I am sitting in Ushuaia with the worlds largest smile on my face having just completed a 35000km bicycle journey from Alaska to the bottom of the world! I DID IT! I am not able to put into words the emotions I feel but to sum it up I am both estactic for having finished but also a little sad that it’s all over and it’s back to the real world from here! The main feeling I have is relief that I didn’t let anyone down. I was terrified of failuire and it proved my biggest driving force! I succeeded for me and my family and all of those who supported me. For that I feel immense!

It was two beautiful days riding from Rio Grande to Ushuaia. I stayed the night in the village of Tohuin where there is the famous bakery La Union, whose owner is a cycling fanatic. he allows cyclists to stay in a room out the back and I was treated to free baked goods all night. I was allowed to eat as much as I could and boy did I!!! From Tolhuin to Ushuaia was mountainous, cold, wet and windy but I frankly didn’t give a damn. I was riding on emotion and when I finally saw the sign welcoming me to Ushuaia I just got off the bike kissed the sign then sat down fro a while not able to comprehend what I’d done, I still can’t comprehend it. i guess that will come over the next weeks and months.

I’m a very forward looking person so I don’t like to give thoughts on what has been a very long trip. It tested me to my limits and I learnt a lot about myself. There was highs and lows but I only take with me pleasant memories from what has been the experience of my life!!!!!

What now? Well, nothing can be the same again for me having lived through such an adventure so I am already planning my next one. i will keep you updated on that in the future. Thank you for your support and your taking the time out to read my blogs. It’s been a pleasure sharing my trip with you.

Pura vida

In all honesty i could geographically describe the Patagonia I saw in a few words. Vast, bleak and monotomous. I’m sure driving through the East of Patagonia would be fine as the air conditioning is on and the scenery goes by slightly quicker. However, on a bicycle it’s a long and slightly dull process. That said,  I was drawn to it and I’d certainly go back. The romantic in me felt at home in the long stretch of Patagonian coast and my memories are generally good.

It was three outrageously easy days cycling from esquel to Comodoro Rivadavia on the coast.  The wind was directly behind me and I barely had to pedal at all. The landscape was dusty, quite flat and semi-arid. Rather boring in all honesty. I camped out those nights and felt very peaceful in the knowledge there was nobody around. I only heard the occasional truck go past in the distance.

Comodoro is an oil town and everything is based around that. I stayed with the lovely Adriana (or was it Amalia? She had many names!!!) There was little to do intown so i got back on the saddle ready for three long days down to San Julian. Each day was over 150 kms and I was quite knackered when I got to san Julian. My knees are starting to fall apart and I have terrible pains in my lower back at the end of each day so the long shifts really take a lot out of me. I stayed in Fitzroy the first night and Tres cerros the second. Both are nothing more than a gas station and police comissary. Both nights i camped behind the police building and ate my crackers with cream cheese looking through the window at the football matches they were inevitably watching. In Tres Cerros I met a Colombian cyclist who was cycling from Ushuaia to his town in Colombia. He was a lovely fella but a hobo. he was doing the trip on no money at all and whilst this is commendable it was a tad concerning as he asked me for food and some spare change. I gave him what I had and wished him all the best!

San julian is a nice enough port town where i was invited to stay at the municipal gym. the towns here all have gymnasiums with dorm beds in and I reccommend any cyclist reading this to check them out. As of San julian I started to get asked a lot about the falklands war. It was fom here and the other towns down this coast that a lot of attcks were launched by the Argentinians and the memories of the conflict are still raw. They are convinced in their convictions that ‘Las Malvinas’ belong to argentina and will hear noa rgument to the contrary. i maintained my no comment policy throughout. There was a huge monument to the war dead and an abundance of plaques celebrating Argentine successes including pictures of the british war ships sunk and names of the pilots who did so. I found it a little distasteful to be honest.

 It was another three days from San julian to Rio gallegos, the biggest town in this region. The sights were the same and so were the towns. Piedra Buena was workman like but had another gym to sleep in. btween Piedra and Rio gallegos I camped in an estancia where there were farm buildings I could shelter behind from the wind. The wind was strong, very strong but it had been on my shoulder since Comodoro. I stayed with Diego, a chef, for the night in Rio Gallegos and he cooked the most amazing rissotto. it was immense and I planned to stay another night! The next day I got restless as the day wore on, a consequence of being so close to the end. I decided to head out at 1500 and see how far I could get before camping gor the night. The wind was outrageous and mostly swirling. When it hit me from the side i fell off the bike. When it came at me from the front I had to walk. In five hours I’d made 25 kms (bugger all to the non-cyclists) so i decided to camp the next time i saw any form of shelter. Luckily I saw an estancia in the distance and pushed the bike 2 kms up a dirt track to the gate. An old man answered and i asked if i could camp on his land behind a shed. He said no and instructed me to push the bike into a hut where he told me it would be safe. Without saying anything he then led me indoors, introduced me to his wife and sat me down. Within minutes I was drinking hot coffee and being shown the guest bedroom. A boiling hot bath was poured for me then i was fed roast lamb with potatoes, carrots and then dulce de leche pancakes to finish. Then a bottle of whiskey came out and the old man and i got merrily drunk chatting about sheep (I surprised mysled with how well i could blag about this topic). I set off very early the next morning with a slight headache but full of energy after such a wonderful night. Patagonian hospitality!

My riginal plan for that day was to get as far as a village called Cerro Sombrero in Chilean Tierra del Fuego. But I had one of my most extraordinary days due to a tail wind and sheer determination so i ended up cycling over 200 kms. The temperature had severely dropped by this satge and the winds were ridiculous (but all behind me!). I was cycling with all my clothes on the entire day, and what a day! Tierra del Fuego was 50 kms from the estancia and I made it in no time. Things were grenner and there was much more water but it was still bleak and isolated. I crossed into Chile (where I’d onlybe for a day) and cycled on to Cerro Sombrero via the ferry that crossed the Magdallen straight. I arrived in Cerro at 1500, which was far too early for me to stop for the day so i had a coffee to warm up and then carried on along the road which was now loos gravel. I cycled and cycled until it was nearly dark and then in the distance I saw what looked like an oil plant so i went to it looking again for shelter to camp. As I rolled in i asked a worker if i could camp there. he popped inside to ask his supervisor and then once again i was treated to some amazing hospitality. I was shown to a private room with heating and a hot shower then led to the canteen where i stuffed myself full of pasta, salad, soup and cakes. The Vogel family from the USA had also stumbled across the oil plant tha night and we chatted for a while in the canteen. They are an entire family who are cycling from Alaska to Ushuaia over two and a half years. They’re quite legendary amongst the cycling fraternity here and it was a surprise and a pleasure to meet them finally. (www.familyonbikes.com). Quite an inspiration!!!

I had another manmouth day the following day due to tailwinds and managed to cycle the 190kms to Rio Grande where i am now. Nothing to say about Rio grande at all, although the people I’m staying with are so friendly and accommodating (thanks Fernando!!). From here it’s only two days of cycling to Ushuaia, I really just can’t believe it. It simply hasn’t sunk in and my eyes are slightly glazed at the moment. I’ll write again from Ushuaia and try to make some sense of it all.

I had been looking forward to cycling through the lakes District for a long time and my route was designed to pass by through this region. In the end it certainly didn’t disapoint as I was treated to wonderful scenery and great cycling. The best thing was to be around dozens of other cyclists! This is a very popular cycling spot and on the fabled seven lakes route I passed by more cyclists than cars!! I was bored of talking to them in the end, which was incredible as I’dbeen desperate to see another tourer (I hadn’t since Canada…I was starting to feel very odd!!)

I set off from Junin de los Andes for a leisurely 45km ride to San Martin de los Andes, a playground for Argentina’s rich!!! It was a cute enough place but not really my scene as I couldn’t afford to do anything there!!! I could afford to go hiking in the surrounding hills and it was absolutely beautiful. It’s great to have days off the road and away from cars and bicycle seats. i’ve really enjoyed the hiking I’ve done on this trip and it certainly gives me ideas for future adventures!!!

The seven lakes route starts from San martin and is 115 kms long. Most people do it in two days but I’m a pretty grizzled cyclist these days so one day was my target. the half of the route is paved then the second half a mix of dirt and consolidated gravel. As you might imagine from its name the route passes by seven lakes! seven very beautiful lakes that reminded me a lot of Switzerland. They call this area the Switzerland of latin America and indeed there are Swiss colonies scattered throughout it! The days ride was possibly the best of my trip and i was happy as larry at the end when I reached Villa la Antogostura. Despite breaking two spokes in my wheel! I hung out with some fellow cyclists at the campsite and we talked chains and handle bars all night with cheap wine and cream cheese crackers…not as sad as it sounds!!!!

I hadn’t noticed in my dash through the Lakes District that my chain was in terrible condition as were my chain discs. On the way from Villa to Bariloche my chain broke four times, a time consuming ordeal but I had the tools to deal with it. However, on the fifth occasion I had to discard the chain as I didn’t have any more links for it and it’s stretched state meant it would break again with the slightest amount of pressure applied to the pedal (sorry for the technical nonsence!). I was still 20 kms from bariloche so i decided to hitch a lift into town to get the bike seen to. The problem was that nobody would stop. They all pretended not to see me despite me waving my arm like a maniac (maybe that’s what the problem was in hindsight!!) Finally I had to push the bike to town and I arrived knackered! I got a good night’s sleep at my american friend Chases house then took the bike into the mechanics the next morning. As i suspected I needed a new chain and all of my front and rear chain discs replaced…..a damn fortune!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bariloche was similar to San martin and Villa but bigger. tjhere some more great hikes and a nice lakeside beach to enjoy there and take my mind off the money i’d just spent on a bike I’d be giving away in a few weeks!!! From Bariloche I sped down to El Bolson with ease due to the slick new parts on my bike. El Bolson is a hippie town, which isn’t really my scene but I really like how they ignore luxury resort preposals and declate themselves a green community. From El Bolson it was a long ride with a tail wind to esquel. esquel is a non-descript town but enchanting brown mountains peer out from every corner and I spent a relaxing night there. Esquel was where the lakes District ended and the mythical Patagonia began. Patagonia meant the fina corner before the home straight. I was excited!!

 

The cycling from Santiago was always going to be fascinating and relatively easy having spent the previous weeks in the desert. It turned out to be both as I made my way across the border to Argentina, the final country on my trip. It was a long steady climb from Santiago to the mountain ski resort town of Portillo, near the border. The climb was never too steep and I was soon accustomed to the monotomous incline. The scenery was a sight to behold. There was green. Not the green of England but a rusty green that seemed like a luscious apple after the terrain I’d been in since Ecuador! Rising above the lower relatively fertile slopes were cragged peaks of the Andes. It was great to be in the Andes again and it re-confirmed my belief that I’m most at home in the mountains despite enjoying all sorts of terrain.

I camped overnight outside Portillo and set off early for the Arentinian border just in case I would be held up there for whatever reason. It was a spectacular border post set on a pass between the Andes. Towering mountains loomed on either side and the air was crisp but the bordr post consisted of a huge fume filled bulding made of corregated iron! After queueing for half an hour my turn came and I was given the final stamp of my trip. I told the border guard it was the last crossing for me on my 9 month long epic trip and he couldn’t have given a flying toss!!!! I cycled on with my tail between my legs and saw my first “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” sign. I decided that until I reached mendoza my identity would be Australian!

The first place I spent the night in Arentina was Las Cuevas on the edge of the Andes. I hadn’t cycled too far that day but I wanted to spend the night in the mountains so I stayed put twhen I reached the shabby looking village. There was a hot dog stall so I loadd up on mustard covered delights and struggled to push my bike up a gravel track to an empty patch of flat land where I could camp the night.

From my hot dog village to Mendoza was mostly down hill and I had an Andean wind behind me so it was an incredibly easy day! I stopped off to eat my crackers with philadelphia cheese in Uspallata where I realised how hot it was down from the mountains. I had a dip in the river that runs through Uspallata then dithered along to Mendoza. My first minutes there were spent frantically looking around for a bar to watch the Arsenal game in, which was easy as Argentina is football obsessed! Mendoza is a very classy city with a upscale feeling to it. Th streets are wide and lined with endless trees giving the place a pleasant ambiance that is easily enjoyed by sitting in one of the many cafes and people watching whilst drinking a top class cup of coffee.

Mendoza is in the wine growing region of Argentina so i simply had to see for myself how the intricate process works and also to drink as much free wine as possible. With this in mind I cycled down to the vine ayrds south of the city and took an afternoon tour. I did indeed freely enjoy the wine on offer so camped for the night illegally on the edge of a field with the world spinning around me as I lay my head to rest. The next few days were rather dull cycling as I dipped into La Pampa then headed down to the Lakes District. I passed through San rafael then Santa Isabel, both business towns with extremely little for the traveller to do. Neuquen was a bigger city but still rather dull. I camped in the city park as I arrived late but was woken up by late night revellers returning home. I cycled out of the city being shouted at by drunken clubbers still coming down from their nights of excess. I was quite relieved to be on the road Westwards to Zapala where I again arrived late and decided to camp in the park. However, I couldn’t find it so cycled a little way out of the town and found an inviting group of trees to hide among. My target was the lakes District, which I was very much looking forward to cycling through. I was only days away and more enthusiastic than Id been for a long time.

 

It was hot, so so hot. I’ve been cycling in the heat for my entire trip but this was something else. The worst thing about the Atacama desert is that there is just no shade. There are no trees to shelter under, there is nothing. So for the entire day you’re in the sun and there is no respite. At my most desperate I called a passing truck to stop and asked politely if I could spend five minutes resting in the shade it created. The driver was more than happy to help out and in the end we shared lunch together. That was after spending the night camping outside the posada San Francisco. There was no sign of life for another 110 kms, hence my relative desperation.

The most difficult days riding throughout the desert (which took two weeks) were the first few. Cycling from Arica to iquique was very hard due to it being mountainous. These weren’t the luscious Andes but stark, barren and dusty mountains that descend down into the sea. I spent eveings camping in the wild desert too tired to care about the wind or anythng else that might be out there.  Iquique was a surprisingly modern and trendy town with a lovely Georgian centre so I took a rest day there hanging out at the Iquique backpackers hostel.

From Iquique I rode for four days down the coast to Antofagasta. It was hard riding up and down the coastal cliffs but there was a breeze coming in from the sea to cool me down and there were an abundance of b eaches along the route, which I could camp on listening to the waves crashing in as I fell to sleep…perfect!

Antofagasta is a steamy down to earth port town that didn’t really appeal to me so I skipped my sheduled rest day and set out very early the next morning passing the famous mano del desierto as the sun came up. The route went back inland so the heat started to drain me once again but I must admit I had a tailwind the entire way back to the coast and then on to Copiapo so I made good time and enjoyed the flatter terrain. Just before Copiapo I stayed in  Bahia Inglesa, so named because of the English pirates who would take shelter here when not plundering and pillaging up and down the Pacific coast.  Copiapo is a mining town with nothing to do but I stayed a day because I really needed the rest.

I was glad to move on from Copiapo and headed down to La Serena in the knowledge that the desert was past its worst. the closer you get to la Serena the more shrubs and trees you see. It’ semi-arid and a lot more pleasant to cycle in. La Serena itself is a gorgeous town with a nice colonial centre and a long stretch of beach with a cycle path along it! I stayed with two American astronomers who work at one of the many observatories that are in this area. You have some of the clearest skies in the world here and it’s lovely to stare out at the sky when camping.

From La Serena down to Viña del Mar was easy and there were plenty of places to stop and get refreshments. I chose to stay in Viña del Mar because I thought there’d be more camping options but I regretted this decision because Valparaiso down the road was much more interesting and atmospheric. Viña is afor rich Chileans getting away from Santiago for the summer so it’s not really decked out for budget cyclists!!

It was only a days flat riding to the capital, Santiago, from Viña. I only stayed for a day there due to my mad rush to get to Argentina. It was a clean and very well ordered city with some great museums and galleries. I was there on a Sunday so everything was free to enter, which was lucky for me!

From arequipa it took me 4 days to reach arica in Chile. It was two relatvely calm days cycling to Moquegua, where the nest arses in Latin america were….or so i was informed by an elderly man in cusco! Of course I was too busy map reading to notice!!! The next day was another flattish day to Tacna, which surprised me greatly. It was a very pleasant town but there wasn’t a lot to do. the highlight was a catherdral designed by Gustavo Eiffel of the thing in Paris fame. I fell in with some folks there and spent the night at a house party enjoying a few bottlesof pisco! I couldn’t tell you exactly how i got back to the hostel but somehow I did. I also can’t explain how i managed to get up te next day for the ride into Chile but i somehow did and in all honesy it was a ver easy ride. All downhill to te coas and i rossed my first sae and effiecent border since North America…nobody tried to bribe me!!! Amazing!!!

I immediately noticed a difference in Chile. Things seemed more efficient and orderly. There were even queues! Arica is only 20 kms frm the peruvia border but the difference is huge. It’s a port so there is a scruffy side but it was very pleasant to walk around and drink some real coffee!! I stayed with Ariel and his friends and had a great time with them and was re-introduced to manjar (Dulce de leche)…if heaven exists it’s made of manjar! The Atacam desert loomed on my mind throughout my stay here because i was to cycle through it for the next two weeks. It had the potential to be a very difficult two weeksbut I was motivated and ready to give it a go!

I left my dear old bike in Arequipa for 10 days as I decided I needed a break from sitting in the sadlle every single day. I went for a mini-break to Puno and Cusco for 10 days by bus and foot and returned to arquipa refreshed and raring to go. I left the bike in a cheap but nice hostel I’d been staying at in the centre of Arquipa. They seemed very trust worthy but I still locked it to every bar available in the room!

That morning I had my first bus experience, which was awful. I immediately missed my bike and wished I hadn’t thought of this mini-holiday. I sat next to a non-stop talking tourist and a screaming baby and it was the longest 8 hours of my life all the way to Puno. When we arrived I ran out of the bus and almost dropped to the floor. Puno sits at 4000 metres and my lungs just caved in. I had to take it slowly for the rest of the day as I acclimatised so I walked around the town being offered everything from Acapaca teeth to fake Take That CDs.

The next day was my only full day in Puno so I walked the hills that surround the town, which all have miradors at the top where you can enjoy magnificent views of Lake Titicaca. One of the oldest boats in the world is in lake Titicaca. Built piece by piece in London it was then shipped in pieces to Peru and carried through the Andes to the lake by mules. The journey took 6 years!!! The boat has been well preserved and I enjoyed spending the afternoon relaxing aboard. They show Michael palin videos on the deck, where the boat is mentioned, again and again! I was a Palin fan but not anymore!

It was another arduous bus journey to Cusco from Puno where I stayed a week. I mostly went hiking each day looking at the abundance of Inca ruins that scatter he sacred valley near Cusco. The city itself is very nice and the architecture a mixture of Inca and Spanish styles. The problem with Cusco is that it has been entirely consumed by tourism and has suffered as a result. The people are not as genuine as the rest of Peru and all the prices have been grosely inflated. It’s quite disturbing when you know every conversation you have will end in some form of offer. I did very much enjoy my time in Cusco though, even if I couldn’t see Machu Picchu as it was too expensive for me to do it. I will return some day and fulfil that ambition.

The bus ride back to Arequipa was predictably horrible and I was delighted to be reunited with my bike again. Like two lovers apart for so long we embraced and spent the night pondering thr roads that lay ahead of us.

Well, I cycled right past the Nazca lines but didn’t see any of them. To see them you must part with 300 dollars to go up in a rickety old plane. That simply wasn’t an option for me so I made myself happy in the knowledge that I’d been near them. After Lima I cycled to the Limeñan party town of Asia where I certainly didn’t party…I just slept so i’m unaware of what makes the place tick. When I saw it properly it was at 0530 am as I set off for Ica! It seemed pretty dull at that time! Ica wasn’t particularly impressive either but it sat in a luscious green valley, which was a break from the monotomous brown desert. It’s in this region that Peruvian wine and pisco is made so i put myself out to sample plenty of what was on offer. I have to say that Pisco sour is one of the world’s great drinks! Just outside of Ica is Huacachina, which is a village surrounded by huge sand dunes. Sandboardng is popular here as it just rolling down the dunes! I did the latter and then spent the next week getting sand out of places I didn’t know even existed!

I cycled past Nazca and its unseeable lines to a scruffy little town called Puerto de Lomas that hadn’t seen a tourist for….ever! I dived into a terrible hospedaje to avoid the stares and only ventured out after dark to eat some very impressive fresh fish. This whole region was devastated by an earthquake in 2007 and the scars are still very visible today. There is still rubble lying around and the local people are still struggling to get things back on track but apparently tourism is helping so I’m glad my 5 dollar a day budget played its part in helping the region!!

I carried on down the coast to a village called Camaña, which looked magnificewnt as I approached it from above. It was a tiny village in a green valley next to a rampaging river that comes from the Andes. It’s not on any travellers map so there are no places to stay there. This meant I had to pushmy bike up the valley to find a place suitable for camping. I thought I had the perfect spot but it wasn’t as I’d apparently found the place where all the village dogs hag out at night! I didn’t sleep particularly well. The next day I got up early and ascended into Arequipa. Arequipa is Peru’s second city and has a delightful old colonial centre that is very pleasant to walk around. The cities famous cuisine is the Recotto Relleno, which is a spicy chilli pepper stuffed with spiced meat. I enjoyed it but suffered for my pleasure!

Here in Lima the heat isn’t so intense. There is a constant fog swirling around the city cooling down the temperature and for that I’m extremely grateful. The ride here continued to be hot and intense. What frightens me is that I have about another month of cycling along this coastal desert all the way down to Santiago in Chile. Luckily I’ve grown to really appreciate it because it seems to suit me. I love the isolation and bleak landscapes. Theyenable you to feel extremely free and liberated and that’s exactly what I want from my trip.

I spent New Years Eve in a random town called Motupe, two days on from Piura. It was a basic little town in the desert that wasn’t used to seeing ‘gringos’ so I wasn’t able to sit in the corner watching the night tick along. Instead I was the reluctant centre of attention, which meant being forced to dance nearly all the time. I’m not the worlds  keenest or best dancer so this was an ordeal, although the Cuzceño beers helped me along! I cycled with a hangover down to Trujillo after New Years Eve and enjoyed a peaceful night in a lovely colonial town that wasn’t as good as other colonial towns I’ve seen but a welcome rest from the desert.

Chimbote came after a long, flat and hot rdie through golden sands. Chimbote is a port town that has a smell of rotting fish lingering permanently in the air but it was a nice place to spend a day and I cycled down to the local beach to take a swim. I didn’t swim in the end but enjoyed watching the waves crash in whilst chatting with my new friend Gabriella. After Cimbote i cycled along similar terrain to Casma where I saw the Sechin ruins. The next day i went to the Caral ruins in Barranca, which were slightly more impressive but hard to spot in the desert sands. It was a very long day from Barranca to Lima but I made it and here I am enjoying a couple of rest days before I head out again into the desert towards Nazca and the world famous Nazca lines!

I knew when I was in Cuenca that it’d be the last time for a while that I enjoyed the cool mountain air. I always choose higlands over the beach anyday and it’s why the majority of my route is up high! However, variety is the spice of life and for the next few weeks I’ll be following the Peruvian coast. The damn hot Peruvian coast!The cycle from Ambato to Cuenca was much like the preceeding days. Extremely beautiful but the Pan-Americasna highway was too busy and dangerous for my liking. I spent a night in Riobamba, which was a hot and busy town with very little to see then i cycled on to Aluisi, which is a village high up in the Andes. It’s famous for being above the Devils Nose switchback, which is a great railway engineering feat on the edge of a mountain. It’s a sight to behold and although I’m no train enthusiast I was able to appreciate the work and effort that went into this construction. The road to Cuenca was spectacular but very narrow and I held on for dear life a few times as suicidal drivers overtook me on tight corners with 1000 metre drops below! I don’t have the best head for heights and this day truely tested me!

Cuenca was a lovely colonial town with a great studenty atmosphere about it. I stayed with three great girls from the area and they made sure to show me about and itroduce me to Cuenca’s nightlife! I can tell you anything you like about Cuenca’s beer, most notably that it costs about 50p for a pint! I learnt a lot about ecuadors indigenous cultures at various museums around the city and was surprised at the diversity there is here for such a small country.

The ride from Cuenca down to Machala on the coast was 180 kms but all entirely downhill! It was a great day and very fun but a tad odd as the weather slowly got hotter and more humid and the landscapes flattened out and lost a bit of their green lushness. By the end of the days ride as I approached Machala I was surrounded by Banana plantations and the smell was wretched for a man who isn’t too keen on bananas.

I spent the christmas period in Puerto Bolivar, which is attached to machala, with the Rivera family and I was made to feel most welcome. We ate a great meal at midnight and watched the kids open their presents. I was given a laser pen but they immediately regreted it as I spent the night drinking wine and shining the laser on the foreheads of all the portraits in the house!!!It was sad t0 say goodbye to them all as i cycled away into peru but I was so excited about coming here. The border really was truely awful. It has the reputation as the worst in Latin America and I can see why. How I got through unscahed I’ll never know but i was happy to speed away towards the hot and dusty town of Tumbes where I spent the night.

The very north of Peru is bleak. It’s a desert of shrubs and dust but that meant there are fewer people and fewer cars. I really struggled in the intense heat on the way to Mancora but I got there. Mancora is a surfing party town full of young Peruvians on holiday and shabby travellers, nearly always dressed the same and sporting dreadlocks!  I hoped to get into the party spirit but just couldn’t and went to bed early ready for another hot days cycling down to Piura. It was much hillier down to Piura as the road went inland up some hills that reminded me of the Cabo de Gata in Almeria, Spain. I’m having a rest day in piura as I feel exhausted after three days of cycling in the hottest weather I’ve encountered so far on my trip. My body will get used to it but I must take things slowly for now.