A Bit of a Climb #2

After exhausting, in a disgusting fashion, Cuzcos fine selection of gringo treats we were back on the road again. We didnt set off untill 3 pm after an extremely lazy morning of packing and preparing the best possible redition of a full english breakfast we could muster with the available ingredients. It was surprisingly delicous and set us up for a nice afternoon of mostly down hill and flat riding out of the city. After 2 hours of cycling we came across an Incan ruin on the side of the road and couldnt pass up the opportunity to camp inside its walls. We spent the evening hanging out on the walls, trying to photograph (unsuccessfully) the night sky which was quite brilliant and messing around with fire. Around midnight we were hit by an awesome storm, the thunder so loud it not only woke me up but almost knocked me out again and the lighting was so bright it could penetrate closed eyes which meant we lost a few hours of precious sleep that night. The next day was an easy 100km through flat and gently rolling valleys The road was busy and the dogs were aggressive.

Camped at the ruins 

 In one battle with some dogs I came of strong and managed to kick one vicous little fecker right in the face and sent him off with his tail between his legs hopefully with the knowledge not to chase cyclists ever again... though i doubt it was that intelligent. This may sound harsh to the dog lovers among you ( I am also a dog lover) but dogs out here are vicous especially when your sat on a moving thing that shines in the sun. 

I have discovered there are many ways to deter dogs, the most effective one being simply to stop and bark at them like a mad man, Even the most vicous looking beasts just simply stop and look at you then walk away disinterested. This method is a last resort because it means stopping and loosing your momentum. I have taken to just barking at them or throwing rocks which seems to do the trick.

We found camp that night by a river and upon inspecting my bike I realised somehow I had 2 rougue spokes, in the process of trying to fix them I punctured a tire and then gave up for the night irritated. The night was cold and damp but the stars again were out in their millions. 

Earlr morning on the river

A lazy morning as the sun took a while to arrive. everything was soaked with the dew and we waited around while our tents dried on the river bed and ate french toast with some delicous honey we found in Cuzco and enjoyed the glorious arrival of the sun. 

In the next town I fixed my bike and we bought supplies for lunch and dinner. we stopped for lunch in a strange looking town with an eerie feel to it, it felt as if we were in the midwest US 100 years ago. We ate lunch on a bench in the grounds of a strangely out of place mansion and a colonial church with a sad looking swing set and some huge ucalyptus trees. The rest of the afternoon we climbed gradually on our way up to a 4200 meter pass, just before arriving we rounded a corner and came across a sign saying "Aguas calientes" and saw ahead of us thermal baths, that eggy sulphur smell in the air. It was 2 soles entry (50p) and they let us stay there all night . We set up our camp under a parasol and bathed in the steamy hot baths all afternoon. 

thermal baths

It was another 10km up to the pass, the valley was spectacular. At the Cumbre (top) there was a group of local artesans setting up their stalls for the day, obviously a few bus tours would pass through and stop for the view. A relieving 20km of downhill and then another 20 of flat riding. The valley was vast and although we were surrounded by mountains the sky seemed huge the horizon very distant. We cycled for 40km without seeing more than a hut, We had planned to eat lunch in a town called Quilcabamba but when we arrived it was nothing more than a shack next to a railway. We finished the rest of our cheese and honey and found some awful bread in the mentioned shack. Just after lunch I began to feel rough and it got worse as the afternoon progressed. In the next town we met a chinese cyclist who looked like a local farmer, he spoke to us in broken english and we learned that he had been cycling for 16 years and had cycled over 130 countries. He had obviously mastered the art of thrifty travelling by ther looks of him, he wore a threadbare fisherman vest and his panniers looked like they were made from potato sacks.

 

Bike covered in frost in the morning

The afternoon went on and i felt very weak, obviosly having caught some bug from somewhere so we decided to hitchhike to the next  big town Puno to take a days rest. The first truck to pass stopped and picked us up but he was in a short pickup truck so we had to cramp ourselves in the only small crevasse our bikes were not occupying not an inch to move. It was further than we had thought, we arrived in the dark almost frozen from the wind and rain and stiffened from less than comfortable positions we had been stuck in for 2 hours, we checked into the first hostel we could find. Puno is the gateway to lake Titikaka but apart from that there was not much to do. I slept off my sickness for a day and we were off again along the shore of Lake Titikaka. The cycling was beautiful, it was a great change of scenery to ride along the lake shore, strange rock formations on our right.  made great time along those flat roads and cycled the whole day untill the sun was on its way down. We crested a small climb and were treated to a spectacular view of the sun setting on a distant horizon of snow capped mountains on the the other side of the lake. We found a beautiful spot near the lake to camp and made dinner in the very cold night.

The Sun setting on the lake 

A new day and a new Country, we arrived at the border around lunch time and passed through without a problem or a bribe or even a queue which was ruddy brilliant. It was another 8km to Copacabamba, a touristy town which most people use as a base to visit Isla del Sol on the lake. We just used it to enjoy a big burger and a bottle of beer to celebrate a new country. We had a lazy lunch neither of us really looking forward to to 10km pass ahead of us that afternoon. As we climbed out of Copacabamba leaving the lake below us the altitude became a problem as we were nearing 5000m we climbed untill the sun started setting and reached the pass, but could not find a spot to camp so we continued rolling along the top of the range without a flat spot in sight untill just before the night came down upon us we found a great place overlooking the lake ahead of us. It was freezing but dry with no dew in the air and made us make a hasty camp and swiftly change into warmer clothes. Another beautiful night plagued only by our incessant farting a very unpleasant symptom  of the altiude.

The next morning after being caught in the process of voiding my botty by two ladies and a donkey walking up the valley, they pretended not to notice me but i´m pretty sure the donkey did. We had a stunning ride along the top of an outcrop of mountains branching into the lake. We had great views on either side of us, finally decended down to the lake to take a small ferry across a gap in the land. The ferrys were nothing more than large floating rafts capable of shipping buses and cars across the gap individually. We waited for another vehicle to cross so we could jump on with them and share the ride.

 The afternoon was more of gently rolling roads nothing very exciting or challenging but the views were far from uninteresting. We passed many towns which seemed to be empty not an open shop or restaurant around untill in the early afternoon we came across a whole strip of restaurants serving fresh trout from the lake. We could not pass up such an opprtunity and were certainly not dissapointed with our food. A huge fish with all the trimmings for less that 3 quid. Expensive for Bolivian standards but well worth the splurge.

Titi-trout

The rest of the day was all flat and as we rode into the horizon the lofty peaks of the Cordillera Real revealed themselves. We cycled untill dusk and camped near the side of the road on a rocky crop field.
The next morning was bitterly cold, insofar as water would begin to freeze around the rim of our bottles when we poured it into a pan, we implored the sun for a premature rise but its was as puntucual as ever.
After quaffing some oats, with honey, yoghurt, rasins, sunflower seeds, pure cocao, dessicated coconut, and some chopped apples - our staple breakfast for weeks, its glorious (when on the road all day food tends to concentrate the mind)......we cycled into La Paz. This was not enjoyable, and after riding out of Lima, we prepared ourseleves for a cheerless morning of klaxon-tooting trucks that ´unwittingly´ usher you of the roads and smog-stained suburbs where locals with inane grins point and exclaim ´Gringo¨ every 3 or 4 minutes.

La Paz

Anyway after taking a wrong turn and generally getting lost in the frenetic anthill that is La Paz, we eventually descended into the valley where La Paz is nestled, we then got lost again in the frenetic anthill that is La Paz. We then found and met up with Cristian, another Casa de Ciclista host. We met some of the other cyclists staying at his house and then went for a typical Bolivian lunch, Charkek, with Cristian and his family. That night because I was ill in Lima on my birthday, Sean, the darling that he is bought the ingredients for some steller burritos and nachos, we even found some Corona. The following day was a bone-idle rest day.

Huayna Potosi

The west ridge to the peak

We had decided a while ago that we both wanted to climb a 6000m peak in the Andes and decided upon the magnificent Huayana Potosi (6088m), north of La Paz in the Zongo Valley. The mountain is grade PD which included some ice climbing. After having arranged a local guide/mountaineer etc on our rest day we set off the following morning to the Zongo Valley where Huayana Base Camp is. Just before we left La Paz we met the two other guys (one Hungarian and one Dutch) who would be climbing with us and went to have our ice boots and crampons fitted. We all arrived at base camp with conflicitng emotions, a clash of excitement and anxiety; we had a hearty broth and hiked up to the glacier for some ice climbing practice. It was a lot of fun.The next day we hiked up to high camp (5700) had another hearty broth and went to sleep at 6pm for the 2am start the next morning. Hardly anyone slept, its almost impossible at that altitude. The alarm went at 1.30am and we all put on our gear and roped ourseleves in threes. It took us 3 and a half hours to reach the summit - just before the top was a ridge, an infamous ridge the width of a boot and with a 300m metre drop either side.... its was tough, but quite special and obviously rewarding. From the summit you could see all of lake titicaca, La Paz and even the fringe of the amazon basin. We were the only group out of 5 that made it to the peak that day, so we were doubly chuffed.
As we descended completley in awe of our surroundings we realised just how many crevasses were peppered around, not really a climb you can do in the dark without a guide thats climbed it 100 times over.
Extremely exhuasted and ambling around like new born fawns down the beveled streets of La Paz we got back to Cristains house and slept.

A spot of ice climbing

Enjoying a homemade Alpaca steak with yukka fries and caramalised apples