I had thought about it a lot, visiting Peru after so many years. Fourteen years ago I spent 8 months in the northern part of the country carrying out my internship of my studies. Eight years ago, I popped over from Argentina for a short visit to the Peruvian family I had stayed with in Cajamarca. And now I was back, not without a hassle by the way. The airline I travelled with gave me a hard time at the Los Angeles airport claiming my bike exceeded the established measurements. Browsing their website, I had anticipated this problem, so I had called them beforehand and visited their San Francisco office. Everybody told me it was fine: not to worry senor! Well, all was not fine. Meticulously they measured the bike box using a measuring tape only to tell me I had to ship it with cargo. That really got me stressed, but at the same time angry. I explained my case, raising my voice. Being able to show them the effort I had made and after talking to two supervisors my bike was allowed to go through. Yeah!! But then came the next hurdle: I did not have a return ticket out of Peru (and yes, they are very strict, they can send you back without one! the girl behind the counter told me). I ended up paying a (luckily) refundable $800 (!) ticket from Cusco back to San Salvador..Finally, I could board my flight. After many hours of no sleep on the airplane and a stop-over in San Salvador, I arrived in Lima where, at immigrations, I was given 180 days, no questions asked.. If after my story you want to avoid using this airline, they are called TACA:-). It was probably a good introduction to Peru. While cycling in the States and even more so in Peru I learned you should not go on assumptions. For example, I like asking people how far the next village is on the road. The good news is, you always receive an answer. The bad news is, it is never correct. So ones learns from that (you think!). The map I carry is trustworthy as are the road signs with the distances. Wrong! Just before passing the 4300m pass between Cusco and Puno there was a sign saying 258 km to Puno. Just 10 km further on the road, another sign read 206 km. By the way, they are not always off, it is just difficult to tell when they are (in)correct.

Peru, pais con futuro wordt wel gezegd, country with future. Since I have fond memories of my time in Peru, I would only like to see the country and the people to do well. And economically, it has been doing quite well for the last 10 years or so with the highest growth rates in the continent. However, critics say that Peruvian economy is rather vulnerable due to its huge reliance of minerals and mining (about 70%). Confronting a local taxi driver in Cusco with this, he confirmed that Peru is indeed doing better than the last time I visited. He now owned his own taxi, not being dependable on somebody else, something he could not have done these many years ago. Good news! But one look at the countryside or the outskirts of any bigger city and you know poverty is still present. Many Peruvians still do not have access to good education and proper health care. Garbage is found anywhere chucked away at the sides of the road. Often it is burned, leaving a poignant, terrible smell when cycling past. So, yes it is quite different from cycling in the States. Traffic is more dangerous but not always busier (depending on which stretches of road you are cycling). Also, I found the stretch between Cusco and La Paz easier than the States (when it comes to the topography). That might sound paradoxical but it is easily explained by the fact that the area between Cusco and La Paz is part of the altiplano.

The nice thing about travelling by bike is that you get to see things the average tourist travelling with the bus will likely miss. This includes chatting to local police officers at the side of the road, having a conversation with local farmers (when asked the question if I wanted to work with them on their fields, I replied: cycling is work too!) or helping some locals bringing their herd of alpacas safely to the farm. There are also things I would not mind missing by the way. One of those is the regular wake up call of dogs. Most of the time I do not even notice their presence until they start sprinting out of the bushes at the side of the road, barking and growling aggressively with their teeth exposed, while chasing me and my bike for some time. I just keep telling me that barking dogs do not bite. Knock on wood! Another habit of Peruvian/Bolivian culture I can not get used to, is the fact that drivers use their horn frequently as to inform you that they have seen you (or to kindly suggest you to bugger off!). Fair enough, especially if it concerns a warning of some type. But I still do not understand why they have to honk again, right at the moment of passing. It would surely be to late to make any adjustments to my position on the road..Since the horns come in a wide array of variations, the loud sounds they emit sometimes cause my heart to skip a beat.

Really, cycling in South America is fun! If you are not convinced yet, try traversing a pass over 4300m only a couple of days after your arrival in the mountains. You will be garanteed not to notice any barking dogs, burned garbage, children yelling gringo at you, etc. for you can only focus at what consumes you at that very moment: simply trying to get enough oxygen out of the air. And you will probably do a mediocre job, causing you to have a headache at the front of your head and back of your neck, while the blood at your temples are pulsating vigorously. You don't go very fast, for every 15 minutes or so you have to stop for urinating, drinking more water, chew coca leaves and maybe have some food (banana, chocolate). Apart from the fact that chewing coca leaves actually relieves altitude sickness a bit (the leaves have to be sweet though, and not bitter for it to be medicinal), it also gives you the idea of being part of the local culture, causing your tongue and mouth to turn green. All these annoyances are quickly forgotten when you reach the summit and exhilaration takes over. For me it is proof that suffering and enjoyment can not exist without one another, sufrir y gozar, ying and yang.

I have covered 750 km now, which took me 8.5 days averaging almost 90 km per day (thanks to the altiplano). The next coming weeks I will work my way through Bolivia (and the salt plains of Salar de Uyuni), making sure I will still be in time for some melon harvesting in Santiago del Estero, Argentina next month. For the people who don't know: I own a small piece of land (chacra) in Argentina with 2 friends of mine, one of them, Howard, who has actually been living in Argentina for the past 9 years.

Saludos desde La Paz!