Thursday 28 July 2016
28th July celebrations (I'm sure this is only part 1)
Well it's 6.30am and I can't sleep... It's a bustling party outside to see in the daylight... Singing, dancing, cars beeping... It sounds so happy and vibrant can't help but smile.
Ant is of course sleeping through it all! can't wait to go join in the fun and will report back soon!!
(and I feel the need to apologise to the world in behalf of the drunk British back packers who came back to the hostal at 4.30, squealing and giggling, and by the sounds of it falling down the stairs... I can only hope that they can hear the party too and are currently suffering... As it seems hugely unfair to wake up Peruvians when they have an early start the night before their special day.)
Ps... Now 7.10am and the Sun has risen... Initial partying seems over and everyone is going back to their daily routine... Though still a jubilant atmosphere. Ant rolled over and I asked him if he heard the partying... He said "no" then snored...
Concerns for today:
1-locating the man from the bungalows who we rented a room from for tonight and tomorrow... Hope he doesn't start partying until later!
2- confirming Chamonix rental
3- clearing up a mild case of snuffles we've both developed
4- finding a hosepipe to clean down bikes
5- doing all of the above in time to party (unlikely given Ant's still comatose state!!)
Wednesday 27 July 2016
Day 4 Chincha Alto to Paracas (55km) Tuesday 26th (and Wed, Thursday, and Friday eeek!!)
Sad to say goodbye but excited to see what today brings...
...yep, more cycling on the Pan Am... Grrr!
But now the hard shoulder is much more dust and rubble than tarmac. Oh how we long for the mountains! But are equally daunted as we look at the climbs to our left!
Everywhere is preparing for their independence day celebrations on 28th July... This makes us excited and apprehensive in equal measure... Excited to share in the fun, apprehensive.. Will there be any hotels free? I think this might be the equivalent of going cycling around the South coast of Britain on August bank holiday and expecting to get a free hotel in Brighton last minute!! Well we'll deal with that later, for now our task to get to Pisco for lunch, then on to the more touristy (and hence more scary for Ant) Paracas. The cycle got much better once we turned off the Pan Am and onto the coastal road past Pisco, nit least because for the first time this trip we actually saw the Sun and no longer had the infamous Lima mist around us. And Pisco itself such an interesting town. Clearly once an up and coming tourist location, then struck by the 2007 Earthquake so an interesting juxtaposition of rubble, new builds and houses that survived the wreckage. Not really much in the town itself except the usual hustle and bustle of city life and a Mega Plaza on the road into town (aka massive scary supermarket!), but we found a lovely beach front restaurant on the coast road for Ant to get his fill of Lomo Saltardo and a generous helping of seafood (curried!!?!) pasta for me.
Then on along the coast road and into a head wind for some of the most surprisingly difficult cycling yet (given it was flat!). We passed a military base, an oil refinery and petrol tanker birth place, and finally held our breath for as long as possible as we sawed passed a fish works at a whopping 11km an hour! (well I said there was a headwind and our panniers act like sails in the wrong direction!)
Finally into Paracas as Ant started to cease up at the thought of touristy life and my ears pricked up at the Latino music and street performers. Our fears were almost realised as the first few hostals we tried were fully booked, but then we found a lovely place on the front for two nights to give us a bit of rest and chance to take a boat to see penguins (of course!!)...
But today two nights turned into four as we decided the most sensible (and least adventurous :-( ) option was to find a cheap room here for another two nights and get on the road once the festival has passed... Don't want to risk the mountain trek without certainty of places to stay... Yes I know... We should probably have taken the chance, but the advice of locals was to wait it out... And I think Ant and I could do with something that resembles a 'normal' holiday before leaping into the wilderness after the crazy few months we've had.
So here we are on Wednesday 27th July, on a terrace drinking cosquena and practicing duolingo watching the world go bye... Recuperating and psyching ourselves up for the beginning of our true adventure on Saturday. We took a boat trip today to Isla Bastilles and ACTUALLY SAW PENGUINS!!! And sea lions and many birds... And now have to work out what normal people do on holiday. What's the betting we end up cycling around on unloaded bikes tomorrow to see the sand dunes!
Adios!!
Xxxx
...yep, more cycling on the Pan Am... Grrr!
But now the hard shoulder is much more dust and rubble than tarmac. Oh how we long for the mountains! But are equally daunted as we look at the climbs to our left!
Everywhere is preparing for their independence day celebrations on 28th July... This makes us excited and apprehensive in equal measure... Excited to share in the fun, apprehensive.. Will there be any hotels free? I think this might be the equivalent of going cycling around the South coast of Britain on August bank holiday and expecting to get a free hotel in Brighton last minute!! Well we'll deal with that later, for now our task to get to Pisco for lunch, then on to the more touristy (and hence more scary for Ant) Paracas. The cycle got much better once we turned off the Pan Am and onto the coastal road past Pisco, nit least because for the first time this trip we actually saw the Sun and no longer had the infamous Lima mist around us. And Pisco itself such an interesting town. Clearly once an up and coming tourist location, then struck by the 2007 Earthquake so an interesting juxtaposition of rubble, new builds and houses that survived the wreckage. Not really much in the town itself except the usual hustle and bustle of city life and a Mega Plaza on the road into town (aka massive scary supermarket!), but we found a lovely beach front restaurant on the coast road for Ant to get his fill of Lomo Saltardo and a generous helping of seafood (curried!!?!) pasta for me.
Then on along the coast road and into a head wind for some of the most surprisingly difficult cycling yet (given it was flat!). We passed a military base, an oil refinery and petrol tanker birth place, and finally held our breath for as long as possible as we sawed passed a fish works at a whopping 11km an hour! (well I said there was a headwind and our panniers act like sails in the wrong direction!)
Finally into Paracas as Ant started to cease up at the thought of touristy life and my ears pricked up at the Latino music and street performers. Our fears were almost realised as the first few hostals we tried were fully booked, but then we found a lovely place on the front for two nights to give us a bit of rest and chance to take a boat to see penguins (of course!!)...
But today two nights turned into four as we decided the most sensible (and least adventurous :-( ) option was to find a cheap room here for another two nights and get on the road once the festival has passed... Don't want to risk the mountain trek without certainty of places to stay... Yes I know... We should probably have taken the chance, but the advice of locals was to wait it out... And I think Ant and I could do with something that resembles a 'normal' holiday before leaping into the wilderness after the crazy few months we've had.
So here we are on Wednesday 27th July, on a terrace drinking cosquena and practicing duolingo watching the world go bye... Recuperating and psyching ourselves up for the beginning of our true adventure on Saturday. We took a boat trip today to Isla Bastilles and ACTUALLY SAW PENGUINS!!! And sea lions and many birds... And now have to work out what normal people do on holiday. What's the betting we end up cycling around on unloaded bikes tomorrow to see the sand dunes!
Adios!!
Xxxx
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Day 3 Cerro Azul to Chincha Alto (65km) Monday 25th July
We left our beautiful hotel room and said goodbye to Juan after giving the bikes a once over, then celebrated as we found a shop with fresh bread and butter for breakfast... And some yummy yoghurt that reminded me if my youth... Like pink fromage frais :-)
On the road again feeling much more upbeat and with the wind in our backs really plugging out a good few km. We literally just kept going... Up and up and up a sand dune laiden road... Then whoosh back down the other side... After a few hours this felt like hard work, especially as were still on the damn Pan Am! But then the sea!! What a beautiful sight peeking out from one sand dune to the next. And eventually a long descent to the coast to pay us back for our hard work... Then came the attack of the almost killer dogs... Oh how we now hate dogs... They love to chase bikes and bark at us... So far none have threatened to bite and we've managed to out cycle them, but this one was a close call... Massive and fast and seemingly not scared of us (or Ant's swinging foot) at all... Luckily he tired before us and we had this victory as he was left panting and sad at the side of the road... We however, needed to stop at the next shack for a few tuc tuc biscuits and a free orange (thank you lady who gave us orange instead of the 2p change you didn't have). Orange was delicious and acted as a suitable nerve calmer. Then onwards and upwards to the very urban city of Chincha Alto. What a difference this was, a busy hub and bustling vibrant developing city with an edge. We were so very lucky to come across Johanah and her family on Warm Showers (cycle touring website) and they very kindly offered to host is for the evening. And what an evening it was, a real taste of Peru in all senses. We even got treated to some traditional Peruvian dancing displays from Johanna's sister and (initially reluctant) Father who really came into his own when he salsaed. Oh and man he could talk... And talk... And talk... In Spanish... Don't think he realised we couldn't really understand but what fun. Elsa, Johanna's mum cooked us the most delightful supper and we were lucky enough to meet Pamela (from Brazil) and Alexandra (from Germany) - two incredibly upbeat and lovely girls who are helping out at Elsa's school teaching infants English over the Summer holidays. What a brilliant and interesting stay... Lets see where tomorrow takes us...
On the road again feeling much more upbeat and with the wind in our backs really plugging out a good few km. We literally just kept going... Up and up and up a sand dune laiden road... Then whoosh back down the other side... After a few hours this felt like hard work, especially as were still on the damn Pan Am! But then the sea!! What a beautiful sight peeking out from one sand dune to the next. And eventually a long descent to the coast to pay us back for our hard work... Then came the attack of the almost killer dogs... Oh how we now hate dogs... They love to chase bikes and bark at us... So far none have threatened to bite and we've managed to out cycle them, but this one was a close call... Massive and fast and seemingly not scared of us (or Ant's swinging foot) at all... Luckily he tired before us and we had this victory as he was left panting and sad at the side of the road... We however, needed to stop at the next shack for a few tuc tuc biscuits and a free orange (thank you lady who gave us orange instead of the 2p change you didn't have). Orange was delicious and acted as a suitable nerve calmer. Then onwards and upwards to the very urban city of Chincha Alto. What a difference this was, a busy hub and bustling vibrant developing city with an edge. We were so very lucky to come across Johanah and her family on Warm Showers (cycle touring website) and they very kindly offered to host is for the evening. And what an evening it was, a real taste of Peru in all senses. We even got treated to some traditional Peruvian dancing displays from Johanna's sister and (initially reluctant) Father who really came into his own when he salsaed. Oh and man he could talk... And talk... And talk... In Spanish... Don't think he realised we couldn't really understand but what fun. Elsa, Johanna's mum cooked us the most delightful supper and we were lucky enough to meet Pamela (from Brazil) and Alexandra (from Germany) - two incredibly upbeat and lovely girls who are helping out at Elsa's school teaching infants English over the Summer holidays. What a brilliant and interesting stay... Lets see where tomorrow takes us...
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Day 2: San Bartollo to Cerro Azul (95km) Sunday 24th July
Wow! A big day of cycling and a tough one. Can't say either of us are loving the Pan American highway but it gets us to where we need to be, just a bit monotonous. We stocked up on incredibly sweet pastries (con dulche de leche) and icing sugar biscuits, which were actually just the ticket for our breakfast this morning though I never thought I'd appreciate the accompanying bread and cream cheese triangles as much as I did. Glad we had such a huge breakfast as lunch places were hard to come by. Though we stumbled across what looked like a road side cafe and was actually a pregnant lady and her cute 10 year old son who sold us some dubious pork fat corn role (tambales I think it was called... We will not order this again!!) but were very grateful for the 6rolls of bread that came with it. This was a brilliant little experience though and Ant really enjoyed talking to the boy in what I can only assume was their own Spanglaise language. Somehow they understood each other, via means of hand signals, charades, and Euro2016 cards. They discussed all important matters, like how tall they each were in cm and which player they were most like, the colour of their eyes and mine, whether England was currently at war with anyone and if not which countries had it been at war at in the past, how long it will be before Ant and I have children - that perhaps we should stop cycling so we can have babies (oh ten year old advice!), the ages and names of our brothers... Father... Mother... Ant left glowing... His first proper Spanish conversation. He almost forgot about Nimrod!!
I however was less upbeat, disappointing food and more pan am cycling... But hark... A petrol station... Ant bless him came running out with a Cornetto... All was well again :-) and I even managed to hold a semi conversation with a stranger... 'Where are you going' he asked in Spanish... 'Pisco' I replied... I couldn't have been prouder! All this whilst watching the sweet toilet attendants stealing cakes from the cake seller's trolley who was clearly their friend.. Then giggling lots!
So other than food, not much to report... The cycling highlight was a diversion off the pan am onto the old pan am which took us on a rocky cute coastal path for a few km... This was amazing... And much more like the tour we are hoping for. Hopefully a sign of things to come once we get into the mountains.
Ant found a wonderful town with a pier called Cerro azul and then did an awesome job finding and negotiating a price for a room (I think they were closed for the winter so this was no mean feat). I meanwhile was helpfully draped over my bike in a heap of uselessness, offering the occasional supportive smile. Boy did good :-)
Ate our body weight in fried fish and fried potatoes and rice... So tasty... And then collapsed into bed... It was 9pm afterall... So late for us these days!
love to all xxx
I however was less upbeat, disappointing food and more pan am cycling... But hark... A petrol station... Ant bless him came running out with a Cornetto... All was well again :-) and I even managed to hold a semi conversation with a stranger... 'Where are you going' he asked in Spanish... 'Pisco' I replied... I couldn't have been prouder! All this whilst watching the sweet toilet attendants stealing cakes from the cake seller's trolley who was clearly their friend.. Then giggling lots!
So other than food, not much to report... The cycling highlight was a diversion off the pan am onto the old pan am which took us on a rocky cute coastal path for a few km... This was amazing... And much more like the tour we are hoping for. Hopefully a sign of things to come once we get into the mountains.
Ant found a wonderful town with a pier called Cerro azul and then did an awesome job finding and negotiating a price for a room (I think they were closed for the winter so this was no mean feat). I meanwhile was helpfully draped over my bike in a heap of uselessness, offering the occasional supportive smile. Boy did good :-)
Ate our body weight in fried fish and fried potatoes and rice... So tasty... And then collapsed into bed... It was 9pm afterall... So late for us these days!
love to all xxx
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Saturday 23 July 2016
Day 1 - Lima to San Bartolo (55km) Saturday 23rd July
So, day number one on the road and what a day of mixed emotions. Excitement and freedom to be finally on our bikes. Although the luxury we've enjoyed over the past few days has been gratefully received, neither of us enjoys the shopping mall scene and its slightly sad to think that such an interesting nation with rich culture aspires to shop at Aldo and Pierre Cardin. So we can't say we were all that sad to leave the Miraflores region of Lima behind. Though we were soon dropped down to Earth as we cycled south through the Lima suburbs. Once out the other side of the cultural and hip Barracosa things turned very real as we passed through slums. Although we were more on edge and alert, I feel so much happier having seen a little of this. It felt wrong eating lunch yesterday whilst staring over the river at the Rimac slums. Then onto the hard shoulder of the PanAmerican highway, which although not the most pleasant ride, is not as scary as it sounds!
Things of note from today...
1) it's VERY dusty
2) its VERY humid (how these things fit together I don't know!)
3) its cold... Or rather it feels cold... Thermostat says 18 degrees but it feels much more like 12... I guess that will be the humidity!
4) everything looks better at night...i think it hides the unfinished surfaces of most houses... That otherwise look a bit shabby... But are often home to lovely restaurants and shops.
5) the people who guard the town we're staying in (yep barriers to enter and leave), love bikes... they cheered when they saw us ride in
6) busses and traffic are crazy, but will always honk you to let you know they're coming then give you a v wide birth... So far... We like!
7) some hostels are AMAZING! This one has WiFi, overlooks the cliffs (literally) and its only downside is its too clean (stinks of bleach!)
8) we're not yet adjusted to the jet lag (Ant's just fallen asleep whilst talking to me and it's not yet 8.30pm!)
9) that barking back at shouty angry dogs makes them run away
10) San Bartolo is a cool place to stay... Everyone is super friendly and from our room window we can see the surfers playing with the huge waves... And ate an AMAZING meal... BBQ Fish skewers nom nom nom...possibly some of the best fish I've ever tasted.
So... Its now 8.30 and definitely passes my bed time so I'm signing off.
Love to all at home xxx
Things of note from today...
1) it's VERY dusty
2) its VERY humid (how these things fit together I don't know!)
3) its cold... Or rather it feels cold... Thermostat says 18 degrees but it feels much more like 12... I guess that will be the humidity!
4) everything looks better at night...i think it hides the unfinished surfaces of most houses... That otherwise look a bit shabby... But are often home to lovely restaurants and shops.
5) the people who guard the town we're staying in (yep barriers to enter and leave), love bikes... they cheered when they saw us ride in
6) busses and traffic are crazy, but will always honk you to let you know they're coming then give you a v wide birth... So far... We like!
7) some hostels are AMAZING! This one has WiFi, overlooks the cliffs (literally) and its only downside is its too clean (stinks of bleach!)
8) we're not yet adjusted to the jet lag (Ant's just fallen asleep whilst talking to me and it's not yet 8.30pm!)
9) that barking back at shouty angry dogs makes them run away
10) San Bartolo is a cool place to stay... Everyone is super friendly and from our room window we can see the surfers playing with the huge waves... And ate an AMAZING meal... BBQ Fish skewers nom nom nom...possibly some of the best fish I've ever tasted.
So... Its now 8.30 and definitely passes my bed time so I'm signing off.
Love to all at home xxx
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| From Peru |
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Thursday 21 July 2016
Today was the day that...
...Ant found Nimrod and I found Pisco Sours
Nimrod is a little black kitten, one of a family of 300 that live in a park near our hotel. They're not feral (or at least they weren't before they met Ant) but a lady looks after them and offers some up for adoption. It's a sort of 'cats for the people' park, where you can go for a stroll or read a book whilst having a cat come sit on your lap. With Nimrod and Ant it was less love at first sight, and more an innate understanding of one another. Cat sat on bench looking timid, Ant joined cat, cat looked at Ant, Ant said 'You're so cute and soft, you can be called Nimrod', cat nonchalantly backs away a little- perhaps uncertain of the name choice, though likely just a little wary of this beast naming fluff loving human, Ant turns away and looks sad. Ant gets courage to stroke Nimrod, Nimrod likes it and slowly edges closer. Then when no one Is looking, Nimrod tentatively cuddles into Ant for he may be nervous but loves cuddles just as much as the boisterous cats. Boisterous tabby cat number 1 leaps on Ants lap (Ant does NOT appreciate the audacity of this cat, he is not worth a name), Nimrod looks wary and scared he'll lose a friend, Ant ignores tabby cat 1, Nimrod is quietly happy about this then tentatively paws his way onto Ants lap. Ant smiles for he now has a new soft, strokable, cute friend to go cycle touring with...
...WHAT... ARE YOU MAD... NO ANT NIMROD WILL NOT FIT IN OUR PANNIERS NOR WILL HE WANT TO SIT IN MY HANDLE BAR BAG!!! back away from Nimrod and say your goodbyes...
Then just before Ant falls asleep 'we can go and visit Nimrod again tomorrow right?'... How to tell him that distinguishing Nimrod out of the other 299 might be somewhat challenging... ' yes of course we can and I'm sure he'll remember you... Sleep well', will break it to him tomorrow!!
Oh yeah and pisco sours (Peru's signature cocktail) are yummy... If not rather strong. So strong they might cause you to wright detailed stories about how your husband found his soul mate in a cat called Nimrod (or perhaps not called Nimrod, I think the chance of this being his actual name is unlikely... Another revelation that can wait for tomorrow ).
Night night all xxxxx
...WHAT... ARE YOU MAD... NO ANT NIMROD WILL NOT FIT IN OUR PANNIERS NOR WILL HE WANT TO SIT IN MY HANDLE BAR BAG!!! back away from Nimrod and say your goodbyes...
Then just before Ant falls asleep 'we can go and visit Nimrod again tomorrow right?'... How to tell him that distinguishing Nimrod out of the other 299 might be somewhat challenging... ' yes of course we can and I'm sure he'll remember you... Sleep well', will break it to him tomorrow!!
Oh yeah and pisco sours (Peru's signature cocktail) are yummy... If not rather strong. So strong they might cause you to wright detailed stories about how your husband found his soul mate in a cat called Nimrod (or perhaps not called Nimrod, I think the chance of this being his actual name is unlikely... Another revelation that can wait for tomorrow ).
Night night all xxxxx
ARRIVED!!!
Emma: A very quick update whist we eat our breakfast in Lima. We arrived safe and sound.
Highlights so far include an upgraded flight (whoop!), managing to suppress my fear and actually enjoy the journey, then a crazy taxi ride in two separate cars (seemed they didn't get the 'by the way we have two massive bike boxes' memo) with my driver Paulo teaching me Spanish (as though I was a four year old which was probably fairly generous!) whilst simultaneously hanging out the window to direct Ant's car and teaching me how to Latin America dance... Oh yeah and occasionally he concentrated on driving... Exhilarating! Meanwhile an occasional glance into Ant's car revealed his experience with the slightly dubious 'man with big car our hotel driver picked up off the street' driver was less 'Dancing, Spanish lesson' and more 'I hope I don't die!'. It's OK though, we'd prepared fully for any dodgy situation... Before leaving the airport, Ant handed me all important documents which I quite literally stuffed down my pants, whilst memorising the numberplate of 'dubious man with big car'. By the time we got to bed we realised this really is the life... I mean what else would we be doing at 3am uk time?!!
So I'm pleased to say both drivers were actually incredibly friendly and trustworthy and we are now sat safely enjoying eggs, bread, cheese and coffee over breakfast, and about to go explore Lima before braving opening the bikes to survey any damage.
Happy Thursday everyone xxxxx
Highlights so far include an upgraded flight (whoop!), managing to suppress my fear and actually enjoy the journey, then a crazy taxi ride in two separate cars (seemed they didn't get the 'by the way we have two massive bike boxes' memo) with my driver Paulo teaching me Spanish (as though I was a four year old which was probably fairly generous!) whilst simultaneously hanging out the window to direct Ant's car and teaching me how to Latin America dance... Oh yeah and occasionally he concentrated on driving... Exhilarating! Meanwhile an occasional glance into Ant's car revealed his experience with the slightly dubious 'man with big car our hotel driver picked up off the street' driver was less 'Dancing, Spanish lesson' and more 'I hope I don't die!'. It's OK though, we'd prepared fully for any dodgy situation... Before leaving the airport, Ant handed me all important documents which I quite literally stuffed down my pants, whilst memorising the numberplate of 'dubious man with big car'. By the time we got to bed we realised this really is the life... I mean what else would we be doing at 3am uk time?!!
So I'm pleased to say both drivers were actually incredibly friendly and trustworthy and we are now sat safely enjoying eggs, bread, cheese and coffee over breakfast, and about to go explore Lima before braving opening the bikes to survey any damage.
Happy Thursday everyone xxxxx
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