Leaving the Great Divide

We have been on the move for more than a week so its time for a rest day. Actually its not a rest day (except for our legs) - its a catchup day. There are punctures to fix, washing grubby clothes, drying tent and sleeping bag, cleaning our pans and mats. Then planning our route, attending to admin, catching up on penguins. We need food and dinner and a moment to catch up with friends and family. Its a full day.

We are at 3600m so we are wearing plenty of warm layers inside or out. Unless the sun shines - when suddenly it lovely and warm. This is a peculiarly of this altitude in Peru. Pedalling in sunshine and we are hot in short and t-shirt. Once the sun goes, we need fleeces, gloves and thick socks.

We are staying in a small and modest traditional hotel that is often visited by cyclists like us. Like most hotels there is no heating or hot water except in the shower (and its a thumbs up if its hot). I ask if its possible to wash clothes. Yes, she says and points at a low concrete outdoor sink with one (cold) tap. Do you have a washing machine we can use? No, we don’t have one. I look at the lines and lines of drying sheets in the courtyard, rather humbled. Running a hotel at 3600m with only hand washing…

Our next day is to be a short one. We are now leaving the Peru Great Divide route and heading for the central highlands. For this we need to cross the spine of the Andes heading east. The next pass is too high for a single leg and there are a lot of mines near the top which probably don’t make for good wild camping. So we will have a half day and camp beside a lake, laguna de Patón, that is recommended by other travellers. The road is a bit rough - wide but alternating between concrete plates and muddy gravel. Its grey and then raining and we are sharing the route some heavy duty traffic. Despite the rest day, neither of us are feeling on form and are glad that its a relatively short day today.Read more