Today's cycle route from San Marcos to Cajabamba in Peru was challenging due to the total elevation gain of the day. Here's my blog post.
Leaving San Marcos, Peru
This blog post was written July 31st 2010 as part of my bike tour from Alaska to Argentina.
Not a great nights sleep, as two people either wanted to leave or enter the hostal at both 02.00 and 05.00.
There being no bell, and the door being locked, they banged and shouted as loud as they could to wake the owner. Cheers guys.
Another relatively easy days cycling, uphill at first until the village of Chuncay, and then downhill until a small iron bridge crossed a river.
From here, I was expecting the roads to turn into a dirt track, but it seems that in the 14 months since a group last cycled through here, they laid a surface.
Not a particularly great surface, it must be said, and I doubt it will be there at all in five years.
Looks like a classic developing world road project, where by the time everyone has skimmed something away in backhanders, a proposed half inch thick road surface turns into a 1/12 th road surface.
Cycling into Cajabamba, Peru
Uphill from the iron bridge to Cajabamba, which is around the 2600 metre in height mark. Heading towards the central plaza, I noticed there was some sort of announcement/presentation going on, with hundreds of people milling around the side streets I needed to head for in order to get a cheap room.
I’m hardly anonymous towering above everybody else, and especially not so with the bike and trailer. Not being in the mood for any ‘gringo, gringo’ shit today, I just headed for the first place I saw.
It was overpriced, but just made life easier, which is what I needed at the time.
After a shower, I headed out to find all the people dispersing, so I never did find out what the presentation was all about.
Finding somewhere to eat was a bit of a mission, as places were either closing or ran out of food. When I did find somewhere, I also discovered that they had rooms at the same price where I was staying, with the added bonus of wifi. Too late for me though.
Today was a bit of a ‘could have done better day’.
Read more about cycling from Alaska to Argentina
Also read:
- How to plan a travel budget so you don’t break the bank
- 9 Reasons Why Long Term Travel Is Cheaper Than Regular Vacations
- How to plan a Workation – Tips For Perfecting Work Life Balance
Article Author: Dave BriggsDave Briggs wrote this bikepacking blog post during his 18-month cycle trip from Alaska to Argentina.
Check out more of his bicycle touring blogs, tips and gear reviews on this page: Bicycle Touring Tips.
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