Wandering Wickershams
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from Peru into Bolivia
August 12 - August 19, 2006
last updated: August 29, 2006
8-12 We left Cusco 8-9 to a gentle downhill, figuring we would only ride about 30 miles to the first big pueblo, Urcos, since we had not ridden loaded for a month. We arrived there about noon, too early to stop, but we looked at a number of hostes in town. One had running water in the shared baño and 15 people were currently using all the sinks and plastic tubs to clean up in the sunny courtyard. The other options reserved running water for special holidays, perhaps? So we kept riding and about 3:30-4:00 pm we found a secluded place among eucalyptus trees that was not visible from the road and we set up a great campsite.
The next morning we packed up after breakfast and headed toward Sicuani. The road has changes. We have been climbing slowly from Cusco at less than 10,000’ to the highest point we hoped to reach the next day at 12,939’. The climbing is continuous and we are finding we are slower than usual in the high altitude.
On the road to Sicuani, as we were feeling really exhausted, we spotted a lovely restaurant and went in to investigate. There was a fantastic buffet for $25 soles (about $7.50US). This is the place all the tour buses between Puno and Cucso stop to refuel their passengers. We pay between $2-$3 soles for a HUGE meal in a tipico Peruvian restaurante. These tourists thought the meal was cheap and we knew it was very expensive! But we ate! The restaurant owner gave us a recommendation for a hostel in Sicuani.
The hostel was almost impossible to find. We asked and asked until we ran into an English-speaking Doctor (we think), who directed us into a back alley and to the most charming complex of buildings, which we later learned belonged to a Peruvian who lived in Los Angeles, California. We had a nice stay (coldish showers, but par for the course.)
The next day we pedaled to the highest point! We worked! At one point we were averaging 6.6mph. At the top, tourist buses stop to give passengers a view of the snow covered mountains and where the river splits, feeding the Amazon and the Pacific. Here, many locals sell a variety of souvenirs. When we pulled out to ride down the other side, they all shouted, cheered and gave us “thumbs up”. This was such a great feeling. The rest of our bodies weren’t feeling as good.
Cusco had a weird culture created by the tourism: begging. Begging tourists to buy goods and then just plain begging. I mean LOTS of it! We couldn’t sit in the park for 30 minutes without being hit up by at least a dozen merchants/beggars/pay for a picture.
As we left Cusco this changed some – the little children ran behind the bike, grabbing onto it (we were not fast uphill) and begged for money. If we kept riding, some threw rocks at us or any object in their hand. It was disconcerting to find this behaviour. Did tourism truly cause it, or the tough conditions most of these children live in?
After we crested the high point, we ran into HEAD winds and had to pedal down. At about 3:30pm we came to a small town, Santa Rosa, and spotted a medical facility. Pulling in, we asked if we could set up a tent in the courtyard. Yes, and under the watchful eyes of half the town and medical staff, we set up, made dinner and turned in.
Note: In every Latin American pueblo or within easy access of rural villages, there is located a medical/health facility. These are multi-roomed buildings with a meagre farmacia (pharmacy), a slab board exam table, an office for the doctors, a file room, and a bathroom that may or may not flush. In Ecuador, our hostel hostess told us that the medical care was very poor, doctors trained only in basic routine care. Silas and Angela, a bike couple we met, went to a hospital in Peru for typhoid and had to tell the doctor Silas needed an IV drip. A prescription was written, Angela went to a pharmacy in the city to fill it, and brought it back to the hospital to have it administered to Silas. Mexico had pretty good medical services, but Central and South America by contrast are not as capable of handling serious medical issues.
After a night of rain and an iced then, we took our time making breakfast and drying our gear in the bright mountain sunshine before starting off. Today, 8-12, we rode 77k/45m, slightly downhill, but with the wind at our back. We have arrived in the altiplano. The sun today is clear, unlike yesterday’s threatening rain, but we still ride with coats and polypro, hats and gloves at this altitude and with the wind blowing off the snowy peaks surrounding us.
The little town of Pucara provided an early stop in a clean little hostel where we laundered and the owner took us into her private bathroom, gave us two buckets of water: cold and very hot to mix and pour over ourselves to bathe and wash hair. The area made for a shower had no drain, so the water ran across the floor into a drain in the middle - the best and warmest bath/shower in days. What a wonderful lady! The bathroom was located next to the area where they raise the Cuy (Guinea Pigs) and the chickens to serve up in the restaurant. Everything here is fresh! As we were falling asleep, through the cardboard wall we listened as our hostess butchered a goat or cow with bandsaw and assorted hand saws, cleavers, etc. What a sound. What can one expect for $3 p/n?
8-13 We rolled into Puno after over 105km. The morning was bright and warm, after lunch a storm chased us with the wind blowing into it and us. We worked for 30km and then came the climb! 7km up and over into the city of Puno. We settled into hostel Santa Marta and for the vast sum of $15, we got a beautiful, carpeted room with hot water shower and breakfast served promptly at 8am in our room! We sit in the sunshine from our three large windows and watch the world unfold: school’s long and military-like opening ceremonies, the vendors hauling their fruits and flowers to their regular spot on the sidewalks, the tuk-tuks and three wheeler bicycles carting people to and fro.
At 9am we are to be picked up and shuttled to a boat to see the floating islands of Lake Titicaca. The little tour was for three hours with a guide who spoke English/Spanish. These are tiny floating reed rafts anchored by poles into the lake. As we sat, learning about the Uros and Amaya peoples who populated these islands since 1000BC, the islands rocked and rolled with the small swells on the water. The reed beds are almost 6’ thick and spongy underfoot. I can’t imagine that the 40-45 island populations are supported on much else than tourism, since we were boated from island to island to buy trinkets.
8-15 Puno. Up early, pack up the gear, and go hunt for breakfast – none of the gringo haunts were open at 7:15am but it was sunny and warm as we finally found a three star hotel with a wonderful breakfast buffet for $5 pp. Boy did we do damage to that buffet, back for second and thirds. How nicely the tour groups do live!
Back at the hotel we adjusted Bici’s gears and Judee tightened the rear spokes. We may have one spoke that is stripped. We can’t adjust it so into the shop it goes in La Paz.
The road out of Puno is flat, it hugs the Lake Titicaca shore line with the mountains rising sharply from the road’s edge. Little pueblos dot the shore line and the sun sparkles off the lake as we hum on down the way. Two hours into the ride and we come across two cyclists heading north. They started in Buenos Aires 10 months ago and 9,000km down the Tierra del Fuego and ending in Cusco, a German girl and a Swiss guy in their late 20’s and a third guy riding with them but we never saw him,.
The world turned dark after lunch with storm clouds, winds, rain and guess what? snow flakes to go with the COLD as we climbed up into the town we hoped to find a place to stay for the night. The first place we checked was a dump: bare room, two beds, hanging single lightbulb and the bath across the hall with no running water but buckets of water to use to flush the john and wash your hands!! The next place was full, but told us to come back in an hour. We are freezing, so we find a restaurant and have a large hot cup of tea to wait. Yes, the room is ready, the bike stored, the room is ice cold but the shower is electric and hot. We both showered and put on our long johns and climbed into bed to get warm before taking off for dinner and the internet.
The proprietor of our hostel is a tiny Amayan indian woman, 73 years old with 8 children and 14 grand children. Her lament was that the girls get pregnant too young: around 14 she says and lose the opportunities for a better life.
Today, Judee spotted a viscacha, a mammal from the chinchilla family, much larger, grey with shorter ears than a rabbit and a long tail like a squirrel though not quite as bushy.
We have returned from the internet (warm) and dinner (cold with all the doors and windows open). Now I am sitting here in bed with 3 blankets and a spread. I am wearing long johns, a fleece vest and polypro hat. Do you think the room might be a tad cold? Now let’s talk about the beds. We both think they were found in the trash. I won’t be counting sheep but bed springs! The locals here wear many, many layers of clothing, then wrap themselves in layers of blankets. They all look like the Michelin Man.
8-17 Yesterday we rode south around Lake Titicaca and into Bolivia. On the way we passed a French couple riding from Buenos Aires across to Argentina and up through Bolivia, their ultimate destination is Cusco. In two days we have met two couples riding.
The day was cold, cold and it was hard pressing forward in the wind and loud shadows, but immigration was easy. When I (Judee) came out of the Peru Immigration office, Art was holding court with at least a dozen travellers: US, French, German, who were interest in our bike trip.
On our climb into Copacabana, two boys were working on an injured bike. I asked if they needed anything and they asked for help. So we stopped. We pulled out tools and Art worked for a half hour repairing an old, broken chain. Then the kids rode with us into town and took us to a recommended hostel and waited to make certain there was room. How nice to be take care of!
Today, we woke early and packed lunch for a day on the Isla del Sol. As we went to pay our hostel for another night, I glanced at the clock and we were running an hour late. Time changed at the border. No wonder it seemed late last night when we were eating at the restaurant. So – no breakfast as planned, we hurried to the boat. Off we chugged in a very large boat with a covered passenger section for 75+ people and a full seating above – all powered by two fairly small outboard motors! It took two hours to get to the north end of the island where we all disembarked looking for food. After we ate our packed lunch, we proceeded to hike north and then on the trail south to the end of the island where the boat met us for a 3:30pm departure back to Copacabana.
There were several Inca ruins on the Isla del Sol, but after the magnificence of Peru’s ruins, we didn’t bother to pay the entry fees to look at these little sites. The walk proved more difficult than billed, but well worth it. On our bike ride around the lake everything looked grey and the lake appeared quite ugly. But from the ridge on top of the Island 100’s of meters high, the water shone deep blue, the sky was immense and the Cordillera Real mountains with peaks over 6000m rose to the east among clouds as an awesome back drop. After this lovely day we limped home in the “slow boat of Titicaca” and had another magnificent meal at the Orealla Restaurant: steak last night, tonight chilli con carne for Art and stuffed trout with gobs of veggies for me!
Bolivia is cheaper than Peru: approximately 8 Bolivianos to $1US. Our room with private bath and hot water (still a bad bed) is $40bs ($5US. Our spectacular dinners with lots of booze were $10 to $15 for two. Still no heating or insulation, but loads of heavy blankets and everyone wears lots of polypro and down. We’ve been told it is going to get colder – UGH!
8-18 Copacabana to Huarina; 78k; good gringo breakfast we missed yesterday and hot coffee …what a treat. Hauled our gear and bike down from the second floor; checked Bici to find loose spokes in rear, again; Judee fixed; off by 9:30 to start a 15k steep climb with an impending storm blowing in over the mountains. I had real trouble breathing as the pock-marked road twisted and turned winding its way above the city. Soon came the rain, then the sleet. Cranking, cranking at 3.5mph, wind blowing – are we having fun yet?
Soon the sun cracked the clouds and the city with its white sparkling church shone below us like a jewel on a point surrounded by Lake Titicaca. The roads in Bolivia are patched with large stones and they are in worse repair than in Peru. Climbing continues for hours, on with clothes, off with clothes, but the views out over the valleys take our breath away. The cloud shadows add dramatic impact as they sweep ahead of us. Views of the smaller portion of Lake Titicaca come into view miles off. At one point as we pass a crew working on the road. One of the guys runs out and starts pushing us. We rocket forward from our previous snail’s pace – laughter for all and a big Gracias from us!
Finally, we crest the top, zig up and hustle down, dodging the poor pavement and pot holes, we zoom around and down 20km into a town where we find a “plato del dia” of chicken for me and trout for Judee. Outside in the central square a large crown had gathered to watch the local priest assist with a graduation ceremony. Native families dressed in their local costumes proudly watched as their sons and daughters were introduced, hugged by the priest and acknowledged by the crowd.
Mid afternoon passed with a tailwind and warm sun as we rolled up and down along the lakeshore passing through pueblos, one after another every 3 to 5km. We are looking for a hotel that was recommended: the Hotel Titicaca. At about 3:30pm we stopped to ask the whereabouts of the hotel – 20km up the road. We are 58km now and decide to push on. In about 30 minutes later we come across another option, so Judee explored this hotel but was not interested, so on we go. Finally I see the Titicaca Hotel sign, but notice a lot of men dressed in military uniforms with guns at the entrance. It seems that the President of Bolivia is staying at the hotel and there are no rooms!
Six kilometres to the next town we find there are no hotels. We ask around; go to two different places. Neither is open and finally an old man directs us to a three-story building where he asks the lady in the store if she has a room. Yes, 20 bs, no water, two beds, no sheets and a hole in the ground outback for the toilet. Ok – we’ll take it just to get out of the COLD. We set up camp on the floor, cook in the corner and listen to the wind blowing the local bands tunes into our not so cosy place. It is much better than the tent since it will be well below freezing tonight!
8-19 Easy ride today. Wind at our back, slight uphill, many Andean Bolivianos going/coming from Saturday markets. At 50km and 12 noon we stopped at a small restaurant for amuerzo (lunch) and for 12 bs ($1.50 US) we enjoyed a most flavourful soup that was wonderfully spiced and a ground meat dish over rice.
Aboard Bici we travelled through El Alto (the top) and rode the auto pisto11km down into La Paz. It was a breezy, clean day, so we had a superb view. We have heard the city can be a smoggy mess. It took awhile to find the hostel we had selected from Rough Guide and pleased with a huge suite with unlimited hot water for $10 US p/n. It is located very near the witches’ market street where they are selling llama embryo plus other ingredients for healing and sorcery.
We had a huge amount of laundry done in an hour and a half and then took a cab to dinner. We went to an Argentine steak restaurant to eat real beef - not the chewy, skinny, sinewy stuff they call meat in the Andes – and were we ever rewarded! Combined with an outstanding bottle of Argentine wine, we decided to celebrate a few days early, our 11 month anniversary of leaving America on our adventure (August 20) and our 11 year wedding anniversary (August 26). Now, snuggled in a warm and comfortable bed, we are like pigs in swill!
Tomorrow we plan to investigate La Paz’s sights. Today we briefly realized how much the Bolivians produce in the hand-made folk craft department and how inexpensive it is. This place is sooooo much better than Cusco for shopping and mailing is supposed to be cheaper, too! I plan to check all this out! - Judee |
