…living in and dreaming of…

Arriving in Santa Lucia at the Carretera Austral, i was somewhat taken aback when there was a perfect asphalt road starting just a few hundred meters out of the village. I’m not a dirt road fanatic in the sense that i grumble at any sign of asphalt, but in my mind the carretera austral was […]

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Already in La Paz, the guitar was out of shape. Sadly unlike with cyclist, this could not be mended by some days of resting. With some meddling and putting a piece of a bicycle tube under the bridge i could get it back to a level that it was playable. Another month of riding through one of […]

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Luck found us in the way of Rosario. Not only had he a replacement suspension fork for Alvaro’s bike and could change dollars at a good exchange rate, he also offered us an empty apartment to rest in. After fixing the bike, we spent the evening with him and his family to say ‘thank you’ for all […]

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The road out of San Pedro at first is straight and flat and there is nothing much to see around. We made good progress until i headed into Toconao and stopped at the first little shop with Alvaro some minutes behind. Since it was the only place for the day along the road, it was clear […]

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After all that salt, we were riding straight into a mud bath when we left the salar. By then it didn’t matter much anymore. We stopped for lunch in Yonza, where we were offered a place to stay next to the plaza and could also wash the salt and mud off our bikes. The next day saw us cycling […]

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The first view of La Paz is an impressive one. Arriving in el alto, the city is lying in a huge bowl below. Humbert, another cyclist travelling with a guitar, and stephan rocking the casa. While usually not too motivated to explore cities, i sometimes yield to persuasion and take a look. The plan was […]

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After arriving in Huaraz, i was starting with paul (here his account of the trek) on a bus at five the next morning. A breakfast break in chiquián and a rather rough ride to llamac later, we were ready for our first day of hiking to the laguna jahuacocha and the first views of the snow […]

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On the way from Celendin i stopped at a small village where the market was in full swing on a saturday morning. I had a late breakfast while the candidates of the coming election and their supporters were wandering through the crowds and trying to win over some votes at the last minute. All the while […]

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it was a hard time leaving the relaxed vibe of the guesthouse. the climbing was getting harder towards the border, and for the last kilometers, the dirt road with its steep inclination was a real struggle. it was the campspots and the atmosphere in the evening that made this stretch worthwile. on the first night from vilcabamba […]

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having heard a bit about vilcabamba beforehand, i approached the town with mixed feelings. there are a lot of ‘gringos’ staying long-term and half of the businesses are owned by ‘extranjeros’. i arrived on a sunday, while the market was on. the central square was filled with people and as the sun was out, two out of three […]

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