Yesterdays glorious 60 km descent had left me with a bit of a problem this morning. Namely, that I had to make all that height back up again. Of the few cyclists that have tackled this route, two groups had taken a ride instead of cycling, and one couple had split this next section to Celendin into two days. With a distance of 55 km and an elevation gain of just over 2000 metres, I knew that getting to Celendin within one day was do-able, but it was going to be an extremely tough day.

Leaving at seven, I crossed the bridge, and started cycling uphill in the grinding gear - a gear I barely changed during the next 9 hours. The road was of slightly worse quality that that of the day before, although no where near as bad as the dirt roads in Ecuador.

The terrain had changed as well, with the cactuses (cacti ??) reminding me a lot of Baja. The gradients on the whole weren’t too terrible, but even so, getting any faster than 6 km an hour was never going to happen. Again, the views were great, but the relentless nature of the uphill cycling kind of took the shine off really.

Eventually, at km 291 according to the km posts on the road, I finally reached the top, and not a moment too soon! A short 5 km or so descent into Celendin began, and I soon ended up in the centre. A quick look at several places to stay was producing all sorts of uneven prices, mainly because there is some sort of fiesta this weekend, and most hotels are doubling their prices on Saturday. I came to a deal with one hotel, which although provided the cheapest room, was probably not the best value for money. Not to worry though, and a beer with my chicken and chips at night helped celebrate a monumental days cycling!

I woke up late this morning at 08.30, a combination of the previous days exertions, and being nice and cosy beneath a couple of warm blankets. A breakfast of a caldo (which is a weekend breakfast in many places), and internet usage to update the site. Visitor numbers are up which is great, and on my other hostalworld site, bookings are also up. Still no where enough to be able to sustain life on the road, but its getting there slowly, and something I definitely need to develop.I was expecting a little more activity around the town with it being fiesta time, which in actual fact has been going on since the beginning of the month, but things were quiet. There was a mini-parade earlier on in the day, and some sort of blanket displaying contest but that was about it really. It did give me time t clean the bike though, something that was much needed after these last dusty few weeks on dirt roads. 

Not as bad as it could have been, but will run much smoother being a less dirty bike !

 Dinner of quarter chicken and chips again, and at night, I had to come up with an innovative solution to one of travels problems. Namely, how do you stop an electric plug falling out of a badly fitted socket. The answer in this case, was to use my “crazy dog defence system”, or stick as it is more commonly known, and wedge it against both netbook and plug. A few sparks were flying at one point, but it seemed to do the job ! 

Innovative solution At night, it got really cold. Apparently Peru is going through a cold spell, and the south of the country is suffering much worse. Up at 2600 metres or so in Celendin, it was chilly enough at 5 degrees!

Another big day called for an earlyish start, and so I was up and away by 07.30. Ok, not terrifically early, but its bloody cold that time of the morning! 

Giant hats are all the rage in this part of Peru. Extreme example shown. Getting  out of Celendin was easy, and so began the uphill section. Spread out over 50 kms, I gained 1300 metres in height until I topped off at 3700 metres. The gradients weren’t too bad, and there were even some flat sections which made a pleasant change!

Then began a rough and bumpy 25 km descent down into the village of Encanada. I had considered stopping here, but as it was 14.00, I still had some time to get the final 35 km to Cajamarca done.

 

Leading a pig from market. A nice picture of rural life here in Peru. Note the super-sized hats!

A bit of a lay in this morning, and then off in search of breakfast and supplies. After that was taken care of, I had a little wander around. The Plaza de Armas is the central hub of Cajamarca, with a cathedral and church on opposite sides, and many narrow roads leading off. The Iglesia de San Francisco is the grander of the two, made from volcanic rock, and covered in intricate carvings.

The Iglesia San Francisco in Cajamarca, Peru 

Cajamarca is often called the Cusco of the north, but it certainly a lot more relaxed and with fewer tourists.I visited the tourist information in the afternoon, and picked up a couple of local maps which helped me to plan out the next part of the trip. More importantly, I managed to phone my bank in England, and solved my ATM issues. I can now withdraw money from my bank account again!

Another day off in Cajamarca. This morning there was some sort of celebration with some marching, and people wearing suits and straw hat on the main plaza. Not too sure what it was all about. I visited a church, museum and the Cuarto del Rescate. The Cuarto del Rescate is allegedly the building in which the last Inca King was either held captive or volunteered to fill with gold in exchange for his release, no one is entirely sure which. 

 

Cuarto del Rescate, Cajamarca 

I have to admit by feeling a little under whelmed by it, but there’s plenty of stuff ahead of me yet to see. 

The art displays in a nearby building were quite interesting though.

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