vagamundo

NE ARGENTINA - Iguazu Falls and Ibera Marshlands

2010-02-06T00:14:00.020+11:00

ESTERO DEL IBERA

FAUNA
Caiman

Capybaras

Marsh Deer

BIRDS
Tiger Heron

Jacana

Southern Screamers in their nest in the palms

Yacutinga or Black-fronted piping-guan

Butterflies were the highlight of the tropical zone. Here are some colourful specimens.
88-wing pattern butterfly

We hitch-hiked from the Ibera wetlands back to Mercedes with this friendly Argentinian family (The Foulkes L-R Damien, Carolina, Mirta and Julio ) in their campervan.

Judy, feeding a friendly stray dog some tasty empanadas beside a gaucho dandy at Mercedes bus station.

IGUAZU FALLS

Fauna

Coati

Urraca comun or Plush-crested Jay

Short video of the Falls from the Upper trail

ARGENTINA Valdes Peninsula

2010-01-18T01:32:00.019+11:00

Sea Lions at Punta Norte colony

Video - Life's a Beach

Elephant seals wallowing on the sand

Video - a young elephant seal blubbering up the beach - Judy yelling out encouragement - "Come on, come on......"

Almost there cobber....you can do it......

Magellanic penguins

In the burrow

The Patagonian Hairy-arsed Armadillo

Video - digging a burrow

The rodent without a tail - `mara´ or Patagonian cavy. We saw a few of these odd little creatures in the Talampaya national park and wondered what they were- something like a cross between a dog and a rabbit.

THE END

2010-01-11T01:55:00.045+11:00

"This is the end
This is the end
..In a desperate land"
Just as Jim Morrison would have it.

We´ve been as far south as the road will take us to the tip of the South American continent. We walked for 2 days towards Cabo Froward, the southernmost point of the continent but had to turn back just shy of the cape. I had a fall and injured my knee, and we had some long waits at deep rivers for the tides to turn. The river level was nipple deep on me, chin deep on Jude. Also the weather was miserable....so we didn´t quite make it. But after a 12-month and 13,769km journey, crossing 68º degrees of latitude I think we´ve come far enough. Nada mas!

Many cyclists go further on....to Ushuaia on the Argentinian side of Tierra del Fuego...but my plan was to ride from the Caribbean to the southern limit of the continent (Tierra del Fuego is an island).

There will be more posts on this blog as we head north through Argentina- Perito Moreno National Park, Monte Leon NP, Camarones/Valdes Peninsula coastal ride, Buenos Aires, Estero de Ibera and Iguazu Falls. We´re heading towards warmer climes - beer in the tropics - time for a holiday.

I will fly home to Tasmania on Feb 16 and Judy will fly to Colombia solo backpacking without me or her bike. This is the end!
Que lastima!

The end of the road
We´ll still do some short rides along the Atlantic coast of Argentina but the long ride down the Andes has come to the end of the road. And here it is... just south of San Juan Bay on the Straits of Magellan.

The sign showing the southernmost lighthouse or faro and the most southerly point on the continent.

The view south towards Cape Froward. Looking out to the Magellan Strait with Dawson Island and Tierra del Fuego in the background. Dawson Island was the site of an infamous prison during the Pinochet regime where political prisoners were imprisoned, tortured and murdered. It looks a lonely and desolate place. We met a Chilean woman whose friends were taken there and `disappeared´ by the military.

We saw sea lions playing in the kelp beds and dolphins swimming in the small bays. Also a large red fox (zorro colorado. Apart from that the walk wasn´t very interesting. Lots of slippery pebbly beaches and everything cloaked in a dull ashen torpor.

Our campsite on Lake San Nicolas. We got very bored with the long march along the rocky shores of Brunswick Peninsula and headed into the hills - a much more colourful and vibrant world.

Nothofagus reflections on the tannin-stained lake

Sphagnum moss in the high country

A pine sapling growing out of the sphagnum moss. It looks remarkably like the Tasmanian endemic prostrate strawberry pine (Microcachrys tetragona)

Two parasites on one Nothofagus - Chinese lantern and Indian bread.

Flowers on cushion plant (Epacridaceae). These are very similar to the Tasmanian alpine bolster heath communities (Donatia, Aboratella ssp).

The prolific dog orchid carpeting the mossy floors of beech forests.

Something fishy! Lots of dead fish mysteriously washed up on the shores of the peninsula. There is also a `red tide´ flourishing on this coast (pollution and global warming). It infects shellfish with a toxin and is very deadly. Two French tourists from our hostel were rushed to hospital after eating a few mussels from the beach.

I´ve been following Charles Darwin´s voyage aboard the `Beagle´(1831-4) as we´ve travelled south. (Later, I´ll include some wonderful quotes from his book - a natural selection no less). He spent some time along the coasts of southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego on the survey ship. On a earlier voyage on the `Beagle´ the commander Pringle Stokes became severely depressed after months at sea and shot himself in the head. He was buried at San Juan Bay, not far from Puerto Hambre (Port Famine). This is his gravesite but the original wooden tomb marker is in the museum. Here is the replica and misspelt epitaph to Stokes with a quaint euphemism for suicide - `..died from the effects of anxieties and hardships´. Poor old sod.

Puerto Hambre - another interesting story from the 16th century. I´ll write about it later or else Google `Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa´ for one of the most hapless adventures in history. Surely a Darwin Award winner.

MUSIC DOWN THE ANDES
Shortly after we started out from Huaraz on this trip my MP3 player died taking all my favourite tunes with into the cyber grave. It was just out of warranty - the second time this has happened. I think the electronic makers put an implant into these devices to self-terminate like Monsanto does with its seed genetic technology.
Anyway I borrowed Jude´s (on an indefinite loan) and slowly built up my music library again at remote internet cafes along the road.

TOP 5 - HIGHS AND LOWS
Here are my Top 5 songs. As you can see it all depends on my mood on the day.

1. `Walking on a Dream´ by Empire of the Sun (a shameless Australian pop song)
..with my words in bold.

"Talking to myself
We are always cycling
For the thrill of it
Always pushing up the hill
Searching for the thrill of it
..Never looking down
Just in awe of what´s in front of me"

This was blaring in my ears when I hit a nice stream of tailwind or on a pleasant sunny day riding high among Andescape. I love that last line - `just in awe of what´s in front of me´- an apt motto for the cyclotouriste.

2. `Waiting Around to Die´ by Townes van Zandt
..my words in bold again

"Sometimes I don´t know where this dirty road is taking me
Sometimes I don´t even know the reason why
But I guess I keep I keep a-cyclin´
Lots of hills
And lots a-pedallin´
`Cause it´s easier than a-waitin `round to die"

From one of the most misanthropic songwriters, this is more relevant on my hardest darkest days- eg. fighting headwinds in Patagonia or pounding along the punishing dusty roads of Bolivia.

3.`Push on Through´ by Salmonella Dub
This was the song playing when I fell on that fateful day in Peru in June 2008. As I lay in the dust, bleeding on the road (still clipped into the pedals) a one-line mantra from the song echoed in my ears....
"I´ve had enough"
And on some really tough days this line still rang true.

4.`Mooonlight Mile´ by The Rolling Stones

"When the wind blows and the rain feels cold
With a head full of snow....
Oh, I´m sleeping under strange, strange skies
Just another mad mad day on the road....
I´m just about a moonlight mile down the road"

I´m sure Mick and Keith had other snow in their heads on the Sticky Fingers recording sessions but it´s a very evocative song of life on the Andean roads.

5. `Henry Lee´ by Nick Cave (w/ PJ Harvey)

"And the wind did howl and the wind did blow....
...And the wind did roar and the wind did moan."

This song was one of my favourites on the wind-blown pampa as we got tossed about by the wild Patagonian winds. At times I couldn´t hear any music at all, just the roar of the tempest around me.

The wind is a powerful force and this is how trees grow in Patagonia (although mostly it´s just dry thorny scrub).

SOME STATISTICS - How countries compare...

THE ROADS
Distance (in kms): total distance/daily average
Colombia 1975/66
Ecuador 1217/68
Peru 3983/65
Bolivia 1400/48
Chile 2176/63
Argentina 3072/71

Altitude gain (vertical metres): total altitude/daily average
Colombia 20,180/670
Ecuador 19,565/1090
Peru 54,830/915
Bolivia 12,010/400
Chile 11,425/340
Argentina 18,000/430

Road Surface: (in kms) sealed/dirt roads
Colombia 1704/271
Ecuador 1044/173
Peru 1785/2195
Bolivia 269/963 + 185kms salt
Chile 929/1256
Argentina 2258/814

THE COSTS
No. of days/money spent in $US (per person)/daily average
Colombia 49 days / $1000 / $21
Ecuador 28 days / $420 / $15
Peru(2008) 40 days / $610 / $15
Peru(2009) 77 days / $910 / $12
Bolivia 44 days / $335 / $8
Chile 65 days / $1000 / $16
Argentina 68 days / $925 / $14

CHILE- Region X11 Puerto Natales-Punta Arenas

2010-01-03T23:25:00.033+11:00

Now in Punta Arenas and almost at the end of the journey to the tip of South America. The town of Punta Arenas with a population of 150,000 sits at one of the necks of the Straits of Magellan.

The final leg of the trip will be a short 60km ride down a ripio (dirt) road to Fuerte Bulnes, then we stash our bikes in the bush again and walk for three days along the rocky shores to Cabo Froward, the southernmost point of the South American continent.

Double click on the map to see the route from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas. Cabo Froward is just south of Punta Arenas.

WHEN THE WIND BLOWS (across the Patagonian steppe)
The ride down the southern tail of Patagonia - from El Chalten to Punta Arenas - has had one common theme - WIND. Eric Shipton called it the `Land of Tempest´ but it´s really hard to describe the wind phenomenon of Patagonia. I guess you have to be here, stand out on the vast open spaces of the pampa and just physically experience its incessant and howling ferocity.

The road signs say it all....

Note the standard costume for cycling here - hi-visibility black (I hate to stand out from the crowd) and no helmet.. just a skin-tight Icebreaker beanie (the only headwear that stays on the noggin in this wind).

...but Jude´s not saying anything as she pushes her bike into a fierce and roaring headwind. She´s muttering something I know.

3 VIDEOS - LAND OF TEMPEST
Video 1 Tailwind
On a flat 10km stretch of sealed road (50kms north of Punta Arenas) I was pushed along by the wind at an average of 42kph. Without turning the pedals at all for this distance I hit a maximum speed of 57.3kph! In the first short video the odometer is showing 43kph and there´s a view below of the stationary pedals and the paved road flashing by. It was a real hoot!

Video 2 Headwind
This video was shot on the road between El Chalten (Argentina) and the Chilean border. On the previous 2 days we had cycled 250 kms on sealed roads with a mixture of tail- cross- and headwinds and then we hit this maelstrom, a wall of strong westerly Patagonian headwinds. It was on the dirt road between El Cerrito and Tapi Aike. With gusts of 70kph, sometimes we had to stop pushing/riding and shield ourselves from the sandblasting dust. Here Jude struggles along the rocky road pushing her bike into the unforgiving wind.

Video 3 Crosswind
Judy took transport on this section as the wind really upset her. The crosswinds were blowing us across the road into traffic. To stay upright you have to lean to the right into the wall of wind. But as cars and buses go by they break the wind barrier and you almost topple over. The drivers are very friendly (and courteous) on these far southern roads and bip their horns and wave but all you can do is nod your head vigorously in appreciation. All hands on deck!
It seemed like the tempestuous wind was very angry with all the foreign cyclists invading Patagonia and tried blowing us into the icy cold waters of Magellan Strait, just like it had done to some earlier maritime explorers from Europe.
In this video Jude is getting buffetted by the severe and angry crosswinds. Blow wind, blow!

Interesting mode of travel
We met this lanky Swiss cyclist, Martin, on his way to a conference with a Bike Friday copy and a Samsonite case in a trailer. He seemed to be handling the awful road and strong winds quite well on such a funny little contraption....just hope he made it to the meeting on time.

CHILE - Torres del Paine National Park

2009-12-30T02:14:00.034+11:00

We´re in Puerto Natales now having a few rest days after the ride from El Chaiten (Argentina) and a 4-day hike around Torres del Paine.

NB Check out the previous post of Los Glaciares national park in Argentina for more recent photos and updates, especially of the rough border crossing between Lago O´Higgins and Lago de Desierto.

Here are some photos of the fauna, flora and the mountain environment of Torres del Paine national park.

LOS GUANACOS
A guanaco family

Faunacation in the park
Spring was in the air and the guanacos were all very frisky - chasing one another across the salt flats of Laguna Amarga, leaping and fore-playing around....
....

.....and then down to the serious business.

LAS MONTAÑAS
Riding towards our first camp sitting under Torres del Paine

The three granite towers of Paine
The next morning we climbed to a lookout at dawn to view the towers and surrounding peaks swirling in mist and spotted with snow driven by strong winds. The towers´ smooth rockfaces and steep walls don´t allow the snow to settle on the pink granite peaks.

A gathering storm looming over Lake Nordenskjol

Los Cuernos from our campsite

An early morning double rainbow from our camp above Lake Nordenskjol

Track damage from the hordes of hikers who converge on the park every summer. Over 100,000 visitors in the short season and very little work is done to repair the erosion.

Every day we passed hundreds of hikers on overnight walks- the campsites are crowded (up to 40 tents per site) and the tracks have really deteriorated since our first visit in 1993. Then we were lucky to see 2-3 groups a day on the circuit.
Also mass tourism has prompted the construction of more facilities and private developers have built upscale refugios and in some cases luxury chalets within the park, like the obtrusive and ugly one below the Cuernos.

The authorities are now considering putting a cap on numbers with a permit system. It´s much needed as the environment suffers under the weight of `eco-tourism´ (an over-used and insidious euphemism for eco-ruinism).

Los Cuernos del Paine - or `the horns of Paine´. Spectacular monoliths of monochromatic contrast. The outer rock is igneous Devonian granite encasing an older and softer sedimentary shale.

We spent Christmas Day up here in the Valle de Frances with snow showers and biting winds. On our earlier visit in November 1993 we had very warm weather and even went for soaks in the glacial streams to cool down.

Notro (firebush) and bonsai Nothofagus nirre at 700m high in the Bader Valley. Both these species were wind-pruned and prostrate on very exposed slopes and thin shale soil.

I climbed up here on a climber´s path for spectacular views of the Cuernos and surrounding lakes, and followed the flight path of condors nesting high above a waterfall. I´d wanted to go higher but the weather turned foul and Judy was waiting at camp for me to return.

Guanaco and Mt. Almirante Nero

Los Cuernos in dawn light from our camp at Lake Pehoe

Riding south with Los Cuernos in the background

Lago Pehoe

LAS AVES
Austral parakeet

Rhea, or nañdu, seen from the road just before the park on the windy steppe.

Condor in flight against the Cuernos del Paine. Double click to see the outer feathers flayed upwards on the downbeat, much like contemporary aviation design.

Condor gliding over the turquoise Lake Nordenskjol.

A noisy little raptor sitting in the tree at the campsite. It´s an American kestrel (`cernicalo´ in Spanish) Falco sparverius.

Perched on a Nothofagus branch with faint outlines of the icy towers in the background.

Caiquen comun or upland goose - an indulgent and watchful father and his chicks on Lago Pehoe.

Canquen real - a pair of ashy-headed geese

LOS FLORES
Late spring is an ideal time to hike at Torres del Paine for the flora alone. We located the remaining 4 orchids found in Southern Patagonia. We had already seen 2 others along the Carreterra Austral (the common dog orchid and the alpine chloraea -see the earlier post).
A real treat and surprise to see all these orchids in the wild in only 3 days.

These photos are in memory of Bob Ives, an erudite and charming bloke who died recently in Perth WA. He was fond of my botanical photos and I´m sure he would be thrilled to see these floral wonders. Adios, Bob!

ORCHIDS
Gavilea lutea Yellow orchid

Gavilea araucana White orchid (I think this is quite rare)

Chloraea magellanica This showy orchid has a few common English names, incl. Magellanic, Mosaic or Porcelain Orchid.

Gavilea kingii

IRISES
Olsynium biflorum Streaked maiden (lirio del campo)

Sisyrinchium patagonicum

FUNGI & PARASITES
`Farolito chino´ or Chinese lantern, a false mistletoe and hemiparasite growing on Nothofagus nirre.

Indian bread or `llao llao´ Cytarria sp a fungus which also grows on Nothofagus species. It´s edible when it drops from the tree and hardens, and used to be a staple food for Amerindian people of the Patagonian forests. Possibly the first and only humans to have subsisted on a parasite (according to Charles Darwin, who is now my literary companion).

OTHER PLANTS
Alstroemeria patagonica (Amancay del campo) dwarf herb in sandy soil

Lady slippers Calceolaria (Andean genus)
Calceolaria uniflora (`capachito´ or `topa topa´)

Calceolaria biflora

Fuegian edelweiss Perezia recurvata - has lost its second set of petals

Notro or firebush, a prolific shrub on the open slopes

A herb found among granite boulders on moraine debris. A hardy little plant. Possibly Naussavia sp..

Ourisia poeppegii waterfall plant

ARGENTINA - Southern Patagonia (Lago Desierto-Los Glaciares NP)

2009-12-17T03:38:00.025+11:00

In El Chalten after crossing the Chile/Argentina border from Lago O´Higgins across a worn track to Lago de Desierto. It was a hard but spectacular trip. Camped the night on the northern shores of Lago Desierto with great views of Cerro Fitzroy 30 kms away.

A map of the route - with 2 boat journeys and 2 hikes

Here are some photos of the trip from Lago O´Higgins to Lago de Desierto.

Alain, a French cyclist riding his high recumbent bike to the dock on Lago O´Higgins.

The bikes aboard the pirate ship. This year the owner doubled the fare (from US$40 to$80) for the 3-hour voyage up the lake. So the pirate banner was the appropriate flag to fly from the mast.

Iceberg floating on Lago O´Higgins, which has broken free from the O´Higgins glacier, one of the icy tongues dropping off the Southern Patagonian Icefield.

Roel and Yolanda, cyclists from Holland (who we nicknamed `Double Dutch´) negotiating their way along the single track route. Judy is bringing up the rear.

Alain riding his recumbent with BOB through the beech forest with nonchalant ease.

Me getting squeezed on the narrow track

On the descent to Lago de Desierto the track turned into a rutted mess and made for difficult riding. Luckily I had high panniers as riding with low riders was impossible. Many cyclists opted for horses to carry their gear..hence the eroded and deeply trenched track.

The campsite at Lago de Desierto- a nice spot next to Argentinian customs and gratis!

Lago Desierto and reflections of Cerro Fitzroy.

View from the boat and Lago de Desierto

Judy trying out Alain´s recumbent

The Magnificent Seven - a group of French cyclists we met in Chaiten and who have cycled behind us down the Carreterra Austral. The oldest is 69 years old and the average age is 58 years. We often met up with this tough and jovial bunch at campsites along the way. They belong to a French group called CCI (Cyclo-Camping International).
From left to right: Alain, Francis, Mathilde, Christine, Florence, Augustine and Serge.

Judy riding in the shadow of Cerro Fitz Roy

LOS GLACIARES NATIONAL PARK
Then we hid the bikes en route to El Chalten and walked into Piedra del Fraile via Rio Electrico to climb up for close look at the north face of Fitzroy. Overnight camp and then a steep climb to 1500m to the lookout.

Mt Fitzroy (north face) 3400m

At 1500m below Mt Fitz Roy looking west to the vast expanse of the Southern Patagonian Icefield.

From El Chalten we got up at the sparrow´s fart on a windless blue sky day and hit the tracks well ahead of the crowds. Made it to the murky glacial Laguna Torre and the famous spire of Cerro Torre, seen here reflected in a pond.

Cerro Torre and Laguna Torre

Then we hiked across the slopes covered in beech forest and dog orchids and up a boulder-strewn stream to the beautifully deep blue Laguna Sucia sitting under an immense hanging glacier and the looming fortress of Cerro Fitz Roy. Fitz Roy was named after the surly `Beagle´ captain of the famous Darwin voyage but in the local Tehuelche nomenclature it was known as El Chalten, `the mountain that smokes´ after the wisps of cloud clinging to and hovering over the summit.

South face of Fitz Roy

Mt. Fitz Roy and Laguna Sucia - fantastic landscapes on such a perfect day.

Austral parakeet or cachaña, feeding on dandelions in the afternoon sun.

CHILE Carreterra Austral (South) Coyhaique - Villa O´Higgins

2009-12-11T05:14:00.028+11:00

We´ve just arrived in Villa O´Higgins at the end of the Carreterra Austral. We left Coyhaique on a cold windy Sunday morning but the weather improved as we headed south. The skies opened up and revealed the Patagonian peaks in all their splendour. The ride south was superb - sunny spring weather, beautiful wild campsites and thrilling wildlife spotting. Here is a map of the route. Sorry it´s lying on its side, resting as I will be shortly. Will set it straight when I get a chance.

Give me some latitude!
63 Degrees of Separation
Villa O´Higgins is at 48°south and since leaving Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast I´ve crossed 63 latitudinal belts on the ride down the Andean chain.

Give me some distance!
Total kms so far - 13052kms (Pete) Jude - 8100kms (mas o menos)

Cerro Castillo. In 1993 we spent 4 days hiking among these peaks- memories of suspended glacial lakes, condors and metallic blue peaks. Now riding and marvelling from a distance.

The ride south just got better and better. You can see the evidence of the recent unseasonal wild weather which blanketed Patagonia in heavy snow. At this point, we were still rugged up as the westerly wind still blew hard into our faces.

Steep climb ahead!

Our campsite was down on the shores of Lago General Carrerra, a beautiful spot. This lake is the second largest in South America after Lake Titicaca.

The road winding its way around the lakes. Lots of steep ups and downs.
Riding high above Lago Negro with Lago General Carrerra in the background.

San Lorenzo Massif south of Cochrane.

View of the cordillera at sunset from our campsite

Jude riding on the bumpy stoney road. The Carreterra Austral from Futalefu to Villa O´Higgins is mostly unpaved and quite rough in parts- with lots of loose gravel and steep sections. We pedalled 1057kms of which only 253kms were sealed (north and south of Coyhaique).

Heading further south from Cochrane to Tortel, at the foot of El Campo del Hielo Norte (Northern Patagonian Icefield).

Tortel village nestling in a fjord. This village has only had road access since 2003 and the houses are linked by wooden walkways. In 1993 we hitchhiked as far as Cochrane but the road hadn´t reached Tortel.

The road to Tortel was only 20kms off the main route but it was an awful bumpy ride. In that short distance I broke a brake cable, cracked the bracket mount for my front rack (luckily found a replacement in Tortel), broke a spoke in my rear wheel, and a hook from my rear pannier came adrift. Not sure if it was all coincidence but it seemed strange after 3000kms since my last repair. After 8000kms Jude still has only had 2 punctures. I´ve had 7 punctures in 13000kms, mostly in Argentina and on sealed roads. 4000kms in Peru without a flat!

Our campsite beside Rio Baker. The river begins its journey to the Pacific from Lago Bertrand as a deep aquamarine colour and as it flows south gradually changes its hues as tributaries dilute and lighten it just as an artist might taint a palette.

Rio Baker - one of the two rivers which is now in danger of being inundated by hydro-electric dam projects. The other is Rio Pascua further south and in a much more wild and remote region (on the edge of a National park). The former receives the snowmelt from the Northern Patagonian Icefield whereas the latter collects the melt from the Southern Icefield.

The road snaking above Rio Baker

Protests similar to the No Dams movement in Tasmania of the 70s and 80s are now emerging in Chile with lots of local opposition to the environmental destruction of Patagonia´s wild places. Google search ´Patagonia Sin Represas´ (Patagonia without Dams) for more info on the fight to save these wild rivers.

FLORA
On the road I had many opportunities to observe and photograph some unique and magical Patagonian flora and fauna.
Green Gondwanan mosaic on alpine moorland at 400m. All three plants share a genus in Tasmania - Lycopodium or clubmoss, Nothofagus and Podocarpus or alpine creeping pine.

Guaitecas cypress or lahuan (Mapuche language) showing pine needles and scaly bark.

The alerce tree Fitzroya cupressioides or Patagonian cypress which grows in the Valdivian forests further north is a much larger and longer-living pine. It is the second oldest tree species in the world and one of the largest. Another Gondwanan relic whose ancient relative once grew in Tasmanian humid temperate forests (give or take 130 million years ago). Now only 15% of the original alerce forests are left. They have ben exploited for their durability and used extensively for the shingled houses seen from Chiloe Is. to the Aisen region. I will add some photos here of the shingled buildings in Aysen.

Chloraea alpina - a flamboyant orchid on the moorland above Rio Baker.

Dog orchid (`palomita´) Codonorchis lessonii - the floor of a lenga forest, beside our campsite, was carpeted with these orchids.

Anemone

Ourisia poeppigii , growing in clumps on the edge of a waterfall. Ourisia is a trans-Pacific genus and one species is found in Tas and 14 in New Zealand.
LOS AVES

Canquen colorado, or ashy-headed goose.

Crested ducks on Lago Verde

Campephilus magellanicus Carpintero gigante (Spanish) Male and female magellanic woodpeckers

Male carpintero with its red tufted crown brilliant in the sunlight.

Vultur gryphus Condor de Los Andes.

This condor, possibly a juvenile, was in a group of four and it circled and glided above us for 30 minutes, at one point only 5 metres from our heads.

Cisne de Cuello Negro or Black-necked swans on Lago Cisnes
Other birds seen along the way but didn´t get good enough photos - hummingbirds (picaflor gigante) feeding on fuchsia nectar, kingfishers (martin pescador) flying low and swift over raging rivers and lots of raucous bandurrias, or buff-necked ibis in the marshlands.

LA FAUNA
Just after we were entranced by the flight of the condor, a lone male huemul emerged from the scrub. This species of deer is as rare as the pudu (the miniature deer I saw in Quelat)- with a population of only 4-5000. It was a real pleasure to witness this animal so close. It seemed very tame and we watched it nonchalantly eating leaves of the notro (or firebush, the red Proteacea in the background). As a lone male he must have been an outcast and he appeared to be injured, old or sick. It has lost most of its winter coat and looks a bit ragged and under-dressed.

Judy on the road from Rio Bravo to Villa O´Higgins

The waterfalls on the final section of the road were spectacular, heavy from snowmelt and crashing, splashing down the precipitous slopes.

Lake Cisnes from our last campsite

Late evening on Lago Cisnes - clouds, peaks and ripples

Arrival in Villa O´Higgins at the end of La Carretera Austral.

CHILE La Carreterra Austral (North) Futalefu-Coyhaique

2009-11-29T08:05:00.020+11:00

In Coyhaique, halfway down the Carreterra Austral. We hitched this route in 1993 when it was all gravel roads for 1000kms and there was little traffic and very few tourists. Now it´s a popular route for cyclotourists with 300kms of paved road. We´ve met over 20 cyclists in the last week and caught up with a few for dinner last night. Mostly French.

Now heading south for Cochrane and Villa O´Higgins. The highway hadn´t reached this southern outpost in 1993. Now it´s possible to catch a ferry with the bike and walk/ride on rough tracks to Argentinian customs at Lago de Desierto and onto El Chalten. This has become a favourite summer route for foreign cyclists.

The route from Futalefu to Coyhaique was a mixed bag. Mostly bad weather- held up for a few days with heavy rain. Lots of late spring snow on the peaks, and the rivers were turbulent with snowmelt.

Here are some photos of the trip. I´ll write more at a later date.
The highlights were the spring flowers, wild campsites and spotting a pudu in the rainforest. It is the smallest deer in the world and quite a rare animal to see down here.

It was also the first time on the ride since leaving the Caribbean shore and after 12000kms riding the spine of the Andean chain, to hit the salty smell of the sea. Puyuhuapi village sits on the Ventisquero fjord with access to the Pacific Ocean. We rode along the coast for about 15kms before climbing back into the mist-shrouded mountains of the Quelat National park (this is where I spotted the pudu).

Map of the route

Futalefu river running down to the Pacific.

Notro (Chilean firebush) Embrothium cocaineum
A member of the Protea family and an Andean relative of the waratah in Australia.

Copihue Lapageria rosea Chile´s national flower, similar to the Tasmanian climbing heath.

Fuchsia magellanica

Futalefu river

A house in Chaiten buried in volcanic ash and mud detritus after the eruption of nearby Volcan Chaiten in May 2008.

Lago Yelcho

A small chapel in the Chilote style, with shingled roof and walls.

Riding down the Carreterra Austral on a rare sunny day

View of the peaks from our campsite by Rios Palena and and Frio.

An out-of-focus shot of a pudu deer. I spotted this timid pudu in the forest but managed to get one quick shot before it fled deeper into the damp undergrowth. This is the smallest deer in the world and it was a real surprise to see one so close to the road.

Forest orchid in Quelat national park.

Gentians

View from our campsite at 600m in Quelat National Park.

Rainforest flora and vegetation

The road south to Villa Manihuales

ARGENTINA El Bolson-Trevelin (Nov 12-15)

2009-11-18T01:13:00.022+11:00

In Futalefu, Chile across the border from Trevelin, Argentina. Waiting for the omnipresent rain to ease before we head south on the Carreterra Austral.

I haven´t posted much text of late. I guess I´m getting tired and after getting hammered by the wind of Argentina and drenched by the rain in Chile, the life has drained out of the old fellow. Suffering the dreaded piles and knee pain, it´s a battle to keep the pedals turning. Judy is still her stoical self and just keeps going without complaint. No wonder her father, Sandy, nicknamed her Tuffy the Egg!

I´ve posted the following photos on this section by mistake. They should be on the previous post and show the lake scenery from La Angostura -Bariloche- El Bolson. I can´t be bothered moving them so here they´ll stay.....

The weather from San Martin de Los Andes to Bariloche was fearsome. A week of blasting winds from the west stranded us for 2 days in San Martin (a pleasant town and nice accommodation in a log cabin) and another 2 days in Bariloche(an awful tourist trap). We finally escaped Bariloche and had 2 pleasant days cycling to El Bolson via some beautful alpine lakes.

El Bolson is the Argentianian Nimbin- a hippy community from the 1970s, now more of a tourist spot but with a counter-culture atmosphere. Beautiful backdrop of mountains close to the town.

Bullock-drawn carts are part of the landscape in northern Patagonia. In Chile we saw carts with hand-cut wooden wheels. I´ll post a photo of one soon.

Butch Cassidy Steakhouse. The celebrity outlaw lived out his last days in Argentina and Bolivia and he spent some nefarious times with the Sundance Kid in this valley by the Rio Blanco and in the shadow of the Andes.

Flamingoes on a lake north of Los Alerces. I was surprised to see Chilean flamingoes this far south.

We had 2 delightful days riding through Los Alerces National Park. This large park has some large stands of ancient alerce trees. Fitzroya cupressioides or Patagonian cypress are some of the oldest trees in the world, some up to 3600 years old. There is also a Tasmanian/Gondwana connection. In the mid-1990s, scientists from Uni of Tasmania found 35 million year old fossilzed leaves of Fitzroya in a lake in NW Tas. This Gondwanan link is very strong here, as the wet temperate rainforests of Nothofagus, ferns and moss evoke the same senses as the western Tasmanian forests with their precious Gondwanan relics.

However much of the ancient giants of Fitzroya have been felled by Patagonian colonists for their shingled houses. There are only three reserves in Chile and Argentina which protect them from the axe. It has suffered the same fate as the Tasmanian Huon pine, another Gondwana relic and old survivor.

I´ll add more text to this post from Coyaique in a week or so as the diner bell is calling me..........
Here are more photos of the park...

Lago Verde

An amazing tree, the arayane, which like the huon pine loves to get its feet wet, growing by lakes and rivers. Smooth, cinnamon-coloured bark exposed to show the milky-white skin beneath, a bit like a Modigliani reclining nude.

Our campsite by Lago Verde in a grove of arayanes.

Jude riding by Lake Futalfquen

ARGENTINA San Martin-Bariloche-El Bolson (Nov 4-15)

2009-11-07T07:16:00.008+11:00

Map of our route from Paso Hua Hum to Trevelin

Over the Andes into Argentina met another spell of violent westerly winds, sleet and rain. Held up in San Martin de Los Andes for 2 days and Barliche for another 2 days.
Now in El Bolson and the weather has cleared. Fine sunny spring weather. At last!

We camped just beyond Argentianian customs - soft rain fell overnight. In the morning the wind got up just as we set off and blew sleet and snow at us. Luckily, we were protected in the deep coigue forest of Lanin National Park. But we had to struggle with the bikes on some very steep climbs. Initially we followed the shore of Lake Lacar but after 15kms climbed to 1040m. Then, in the bitter cold wind my trusty Schwalbe tyre blew. Spinning for over 15,000 kms on three continents on this tyre so not too bad. Now we are left without a spare tyre.

Some of the scenery when we emerged from the forest and into th open woodland above San Martin de Los Andes.

CHILE Pino Hachado-Paso Hua Hum (Oct 24-Nov 3)

2009-11-01T06:53:00.008+11:00

Map of our route in the Araucaria region of Chile

The main road from Lonquimay to Temuco goes through this old leaky railway tunnel cutting through the Sierra Nevada. 5kms long but only wide enough for one-way traffic. Bicycles aren´t allowed through so the guards at the entrance asked the driver of a pick-up to take us through.

In the back of the pick-up- the light at the end of the tunnel.

Volcan Lonquimay, on the only fine day of our 10-day sojourn in Chile.

Volcan Lonquimay with its halo cloud.

We cycled into Conguillo National Park but the northern road was blocked by snow so we tried to climb over the other access road on the slopes of Volcan Laimay. Heavy rain fell for 2 days so we gave up and returned to the main road to Temuco and onto Villarica.

We found this lovely campsite under this old majestic Nothofagus, or coigue tree and beside this clear stream. We spent 2 nights here just outside the park waiting for the rain to exhaust itself.

After a rest day in Villarica...more rain followed us east through the lake district. We found a great little campsite by Lago Pangupulli. Free camping is hard to find here as fences line the roads and landowners are very territorial.

Rio Fuy in full force just west of Nehume

An interesting structure - moss and stone in a Tolkenesque volcano. It´s actually a hotel designed by a German architect.

Rain continued unabated to Puerto Fuy. Stayed overnight in a hospedaje by Lago Pirehueico and the next afternoon took the ferry up the lake towards Paso Hua Hum and the Argentinian border. It was very cheap - 3000 pesos each ($6) bike + passenger.
Unfortunately, a misty rain fell on the 2 hour voyage and we only caught glimpses of forest, mountains and waterfalls through the thick curtain of mist.

ARGENTINA Malargue-Pino Hachado (Oct 16-24)

2009-10-22T06:35:00.008+11:00

In Chos Malal for a rest day - Judy´s birthday! I´ve been busy with the bikes though-another severed cable in Jude´s Rohloff. It´s such a tricky operation replacing these cables. I´ll have to look around for some spare Shimano cables as I only have cheap Taiwanese ones left.

The ride from Malargue to Chos Malal was interesting and a nice change from the boring wind-blown and dessicated pampa. Mostly sealed roads, dramatic volcanic scenery but still with the strong westerly and southerly winds.

The climb out of Malargue with cliffs and hairpin bends. We camped on the top at an old gauchito´s camp. Spectacular views at sunset over the volcanic steppe.

The next day- camping by the Rio Grande, a range of coloured rock to the west.

Rio Grande and a small gaucho settlement in this hostile environment.

We lost our sealed road and in true Argentinian style, the dirt road or ripio was corrugated and full of ball-bearing stones, with step ups and downs.

Hiding from the constant headwind (we´ve had this headwind all the way from the Bolivian border!) we were having lunch and a Dutch couple stopped ther rental car. Erik and Angela are also touring cyclists and they showered us with all these edible goodies- yoghurt, muesli bars, bananas. Muchas gracias, amigos!

The scenery really started hotting up after Ranquil Norte, 180kms south of Malargue. Distant smoking volcanoes, soft pastel primeval rock, broken up into deep ravines and mesa plateaux. Also, back on a smooth sealed surface, so we could concentrate on the interesting terrain around us.

Riding in the shadow of Volcan Tromen. Ruta 40 almost circumnavigated this imposing mountain.

The south-westerly wind continued to whip us in the face but created some amazing cloud formations in the clear desert sky.

To hide from the westerly winds we asked the workers at an estancia if we could camp in the corralls surounded by trees as windbreaks, and kept company by horses and goats.

The setting sun from the estancia- dramatic colours from the violent winds and swirling dust.

We celebrated Jude´s 56th birthday in the municipal campground. 10 Argentinian pesos ($3) for a site and we were the only campers. We cooked a tasty parrilla (grilled steak) washed down with Quilmes beer and red wine.

We thought we had experienced the worst of the headwinds further north but beyond Chos Malal it was the ultimate. The westerly winds blowing from the Chilean border were gale-force and got up to 110kph! We set out one morning from Las Lajas for the Chilean frontier at Pino Hachado. We immediately hit this wall of wind, blasting us in the face at 100kph. We couldn´t ride, but with heads down we tried pushing through the maelstrom. After a full day of this we managed to get 25kms out of Las Lajas, so at 4pm starting waving down vehicles. A customs official, Augusto kindly threw our bikes into his pick-up and drove us to a guesthouse near the border (20 kms away). Drove through a full-on blizzard as higher up at 1500m the wind carried sleet and ice. Here I am with Augusto at the Alojamiento Huski (the owner had 23 Alaskan huskies).

Overnight water dripped from the roof onto our bikes. Icicles on bicycles.

Araucaria Wonderland

We met up with two Swiss cyclists Raphaelle and Bettina who we had lst seen in Mendoza. They had ridden the 45kms from Las Lajas against the ferocious headwinds. It had taken them 2 full days. We shared a loghouse with them, surrounded by araucaria trees (monkey-puzzle trees) and a winter landscape.

The next morning we emerged from our winter den into this snowy landscape. The wind had abated overnight and we set off for the border and pass at Pino Hachado at 1875m.
Here Jude leaves the cabin pushing her bike and struggling in the soft snow, slippery ice and cold blasting wind.

Granite walls framing the araucaria forest on the way to the pass, 1550m

Finally at the pass- the wind was really strong and chilling at almost 1900m. The last 7kms was a rough steep dirt road but the descent from the border into Chile was a welcoming sealed road, with a nice gradient and gentle cool breeze.

Chilecito-Mendoza-Malargue (Oct 2-14)

2009-10-16T02:39:00.004+11:00

Left Chilecito after a day´s R&R and climbed up to La Cuesta de Miranda - some impressive multi-coloured rock as we rode to the pass.

We had wanted to visit Talampaya National Park, a World Heritage site, but the authorities have restricted visits (only with guide) and won´t allow any transport within the park. A company called Rolling Travel (or `Rolling in Money Travel´) have complete control over the park and charge a fortune just to get transport on a 14km public road. We decided not to partipate in this scandalous and very corrupt practice.

Riding through a section of the park in the early morning we saw plenty of animals- guanucos, foxes, a pair of rhea (or nañdu), an armadillo and a strange rodent which we couldn´t identify. Only managed to snap a photo of a lone fox.

We are now thoroughly tired of northern Argentina- headwinds every day and featureless landscape. We pine for the Bolivian altiplano or the Peruvian Andes but all we have are long stretches of dry pampa without views of the cordillera. And it´s culturally quite dull too. Morale is low as my haemorroids have raised their ugly heads again and are a real pain in the bum! I needed to rest my bottom and have a few days out of the saddle so we took a bus to Mendoza from Valle del Fertil (our first transport of the trip-unavoidable really).

It´s almost four months since we last saw rain and the harsh UV rays have been shining on us as we head south. Judy is now sporting an unusual tan on her legs. I call it cafe con leche, or coffee with milk. Any other suggestions?

We stayed a few nights in Mendoza and two days around the high Andes near the border with Chile.

Puente del Inca- a natural brdge across the Mendoza river formed by thermal waters and mineralisation. Fantastic colours.

The view from our campsite, with Mt. Aconcagua (6959m) in the distance. It´s the highest peak in the Americas.

Further along the highway there is a closer view of the south face of Aconcagua. The peak on the right is the summit. We had wanted to hike further up the valley for closer views but unfortunately the park was closed to hikers because of avalanche danger.

Views of the Andes from the road south of Mendoza.

Ruta 40- swirling clouds and expansive skies.

ARGENTINA Cafayate-Chilecito (Sept 24-30)

2009-10-02T00:49:00.009+10:00

El Ultimo Mochilero.
We met Dan van Damme, this Argentinian nomad just north of Santa Maria. He´s been travelling around the backroads of Argentina and neighbouring countries for the last 25 years. He is wearing a cap with `El Ultimo Mochilero´ (The Ultimate, or Last, Backpacker) embroidered on it. He has taken up cycling for the last 3 years and finds work along the road, like the old swagmen of the Australian outback or the vagabundos and gypsies of the world.

We camped at the head of this quebrada outside Hualfin where there was a hot spring. Very windy even in this protected pocket.

We came to this sign on Ruta 40 and weren´t quite sure what to make of it. Lavelle seemed to be nowhere or here and the other was confusing.

All along Ruta 40 we saw shrines cloaked in red to honour Guachito Gil, a cross between Robin Hood and Jesus Christ, a folk hero among poor Argentinians. They leave odd tokens of thanks eg. plaster casts, wine bottles, old T-shirts....

Argentinians are very pious and superstitious and there are religious shrines everywhere. This is the local patron saint, Difunta Correa, a woman with a baby at her breast. Like Gauchito Gil, travellers and locals all leave items at the shrines. In this case they leave water for Difunta and the baby. As the story goes, she crossed the dry pampa to bring food to her husband, a soldier, but she died of thirst enroute. She was found with the baby suckling on her breast. Anyway, we were very low on water on this lonely dry stretch of road and helped ourselves to some left by the faithful. Difunta didn´t seem to notice- too busy feeding her baby. Gracias, Difunta!

MILESTONES - 5000 & 10,000 kms!
Judy celebrating reaching 5000kms. Check out the long straight behind her.

This was probably the most boring bit of road of the entire journey. Dry thorny scrub, cold headwinds, cloudy sky and these 15-20km straights cut through the featureless sandy landscape.
Just before we reached Chilecito I clocked up 10,000km for the trip, from the Caribbean to NW Argentina. Only 5000kms to go......

Salta - Cafayate (Sept 17-21)

2009-09-23T03:10:00.022+10:00

Salta was a pleasant city and we stayed 3 nights to get all the necessary things done- i.e washing clothes, blogging, bike maintenance, money exchange.

I came across this bent rim along the road. I guess you could say it is 'cactus'.

And so is this wheel. This is Jude's Velocity rear rim with a nasty crack in the sidewall which I discovered this morning in the campground at Cafayate. I had 2 of these rims fail in Peru last year- same problem sidewall cracks. No more to say on this...
I will take a bus early tomorrow morning for Salta to have a new rim built for Jude's rear wheel. Hope I can find correct sized spokes for the Rohloff hub.

Postscript: I found a large bike warehouse in Salta and found an Argentinian-made rim with 32 holes and the same circumference as the Velocity Aeroheat. So, it was just a simple matter of replacing the rim without changing spokes. They had better quality rims (eg Mavic) but I wouldn´t be able to find DTSwiss spokes for the different size rim. I took it to a bike mechanic and he rebuilt the wheel for 18 pesos (or A$5), only waited an hour and he did a great job. It seems to be holding up OK and this route along Ruta 40 doesn´t have many dirt sections. When we cross over to Chile and La Carretera Austral we´ll hit a bit more...but our tough and rough ripio roads are behind us (famous last words!)

BOLIVIA (Country Snapshot)

2009-09-17T00:26:00.002+10:00

BICYCLE STATISTICSJuly 20-Sept 8
Latitude: S 15.30 (Lake Titicaca) - S 22.04 (Villazon)
Total Kms: 1400kms.
Days cycled: 29 days
Daily average: 48 kms per day
Riding hours: 133.30 hours (daily average-4.40 hrs)
Elevation gain: 12010 metres (daily average-400m per day)
Road surface: Sealed 269kms Dirt: 963kms Salt: 185kms

COSTS
Money spent: 5400 bolivianos in 44 days
Daily averasge per person : 60 bolivianos or $US 8.50 per day

ARGENTINA La Quiaca-Salta (Sept 9-14)

2009-09-13T10:50:00.012+10:00

We crossed the border from Bolivia to Argentina on Sept 9 and sped passed the usually vigilant customs. They missed me but caught Jude, although they let her go with plenty of cheap Bolivian contraband (i.e. cheap fresh food).

The road stayed at high altitudes (3500-3750m) for 100km with very strong gusty winds from the west and south (crosswinds and headwinds). It was difficult holding the bike steady. Luckily little traffic as a protest roadblock held back southbound buses. No shoulder all the way to Salta (467kms away) which made riding dangerous as the traffic picked up.

Later in the day the road turned east and the wind was a lovely tailwind - I hit 27kph on the flat without pedalling! Then turned a bend and almost got blown onto the asphalt.

Fingers of rock and striated hills near Tres Cruces, about to enter the Quebrada de Humahuaca. It is a much publicised route by Argentinians but we thought the scenery around Tupiza was more impressive. It was pleasant scenery but all the way through the canyon we had to ride hard against a punishing cold southerly wind whipping up the narrow quebrada. Que malo, que duro!

At Humahuaca campground we met 2 grey nomads from Melbourne. Barry and Carol in their rig from Australia on a 3 year odyssey around Sth America.
Buen viaje amigos!

Sebastian and his legendary carne asado at Hostal Pucara, in Tilcara - my birthday bash!

The Argentinian slow cook BBQ - puts Australian barbeques back in the Stone Age.

Here is the crowd at Hostal Pucara drinking cheap red wine- A$2 a bottle. The party got pretty rowdy later on- with Pink Floyd and The Doors blaring from the stereo.

Back on the road - after the party I was feeling all my years- not sure if it´s the hangover or the cold I got in the Gobi desert dust storm in Bolivia. My knee is also acting up again and hard to pedal strong against the headwind. OK , I´m having a whinge - a grumpy old man!

Outside Tilcara - eroded hillsides and cacti

The famous seven-coloured rocks of Purmamarca

Outside Tilcara taking a break from speeding traffic and the incessant wind. Check out the road edge- no shoulder at all. Bloody dangerous with trucks and buses.

We camped at Yala beside a river and the next morning hit the road early for the long 112km ride to Salta. Route 9 turned out to be a windless, warm and very pleasant ride. At 25 degrees C, nice climbing gradient and low elevations (1200-1500m) it was like riding up to Fern Tree, Tasmania on a summers day. Almost no traffic on a single-lane paved road weaving through the forested hills with a touch of spring genesis. Bliss for two tired cyclists!

BOLIVIA Uyuni-Villazon

2009-09-13T10:25:00.007+10:00

The ride from Uyuni was supposed to be cruisy sort of ride to the Argentinian border, but it was 5 very tough days in the saddle. Dust storms, howling wind, washboard roads and rollercoaster hills....

The wind did howl, the wind did moan
Leaving Uyuni we followed the edge of the salar with a light wind at our backs. However, it just kept blowing, gaining in strength as we headed south. The road was in bad shape (corrugations and sandy sections) so we opted for the tracks alongside, hitting over 30kph on the flat. But after 30kms the wind turned into a maelstrom and we had to hide behind some roadside tombs to eat a quick lunch, dust whipping around us, not hearing anything but the howling wind. Later I heard a prophetic Nick Cave and PJ Harvey singing "The wind did howl, the wind did moan".

Very little traffic on this road, but the wind, dust and sand was our nemesis today. Gusts of about 80kph - tailwind and crosswind. Poor Jude was knocked off her bike 3 times. I had plenty of ballast on deck (water and food) to stay upright. The dust storm blew around us all afternoon- visibility at times was down to 2 metres. I lost Jude for about an hour, but she emerged out of the wind and sand, covered in dust and grime. The wind blew the sand off the dunes into our ears, eyes and even down our pants. Jude´s bum was rubbed raw from the sandpaper effect.
We had to push our bikes through sand dunes which had encroached onto the road from the dust storm. Here is a photo of the dust storm before it increased in intensity. I didn´t want to open my camera up in the maelstrom.

At about 5 in the afternoon we left the flat country and climbed into some interesting eroded landscape.

We made it to Atocha in the dark with our headtorches lighting the way through a spooky canyon. We didn´t have the energy or courage to get under a cold shower (it was very cold in this wild west town) so we had 2 hamburgers and beers and climbed into tiny beds in our dusty clothes. 105 kms on a bad dirt road, with a 500m elevation gain - one of our hardest and longest days. I clocked up almost 8 hours in the saddle, but Judy did a spectacular 9 hours and 44 minutes!! I wanted her to ride around the dark deserted railway station for 16 minutes to achieve the perfect 10, but she impolitely declined. (Tim S, this would be a true Audax moment wouldn´t it).

Next morning we scrubbed the dust out of all orifices and got back on our bikes. Climbing out of Atocha the imposing volcano Cerro Chloroque with it´s pyramidal face.

The road to Tupiza snaking its way high over the Cordillera de Chichas. It climbed and dipped over the rugged range for 70kms with elevations between 3900-4250 metres.

The road south. In the distance a truck is sending up dust as it heads down into one of the dessicated barren valleys. Very litle traffic- just the odd bus and 4WD.

The gradients in Bolivia are similar to southern Ecuador - bloody steep. Over the Cordillera de Chichas the road climbed and fell into narrow dry valleys - over 100kms and about 13 of these rollercoaster dips, mostly at 10-13 degree gradients. Here is one such descent with a sign warning of the sudden fall (double click on the photo to see the angle indicated on the sign).

Some of the road followed a high ridge with spectacular vistas to the south.
Then the big drop into the Tupiza valley began - from 4200m to 3250m.

Cacti and red rock country. Coming into the Tupiza valley the landscape changed dramatically. This is Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid country - nearby they held up their last cache of money and were ambushed and gunned down by the Bolivian constabulary.

A side gorge into the Tupiza river.

Eroded rocks near Salo.

El Pirongo, named after the Argentinian vernacular for `penis´.

Tupiza river

A bicycle shop in Tupiza. I love the Connondale slogan.
We found a nice friendly hospedaje in town, Hospedaje Central and enjoyed warm showers, beer, wine and good food.

More red rock country outside Tupiza.

The road from Tupiza to Villazon is being upgraded and traffic is forced into the river- quite deep for bicycles. Luckily, I hadn´t bothered cleaning the bikes in Tupiza.

Another stretch of bicycle wading - check out Jude navigating the deep waters on the right.

A narrow canyon and tunnel. Jude emerges from the dark rock as a truck waits.

Jude among some beautifully-coloured landscape and interesting clouds.

Send in the Clouds

Lenticular cloud formations sweeping across the sky.

At our campsite beside the railway we had this spectacular light show in the sky.

Cacti and red sky

Our campsite between Tupiza and Villazon. I had my cycling boots drying on the tracks when I train came hooting around the corner. Just managed to save them. Phew!

More silhouette cacti, more blood-red sky.

BOLIVIA Across the Salt Lakes Pisiga-Uyuni (Aug 28-Sept 1)

2009-09-03T01:01:00.016+10:00

We left Pisiga and followed a sandy winding road for 20kms through desolate country with abandoned villages and apachetas (rock cairns)crowning the hilltops.

Then suddenly we emerged onto the Salar de Coipasa. It was weird and surreal riding into a white flat landscape. At the edge of the salt flat workers were busy salt mining.

This salt lake was very wet in patches and the salt particles stuck hard onto the bike. Check out the last photo in this post.

Jude riding across Salar de Coipasa. The water sits on the filmy surface of the salt with a glittering effect.

This was rather a short ride - about 16 kms to the other side, on the Chilean border. When we hit `land´ we were greeted enthusiastically by Chilean and Bolivian truck drivers at a camp. They seemed to be involved in some illegal trade (avoiding custom duties). From here we followed the edge of the salar, the surface a mixture of smooth salt pan and deep fine sand.

At twilight, riding deep in sand desperate for a campsite in this bare scrubland and dune country. We eventually found a corrall with its own kitchen alcove, just north of a village, Hizo. Perfect!

A choice of roads....sand or sand

Jude pushing her bike through the thick sand. It took us back to the infamous 2007 ride along the Old Andado Road beside the Simpson Desert in central Australia. However here the sand was dull grey instead of the Simpson terracotta red and we only had to push our bikes for 4kms instead of 12.

We arrived in Llica on the western side of the Salar de Uyuni. It was a friendly town, with a pleasant alojamiento (guesthouse) and internet (at a costly 8 bolivianos an hour). Also well-stocked shops, including one with fresh vegetables!

Left Llica before 8am and rode out to the edge of the salar. After about 8 kms riding on a smooth salt pan beside the rough road we came across the terraplen. These are earth ramps which are built at the edges of the salar to avoid the soft outer edges of the salar.

Then we were on the salar itself. This salt lake is the largest and highest in the world, over 12,000 sq. kms and sitting at 3665m above sea level. We rode from west to east - over 150kms on the salar. Most cyclists and tourists do a shorter route from north to south or south to east. We followed the route used by other vehicles but sometimes veered off onto little-used tracks.

Lunch on the salar

Just add salt...

After 50kms on a whiter shade of pale we arrived at an island, Isla Pescado. It was like being washed up on a deserted tropical island. As the salt hit land the thin surface crumpled like small waves and driftwood speckled the beach...

...and instead of palm trees we had weird prickly cacti, emerging from coral rock.

And it was a good chance to get in bit of nude sunbathing. I´m getting a spot of solar radiation on the cyclist´s pale bits before the salty tide comes in. Nobody around on the deserted island so I felt at ease soaking up the sun. Not for long because when the sun sinks below the flat horizon, the temperature plummets, dropping to -15 degrees C!!

I climbed to the highest point on the island 200m above the salar, for spectacular views of a vast white world punctuated with islands and volcanoes.

We camped on the western side of the island on a sandy beach. Golden light on the salt surface. The salt forms rough protrusions in weird geometric shapes.

Sunrise on the island, looking west.

Salt Flat! No punctures just flat out!

The white highway. Blinded and dazzled by the white monotony, mesmerised by geometric patterns and hallucinating on distant floating mirages it was an otherwordly experience. We went across this salt lake in 1992 in a jeep tour but being on a bike and spending 2 full days on this milky way was a completely different experience - unreal and quite bizarre. We spotted two other cyclists about 5kms way heading west and through the binoculars they appeared to be levitating over the salar. Weird stuff!

Salty geometery and `ojos de agua´, or eyes of water.

As we got nearer to the eastern edge of the salar, salt scribblings marked the surface. This must be the genesis of the hexagonal forms, not yet fully formed.

A pothole full of salty water with salt crystals floating on the surface. A real hazard for the hallucinating cyclist.

Jude riding flat out on the salar. We averaged 15kph and I hit a max speed of 32kph. Poor Jude had a torn Rohloff cable cable and only had 8 low gears. And she rode for 160kms in a silent white world whereas I had my Mp3 player blasting out The Doors `This is the end...´

Guess what this is? Table salt, of course.

This is outside the famous Salt Hotel, built entirely of salt. We saw the beginnings of this hotel in 1992. Now open again at $20 a night. We decided to head for terra firma and camp at the edge just before Uyuni.

For cyclists info, there is a shorter route from the salt hotel avoiding Colchani and the awful road. It cuts out 10kms and reaches hard land over an alternative ramp (15kms north of Uyuni). I have GPS waypoints so if you want this info send a comment.

Arrived in Uyuni at 10am next morning. Even though we had scraped off a lot of the salt encrustations in Llica (after Salar de Copiasa) a few barnacles has clung onto our vessels. Here is the bottom of Jude´s bike before I cleaned our bikes thoroughly.
The surface on the Salar de Uyuni was fortunately very dry and left very little detritus on the bikes.

CHILE (North)Lake Chungara-Colchane (Aug 20-27)

2009-09-03T01:00:00.012+10:00

We cycled out of Sajama and towards the Chilean frontier at Tambo Quemado. It was a good sealed road and a gradual climb but the strong westerly winds from Chile blew into our faces. It was punishing at this altitude (4200-4700m)- you couldn´t hear a thing, just this ceaseless blast in the face.

Eventually over the border at Tambo Quemado. Phew! Welcome to Chile, and it was really bloody chilly at 4680m.

Flamingoes on a frozen lake near the border.

A Chilean flamingo about to touch down on the icy runway. It was funny watching the flamingoes, Andean coots and ducks tring to stay upright as they skated over the lake.

Flamingo feeding in Lake Chungara

Vicuñas grazing in the cold waters of Lake Chungara at 4650m, one of the highest bodies of water in the world.

Vicuñas resting. They show their camel instincts when sitting and feeding.

Vicuñas and Volcan Parinacota

Volcan Parinacota

The imposing volcano Sajama popping out from Bolivia overlooking Lake Chungara.

Lake Cocotani, a messy jumble of lakes, moraines and black lava fields.

On the descent down to Parinacota Judy felt her Rohloff cable go stiff and could only get 4 gears. In the village I examined the cables and found that they were both worn badly and needed changing. Bugger! I had 3 spare cables but no cable cutter.
We left our bikes at a small refugio and caught a lift to Putre on a tour bus 50kms away. It was a small town but remarkably a shabby little hardware shop had a pair of cable cutters (and only cost $2!).

Chile is far more expensive than Bolivia (perhaps 3X) so we only spent one night in town (Putre). A good chance to quaff some nice Chilean wine, have a hot shower, and stock up on food. We bought 5 days supply (we had brought a lot of food over the border from Bolivia too).

We hitched a lift back to Parinacota with Ivan, a Chilean engineer. He was on his way to Arica on the coast but took us 40kms out of his way. There´s an 17th century colonial church here. I´m here with Ivan the Terrible outside the church.

Back to Jude´s gearless bike. As I had thrown out one torn cable I had problems getting the right length. On my final cable I managed to get 8 gears (instead of 14) but luckily they were the low gears and as it happened over the next 9 days we didn´t need the top 7 gears. (as a postscript, I bought cheap cables in Uyuni and cut them at the right length). Now Judy is riding high and low.

We stayed at a basic refugio run by an Aymaran couple, Gregorio and Albertina. They made us a delicious dinner and we drank the last of our summer wine. A freezing wind blew around the village all night.

We left Parinacota on a very cold morning and headed back to the border via Lake Chungara. We had an online mud map drawn up by 2 Dutch cyclists (irisentorepreiss) taking a wild route through 2 national parks (Lauca and Isluga) and 2 other reserves. This was one of the highlights of the trip so far. 5 days, 3 hot springs, 250kms of beautiful altiplano scenery all above 4000m. Great stuff!

Day 1. Only 32 kms as we found this delightful hot spring. It was very hot (over 40 degrees Celsius) but was a welcome respite from the biting cold wind. We had to leave our water in the spring to stop it freezing solid overnight. Our camp beside the spring source. The cold stream froze overnight.

Day 2. We rode over a few frozen streams, some holding our weight but sometimes cracking the ice.

11kms later we met a graded road with a lot of trucks carrying borax from the salt lake (salar de Surire). A better road surface but quite dusty and noisy.

The active Volcan Guallatire 6063m, and the small settlement of Guallatire below.

We found a camp beside a stream. It was an idyllic campsite with an active volcano Guallatire in the background.

It was our coldest night... around -20 degrees C and overnight the river had frozen over.

Inside the tent we had ice crystal condensation. We had plenty of firewood about so next morning lit a fire before the sun poked its warming beams over the volcanoes.

Day 3. Take Away Menu. I found this dead bird beside the road early next morning. I poked its tummy and it felt warm and soft. Perfect roadkill feast (a trick I learned from Rob Cooper, a cyclist mate who often ate roadkill in the Australian outback). The poor thing must have been hit by a borax truck. I carried it like this all day - strapped to my front panniers. It lost a few feathers on the way but arrived at camp intact. Made a soup and grilled the breasts. Very rich and gamey.
It is called a perdiz or pisaca in Chile, or Puna tinamou, like an altiplano grouse.

A fat and furry viscacha warming itself in the afternoon sun.

We climbed to small pass overlooking the vast salt lake, Salar de Surire (which is being dug up for borax extraction). Hardy cuchion plants dot the north-facing slopes.

Andean flamingoes in flight across the salar.

A vicuña backing one out on the salar. They are creatures of habit and the herd all shit in the same spot, like a cameloid litter.

A bird in the hand..... just before the plucking and cooking.

Las Termas de Polloquere. On the edge of the salar is this amazing hot spring emitting thick steam and sulphur vapor over the altiplano. There´s a small campground protected by a wall of volcanic rock with a picnic table and all. No visitors- we had it all to ourselves.

Ahhh! Perfect bliss. Natsukashii! It reminds me of the warm rotemburos (outdoor hot springs)of Japan. But this was really something else - at 4200m, surrounded by multi-coloured mountains and spread out on a salty white landscape.

Flamingoes and other birds were soaking up the warm and mineral-rich waters of the springs. When I arrived a lone Chilean flamingo was taking a dip in the turquoise water. It flew off before I could get my camera out.
They are very wary of intruders and quickly fly away when approached. Some flamingoes flying away across this magical landscape.

Day 4
A steep climb out of the salar (perhaps the steepest road of the trip). 2 people needed to push both bikes up the rocky and sandy hill towards the Bolivian border.
(only a short stay in Bolivia 2kms and back into Chile)

No customs, no immigration, just a border marker, landmines and lots of sand.

At the remote border we had to circumnavigate around a minefield. Many of these borders have landmines laid. We saw no other vehicles all day on this route as there is an alternative road.

We camped at a warm water river 3kms away from the main road. Brilliant green algae and reeds thrive in the thermal waters and create amazing patterns in the stream adding a new soft colour to the harsh volcanic and saline background.

Our campsite in a llama corrall. Actually it was a llama dip where the animals are herded into the warm waters.

Even alpacas need sweaters at this altitude.

Cactus flowers

Black puna ibis

Bird (plover family)- Larus serranus

BOLIVIA Charazani-Sajama (Aug 9-19)

2009-09-03T00:57:00.011+10:00

In Charazani we stayed at Hotel Charazani where we slept 16 years ago. This is our host Doña Sofia, a marvellous cook who made huevos musicos for us in ´93. Her banana/apple pancakes are delicious.

We left Charazani on Aug 9 and instead of climbing up the long and tedious Pumasami pass we took the backroads again. We climbed slowly up to Amarete, a hidden and very traditional village. The men here wear conical (and comical Wee Willy Winky) hats.

The women wear green skirts and capes with red embroidery. On our long slow climb to the pass at 4600m, we met this woman coming down to Amarete for the annual fiesta (La Virgen de los Nieves). her mules were carrying potatoes so we bought some..

There are many varieties of spuds- we had 3 types, which made a wonderful potato salad, with mayonnaise, cucumber and tomatoes for lunch at the pass.

We met up with the main road to Escoma crossing the Cordillera Muñecas - more traffic and lots of steep ups and downs on a bumpy surface. Then the mist from the south enveloped us - only 5 metres visibility. Here Jude is trying to navigate through the thick fog.

At dusk I spotted a shallow lake through the mist and we made camp among the reeds and raucous birdlife. In the morning the mist cleared revealing the reed-shrouded lake and views across to Cordillera Real.

Caracara - a bit of a scavenger, waiting by the roadside for some tasty morsels.

After Escoma we rode along the shore of Lake Titcaca and stayed at a guesthouse in Ancoraimes. As we rode out of town next morning we encountered lots of friendly and laughing students on Chinese-made bicycles on their way to college.

Had to get a photo of Che Guevara in Latin America. This one is slightly cross-eyed though. He´s still a popular figure here and the indigenous people hail him as a revolutionary hero. I´m sure Evo Morales is milking this sentiment as he builds up his own personality cult.

From the road we heard the sound of a brass band emanating from a small village square. It happened to be the fiesta de la Virgen de los Nieves (Virgin of the Snows). It was an authentic and purely indigenous festival with only local participants compared to Charazani and Corocoro where the towns hire out dancing troupes and bands from La Paz and elsewhere.
It was in a beautiful setting- sandwiched between the deep blue waters of Lake Titcaca and the white snows of Illampu and Ancohuma of the looming Cordillera Real.

The last glimpse of Lake Titicaca....as a black-faced heron glides by the totora reeds of the lake edge.

We became bored with the flat sealed highway and veered onto a dirt road. We wanted to avoid the busy main road to La Paz and the noisy outskirts of El Alto so we headed towards Pucarani on a rocky but quiet track across the altiplano. In Pucarani we found a small guesthouse- our cheapest lodgings at 8 bolivianos each (or just over US$1). The owner was a bowler hat maker and a chrming and erudite fellow.

At dusk from the square in Pucarani- views of Nevado Huayna Potosi (6088m).

An Aymaran girl riding cacross farmland. Interesting barn design - adobe and thatch.

At times it brought back memories of riding in the Australian outback- windmills, cattle and water tanks. Other similarities appeared in the southern altiplano- saline lakes, ghost towns, abandoned railways and endless horizons.

Jude riding hard in the shadows of Cordillera Real. We had superb views of this mountain range, much better than the main road as we were further south.

An Aymaran shepherdess with her sheep. Cattle and sheep are dominant here and have replaced the traditional herds of llamas and alpacas wheres in the southern altiplano, the Aymarans farmers still keep the camelids.

¨Follow the Red Brick Road¨- riding over a road made up of smashed red bricks on the way to Viacha, the ugliest town in Bolivia. It´s the home of a cement and brick factory and we fled the town after stocking up food at the local market (for 5 days).

Surprisingly we found a brand new sealed road heading south and took it for 20kms where it ended abruptly and turned into a bumpy track with headwinds. Found a camp among some ochre-coloured eroded hills.
The following day we had a tough ride over a bad roacky surface and lots of traffic. We found out in Comanche that all the buses and trucks were heading to festivals in two mining towns. I counted 50 vehicles in one hour.
We made it to Corocoro, `the copper capital of Bolivia´ in time for the 4-day festival, August 15- La Virgen del Ascension, any excuse for a party- lots of dancing drinking and debauchery.
As we rode into town, they were laying out all the masks and costumes for the celebrations.

All accommodation was booked up so we camped just outside town, hidden behind some derelict houses. Not much sleep this night, but plenty of photos of spectacular horny devils, black minstrels, scantily-clad dancers and all the phantoms of Carnival.

In the morning thelocal Aymaran dancers and bands took over the streets.

Aymaran women taking a break from dancing, some drinking beer.

I´ve always wanted a horn on my bike.

One of the band members helping me through the throngs..

After being accosted by several beligerent drunks it was time to leave town and get back on the road. Getting on the road wasn´t that easy though. We made it to a town called Pando and shortly after got lost among the hills following trails among troglodyte mining dwellings. Eventually got back on the road heading south and then took another wrong turn. Well, as I always say... ¨One wrong turn deserves another¨. In Bolivia many of these remote roads have no directions or signs and more frustrating, there are no people around to ask directions.
Here is our long and winding road. Beautiful scenery, no traffic (no vehicles all day) tailwind and nice road surface. Ideal cycling.

Salt heaps in a salt-mining village. Mounds of salt are raked up from the saline lake. Not a profitable industry- a worker told us they received 2 bolivianos per kilo (or US 30 cents).

From a camp on the altiplano, views of Volcan Sajama at sunset. It dominates everything around it and at 6542m it is the highest peak in Bolivia. We first saw it yesterday, as we had our backs to the fading giants of the Cordillera Real this solitary massif appeared in the south.

Chullpas or funerary towers standing on a plateau. I had a weird moment here among the ancient tombs. As we cycled up to the towers I was listening to Bob Dylan´s `All Along the Watchtower´...
¨Two riders were approaching,
And the wind began to howl¨

And a few moments later, we entered this small canyon with strange rocky outcrops and Bob was singing about Isis and treasures...
¨As we rode through the canyon
In the devilish cold¨

It was all very surreal- the eerie landscape melding with haunting Dylan poetry.

We met a French couple from Grenoble, Laurent and Muriel in Charazani and Pelechuco. They trekked in the southern Apolobamba and kindly gave us the maps and directions for the northern part of the range. (We had hiked in the south in ´93). We didn´t see another tourist for two weeks then they mysteriously reappeared on the Sajama road heading back to La Paz in their rented 4WD. They gave us lots of useful info on the salt lakes with some maps as well as some tasty food. Muchas gracias to our French friends.

Pete playing slly buggers in a chullpa

The bell tower of the famous altiplano 16th century church in Curahuara de Carangas

Made of adobe and thatch it is having restoration work done.

Inside the walls are festooned with religious paintings, all 16th century and the colours are from naturals dyes. The windows are made of alabaster.

Along the main road from Curahuara to the Chilean/Bolivian border we came across unusual rock outcrops with birdlike features. Sajama is in the background.

The sun setting on the east face of Sajama.

We left the sealed road and onto a single guage track to find a shortcut around Sajama but we were blocked by the deep ravine of Rio Tomarapi. However, the trail lead to a wonderful campsite among some eroded Daliesque rocks with superb views of Sajama.

I´m riding out of camp the next morning- on a smooth bedrock surface. Awesome stuff!

We made a 60km circuit around Sajama via Tomarapi. On the east side hardy cushion plants cling to the boulders (the threatened lareta sp.)

Queñal trees also eke out a precarious life on the slopes of Sajama. These trees at Sajama supposedly make up the highest forests in the world at 5200m , but I calculated the small copses on the high slopes at 4600-4700m. I thought I saw the highest forests in the upper Karma valley of the Tibetan Himalayas, but I guess I was mistaken. Can anyone shed some light on this superlative puzzle? Oy, perhaps??

The rock arch of colonial church at Tomarapi framing a much older and larger rock, Sajama.

The snow mantle of the west face of Sajama. In 1993 we hithched on the back of a truck across a rough dirt road and we peered out this impressive peak when it had more expansive galciers and snow cover.

Heading out from Sajama village we met 2 Aymaran boys off to school.

It was a bloody awful sandy road. In fact the road from Tomarapi to the main road was the same - deep soft volcanic sand. You are never quite sure where to ride, so lots of swerving among the sand. And we had to ride into a strong headwind as well.

Riding out of Sajama village with Parinacota and Pomerape as backdrops. These two extinct volcanoes are on the Chilean/Bolivian frontier.

Fiesta in Charazani August 7 (text to come)

2009-08-09T06:34:00.006+10:00

I will update these following posts with text in a few days (or weeks).

Stranded in Pelechuco

2009-08-09T06:34:00.004+10:00

Trekking in Cordillera Apolobamba North

2009-08-09T06:33:00.001+10:00

Charazani to Pelechuco

2009-08-09T05:39:00.042+10:00

Our route around the north/eastern shore of Lake Titicaca and into the Cordillera Apolobamba. Red route- cyclng, yellow route-trekking.

A map from Lonely Planet, showing our route in more detail. Campsites marked in red, cycling route- yellow, & 3-day trek in the Northern Apolobamba range - green.

We left Charazani early and climbed slowly

Apolobamba region (Puerto Acosta-Charazani-Pelechuco)

2009-07-29T05:32:00.012+10:00

In Charazani, our favourite town in Bolivia. We were in this town 16 years ago on the advice of a Japanese friend Hitomi who visited this place in the early 80s. It still retains its old magic.

It was a fantastic ride from Puerto Acosta to Charazani over the old road to Pelechuco. Not used by motorised transport now and we only saw one motorbike in the 2days. All at high elevation 3800-4500m we crossed the Cordillera Muñecas, mostly altiplano. Snowstorm on the last night. Lots of comical llamas and alpacas.

The road was a mixture of rocky, sandy and grassy. We have invented the new Australian cycling craze- pushwalking as we pushed and shoved aour bikes up the rocky steep sectins for 15 kms. Lots of shortcuts across the altiplano. Few villages and the Aymaran communities were very curious and shy of us as we rode through their villages.

Out of Puerto Acosta, we crossed a small bridge and headed up a narrow valley. Some flat-faced Easter Island-type monoliths.

The road was so stony we headed onto narrow tracks among ichu grass on the pampa.

This is the old route to Pelechuco and isn´t used by motorised transport these days. Some relics of old fine roadbuilding including stone bridges.

We had to go off route quite often to avoid the steep rocky road.

Climbing up to another pass. Route-finding was difficult as the GPS map was inaccurate and there were no markers or signs anywhere. The road hugged the Peru/Bolivian border.

Soft, cuddly alpacas high on the pampa.

A storm approaches from the west, with Cordillera Apolobamba in the background. Alpacas and giant cushion plants.

A mother alpaca feeeding its young milk.

The road ranged from very rocky to sandy and off-route grassy.

Jude riding off-route on the green pampa grass being chased by the inky storm.

We had to make an emergency camp just before the storm hit us. Next morning we woke up to a white landscape.

Bicycles and icicles.

At our camp two Aymaran children from a nearby pueblito visited us- Franklin and his sister Lasilia. Lasilia had no socks and it was freezing cold- just wearing bare sandals so Jude gave her a new pair she´d bought in La Paz. Frankin got some Pepsi. They were both very chuffed at the gifts.

Alpacas and llamas with snowy backs after sleeping out in the storm.

Jude pushing her bike towards the pass Abra Pumasami at 4750m. We had left the road here following directions from some villagers.

At the pass Pumasami, an Aymaran woman gets a lift on the back of a motorbike heading to Charazani. Morning clouds obscure the peaks of Cordillera Apolobamba.

A caracara, an Andean raptor and scavenger

Cordillera Apolobamba and bofedales (tussock marshlands)

PERU - Country Snapshot (incomplete)

2009-07-24T11:10:00.008+10:00

This is a series of maps that I will finish in Sorata. I´ll try downloading more online. There will also be more text on Peru 2008 & 2009. Watch this space!

CYCLING LOG

2008- Northern Peru (La Balsa - Huanuco)
Odometer - 1605kms Daily average - 65kms
Riding days - 24
Total elevation gain - 24,430m Daily average - 1015m
Road condition Sealed - 587kms Gravel - 1012kms
Total riding time 131 hrs Daily average 5hrs 45mins.

2009 - Southern Peru (Huaraz to Tilali)
Odometer - 2378kms Daily average - 66kms
Riding days - 36 Rest days - 24
Total elevation gain - 30,400m Daily average - 850m
Road condition Sealed - 1198kms Gravel - 1180kms
Total riding time - 223hrs

PERU (2 rides combined)
Odometer - 3983kms Daily average - 65kms
Riding days - 60
Total elevation gain - 54,830m Daily average - 920m
Road condition Sealed - 1785kms Gravel - 2192kms
Total riding time 354hrs Daily average 5hrs 45mins.

Cuzco to Cerro Janko Janko (Bolivian border)

2009-07-18T09:13:00.036+10:00

We left Cuzco at first light on a grey cloudy Sunday morning. Heavy traffic for the first 40kms. Mostly descending on a sealed road, then short ups and downs.

Pikillacta - Huari/Incan ruins on road from Cuzco to Urcos.

Cycling through the Vilcanota valley on a Sunday was lively and colourful. The towns along the highway all had their weekly markets and the locals were all out in their finery.

These photos are from Urcos - women with flat-topped hats with lampshade tassles, the men in cholas (woollen alpaca beanies) with pom-poms.

A bike laden with corn stalks. Everything imaginable is carried on bicycles. Farm crops, cow hides and dead pigs, all travelling to market.

After the colour of the markets faded away, we got very tired and bored of the sealed main road - too much traffic and uninspiring scenery. So, after a long day of 110kms, we left Combapata at first light the following day and climbed out of the Vilcanota valley back and onto the vast pampa.

Rocky road out of Combapata. Smooth river stones embedded in concrete make for delicate riding and rough bum massaging.

Lake Pampamarca, totora reeds and Andean coots. One of 4 lakes in the area. Plenty of birdlife around the lakes and puna - Andean lapwing, puna ibis, and Peruvian sierra finch.

Q´ESWACHACA INCAN BRIDGE - A Bridge too Far
It was a sealed road to Yanaoca. We found a hotel at 10am and Judy decided to have a rest day while I made a solo ride to Q´eswachaca, an Incan rope bridge over the Apurimac river, which I´d read about in Cuzco. It was a tough ride even without gear, possibly the worst road of the trip, over 70kms return on a stoney, steep trail, but well worth the pain.

On the pampa over a 4100 pass adobe/ichu thatched houses with unusual chimney structures, typical of this region.

Winding road from 4100m, looking down to the Apurimac river at 3600m.

Q´eswachaca bridge spanning the 15m chasm across the Apurimac.

Rope stays at the head of the bridge complete with original Incan stone structure.

With a strong wind blowing up the canyon it was frightening to cross the bridge as it swayed and trying to gain balance with hands and feet was a real effort. I didn´t make it to the other side but turned around.

Close-up of the rope. There are 6 thick cables as the grass is twisted and spliced to make a strong stiff fibre. It is made from a local pajabrava grass, choya in Quechuan. The bridge is rebuilt every year and the local Quechuan communities have continued this unbroken tradition since the Spanish conquest over 400 years ago. Six villages, who use the bridge, participate in the bridge construction, which lasts only 3 days in mid June, followed by a festival. The fibres disintegrate in the elements and is unusable after 6 months.
There´s an interesting video by Alejandro Guerrero which shows how the bridge is constructed. Well worth viewing (in 2 parts).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNCMCY29Svo

Peruvian trackworkers on the job. This is one of my two occupations in Tasmania (I'm also an ESL teacher) and it was interesting to see the Andean stonepath techniques. Unfortunately, the fine Incan stonework hasn´t carried on through the Quechuan generations as concrete and mortar are used and it´s pretty sloppy work.

View of the bridge from other side of the canyon.

The canyon upstream from the bridge.

I had only 3 hours to get back to Yanaoca to beat nightfall. On the way I met very welcoming and curious villagers, remnants of Incan roads (see below) and sacred caves and grottoes pockmarking the limestone outcrops.

But as the light faded and the road deteriorated I had to make haste. Here is a section of the road, very rocky with some steep climbs. It really shook the body about and as I bounced along the road I was reminded of the Irish satirist Flann O´Brien and his Third Policeman. He had a theory where the cyclist and bicycle are shaken so much on these boney trails that parts of man and machine become one in a strange metabolic transfer. Well, on this road I thought the screws and plate on my collarbone from my operation last year were about to pop out and the crowns set by a Cambodian dentist, Dr. Teith, in 2006 were about to bite the dust. In bicycle terms, my bottom was a bracket, my head wasn´t set properly, my chain teeth were cranky and my rear rim was cracked. The following day I really felt the effects of this ride - my shoulder was really painful, both knees were acting up and my left ankle (from an earlier climbing injury in Tasmania) was under strain. I must stop this body abuse!

The ubiquitous curious and timid camelids.
Who´s the prettier boy, then? Al Packer or Kerry Packer?

Up at 5am again for a hearty breakfast and off by dawn (around 6am). Another climb on a dirt road, with sore and weary limbs. Met this old man near the pass (4200m). I asked him how old was his antique and beautifully-woven poncho and he replied, "No recuerdo, pero bastante", "I can´t remember, but it´s quite old".

From the pampa, we dropped quickly into a quebrada and joined a sealed road back to the main road just beyond Sicuani, a large town famous for unruly demonstrations and roadblocks. Evidence of the recent unrest lay on the roadsides - burnt tyres, rocks, uprooted trees and broken glass. We were lucky to miss all of this, at both sides of Cuzco. Other cyclists weren´t so lucky.

At the head of the Vilcanota valley at about 4000m hot spring water gushes out of the earth. Here at Agua Calientes we had welcome hot baths at 40 degrees- a welcome soothing of aching limbs. We camped here for the night, had a delicious trout meal and a large bottle of beer at the restaurant and had our own security guard on hand.
No charge for camping- just 3 soles for entry into baths. I got up early and had another warm soak (outside temp. below zero)

At dawn, two tame Andean geese, or huallatas, enjoying the hot steam through their plumage.

At the springs, cooking Porridge for breakfast with my mate Ronnie (aka Barker).
Mr Barkwright!!

Our panniers with their entrails spilled on the grassy campsite. 75 kgs in all.

At Abra La Raya at 4335m, a gentle pass between Cuzco and Puno departments. A Swiss cyclist joined us at the pass and took this photo.

I´ve crossed this pass twice before by train (1985 & 1993) and here is a tourist train heading across the puna towards the pass. Beyond the pass we followed a sealed road along a bare altiplano, with few towns but plenty of traffic.

Pedaltaxis are common in the towns here and are convenient for ladies out shopping.

Everything bar the kitchen sink.

After a night in a noisy hostal in Ayaviri and heavy, speeding traffic, it was time to get away from the ugly towns and off the highway. We took a dirt road to Lampa climbing a small pass lined with groves of native queñal trees. Lampa is a charming and well-preserved colonial town set on a broad plain- the cleanest and friendliest town in Peru.
On the altiplano we´re in predominantly Aymaran-speaking country and the Aymaran women wear distinct bowler hats, a tradition carried on from colonial times. Here a woman is resting on the colonial stone bridge outside Lampa.

I took a ride 5kms out of town to La Cueva del Toro (the Cave of the Bull) to see some ancient petroglyphs carved into the caveside. Unfortunately much of the cave is now full of modern pornoglyphic art and many of the images (mostly llamas and other animals) have been been painted on or damaged.

Lampa is called La Cuidad Rosada or pink city because of the local rose-coloured stone. This is the imposing church La Immaculada (built 1675-85) with its amazing interior of carved wooden altars and pulpits and copy of Michelangelo´s Pieta.

Ornate doorway of a Lampa dwelling

Typical empty street of this sleepy town.

Arrived in the dirty and noisy city of Juliaca. I´ve never liked this place and I was robbed here in 1985. We had to go to Puno to get exit stamps from immigration so we could cross an obscure and little-used border (no immigration on either side) on the east side of Lake Titicaca. So we left bikes and gear in Juliaca and took a bus to Puno and the immigration office 45kms away. Next morning off early out of this ugly city. Just beyond town we rode for 3kms beside the local unofficial garbage tip. Reminded me of the rubbish piles of Ecuador.

En route from Juliaca to Huancane saw lots of people wandering home from the city. Here an Aymaran woman sets off from the road across the empty and bleak altiplano.

The traffic was quite heavy for such a minor road and we encountered a lot of signs of accidents. Judy has taken up a morbid fascination for the countless roadside memorials to accident victims. While I´m counting sheep (and llamas), she´s counting the countless. On the road from Cuzco they were every 2 kms but on this 54km flat straight sealed road there were 65 in all.

We came across these friendly Aymaran men from nearby Taraco who were just finishing the concrete shrine to one of their relatives, a woman in her 40s who was run over by a speeding bus 2 days before. The concrete was still wet and their sorrow still raw. They invited me to have a beer with them and the ceremony involved spilling some beer on the earth and throwing coca leaves to the wind in respect to Pachamama, or Mother Earth. They said this would protect us from ill fortune on the road. But only 2kms down the road a bus almost cleaned me up. Crazy bastards!

In light of all this carnage on the roads it´s sad to see tourist agencies running downhill bike rides down the infamous "El Camino del Muerto" (or Death Road) outside La Paz. Young backpackers with adrenalin shortage and testosterone overload hurtle down this so-called ´most dangerous road in the world´ and get a T-shirt at end of it. It´s a real fad and a must-do for the backpacker set. A young Australian was bragging to us in a bike shop in Cuzco that he´d descended 20,000 vertical metres in Sth America on his downhill bike. In a flat reply, I told him I´d climbed almost 100,000 metres. He just shrugged and walked away.

Strange lumps beside houses in the altiplano. Like on the Tibetan plateau, firewood is non-existent so they have to use animal manure as fuel. These pyramidal structures are called putucos, and are used for storing dung.

..and animal dung drying in the sun.

We passed through Huancane, an unexciting place but 4kms down a very bad dirt road we came upon the sparkling blue waters of Lake Titicaca. This is the remote and less-visited east side of the lake. Lost tourists go slong the sealed west side. 20 kms later we turned off the dusty bumpy road and onto a smooth quiet gravel road passsing through picturesque villages. The Aymaran people in this region are very chatty and friendly. In one of the villages, Jaco Paru we found a grassy trail, leading down to the lakeshore so we went in quest of a campsite. We found a small beach near some fields but we also had half the village trailing behind us, curious as to what the gringos were up to. A glorious sunset capped off an interesting day.

The next morning some local lads came down to watch us pack up camp. They were very quiet and polite. Th elder one, Miguel took me up the hill to show me a chullpa, one odf the pre-Incan funerary towers which are found scattered all over the Titicaca area.

The birds along the lakeside were a real thrill. Here a dainty yellow finch skits on the water for insects with rippled totora reeds as a stage prop.

Puna teals with unique blue beaks.

Cuñata flowers, which are used in ceremonies and decorations.

Totora reeds line the lakeshore and the young reeds are used by farmers to feed their animals. Here a man is rowing through the reedbed.

The trail down to our beach and campsite.

The next morning´s ride was the highlight with spectacular views high above Lake Titicaca, with fingers of land falling into the water. Impressive skyline and cloud formations too.

Riding over a small pass at 4000m. The lake sits at 3820m. It is like a vast inland sea punctuated by dry rocky islands.

We had a short riding day as the scenery was so delightful. If you are cycling this route take the turn-off to the right at Jipata and follow the sinuous and hilly route around the coast. It´s longer than the main road to Moho but the road is much better, with almost no traffic and fabulous coastal scenery.

3kms outside Conima we saw a pink sand beach below us and we had to camp there. A difficult place to reach and get out of. If you´re a cyclist on this route leave the road just after the 2km roadmarker and at a large culvert. The rough route goes through a eucalypt grove.

A great little campsite, with clear water and interesting birdlife. But,it was a cold windy night and the next morning evidence of snow across the distant cordillera.

Just before Titali and the Bolivian border I met this brightly dressed and animated little Aymaran boy. He was on his way to school to participate in a pantomine. His costume consists of a real cow ´s head with horns, typical festival poncho and cuñata petals draped across the horns.

At Cerro Janko Janko 4000m asl, the border between Peru and Bolivia. An obelsik marks the frontier, so Pete is in Bolivia and Jude stands in Peru. This is a very tranquil place with exceptional views, one of my favourite border crossings, no immigration, no customs, no rip-off merchants. Just the two of us and 2 countries between us. It´s a bloody steep climb from the lake though - 200 vertical metres in 3kms on a rough track, mostly pushing!
But on Wednesdays and Sundays this is a raucous and busy smugglers market where Bolivians bring up cheap goods to sell on the Peruvian side.

The road on the Bolivian side wasn´t in too good a nick either. The scenery behind us was excuse enough to stop and rest to glance over the azure waters of Lake Titicaca.

The road down to Puerto Acosta - a rocky and steep affair.

Jude´s not sure whether to ride or walk this section.

We are in La Paz now. We left our bikes and most of our gear with the police in Puerto Acosta and took a minibus to the city. We´ve been here for 3 days, getting our Bolivian entry stamps and buying supplies for the next stage of the trip. We´re off tomorrow morning (Friday 24) to pick them up and head into the mountains on backroads. Charazani in the Apolobamba region was our favourite destination in Bolivia in 1993. We hope to do a remote loop from Charazani-Apolo-Mapiri-Sorata. We want to avoid riding into La Paz, so from Sorata we´ll shortcut to Chile and the SW salt lakes by following rough dirt roads across the altiplano. My next post should be from Sorata in 10 days or so.

Cuzco and Manu

2009-07-11T01:33:00.020+10:00

This is my third visit to Cuzco (earlier trips in 1985 & 1993) and Judy was with me on the latter trip so we gave most of the Incan monuments a miss. They have become very expensive and crowded (especially Macchu Picchu). I made an early morning visit to Sacsayhuaman, the hilltop fortress/shrine above Cuzco before the crowds arrived.

Cuzco in the early morning from Sacsayhuaman

Sacsayhuaman

The church of Santo Domingo built onto the superbly curved walls of Coricancha, the Incan temple of gold, a shrine to the sun. My favourite structure in Cuzco with the finest stonework of all the existing buildings. The builders used three types of rock - black polished andesite, light green diorite, and dull grey/green limestone.

Exterior wall of Coricancha/Santo Domingo

A single stone with 14 angles, part of a trapezoidal doorway - an amazing piece of stone-cutting and engineering.

The smallest fitting stone in Cuzco (1cm square)

Coricancha - one of the ceremonial buildings

Calle Laredo, with its fine andesite walls. Oh hum...what´s all the fuss about? A bored donkey and sleepy dog are sick of the hordes of tourists crowding the city.

The famous 12-angled stone, fitting neatly into a alley wall.

Adrian and Stefan, Swiss cyclists, leaving Hospedaje Estrellita, a refuge for tired and dirty cyclists in Cuzco. These two guys were the best-dressed and equipped cyclists we´d come across in our travels. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza look a desperate duo among these illustrious lycra-clad riders.

For cyclists, Estrellita is on Calle Tullamayo 445 (30 soles dbl room with breakfast). Very friendly and helpful staff and an ideal place to meet other cyclists and share information on the roads ahead.

Scenery between Cuzco and Pisac

Ancient terracing on the hills above Pisac

We felt like a break from the sierra and the bikes so we took a local bus over the Andes and into the jungle near Manu National Park. Hitched from Pilcopate to the Madre de Dios river on a truck amd met up witha tour group. We spent 4 days in the lush green world, a welcome respite from the dry cold and dusty mountains.

There´s prolific birdlife in the Rio Alto Madre de Dios.
This is a blue-fronted jacamar, a relative of the kingfisher family.

...and this is a yellow-headed Judii shitscaredis, a relative of the chicken family. At Erica Lodge we went cable gliding through the jungle canopy. Not normally our thing but it was a chance to get high in the jungle. Judy almost piked out on the first flight into the green but was gently persuaded (not pushed) to take the plunge.

Jude in full flight (or fool fright)

The group from Erika Lodge (a friendly and fun crowd) on small rafts drifting about on Macahuasi Lake, a short walk from the Madre de Dios river.

Lots of birds by the small lake - including the Oro pendula with its intriguing hanging nests, the raucous and clumsy hoatzins, kingfishers, herons and flycatchers. Unfortunately we just missed a female capybara plunge into the water to safety with her baby. It´s the largest rodent in the world and very difficult to see. All we heard was the big splash. Because of the rain we also missed seeing 3 species of parrots and macaws on a clay lick downstream on the Madre de Dios. We had also hoped to see the flamboyant and oddly-named Gallito de Roca or Cock of the Rock higher up in the cloud forest but we were too early in the day for the elusive bird.
So too early for the cock, too noisy for the capybara, and too wet for the parrots. I guess the latter always like to keep dry... and remain polly-unsaturated.

Jungle vegetation along the Alto Madre de Dios

Back to Cuzco via the cloud forest on the eastern slopes of the Andes at 1500m.

Botanical specimens from the cloud forest. Splashes of brilliant colours in a vast green world.

Andahuaylas - Cuzco

2009-07-05T02:58:00.038+10:00

Judy and I felt quite ill the next morning so we had a day´s rest. It must have been something we ate or contaminated water as we felt weak and had stomach cramps. As it happened it was a Sunday and the Sondor Raymi festival was on (postponed because of the paro.

After a bit of a sleep-in we took a minibus up to Laguna Pachacas and the Sondor ruins above Andahuaylas. It is from the Chankas culture, bitter enemies of the hegemonic Incas and it is set on top of a conical hill with spectacular views.

Quechuan women at Sondor

Sondor Raymi- a copy of the famous Inti Raymi in Cuzco. Although Inti Raymi was part of the Incan calendar these regional Raymis are nothing but inventions of the Peru tourist board. All the participants are uni students from Andahuaylas, few Chankas descendants in sight. Very camp and tacky - a cross between a Tasmanian high school eistedford and a medieval tournament re-enactment.

Sondor Raymi- a campesina cooking some food for us. It was a like a massive picnic with the local indigenous folk selling food to the tourists and Peruvian ladinos. It was a very ordered and sober affair compared with the more authentic and chaotic village festivals where the locals get pissed, blow trumpets and throw around shrines and lanterns.

Pete & Jude crossing yet another pass, this one between Andahuaylas and Abancay - Abra Huallaccasa 4150m. En route we spent a night in Kishuara- at a cheap place Hospedaje Lisbeth (15 soles dbl) with a delicious cena at 3 soles ($1).

Riding high in the Andes. It was a sunny clear day with great views of Mt. Ampay and the distant cordillera. The descent from the pass to the river was a long and dusty one, and would a hard ride from the other direction, climbing from 1800 to 4155m.

Scenery from the pass

MAG T-shirt (Mines Advisory Group). MAG is a UK-based NGO helping countries dispose of their sinister landmines which maim thousands every year.
Check out their website www.maginternational.org.

This T-shirt was given to me by Rupert, the MAG director in Cambodia in 2005 and it´s been on my back through SE Asia, China, Tibet and down the Andes. Worn out now but will be my `Mag rag´ from now on.

We hit the Cuzco-Abancay-Lima paved road in the hot windy valley and instead of a nice gentle ride up to Abancay in the late afternoon we had strong headwinds and a punishing steep ascent. We made it to Abancay by 5pm and fell onto beds at the Hotel Imperial. I think we still had a hangover from the stomach bug. Jude didn´t really have to persuade me to have another rest day. Cold beers and hot showers went down ever so nicely that night.

Up at 4.30am the next morning. I cooked up the regular breakfast of strong coffee, fried eggs and tomatoes with hot bread, and bananas and jam as sweeteners. On the road by 6am for another long climb.

Memorial of a tragic bus accident in 2004 - 38 passengers, all from Abancay were killed as the bus plummmeted over a 500m precipice. Lots of shrines to roadside tragedies throughout the Andes but it´s no surprise as we´ve witnessed some bloody awful driving here - speeding, driving on the wrong side, overtaking on blind corners...

Climbing to the pass on sealed road from Abancay - Mt Ampay in the distance

View of Abancay and the winding road on the opposite side of the valley of the previous day - a drop from 4150 to 1750m.

Cordillera Vilcabamba from the pass at 4015m

Sahuite stone - an intricate piece of Incan stone carving in situ. Unfortunately many of the animal heads have either been hacked off by thieves or are the result of a botched casting job.

A long descent from the pass down to the Apurimac canyon. Magnificent scenery as the road twisted itself in coils to reach the bottom of the hot, arid valley.

Morning light in the Apurimac canyon

A long day´s ride - 95kms, 1750m. climb and almost 8 hours in the saddle. We stayed the night at 1900m. at a nice hospedaje Quinta Caranavel in Carmen village (15 soles dbl room - great value). Lovely grilled trout and warm beer for dinner, followed by refreshing cold showers.

Remains of an Incan bridge over the Apurimac river - the setting and inspiration for the novella `The Bridge of San Luis Rey´ (by Thornton Wilder). Impressive stone walling built into the rockface. In Incan times the span would have been bridged with vines and rope made from grasses.

From the canyon bottom (at 1800m) a long slow climb to Limatambo (2600m) and through smaller villages to 3600m. Below Limatambo we met Bob, an Australian cyclist who was travelling light with only rear panniers and he will spend 2 years riding around the continent. Lat ein the day we found a great little campsite at 3600m and 3 kms from the pass with views of Salkantay and the cultivated valley below.

Plants and flowers - at our campsite 3600m - remnant relics of Andean alpine vegetation, sadly so little left due to heavy cultivation, population pressure and the arrival of exotic plants (especially our own native, the eucalypt).

Mt Salkantay 6712m

Salkantay & cultivated slopes

Our hidden campsite just below pass, with Salkantay beyond. It was a great spot as we watched the mountain reveal itself slowly emerging from the morning mist as we ate breakfast.

Bike repair on the go - brakes need constant tweeking on these long descents.

Riding over the pass at 3750m, with Salkantay in the background.

Over the last two days we had climbed over 3500m and we felt a little smug as we approached Cuzco and the final little climb of 550m. From Huaraz to Cuzco we cycled around 1800kms, with 28 days of riding and 26,500m of elevation gain. Our detours and escapades from Ayacucho to Andahualyas added quite a bit to the route in time and effort. Cyclists usually take 9-12 days to do the infamous Ayacucho-Cuzco route..it took us 18 days...but well worth all the pain, heat and dust.

If any cyclists want to take the Vilcashuaman route....by 2011 the bridge over the Rio Pampas at Incachanka should be built, the road from Concepcion to Airabamba will be finished by next year....and if you want to risk the river crossing below Saurama the water level should be low enough by Aug/Sept to attempt a crossing with gear. It would make an epic ride, avoiding the rather boring section between Tocto and Uripa.
You ride from the river to Uranmarca and meet the Andahuaylas road about 10 kms below the pass. If you want specific info I can email it to you.

Quechuan woman waiting for a bus to market in Ancahuasi.

The road from the north entering Cuzco on July 3.

Ayacucho-Andahualyas

2009-06-23T02:10:00.025+10:00

We left Ayacucho at 6am for the long slow climb to Abra Tocto. From to 2700 to over 4200m it took most of the day to reach the pass. Not a bad gradient but plenty of dust from passing traffic. Another personal best from Jude 1500m climb on a dirt road in one day! Not bad for a pint-sized 55 year lady! She often gets shouts of encouragement from the local women in the campo, with cries of "Vaya mamacita" echoing over the sierra ....or "Go, little old lady".

At Abra Tocto we left the main road for a detour to Vilcashuaman, the site of a major Incan city high on the pampa. It was well worth it although it turned out to be more than a short detour, but a real high-blown adventure of Tin-Tin proportions-
of a bridge too far, wild river crossings and roads to nowhere. More of that later...

On the way I visited a small ceremonial Incan site called Intihuatana. Jude waited with the bikes at the turn-off while I walked up the hill to find some intricate stone-walling, a sundial and water sluices. This is El Baño del Inca, or the Inca´s bath.

A night in Vischongo at a great little hospedaje called 29 de Julio, then at the sparrow´s fart we headed to Vilcashuaman over a picturesque road climbing onto the pampa. The hills were alive with wheat harvesting and threshing is done here with horses yoked and stomping on the wheat in tight circles urged on by shouts and whips from the men.

Vilcashuaman is a small friendly town with remants of the temple of the sun and moon facing the plaza. A church has been built on top of the Incan structure and people just sit around and chat on the ancient stone walls.

The ushnu at sunset, behind the plaza, a ceremonial building with the Inca´s seat sitting high on a flat-topped pyramid. Spectacular views of the valleys and mountains beyond.

Jude in la silla del Inca, or Inca´s seat.

The portal and stairway to the ushnu

We didn´t want to return the way we had come so we looked for a more direct and interesting route south. We tried to garner some information about ther road ahead. Some people said there was a road to Rio Pampas with a bridge under construction, beside an old Incan bridge Incachaka , while others said the workers had left without finishing the bridge. We decided to try our luck and left for Saurama early the next day (6am).

At a small village en route Jude was mobbed by schoolchildren curious about the strange gringos on bicycles.

At Saurama village the road ran through the football field.

In Saurama we were told by the shopkeeper that it was impossible to cross the river as there was no bridge and the water was too high. They told us to come back in August. Then I was introduced to the alcade, or town mayor. It was 11 am and he was so drunk he could barely lift his head from the table in the cantina, let alone welcome me to his illustrious domain. We left the locals staggering on their feet and shaking their heads at the mad foreigners on their bicycles.

Well, we ventured along blindly and then came upon Rio Pampas 1500m below us. It looked very daunting, very steep drop and no bridge in sight.

The road dropped dramatically off the pampa at 3600m and down into the chasm with the river far below us at 2100m. At 2800m we came across a road crew and the foreman, Roger (pronounced `Roya´ in Spanish) invited us to stay at their camp. He was very defeatist about our intentions to cross the river with bicycles and warned us about the depth and fast current.

Needless to say, the next morning we continued on our mad quest. As it was a day off, Roger kindly accompanied us. In fact I think he was worried we would drown in the torrent, so he walked down to the river, helping us out with our bikes at the messy landslides.

Inca Chaka, the remains of an Inca bridge, spanning the Rio Pampas. A very rare sight as there are only 2 or 3 left in existence. But we were about 500 years too late and this ancient bridge was not going to help us get across the river.

Roger came prepared with thick rope to escort us across. We both went into the water, Roger with a long pole and myself with my bike over my shoulder. It seemed possible at first but when we hit the deeper water the current almost knocked us off our feet. It was a struggle to stay upright in the fast water and rolling stones and I feared losing the bike, so we abandoned the effort after two vain attempts. Jude was on the bank biting her nails and in the excitement forgot to take photos.

Demoralised and sweating in the hot sun we marched our bikes back up to the camp. Riding was impossible because of the loose gravel and rocks, landslides and steep gradient (800m in 12 kms). It took us over 4 hours to get back to the road camp. Stung by nasty zancudos or sandflies and dehydrated, we limped into camp where Roger had prepared quenching tea and some food for us. Gracias amigo!

Here is the inside of our lodgings at Incachaka camp. The final night was a memorable evening, chatting with Roger about Peru and stargazing high above the river and pondering the bridge too far......

Next morning another climb back to the pampa, to Saurama (thankfully no welcoming drunks, today) and finally to Vilcashuaman. Hot showers and beer at a comfortable hostal, La Fortaleza.

A series of switchbacks up the steep hillside from the road camp to Saurama.

Morning views across the Rio Pampas, looking towards Cocharcas and Uranmarca. It looked so near but it would take us another four days to get to the other side.

A day´s rest in Vilcashuaman at the Hostal La Fortaleza (20 soles with private bath & hot water). We inquired about an alternative road down to Rio Pampas without returning to Abra Tocto and avoiding a long climb. Roger and others said thwe road to Concepcion was good and then a rough new road had been cut to the river at Airibamba. Others said it wasn´t finished. We went with the optimists again.

The road from Vilcashuaman to Concepcion. Almost no traffic, good surface and great scenery - riding high above the Rio Pampas. Small villages with unusual inhabitants. The men were out in the wheatfields cutting the harvest and they all sported beards, an oddity in this part of the world. They all looked like little Stu Grahams (from Neika, Tasmania) and the rustic scene was like an Andean version of an Amish community.

In Concepcion there was a misconception. We were greeted with startled looks from everyone and when we told them of our plans to ride to Rio Pampas they thought we were mad. The road to Rio Pampas wasn´t complete - 3-4 kms short of Airibamba. Oh well that´s not too far to push a bike...so off we went down the road to nowhere.
Here is Jude negotiating the rough road. Very steep drops into the quebrada and terrible road surface - white-knuckle riding.

Road construction = environmental destruction

The Road to Nowhere. This was the end of the road for us. An abrupt stop just at the head of two ugly gashes in the steep terrain, So we packed our heavy gear into our 2 backpacks and ferried our bikes and gear around the gullies and up the rocky slope.

Jude pushing bike and carrying gear in backpack down the rocky scrubby hillside. It was hard to hold onto bikes and carry 30 kgs of gear on the back. Lots of slipping and sliding on the steep rocky mule track. In fact Jude went for an awful slide down a steep bank but luckily managed to keep hold of her bike long enough for me to rescue it.

It was very hot down at this elevation (2400m) and lots of thorny scrub to avoid. Not much fun but we eventually found a path heading down to the small village of Airibamba. 2 hrs later and just before dark we arrived at a lovely campsite - a soft green grassy meadow beside a canal with water, 1 km from the village. It was about 5kms from the gully with a descent of 350m.

In the morning we passed through Airibamba and they told us of the easy river crossing. Only waist deep and no current. I was keen as mustrad as it would save us 20kms of riding to the bridge and beyond. Jude was dead against and we had our first argument of the trip. Of course Tuffy the Egg´s stubborness won the day and we headed down the smooth undulating track down to the bridge.

From the other side of the river you can see the road zigzagging and where it comes to an abrupt stop at hte gully. Click on the photo to enlarge.

A hot day´s riding followed, climbing from 1900 to 2600m. An early halt to an eventful day as we found a nice hospedaje in Chincheros. Next day on the road at first light (6am), with a quick climb to Uripa (3200m) then a slow winding climb to Abra Saracocha 4250m.

View from our campsite below Abra Saracocha at 3900m

Clemens and Miriam, German cyclists we met below Saracocha pass. We also met a French couple (Boris and Marie) the previous day, below Chincheros.

We broke camp early again and bounced down the bumpy dusty road to Andahualyas.

All along the road there were remnants of the 10 days of roadblocks- boulders and logs across the road. It´s an old custom in the sierra when the locals have a greivance against the authorities they satge a paro or blockade. This time it was the government´s failed promise to pave the road from Abancay to Andahuaylas. No traffic had been able to pass for the 10 day strike, although they let foreign cyclists cross. There have been similar stories from cyclists coming from La Paz and Puno. Sometimes the protesters get nasty (eg, in Sicuani,as Bob the Australian cyclist told us recently, smashing bottles and throwing stones). There´s another large strike on July 8 which will ground all transport.

Found a clean friendly hospedaje in Andahualyas - `Cruz del Sur´ on Ave. Andhualyas.

Huancayo to Ayacucho

2009-06-08T03:37:00.030+10:00

We stayed in a cheap hospedaje at 10 soles a night(A$4), basic with cold water, but run by a friendly and helpful family. Huancayo is a busy noisy city and quite dangerous. In 1985 I was chased down the street by a gang of thieves so we were on guard walking around town, particularly in the busy market area.

BIKE UPDATE
Over 1000kms and the bikes are rolling along without too many problems. No punctures so far.

However, one concern for me is the speed wobbles I´m getting from the front wheel on long descents on paved roads. It´s very disconcerting hurtling down the long switchbacks and the front rack and panniers get into this awful lateral vibration and the front forks shudder. I´m not carrying much weight up front and I can´t find the source- either the Rockshox forks, the Old Man Mountain racks or a design problem as my Velosmith Mark 1 didn´t have this fault. I now put more weight over the wheel (water) and this has stabilised it a bit. No problems on the dirt roads so we´ll be sticking with these in the next 10 days or so.

I bought 2 spare chains (Taiwanese)in Huancayo for the abuse on the rough dirt roads ahead.We will interchange these every 500kms or so.

Jude´s brake pads (Kool Stop) squeak as she bounces down the gravel descents. At least I can hear her coming and know she´s OK.. Just hope it´s not a human squeal.
My bottom bracket came loose on the ride to Huanuco so I had it tightened there. Managed to find the tools in a small bike shop there (mind you, I should have had them in my tool kit).

My Rohloff is going along sweetly but Jude´s is leaking a lot of oil and it coats the skewer in thick oil. I can´t find the leak as it usually comes from the threaded plug screw. Tim, any ideas?

Well, we left Huancayo at 7am under cool blue skies. It hasn´t rained at all in 5 weeks, not a drop. On a nice sealed road climbed to a small pass and then down to Izuchaca. Then a long hot climb towards Huancavelica. Late in the day, we found a nice hidden campsite at 3500m among a grove of eucalypts, with fresh water.

Next morning we came upon this colourful village, Cachillallca, with brightly painted houses.

Many of them had interesting motifs like these.....

At a bridge (Puente Palca), we were stopped by the police for an hour for a mountain bike race to pass. We had some funny conversations with the locals who were bemused and curious about our trip.

Some lads at a small village on the way. Everybody was excited by the annual bike race and couldn´t understand why were going in the opposite direction with loads of gear. ¿Que pasa?

The hillsides at this elevation (3700-4100m) are covered in wheat fields. A woman is gazing over this patchwork Brueghelian landscape.

Sheaves of wheat drying in the sun.

A farmer is threshing wheat by the old-fashioned method - hitting it with a long stick.

The rock here is a black limestone, a contorted karst landscape, which the locals call `El Bosque de las Piedras´, or Stone Forest.

The road went through many twists and turns and ups and downs until it peaked at 4170m. at an aptly named Sachapite (pronounced as `such a pity´). Then a long winding descent to a gorge and the city of Huancavelica at 3700m. This is the view from Sachapite down to the valley.

Huancavelica is set in a gorge surrounded by verdant mountains. We found a nice hotel and at 40 soles (or US$13) a night, we were really treating ourselves for 3 nights.
The churches in this town were of an interesting design, altars of silver, mined nearby, instead of the crass and heavy gold ones found elsewhere from colonial Peru.

¿COMO TE LLAMAS?
We decided to take the little-used backroad to Ayacucho from Huancavelica, via Lircay and Julcamarca. It was a good decision as it had little traffic and some wonderful scenery and interesting indigenous culture. Everybody along the road greeted us with surprised but welcoming greetings.

Riding at elevations over 3700m, this is now llama country, and we had some comical moments with the cameloids.

Bad hair day

A Tibetan llama in Peru? So what, what are you looking at, gringo?

Llamas as beasts of burden carrying freshly-dug potatoes from the chakra.
A flashback to the sixties? The Llamas and the the Papas.

Follow the llama. Cycling along these high roads you encounter llamas on the way to work, all very apprehensive and nervous of the gringo on a bicycle.

Red seems the fashionable colour in these parts.

The road out of Huancavelica was steep and in bad shape. For 10kms lots of messy and muddy construction. Here Jude is dwarfed by a large truck carrying fill for the road. The drivers were really courteous to us and we could ride behind them as they packed the gravel down for us.

More peculiar geology and botany. Bumpy limestone and pimply cactus.

Close-up of the common pampa cactus - Lots of pricks and a bit of fluff.

Late afternoon views over the pampa. The man-made corralls merge into the natural landscape.

We were desperate for a campsite at dusk and luckily we found this trail leading over to a hidden valley and a lovely spot for the night. Not too hidden as it turned out..as we had visitors, a family on their way home from the chakra who invited us to their home to stay, and a young shepherd called Walter who left us in tears as he walked home in the dark (still a mystery why).

Next morning from the camp, pushing my bike up the rocky path back to the road.

Climbed higher onto the pampa, through some ugly mines and slagheaps, and into this surreal world of black pinnacles. The dusty and stoney road winds its way down to Lircay. You can spot a bus in the distance.

Eucalypts imprisoned in a black forest of stone.

Lunch in Lircay, nothing of interest so we headed up the steep-walled and narrow canyon cloakec in thick vegetation. No villages, just clusters of stone and thatch dwellings. The locals use the ichu grass from the pampa to line the roofs.

Higher up towards the pass, rope from ichu grass is used as tie-downs.

A campesina taking her flock of sheep down to lower pastures. No wheeled traffic on this road but plenty of people on foot as they headed to their fields for planting and harvesting potatoes. They all lead their animals down with them - sheep, llamas and mules.

The road climbed from the canyon in a series of switchbacks and onto the pampa. Here Jude is riding high overlooking the escarpment. Our campsite was way below in the distance on a windy exposed knoll.

Just below the pass we found small herds of vicuñas. This group were in feverish excitement as 2 males were challenging over the harem. Lots of chasing, bucking and snorting.

Just below the pass, Jude is rounding the bend on the final stretch. This was her altitude record at 4530m. It was a beautiful tranquil spot.

On top of the pass looking north back to Lircay - a distance of 38 kms and an altitude gain of 1300m.

Then the descent down the other side, gentle gradient and OK road surface. We made it to Julcamarca just at dusk after a long day and found a great little hospedaje by the plaza (12 soles). A pleasant village to spend the night. Had a few beers that night to wash down the dust.

We had expected a cruisy ride the following day as the locals in Julcamarca told us the road went gently down a river all the way to Ayacucho. Well, it´s a lesson not to be comforted and fooled like this as it was an atrocious road. Climbed 200 metres above Julcamarca and then a rapid and very steep descent down a pulverised and rocky road. Droppped 900 metres in 17kms! Look out! Steep switchbacks ahead!

Then across a bridge and then an awful stretch of constant ups and downs on a dusty bony road in dry cactus country, passing eerily deserted villages. The only highlight was the impressive sky and unusual cloud formations.

...and the odd little cactus

Once we reached the main road we were hankering for the quiet and vast pampa once again. It was very hot, dry country down here at 2500m and the traffic became heavy again.

17 kms on a sealed road and an hour later we were in Ayacucho, Bolivar´s `City of Blood´. It was also the birthplace of the brutal Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) movement which unleashed extreme violence upon the surrounding countryside. The subsequent military reprisals were just as harsh and the land and population was bathed in bloody atrocities. I tried to travel to this city in 1985 but it was off limits because of the violence.

No bloody revoutionaries these days, but plenty of ice-cream whipping ladies in the plaza....

... bicycle fireworks.

...and revealing colonial art above a mansion´s doorway.

Erected in the 17th century and still standing proud.

We´ve spent 3 days here in this delightful city and now it´s time to hit the road (figuratively speaking of course, no more broken bones please).
We´ll leave tomorrow morning (June 16) and head out on an unknown road to Vilcashuaman, a famous Incan ruin and then hopefully join the main Abancay road beyond Rio Pampas. We may have to raft across, as were not sure if there is a bridge. Should be fun! Next post from Cuzco in 10-12 days.

We met some young Canadian cyclists today who are also heading to Cuzco, but by the main route. Their website is www.rideforhope.com
It seems there are quite a few touring cylists riding through the Andes as it´s the dry season. We expect to meet more as we approach Cuzco and La Paz. Good to catch up with fellow cyclists and trade stories from the road.
Judy met a German couple on the road to Junin heading north a few weeks back, but I was too absorbed in the Stones `Moonlight Mile´ on my MP3 to notice them resting by the roadside and shouting to me...

"The sound of strangers sending nothing to my mind
Just another mad mad day on the road
.........
But I´m just about a moonlight mile down the road"

See you all down the road......