cultures, such as the Egyptians / Romans have enjoyed. Maybe one day it will happen.

Huaraz to PN Huascaran

Wherever in the world you are reading this, all I can say is if I kept you awake last night with my coughing and spluttering I do apologize. Whilst I had a bit of a niggling cough all day yesterday which I initially put down to being nothing more than altitude and a dusty environment I woke up this morning having had very little sleep, with a fever, a thumping headache and a cough that just wouldn't stop. As a result I knew pretty much immediately any attempt to ride today, albeit only 65KM or so, would be suicidal.

Talking to several of those that did ride, whilst the scenery had been enjoyable, it was a bloody long / tough day in the saddle.

It's funny but that is one of the hardest things to comprehend / understand for those of who are here and riding it, even more so for those of you living closer to sea level, is just how much more energy sapping it is doing things above 3000 metres, let alone above 4000!

Caraz to Huaraz

Feeling somewhat rested and relaxed having commuted on the truck yesterday, I was somewhat anxious to get on the bike and ride today, though not nearly as eager or stressed out about doing so as a number of my colleagues. 

I'll be buggered if I know why, but the level of anxiety to get rolling however was such that there were a few frayed nerves and a general lack of decorum which is a bit of a pity, given that we are now three weeks into the adventure and yet we as a group still don't seem to operate as a particularly cohesive bunch. 

Hopefully that's something that will change as our journey continues....

At any rate, I was glad when we got moving and as is becoming the norm whilst there was a bit of jostling for position initially, things sorted themselves out soon enough, as people spread out a little based on their abilities,  interests, etc. 

At the 15KM point a number of us, mainly those of us who are participating in this adventure more as a leisurely pursuit than a race or fitness exercise, stopped at a memorial site dedicated to the twenty thousand of people in the area, who lost their lives as a result of the 1970 earthquake. 

It was a very touching site and I'm so glad that we were able to pay a visit.

We subsequently rode on, till someone within the group (a mini grupeto of seven) pointed out a little cafe / coffee spot a little further on. A can of coke or whatever was consumed, before we continued on to the lunch spot.

Both Julia (another Aussie) and myself, feeling a little stronger than the rest of the peleton, dropped the group, on one of the hills, which were more of a rolling nature than the route profile suggested and subsequently rode off to lunch and thereafter to our hotel.

Campamento Chavimochich to Canon del Pato

Well I’ve got to say today has probably been the best cycling day in Peru so far. I mean sure it was only some 85 kilometres, but the scenery has to be seen to be believed. Apparently the road we were on, was originally created as the basis of a train line that was to run through the mountains and valleys, but whether it was a lack of funding, the 1970 earthquake that devastated the region or otherwise, I don’t know.

I suspect however that the road, which still has a fair bit of traffic on it, even now at 9:00 PM, with buses and semi-trailers, was used quite extensively when the extensive irrigation system was put in. I mean, last night’s camping site had obviously been used as workers settlement area, at one point because there were still remnants of a shower and toilet block.

Initially, whilst at times there would be a rocky mountainous outcrop on one side of the road, on the other there were lush green fields, some with sugar cane, the other’s I don’t know but vegetables I suspect of all different sorts. Before riding to the designated lunch stop, we rode through several mud brick villages and it brought home to me at least just exactly how lucky I am to have been born in a country such as Australia, with running water, electricity at the end of a switch and so on…..

As is becoming my custom, I coerced my colleagues to stop for a Coke stop at around the 35-40KM mark and we nearly come unstuck asking for coke, because the shop keeper, was also selling coca powder (main ingredient for cocaine) mixed with some chalk. Apparently it’s legal, or at least accepted, here in Peru. Once the explanation had been provided and the correct substance procured we sat for fifteen minutes or so, the weather already beginning to get a bit hot!

On we subsequently trekked to the lunch spot, a beautiful setting just by the river. Unfortunately being one of the last in, we weren’t really in a position to take a bit of a dip in the water something that I would have loved to have done, not that anyone else, particularly the racer boys did either.

Following lunch we then trekked on, stopping at about the half way mark, for another coke cola, in a small village with a total of six residents, as the lovely little shop keeper subsequently told us. She invited us in to her home with everything from the small television to the lounge suite, covered in dust. battery  We had a bit of a natter to her, thanks to the fact that Carmen speaks Spanish, and it transpires that almost all of the residents in the village left or died during the earthquake but both her and her husband still managed to make ends meet via passing trade. Lovely lady doing it tough and yet she was so happy to have someone to talk to you’d think we had given her a winning lotto ticket or something.

We then rode the remaining bit to our campsite for the night, passing through a number of tunnels in the process. Riding on an undulating unpaved road in the dark is not easy, nor particularly easy. I think I could give that element of things a miss in the future, though it may have to New Year Resolution cause I suspect I’ll be doing it several more times before my journey ends! 

The only negative for the day was arriving into camp last, there were three of us, to find that once again all the fruit salad and soup had been consumed. Not too sure whether this is some people who arrive earlier taking several serves or a lack of catering but either way I wasn’t happy.

At any rate and wanting to end on a positive note with today being 100% unpaved, I have now set a new PB for distance ridden off road on my mountain bike. In saying that I’ve got to admit I am rather chuffed, though I suspect that there is more or a longer stretch of off road riding to be done before I am finished!

Huanchaco to Campamento Chavimochich

Today we headed away from the Pacific Ocean, after an all too brief a glimpse at it from the other side and we won’t see it or a sea side beach for that matter, now till we get to Ushuaia.

It’s a little bit sad in a way and an indication that we're now about to start getting serious about doing some work in the mountains, in which case the big question is, “As the team sprinter” how am I going to go, relative to the rest of my colleagues???

With the route requiring us to circumnavigate Trujilo and it being a flattish terrain for the first twenty five kilometres or so, we all pretty much rode as a single peleton, much to the surprise I suspect to some / many of the locals who snapped pictures of this crazy bunch of Gringos riding by…… Once we came to the first climb however, things sorted themselves out a little, with the racer types heading up the climb at a great rate of knots, whilst the rest of us proceeded at a more leisurely pace. 

At the top, we were pleasantly surprised to find that instead of the scenery / country side being quite as bleak as it had been further North, that there was a better system of irrigation and as a result a fair amount of sugar cane growing in the fields. 

Ultimately, back on the Pan Am Highway once again, along with the million and one trucks and buses, fortunately this time, given our low altitude they weren't billowing out tons of black smog. It's funny, whilst some of the buses got dangerously close, despite the fact that I was riding in the break down lane, the semi-trailer drivers were all well behaved and in fact helped me and a few others successfully navigate through a few of the small villages, by blocking traffic from coming up behind us or keeping reasonable distances / gaps for us to ride in, when the situation required it…..

At any rate, ultimately we reached the 100KM point and our designated to turn off the highway and onto a gravel road leading, God alone knows where! Bouncing around like there is no tomorrow on what I’d classify as a goat track, albeit a wide one, we rode the fifteen kilometres or so to our campsite and I’ve got to tell you. I’ve never been more pleased to jump off my bike. I can now put mountain biking on my “Done that list” that fifteen kilometres being the longest I’ve ever ridden on an unsealed road in all my life. Heck, it even made the prospect of putting my tent up a joyful proposition. The fact that I’ve got to do it all again tomorrow, well that’s a whole different story and one that I’d rather not contemplate to greatly at this stage of the game!

Rest Day - Huanchaco

With all the obligatory chores having been taken care of, I decided, along with Carmen, Jules and Elizabeth (the lass from Sydney who'd been kind enough as to bring my camera battery charger with her) to visit the archaeological site of Chan Chan, which was, the capital city of the Chimu Kingdom.

It's believed to have been built in around 850 AD ultimately housing some 40,000 to 60,000 residents making it the largest man made structure in the Americas at the time!

The Chimu Kingdom thrived because of their geographical location and their agricultural skills which enabled them to build an extensive irrigation system using canals, using rain run off from the Andes and their close proximity to the Pacific Ocean. They also flourished in later times as a result of their successful military campaigns and policy of extracting tributes from defeated parties until they were conquered by the Inca in around 1470 AD.

Chan Chan's days of glory came to an end around 1470, when the Inca conquered the city and broke up the Chimú Empire, with the Incan rulers controlling precious goods production (so as to limit the ability of the Chimu to fund a rebellion) by forcibly relocating many of Chan Chan's craftsmen to their own capital, Cusco, 600 miles to the southeast. The Chimu thus became no more than a vassal state in the vast Inca Empire.

By the time Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro arrived around 1532, the city had been largely abandoned, though reports from the expedition described walls and other architectural features adorned with precious metals, including one doorway allegedly covered in silver, which may well have been worth more than $2 million in today's money.

Rest Day - Huanchaco

Having spent the last seven days consecutively on the road and with a couple of days bush camping in a row, today was spent:·

•            Getting some laundry washing done
•            Doing a bit of bag reorganization;
•            Having a bit of a feed. There's a couple of good cheap restaurants in town.

Unfortunately some of the Bike Dream organised meals haven't been up to scratch in terms of replacing the calories burnt off on the road or of an appropriate nature to replenish our protein needs (well mine at least) and as a result the opportunity to restock them on rest days is something I try not to avoid doing.....

In the evening we all piled into a load of little taxis and headed into Trujillo.

It’s the third largest city in Peru and located on the banks of the Moche River, close to where it runs into the Pacific Ocean. 

Apparently it has great historic significance being home to the Moche and Chimu cultures which predate the Inca conquest and subsequent expansion. The reason for heading into Trujillo however was not to learn about its culture & history necessarily but rather because it is the city which our bike mechanic Lucho hails from and he & his family had decided that we the Bike Dreams mob, should enjoy some local hospitality. As a result had gone to great lengths to put on a party.

There was copious amounts of food and drink available, enough strobe lighting to put the MCG to shame and a DJ set which contained both seventies & eighties hits with which most of us were familiar, along with a good variety of Peruvian music.

I’ve got to say, Lucho is a very interesting, very friendly chap.

I just wish I could communicate with him better. My Spanish, though improving, is definitely able to cope with an in-depth conversation about the Pro Tour scene, his knowledge about what’s occurring in Peru, etc.

If you are ever in the area, on a bike, then make sure to head to Casa de Ciclistas, (essentially his home) which he opens up to long distance cyclists from around the world, for free, to give them an opportunity to share their stories and rest their weary bones…..

Pacasmayo to Huanchaco

It is odd to think that we'd spend today riding from one seaside resort town to another....and I've got to say I enjoyed the vibe of Pacasmayo, a town which I suspect had a fair amount of money go through it at one stage in it's history or another, given the nature of some of the buildings, in the township

The view of Pacasmayo from the old jetty. A quaint seaside village that came as a bit of a surprise, given that only some five to ten kilometres away, we'd been riding on the Pan America highway through a desert which had given no indication that, such a village or for that matter the Pacific Ocean existed so close by. 

The ride itself was pretty uneventful, and given that the Andes were something that lingered in the distant horizon rather than being incorporated into our ride profile meant that we could ride as a peleton to an extent being relatively flat.

The Andes Mountains - Looming on the horizon and to be crossed / encountered in due course......

Lambayeque to Pacasmayo

Breakfast was a bit of a non-event this morning with the hotel only providing a couple of bread rolls and a glass of orange juice and I am sorry if I seem to be harping on the amount & nature of the food being consumed during the course of the day. It’s only because of the extensive amount of exercise that we’re doing every day which means that we're burning a substantial number of calories. 

The bread rolls with jam are probably fine if all you are going to do is jump on a tourist bus or simply wander around the town all day, but it's not great when you are spending four or five hours in the saddle. 

With an election apparently being imminent, we’ve started to notice a number of billboards such as the one above. Apparently though the majority of political advertising is seemingly done by adorning one’s house with the various parties, icon, for which the home owner is paid accordingly! With a number of the elderly generation being illiterate, candidates’ names are listed on the ballot paper, alongside the party’s icon or logo.

As for the police presence in the photo above, they weren’t part of our “normal” contingent. Who knows what they were checking for…. Not crazy bus or truck drivers, that’s for sure. 

Seriously why we haven’t witnessed a couple of head on collisions by now, I don’t know…

With the lunch truck having stopped some sixty kilometres out of Lambayeque, a quick bite to eat was consumed before heading off towards tonight’s hotel in Pacasmayo, a town situated on the Pacific Ocean. First time I’ll have seen it from the “wrong” side… 

The photo above was taken on the beach and just in front of our hotel.

Having arrived in town around mid-afternoon, I took the opportunity to catch up with one of the guys, I’d ridden through some of Italy with last year – Tim. He’s always keen to sip a few ales and to have a bit of a natter. Great bloke!

As the beers went down, slightly faster than the dying sun, I decided to go for a bit of a wander along the pier. It was built in the 1870’s and was purportedly the longest in Peru at the time.

At any rate, with camera in hand, I managed to rattle off a few shots that may hopefully one day be worthy of putting into an Australian Photographic Society competition or what have you. They may not appear here however and may need a little bit of post production work..... before they "see" light of day! 😊 😊

As the sun finally set over the horizon, and as I could hear a band beginning to fire up, I packed up my stuff and decided this was a good time to have dinner and enjoy the music.

I should mention at this point, that having left my good camera battery charger at home and having been unable to source one from any electronics / photography shops I’d come across in the larger towns, I’d organised for my charger to be brought over to me, via a friend from Sydney, who’s starting the ride in a couple of days of time. I can’t wait! Will be good to catch up with her again, having only met with her once in Sydney in the lead up to this trip. Yipee!

Motupe to Lambayeque

As is becoming the normal routine when we’re camping, tents were disassembled, breakfast utensils washed up and put away and trucks loaded so that we could head off in a timely fashion towards our destination.

This morning just after eight o’clock, we headed back down the dusty goat trail and onto the main road which was to lead us to tonight’s destination - Lambayeque. Being a pan flat road, it didn’t take long to cover the 75KM till we reached the outskirts of the town. It took myself and a couple of colleagues, Carmen & Julia another half hour or so to locate our hotel, the route instructions being wrong, but even still we were all billeted away by midday.

This left us with the afternoon to explore the town, initially to see what we could procure for lunch but also with the view to seeing what the town had to offer in the way of touristic sights.

During our foray we came across the Bruning Museum and as a result after lunch the two girls and I subsequently paid a visit.

Essentially the museum is based around a collection of local Lambayeque, Moche, Chavín, Vicús & Incan archaeological & cultural artefacts, ostensibly put together by a German researcher, Hans Heinrich Brüning during the end of the 19th century & early decades of the 20th century though it is continually being enriched by pieces obtained via donations and recent discoveries. There’s hundreds of gold pieces, a number of textile pieces (I don’t know how some of those have managed to survive the passage of time) along with a number of dioramas which helped provide a bit of context & information about how the Inca’s had lived.

We then took a bit of a wander around town, including to the local market, there’s something fascinating / remarkable about the way these markets work, and unfortunately it was only on our way back to the hotel that we walked past the National Museum of Tombs which by this stage had closed its doors for the evening.

We found out later from a few people who’d visited, that it too was also worthy of a visit.

Chulucanas to Motupe

The hotel we stayed in last night was on one of the main roads through town and the noise of the traffic, with every car / motor cycle insisting on blasting their horns, meant that I had a little difficulty getting to sleep last night.

The fact that I can sleep through typically anything, having lived under one of the main Heathrow flightpaths (albeit a few years ago now) without drama, gives you a bit of an idea how loud / hectic things were….

As a result I arose this morning, feeling a little tired and very eager to get going.

Once again we found ourselves with a police escort, still without a full appreciation as to why nor what they were trying to achieve. Having had them stop us on a number of occasions yesterday however, we weren’t quite as annoyed / distressed by their presence. 

I also made sure not to be the lantern rouge, for it always seemed to be those at the back of the pack who were pulled up / questioned, and my Spanish is so poor I’d have no idea how I’d be able to communicate much more than my name, rank and serial number to them…

With the weather being slightly cooler than yesterday and the route profile (at least initially) being a lot tamer than normal, we ostensibly rode as a group…

What is funny though, is how few of the group, knew how to ride in a peleton. Yes, there is a bit of an art to it! Some of the “road” cyclists within the group failed to appreciate that in order to keep it together as a group, that meant not increasing the cadence and “racing” to the top of every hill making it difficult for others to keep up, whilst as for the mountain bike riders in the group – Well the idea of riding together in tight formation (close to the wheel of the rider in front & being side by side with a colleague) seemed impossible to orchestrate.

As a result by lunch time, the idea of riding as peleton fell apart something which would have eventuated anyhow, as the road changed from tarmac to dirt track…. 

We all ended up riding to Motupe at our own speeds and in our own styles, each I suspect coping little kids yelling “Gringo” as we rode past. Personally I just waved back in response

We did ride through some very small towns, with not a lot going on and on a route which is truly off the typical tourist track, so they’ve probably not seen a great number of white faces before… so I can’t say I blame them for having a bit of fun….

Having ridden some 153KM the Bike Dreams sign on the side of the road came into sight and it was time to take the turn off and head down the dusty road up to a football field where the trucks were located. Whilst there was nothing but rubbish waste littering the ground only a couple of metres away from the football field, where we erected our tents (hardly the way I’d envisaged spending my birthday, it was made up by the fact that a couple of cakes had been procured by the staff and offered around to the group once the formalities of blowing out the candles had been done, etc. 

A very unique, very memorable day!

Macara, Eucador to Chulucanas, Peru

Today we rode from Ecuador into Peru and it would seem a whole new world, when it comes to the standard of living and so on. 

What I hadn't appreciated last night was just how close we were to Peru, cause no sooner had we mounted our bikes this morning and we were lining up, at the customs office in Ecuador and then an hour or so later doing the same thing at the Peruvian office.

The ride from the hotel to the border crossing, wasn't even long enough to get anywhere near warmed up..... Probably a good thing in the end, given the amount of time we'd subsequently spend milling around waiting for our paperwork to be processed!

Me, waiting for my Peruvian stamp into my passport. 

Possibly the first time that a Camelbak water bag has been worn at the same time as a Lead Out Cycling jersey. 

Once everyone had been counted, signed in and so on, we were able to commence our day's ride. Being down at a reasonable altitude made a big difference and the fact that it was rolling hills rather than gigantic mountainous slopes to contend with I was able to set a reasonable pace and make some inroads towards our lunch stop, given that the sun had begun to come out and the weather to get a little warmish....

By the time I'd got about 25-30 kilometres under my belt, I was keen to stop, grab a coffee (or a coke) and to have a bit of a chat with my colleagues as opposed to riding on my own. As a result I eased off the pace, stopped for a bit near a cafe and sure enough a couple of my colleagues caught up. We all then wandered in, chose our nominated ice-creams and were just about to open them up, eager with anticipation only to realise we didn't have Peruvian Soles.

Being so close to the border, we tried to pay with USD but unfortunately were thwarted at the last hurdle, given that the shop keeper had seemingly never seen American money which also happens to be the currency used in Ecuador..... 

Strange and she could have charged us whatever she wanted, but so be it. Off we rode.

Another 10-15 kilometres on, by now with most of us of water the temperature having got so hot we stopped in the next little village, hoping that we might have a bit more luck. As we did so, a chap on a motor bike pulled up and informed us, that one of our colleagues had been stopped by the police. Concerned about what they may be asking, we had a ten minute pow-wow to discuss, how we wanted to tackle the situation. Fortunately just as we'd come to the conclusion that one or two of us would have to stay and mind the bikes, whilst a couple of others would jump into a taxi to investigate, Dave, came into view with a police escort.

It transpires that they wanted to know whether he was the last person on the road, from our group, because according to their head count, they'd lost a few of us, between the border crossing and their local station. Apparently they'd been counting us! After a long and detailed discussion / explanation, we were able to give them the information they required and we were allowed to cycle on. 

By this stage, any thoughts of replenishing our food / water supplies totally forgotten. We simply wanted to get a bit of distance from the local constabulary.

On we rode for another ten - fifteen kilometres, this time with a police presence tagging along behind! By this stage we were all out of water, it was something like 35 degree's and we'd been out on the road, since crossing the border, at least two an a half hours or so.

As a result a third attempt was made to purchase some coke / water to see us through to the lunch truck. Costing an arm and a leg a couple of bottles of coke were procured, as was a five litre container of water which we used to partially refill all of our Camelbaks!

Feeling a little refreshed, we then rode on to the lunch stop, only to find that it was only some four or five kilometres from town. Being that it was 1:30 by now and we were all fed up with the constant police harassment, we all decided to call it quits and to jump on the truck! Once loaded up we then headed for our hostal in Chulucanas, only being stopped by the police some further five or six times along the way. Along the way, we saw a couple of our colleagues also with a police motor cyclist following in pursuit.

Just some of the local constabulary who'd harrased / protected us during the course of the day.

Catacocha to Macara

Today's ride was very enjoyable, though I have to confess that I came within about 75 metres and a couple of minutes from calling it quits, with only about 30 kilometres to go before rolling into our hotel for the night in Macara.

I'd enjoyed the morning's ride downhill from Catacocha, and have to say I was a little impressed / frightened by the speeds that some people were achieving. Heck, I was passed by the majority of the group and whilst I can't be sure, suspect that it is my Italian experience coming out to play in terms of wanting to play things safe. It's a long way to go before we arrive in Ushuaia and I want to make sure I do so in one piece.

At about the 25 kilometre mark, a cafe was located and in true Melbourne / Road Cyclist tradition, the decision was made by a couple of us to stop for a coffee. It's a bit decadent stopping that early in the ride I know, but finding anywhere reasonable to drink is a bit hit and miss and with the lunch truck parked only a further 25 kilometre's away, it was case of WHY NOT!

Coffee consumed, we then headed toward the lunch stop which was a lovely sight by the side of the river. It's the first time we've been at an altitude were it's been possible to do so....

After that there was to be about a ten kilometre ride, that was fairly flat, before the day's nemesis appeared on the horizon. a 450 metre climb over a distance of just 7.5 kilometres. In other words, it was bloody steep!

Whilst I attacked the first little bit with gusto for getting to the top, my enthusiasm waned as time and the never ending climb went on. I had been riding with a couple of colleagues, Julia and Max for much of the day and they'd somewhat inspired me to keep going at a few points on the climb. Not knowing where I stood in terms of reaching the summit and having lost sight of them a few minutes earlier, I stopped for a breather on one corner, almost wishing the lunch truck / sag wagon would come post so that I could hitch a lift.

Water consumed, I then continued my battle with the mountain, only to hear / see the truck coming up behind me and both Julia & Max standing waiting for me one corner on from where I had actually decided to grab a bit of refreshment. Having descended 1000 metres during the day the weather had got noticeably warmer (hot in fact)!

Seeing the situation unfold and feeling in a bit of a bind as to whether to retire for the day or not, I pushed it into another gear and raced up to my colleagues to find out how much further there was to go before the top was reached. 

Seventy five metres came the call. Decision made! I'd cycle on!

I didn't want to be kicking myself for having bailed when it was in fact possible to continue on! What's more I didn't want to "thank" Julia and Max who'd both stuck with me all day by leaving them in that fashion......

Shortly after the summit was reached, a local little bar came into sight, with cry's of - Come join us emanating from several other member's of the Bike Dreams expedition. A soft drink consumed we then cycled on, until I managed to snap my chain at the chain breaker link! Obviously I was just putting too much force through my bike gears..... 

Fortunately all the bits and pieces were located and we were able to put it altogether again for the final fifteen kilometres into town.