Crossing the Cordillera Blanca
Hello everybody. Be prepared for some of the most outstanding cycling pictures you might ever have seen because THIS WAS AMAZING, really! Cycling out of Huaraz into the Parque National Huascaran, over some mountain passes up to 4825m (14,475ft) high (!!!), right next to the glaciers and ice-fields, and with the whole of the Cordillera Blanca in view... just crazy.
See all the pictures - there is not much more to say about it, except that the thin air was quite a struggle at times, and we were happy to get up, over and back down the central chain in one day, as the nights there are far below freezing, and another night camping at 4000m was high enough for us.
We were still traveling with our 3 friends from Trujillo, and all of us struggled with the altitude: headaches, dizziness, sleeping problems, and obviously pedaling a heavy bike up the hill is hard enough at sea level so at these heights we had to stop very, very frequently to catch our breath. We got some coca leaves to chew to help with the effort of breathing and took it slow, all the better to take in the incredible scenery.
Back-country Peru
We have just passed 4 days of back-country Peruvian horrible dirt roads. Following rivers, passing some gorges, climbing over some “minor” Andean chains of “only” 4000m (12,00ft), while getting our backs and shoulders tensed by long bumpy climbs and our wrists smashed on 50km/30miles of rocky road descents, we have reached the district capital of Huanuco. Unfortunately we had to concentrate so hard on the rocky road and the scary dogs chasing us – or yell at the taxi and truck driving maniacs as they raced past, leaving us covered with dust and exhaust – that during the descent we couldn't fully enjoy the scenery. But luckily most of this stretch we were again cycling in a small group with our Austrian friend Max, Raul from Spain and Alex from Britain – on a dirt road like this one cycling in a group keeps the moods up and the frustrations and struggles are shared ones, so it makes it a bit easier...
On the way we stopped for one night at the small village of La Union, where Peru's Independence Day Festivities were in full swing. We saw a little horse race in the streets of town, and joined later the crowds in the bull fighting ring to witness a funny and partly idiotic bull fight with mostly drunk matadores. Fortunately the bull killing would happen only on the last day of the 4 day festival, so we got around that part of it!
Huanuco is like any other Peruvian city: overcrowded, too much traffic, loud and dirty. We haven't been very impressed with the cities here, and are enjoying so much more the countryside – coming into town is supposed to be a sort of treat: to relax a bit, get washed, sleep in a nice bed, do some bike maintenance and check internet (but the connection is sooooo slow!). But we decided it is better to get in and out of towns as quickly as possible to not be consumed by the city stress – and to avoid spending too much money on ice cream...
Hello everybody. Be prepared for some of the most outstanding cycling pictures you might ever have seen because THIS WAS AMAZING, really! Cycling out of Huaraz into the Parque National Huascaran, over some mountain passes up to 4825m (14,475ft) high (!!!), right next to the glaciers and ice-fields, and with the whole of the Cordillera Blanca in view... just crazy.
See all the pictures - there is not much more to say about it, except that the thin air was quite a struggle at times, and we were happy to get up, over and back down the central chain in one day, as the nights there are far below freezing, and another night camping at 4000m was high enough for us.
We were still traveling with our 3 friends from Trujillo, and all of us struggled with the altitude: headaches, dizziness, sleeping problems, and obviously pedaling a heavy bike up the hill is hard enough at sea level so at these heights we had to stop very, very frequently to catch our breath. We got some coca leaves to chew to help with the effort of breathing and took it slow, all the better to take in the incredible scenery.
Back-country Peru
We have just passed 4 days of back-country Peruvian horrible dirt roads. Following rivers, passing some gorges, climbing over some “minor” Andean chains of “only” 4000m (12,00ft), while getting our backs and shoulders tensed by long bumpy climbs and our wrists smashed on 50km/30miles of rocky road descents, we have reached the district capital of Huanuco. Unfortunately we had to concentrate so hard on the rocky road and the scary dogs chasing us – or yell at the taxi and truck driving maniacs as they raced past, leaving us covered with dust and exhaust – that during the descent we couldn't fully enjoy the scenery. But luckily most of this stretch we were again cycling in a small group with our Austrian friend Max, Raul from Spain and Alex from Britain – on a dirt road like this one cycling in a group keeps the moods up and the frustrations and struggles are shared ones, so it makes it a bit easier...
On the way we stopped for one night at the small village of La Union, where Peru's Independence Day Festivities were in full swing. We saw a little horse race in the streets of town, and joined later the crowds in the bull fighting ring to witness a funny and partly idiotic bull fight with mostly drunk matadores. Fortunately the bull killing would happen only on the last day of the 4 day festival, so we got around that part of it!
Huanuco is like any other Peruvian city: overcrowded, too much traffic, loud and dirty. We haven't been very impressed with the cities here, and are enjoying so much more the countryside – coming into town is supposed to be a sort of treat: to relax a bit, get washed, sleep in a nice bed, do some bike maintenance and check internet (but the connection is sooooo slow!). But we decided it is better to get in and out of towns as quickly as possible to not be consumed by the city stress – and to avoid spending too much money on ice cream...
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