Hola! Please
understand that I no longer have a tablet and haven’t found a computer cheap
enough to pick up, so these blogs will be typed for now. Here is an update on the first two weeks out
of Cusco... When in Cusco, I was taking
care of my father, doing hospital runs, and getting things organized for entering
Bolivia, yet in my final days there, I realized I had to make a big
decision. For the sake of my safety,
cycling through Bolivia solo wasn’t an option and I had one chance to depart
with a partner, Loic from France, who I had introduced in my previous
post. Loic and I met briefly in front of
a grocery store in Piura, Peru two months prior. He has been cycling from France, around the
world via Japan and Canada for the past two years. Here is his blog: www.loicvelomonde.com. In the days following my departure, my Dad
made his way home and is on the path back to good health in Southern California
with our family.
On July 16th,
Loic and I left Cusco, on a fun downhill into a canyon, then through the mountains
a few days en route for the Altiplano.
The Altiplano is the second-largest high plateau on Earth (behind Tibet)
that stretches from Southern Peru to Northern Argentina and it is largely
located in Bolivia. Its average altitude
is 12,300ft, making it tough to breath and bringing some cold nighttime temperatures. We stealth-camped for 4 nights, in the
forest, behind a boulder, in an abandoned house, then the last night in a
construction site, where we got caught by the guard! He made us pay a small fee of less than $1 a
person and all was fine. On the pass
coming from the mountains over to the Altiplano, we had some snow, but it has
otherwise been dry, but very cold being the austral winter. Once on the Altiplano, we had a huge tailwind
that helped us achieve 90km days at ease.
We also ran into 15 touring cyclists, from Argentina, Australia, France, Belgium, Netherlands, USA, and even Japan!
It’s pretty odd considering the rarity of running into other touring
cyclists on the road. On the 20th,
we reached Puno, Peru and rested a day, walking around the town a bit. It is a nice town, but as in most of Peru,
the majority of the buildings are left unfinished as to avoid paying property
taxes, a loophole in the system.
Riding out
of Puno was a treat as we caught our first glimpses of Lake Titicaca, the largest
lake in South America and highest navigable lake in the world. We rode along the shore with the wind at our
back to what Loic calls a 5-star stealth camping spot. When no cars are passing and we see that no
one is watching us, we dive into the bushes, and this particular spot happened
to overlook the lake and Isla Del Sol in the middle. After a rare treat of Mac and Cheese I picked
up at the tourist supermarket in Cusco, the full moon rose stunningly before
us, giving us a reason to turn off the headlamps and enjoy our last night in
Peru.
In summary,
I had a very love-hate relationship with Peru.
For cycling, it is very difficult, with choking mountain passes and
extremely vicious dogs, yet after over 2 months in the country, I developed a
soft spot for the generous people and sweeping landscapes. I will certainly be back to do some trekking
and mountaineering, but don’t think I’ll be trying to cycle through it again.
The next morning,
we awoke with a beautiful sunrise that quickly warmed our tents and thawed our
frozen water bottles. We continued along
the lakeshore and crossed into Bolivia, my 35th country and 26th
by bike, rolling into Copacabana in time for lunch and some sightseeing. Bolivia is safer than Peru in terms of
violence, but is the 2nd poorest nation in Western Hemisphere (Haiti
is first), so will be difficult to cycle through. Lack of hygiene and access to healthy food
are among the main issues facing cyclists, altitude aside. To prepare, I have a tub of Soy Protein
Powder and numerous food additives like Omega’s, various seeds, etc. In addition, I have reverted to being Pescetarian
after nearly 4 years of being vegetarian/vegan, to ensure I get the nutrients I
need. In the countryside, Bolivia
differs from Central and northern South America in that it is impossible to
form a complex protein without meat.
Beans, Lentils, and other compliments to the standard rice and french
fries staples simply do not exist. The
diet is high in energy for the poor farmers of the Altiplano, yet low in
nutrition, especially when excluding meat and chicken. Bolivia is a huge Quinoa grower, a superfood
known for its complex protein, but unfortunately it is largely exported and
sold at a high premium to more developed countries.
In
Copacabana, we found the cheapest accommodation I have come across while
traveling – $2.10 – which includes a dirty sunken bed and toilet with no
running water or paper. For a cyclist with his
own sleeping bag and toilet paper, it is just perfect. I went up to the mirador in Copacabana for a
good view of the city and lake, then Loic and I capped the night off with a
game of pool and trout dinner, making it an equally fantastic night as the
last, but in civilization this time!
Cycling
across the isthmus in the middle of Lake Titicaca awarded us with the finest
scenery since central Peru… It went
something like this: a vast lake hundreds of meters below us on a silky-smooth
traffic-free road with jagged snowcapped peaks in the backdrop. We met up with Inaki, another southbound
cyclist from Basque country and cycled with him to La Paz. That evening, we camped next to an abandoned house
and had our last views of Lake Titicaca in the morning while leaving. The ride into La Paz through the busy suburbs
of Rio Seco and El Alto was an adrenaline-junkies dream, dodging minibuses,
tuk-tuk’s, missing sewer-covers, and wild packs of dogs, all at 13,400ft. At the edge of a steep cliff, we got our
first view of La Paz, the Altiplano’s largest city and highest capitol city in the world, sprawling down into a
canyon adjacent to the plateau. A long,
bumpy decent took us into the heart of the modern city and to the Casa de
Ciclistas, a home just for traveling
cyclists in the city center run by a really generous person, Cristian. Here, we met Henrik from Denmark, Peycho from
Bulgaria, and Gabriel from USA cycling north and Aurore from France (with her
dog!), Dmitri from Russia, and Michael from Germany heading south. We partied all evening, then relaxed and did laundry
on our first full rest day. Some of the
cyclists left and new cyclists from Israel and Austria arrived later in the
day. In the evening, I went to the supermarket
and paid a fortune for 'Love Crunch', a cereal from Washington!
On our
second day in the Casa, Dmitri made pancakes for everyone and Loic and I
explored La Paz in the afternoon, which is one of my favorite cities in South
America. I searched high and low for a
netbook computer but couldn’t find anything for a reasonable price, we visited
the Witches Market, Black Market, the University, Plazas and Arcades… In the evening, Inaki made everyone Spanish Omelets and swapped cycling stories and tips over several bottles of
cheap Bolivian wine, having a grand ol’ time.
We still have to print out a PDF and maps of our route through Southwest
Bolivia, the most desolate area of my trip, where we will have to carry 10 days
of food and plenty of water, and will be cycling on marginal roads, mainly made
of sand and 4x4 tracks. We will spend a
few more days here, helping the Casa owner Cristian with a few chores and picking up
some supplies for the road ahead. But
for now, Loic made everyone French Toast so I’ve gotta go!!!
FUN FACT: Breakfast on the road…
Avena is the easiest, lightest, and most
readily-available foodstuff here in Bolivia and is what I eat 5-6 days a
week. It is like oatmeal, but is finely
ground and can be mixed with cold water, rather than having to think about
assembling the stove with freezing fingers.
I mix brown sugar, soy protein or dry quinoa milk, flax, bird, and sesame seed into
the mix and have it right after waking up.
I normally also have a yogurt to get some pro-biotics up in the
club. Then sometimes I take a second
breakfast right before we leave or at the first restaurant we come across. This usually consists of rice, potatoes, and
a fried egg and costs between $1 and $2.
Occasionally I can find a Chinese restaurant and will eat the Tortilla de
Verdura which isn’t a tortilla at all, but is tomatoes and onions scrambled
with an egg or two, served over white rice. When in the cities, I track down
granola or if in a touristy city like Cuzco, pancakes or crepes!
