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Tag: Cycling

San Pedro de Atacama to Salta

1/2/20 – 1/7/20 The first day was mostly windless and uneventful.  I stopped after a hundred kilometers near a small creek and set camp.  I could have gone further but I knew it would be my last guaranteed water supply for two days and it made sense to leave in the morning well hydrated and Read More

San Pedro de Atacama

12/24/19 – 1/1/20 “I can only eat organic and he does not respect this so I am fed these terrible vegetables with the cancer all over them.” Tomas was a young Frenchman who was managing the hostel we were staying at in exchange for food and a place to put his tent.  Although overreacting, he Read More

Ruta de las Andinas Part II

12/18/19 – 12/23/19 I spent the first half of our day off in search of a spoke. I knew I wouldn’t find one, but figured I should look.  Ollague is a strange place.  People aren’t very helpful.  In many places, when somebody points you to a random building you know that they really hope that Read More

Ruta de las Andinas Part I

12/11/19 – 12/17/19 From the old mission church near the end of the Ruta de las Vicuñas the road drops over a thousand meters to the town of Colchane.  Much of it runs through a narrow canyon filled with alpaca munching on wet grasses and vizcachas, a desert rodent the size of a rabbit, chasing Read More

Bruce Springsteen and Ruta de las Vicuñas

12/7/19 – 12/10/19 “We could have been over this hill if you hadn’t been clipping your toenails this morning.” “Maybe we should shut up and listen to the harmonica” “Maybe you should ask Bruce Springsteen to ride my bike” “Bruce drives a beat up Chevy, but he would offer you a lift and a beer Read More

Arica to Putre

11/29/19 – 12/6/19 Before going to bed we’d put the leftover chicken and salad we’d bought the previous night in the fridge so we could have it for lunch on our way to Arica.  I got up around six and found David asleep on the kitchen floor, a mangled bird carcass next to him.  Salad Read More

Arequipa to Tacna part deux

11/22/19 – 11/28/19 Altitude can have strange effects on the human body.  Thickened blood and pressure on the brain can cause a number of unexpected issues.  In many cases, a person’s fitness is irrelevant.  It was cold and dark by six and we went to bed early.  I awoke around nine thirty and noticed that Read More

Arequipa to Tacna Part I

11/19/19 – 11/22/19 Arequipa outskirts.  Bus exhaust breakfast.  Hectic hustling through traffic, but soon discover ourselves removed from urban confines and in mountain bordering pueblos.  In the air a mixture of mesquite, parched desert, and grilled chicken.  Lunch in Pocsi.  Asked if the water was potable and a woman confirmed in a curious manner as Read More

Arequipa and Volcan Chachani

11/12/19 – 11/18/19 At sea level, atmospheric pressure is around 14.7 pounds per square inch.  At sixty thousand feet above sea level (~18,000 meters) it drops to one pound per square inch.  This elevation is known as the Armstrong limit in Honor of General Harry George Armstrong, who was the first to recognize the significance Read More

Cajamarca

11/3/19 – 11/11/19 “I have never used them, but to me they seem like they would be very nice.” Wim, our host, had a soft and polite voice.  He’d directed us to a dentist around the corner.  All we needed was a cleaning. We walked in together and promptly directed to a pair of 1950’s Read More

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