Puno [Perú]

Good to be back on the bike, very good!

It's been over two months since I've been biking.  The work has been good, but it's time to get moving.

To make matters even better, I've reunited with cycling friend, Shane Hutton.  We "take it easy" by only cycling 100ish kilometers per day.... we know that it's been a while and we have hard roads ahead, no need to push ourselves.

Along the way, we take a "rest" day to hike up to 5,200 meters (17,000 feet).  It's a gorgeous view of  Ausangate, one of the sacred mountains for the Inca and the Montaña Colorada (Rainbow Mountain).

Now, it's a true rest day in Puno (full of eating and internet and eating and resting and eating) before heading into Bolívia.

Cusco (II) [Perú]

I decided to stop for a a couple months to work with teenage groups from North America and Europe that are part of service/adventure programs.

The work is good... we wake-up at 6 am every day to go to our work site, a small village outside of of Cusco called Mayrasco (found at 4,000 meter/13,000 feet).  Our goal is to build fish ponds in which the local village can begin to raise trout.  The trout will provide an additional source of nutrition for the local children and potentially an additional source of income for the village.

Over the course of a few months, we dig three holes that are each 10 meters (30 feet) long by 5 meters (15 feet) wide by 2 meters (6 feet) deep.  It takes about 5-weeks of solid digging with picks and rock bars before we have the holes complete.  Then, we begin pouring a cement floor and lining the walls with rocks (previously broken into manageable pieces with sledgehammers).

The final product is complete with plumbing and running water!

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One of my favorite parts of each program is the four-day trek around Nevado Verónica (Mount Veronica).  This involves hiking and camping around the beautiful mountain at altitudes up to 4,400 meters (14,000 feet).

It's wonderful to escape the city and spend time in the mountains.  We walk past llamas, high-mountain villages, and see condors on each trip.

The final piece of the trek is a visit to Machu Picchu, the stunning mountain ruins of the Incas.

Cusco (I) [Perú]

The road to Cusco is full of literal ups and downs.  I'm in the mountains!!!

I leave Nazca with a MASSIVE day of climbing... in the first day alone, there is a vertical gain of 3,600 meters (nearly 12,000 feet).  The next several days are full of the same... 1,500 meters, 2,000 meters, 1,800 meters...  In a single week, I climb nearly 13,000 meters (42,000 feet).

In that week, I spent five entire days above 4,000 meters (13,000), climbing to a maximum height of 4,500 m (15,000 feet).  It's cold and windy and lonesome, and I love it.

One night I slept with alpacas to keep warm.  Another night, I ask to sleep on the concrete floor of a farmer's shed.  It's bitter cold at night dropping from 20 degrees to -15 degrees Celsius (70 degrees to 5 degrees Fahrenheit) in just a matter of minutes once the sun goes down.

And that's how I roll into Cusco.  Tired, but strong.  In fact, the strongest I've ever been.  It feels good... and I'm ready for a break.

Nazca [Perú]

After a week of rolling through the desert, I realized that I've cycled right into the famous Nazca lines.  What to do?!?!?  I take a few stops to appreciate these ancient and mysterious designs.

Upon arriving to Nazca, I'm exhuasted.  I've cycled over 500 kilometers (300 miles) since leaving Lima, four days.  Even more importantly, I have some massive climbing to do to reach Cusco... I have to cross several Andean mountain ranges, and I have a time-line.  But first, I need a rest day, my first in two weeks.

So, I start to rest doing the most natural thing possible... I find a pizzeria and order a massive "family-size" pizza.  The waitress looks at me strangely as she questions whether it's all for me.  I laugh...

"Don't worry," I tell her.  "I'll be able to eat it."

"Are you sure?" she questions again.

I just wink and ask for an ice cream also.

Lima [Perú]

A long downhill from the Andes mountains finds me on the coast again.  It's good to be in thick, sweet, sea-level oxygen. I can breathe deeply and without problem.

I roll into Lima in the morning and make it to the Plaza de Armas (the name for the central square on all Peruvian cities).  I take some time to view the royal palace and national cathedral (and eat two amazing home-made ice creams).

As I'm getting ready to roll out of town, someone stops me.  We begin to talk and he invites me to watch the fútbol match at his house.  Before you know it, we are eating and watching the game.  That evening I play in a local fútbol match and dance my way into a neighbor's birthday party... Life is good!