Escaping Peru

Our last few weeks in Peru were filled with amazingly beautiful scenery, good roads and riding conditions and frustration over the things in Peru that just don´t seem to make sense. We made another pass of the Andes, topping 15,000 feet again and had our highest campsite of the trip. We awoke to more ice than we´d seen since our last winter in Minnesota. The sign welcoming us to Chile was a relief and renewed our excitement and optimism about the next stretch on the trip. We even started mourning some of the things we´ll miss about this trip when it´s over! Setting sail on Lake Titicaca. This was a highlight for me (Eric). Ever since reading The trail to Titicaca I had this on my list of places to see on our trip. Amazing!

Floating islands....absolutely nothing like them. A little commercialized. My feeling was they could create more interest overall by focusing on the island and less on the craft, then again, I don´t really like crafts!

On the water´s edge. The root structures are cut and floated into place, tied together and anchored to the bottom of the lake.

The soft carpet is made of reeds laid length and cross wise. Did I mention amazing?

Many clear days riding along the lake. Still gasping for air at times, but the paved road was wonderful.

Pedal power! Wheat and oat harvest were in full swing from the small fields along the lake.

Hand thrashing seemed the norm. People power is cheap in Peru.

Celebrating flag day. We found that there were several celebrations in Peru that gave kids a chance to miss class. Our feeling, they could have used the additional time in school!

Celebrating flag day.

For a small country, the Swiss seem to be taking over the roads! It was fun to see cyclists again.

A few days later we passed a German couple. Both couples had come through Bolivia. We chose the Chile route as Americans are charged $135 per person to get into the country. That would nearly double what we would typically spend for our time in Bolivia.

Our 10,000 mile shot. Over the edge there was a small farm on its own. We considered it as our future home....peaceful, quiet, open spaces and biking distance from our families!

The lack of Oxygen started to affect Christie. Not sure what she is doing here, but it was after a night at over 14,000 feet. We raced to lower elevations to minimize the loss of any more brain cells.

Desert camping. Some of the barest desert we´ve ever seen. No plant life....just a strip of asphalt through the sand.

That would be the strip of asphalt. Good road, a little windy and the military was performing artillery tests.

The road signs in Peru seemed to punctuate the end of our time. Don´t throw garbage, show your education.

Don´t put rocks in the road.

If in doubt, don´t pass.

Along with:

Only pass on the left.

Obey the signs.

Don´t burn tires on the road.

and Honk your horn.

All seemed fairly obvious yet were seen over and over again in Peru. We were quite cynical by the end.

So we arrived in Chile within hours of having our visas expire. We entered a land of smooth roads, higher prices, more diversity in the way people look and more western dress. Can´t wait to see what the next turn will bring!