abra acay

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… Continue reading abra acay

san pedro de atacama

Our arrival in san pedro was a bit overwhelming at first. After a month of being surrounded by bizarre landscapes and hardly any opportunities to get fresh produce, here we were in a posh tourist place with everything that money can buy. After changing our bolivianos for chilenean pesos, we went straight for a heladeria. Only… Continue reading san pedro de atacama

lagunas route

Well, we did the lagunas route only sort of and, accidently, circumnavigated most of the lagoons sovereignly. Since a fairly new road had degraded the former main trail to the Laguna Colorado to an inconspicious turn-off, we ended up at the Laguna Chalviri instead. But with a hot pool to soak in, we soon were reconciled… Continue reading lagunas route

La Paz

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… Continue reading La Paz

old road to puno

From Arequipa i climbed on the old road to puno towards the altiplano. First with the misti volcano on one side towards the laguna de salinas. I didn’t make it all the way up that day and found a nice campspot in an abandoned house. When night fell, the lights of arequipa glistened from below.… Continue reading old road to puno

Huayhuash

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… Continue reading Huayhuash

cajamarca

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… Continue reading cajamarca

Vilcabamba

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… Continue reading Vilcabamba

Cuenca y Las Cajas

Like in Quito, i stayed at ‘el cafecito’ hostal, which has a relaxed atmosphere, superb breakfast and came this time with a glass covered court yard complete with bicycle themed art on the walls. After the Chimborazo round, the first days were spent solely relaxing until new arrivals were luring me out to see something… Continue reading Cuenca y Las Cajas