ADIOS PERU, HOLA ECUADOR

Since my last report from Trujillo, I've left Peru behind and cycled North across the border into Ecuador. But first let me start where I left off last time. I was at Lucho's famous Casa De Cyclistas in Trujillo, Peru. There I made new friends, Germans Marcus and Dorothy on their way South, and I also met up with Hannes and Annelies who I'd met earlier on the road close to Cuzco. After a photo session with Lucho in front of his Casa, the five of us cycled to the nearby Huanchaco beach where I'd already been, and we had a couple of relaxing days there. From there I headed North alone on the infamous section of road, notorious for armed robberies on touring cyclists. For most of the first day I was escorted by the highway police (at one stage they even stopped a pickup truck and loaded me up for about 30 km). In Chiclayo I found the local Casa De cyclistas where I camped in the yard amongst the chickens and guinae pigs. Further North I met local cycling enthusiast Juan Carlos, who stopped to chat (although the conversation was rather limited, he spoke no English and my Spanish still leaves a lot to be desired. In the city of Piura I stayed over for a day, and then disaster struck. My bank card was swallowed by an ATM, and when I eventually got the bank to open up the machine my card was not inside. Fortunately my sister Olga wired me some money via Western Union, so I could at least pay my rent and stay alive until I could organise a new card. I had to get a SIM card for my phone, and spent about 80 dollars more phoning Nedbank in South Africa to block my account and order a new card for delivery in Ecuador where I was heading next. So I had to spend another couple of days in Piura, which turned out not too badly as It is quite an interesting non-touristy city with an amazing huge market (one can buy anything from bicyles to day-old chickens there). I got to Ecuador OK, and there I was soon into the big mountains again. Perhaps I didn't look all that great, because the vultures seemed to be following me along, roosting in the roadside trees. I had to wait a few days here in Loga for the new bank card, which was miraculously delivered (adressed to Loja, South America). Loja is quite an attractive historic small city. So far I also quite like the Ecuadorians, and things here seem a little more relaxed than in Peru. From here I will head North through the mountains again.

THE CORDILLERA BLANCA

After heading North from Lima through the desert, I couldn't wait to get away from the damp foggy coast. I had been intending to cycle via Huaraz (the "Adventure Capital" of Peru), and as soon as I could I headed for the hills again. Initially the climb followed a river valley, and again I noted that the desert is actually quite fertile if there is irrigation water. The dry ground is also a handy space for drying crops such as maize and paprika. So, once more I climbed to over four thousand metres before descending a bit to Huaraz, at the foot of the beautiful snowy Cordillera Blanca (still part of the Andes). There are apparently 22 peaks in this range of more than six thousand metres (including the highest in Peru), so trekkers and climbers tend to make their base in Huaraz. There I camped for a week at the popular Jo's Place hostel, where I enjoyed the company of a number of other cyclists and climbers. Eventually it was time to leave, and I headed back to the coast via the spectacular Santa Rosa River Canyon. However the road is unpaved, bumpy, narrow, and dusty, with about 40 hair-raising tunnels. I'd heard a lot about Lucho's Casa De Cyclistas in the city of Trujillo, but the day I finally arrived there, nobody was home. So I went to the nearby Huanchaco beach where I found a nice cheap hostal for a few days rest (the weather is also better than around Lima - the fog clears in the afternoon). Luckily I did find some life at the "Casa" on my return to Trujillo, and it's a good place to pay some attention to the bike (Lucho has a small workshop and loads of spares - mostly 2nd hand). The historic centre of the city is quite interesting, with many attractive colonial buildings. However, the road for some distance to the North is a bit of a gauntlet for cyclists - lots of reported armed robberies. I'll have to see how it goes when I leave. Daily distances cycled since Lima have been:- Lancay Nat Pk 102 km; Pativilco 104 km; Valley Camp 74 km; Cajacay 26 km; Junction Village 33 km; Huaraz 86 km; Caraz 71 km; Canyon Camp 1 74 km; Camp 2 41 km; Chao 120 km; Huanchaco 84 km; and Trujillo 16 km. Total in South America so far is 15 222 km. Total distance cycled on this trip is 81 709 km.