(August 7 – written by Dave) We were first at the brekkie buffet this morning and we did ourselves proud in how many rolls we could eat.  It was a little hard being discrete as even by the time we left the room, no other guests had gotten up.  Oh well, the first two days … Continue reading Back on the road – Ayacucho to river camp (60k/18,702k, +3,000ft)

(August 5/6 – written by Dave) Today we were reminded how lucky we are to be doing this trip.  Right now and for the last couple years, for the first time in the recorded history of mankind, there are no wars going on in the Americas*.  Even before the Spanish arrived in 1534, the Incas … Continue reading Ayacucho thoughts…

(August 4 – written by Nancy) We had a quiet night in the theatre of the Municipalidad building, save for the rustling of sleeping pads echoing in the big space as people turned over in their sleep.  I had to jab Dave a few times with my elbow when he started to snore – in … Continue reading Red dirt mountains into the city – Julcamarca to Ayacucho (60k/18,642k, +2,700ft)

(August 3 – written by Dave) You can probably tell from the title, we had a dry morning and no real threat of snow.  So we got up and rode.  The woman running the hotel said that it was probably raining and/or snowing on the pass but we were already packed at that point so … Continue reading High again – Lircay to Julcamarca (72k/18,583k, +4,920ft)

(August 2 – written by Dave) It was cold overnight in Huancavelica, so cold that the surrounding hills had a dusting of snow on them this morning.  The snow make for nice photos so long as it stays up there!  It’s not much fun to ride in.  There were some clouds about in the morning … Continue reading Llama day – Huancavelica to Lircay (76k/18,510k, +3,800ft)

(August 1 – written by Dave) Well, we made it to Huancavelica in once piece even with all the climbing.  We figured that of the 77k we rode today, more than 50k of them were uphill.  We had a couple 20k climbs, one right out of Izcuchaca first thing this morning.  Actually the climbing was … Continue reading Climbing day – Izcuchaca to Huancavelica (77k/18,435k, +5,800ft)