Colombia to Nicaragua 2

San Blas - Captain Sym (from England) took me and 8 other travellers from New Zealand, UK, Italy, Ireland & Holland to the ideallic San Blas islands, the first 2 days were a bit sketchy for me being out in the ocean in a sail boat, even though it was a smooth crossing it didnt feel smooth at the time! We spent 3 days island hopping, playing volleyball and getting drunk, its a tough life! Sym cooked up a storm in the kitchen and was a great captain, he was more of a kid than us travellers, and he got us to Panama, no problemos!!

Panama - Most of us went together to Panama City for a few days. One of the Dutch guys (Daan) wasnt feeling too great, little did we know he had dengue fever! I didnt do much in Panama City, I didnt even see the canal, to be honest there wasnt that much to do, so me and the dutch boys headed off to a little place called Bocas del Torro on an overnight bus where the air conditioning was outrageously cold but the Junior Bocas baseball team kept us amused for the journey!
foto: Janin
(to be continued)

Mexico - Uxmal, Yaxchilan, Tulum

 

Colombia to Nicaragua

Dengue fever, earthquakes and cheeky monkeys

Hola from Nicaragua!
Its about time I got off my butt and wrote a blog for you all. It´s been a busy 5 weeks or so, I have covered 4 countries and am currently in a colonial town called Granada in Nicaragua in a hostel run by a gay Liverpudlian!
So lets start from the beginning!!

Colombia - I spent just over a week here, going from Medellin to Bogota and on to Cartagena where I took a boat to Panama via the San Blas Islands. To be honest I didnt enjoy it as much as I thought I would, but I did have a great night out in Bogota with a few friends. Cartagena was scorchio and I was lucky to get on board a boat called the Gypsy Moth, luckily someone didnt turn up so I stole their place!
(to be continued)

Andean Mountain Bike Adventure 8

After my Skype with Erin, I wandered down to the Plaza Armas, in the centre of Cusco.
Even walking there was amazing. This is such an ancient city. I walked past carved stone doorways – imagine the stories if they could talk. The narrow cobbled streets have just enough room for a one-way car road and a narrow footpath on each side. Surrounding the plaza are flagstones worn smooth by 500 hundred years of foot traffic and the whole place just oozes history. The plaza itself is beautiful and is the beating heart of Cusco. It’s big enough to breathe and what’s nice is that the grassed parts are not fenced off, like many other towns. I really like it and with 500 year old churches on 2 sides, there’s a real sense of place.

I walked all 4 sides and what a change this place is from the places we’ve been staying in. Usually if I see a ‘gringo’, it’s a case of ‘which Bike Dreams person is that?’ as we’re the only non-Peruvians in town. Here in Cusco it’s Gringo Central! I perused the menus of the plaza tourist restaurants and they had all the usual suspects, only at 4 times the price. I ducked up a side street and not 10 metres from the plaza, ate in a little place for Peruvians. No English menus, in fact no English anything, but I know my way around a menu now, had some Spanish banter with the staff, and got what I wanted, and a juice too and for a quarter of the price just a few metres away.
Tomorrow we have a tour of the Sacred Valley before catching the train to Machu Picchu in the afternoon. We’re staying overnight, but that, dear readers will be my next blog.

Andean Mountain Bike Adventure 7

Limatambo to Cusco
I had the llama to give away, but before I did so, I shared a poem. It was a good chance for some fun with the group. i can't put it here as it was a bit risque. Look on Facebook, or email me and I'll send it to you.
Another hard but good day in the saddle. It was 1/3 less distance and climbing, but tacked onto yesterday, it seemed the same! Big climb to start, then the middle of the day was an undulating meander and quite pleasant. How's this cuy farm we passed. How cute does it look? Tasty! The first photo is Harry and the second is Ghily.

A short steep climb had me on the cusp of Cusco. I could see grey clouds brewing, so raced the storm down the hill into Cusco proper. It arrived once I was safely at our hotel. It has a nice courtyard with the rooms on 4 sides around it. It seems really nice, clean, well-kept and has a woman’s touch.
How good is this snack? It’s corn chips, potato chips, Twisties and one other thing, all in the one packet. Seriously moreish.
We had farewell drinks tonight for 3 of our riders who are leaving. They joined us at the beach in Huancayo and have been with us for a month.

Malcolm

(to be continued)

Andean Mountain Bike Adventure 6

After a few kilometres the road turned up a tributary of the river and I continued climbing towards Limatambo on my way to Cusco. The day had saved a 700m climb for the end when you’re most tired, but there were more challenges to come. I could see a storm up the valley in the direction I was heading and sure enough, I copped a downpour. I’d seen it coming and had my jacket on in time. Riding in the rain? Once you’re wet it’s okay. After 10 minutes or so, the rain stopped as quickly as it had started and the road was bone dry. If you lived here, your vegies had got nothing. The brewing grey clouds also brought wind and I had a headwind as I headed up the valley. I got dry again, but near to Limatambo it rained again. I rode 1 kilometre too far past where we were staying. Annoying at any time, doubly so when it’s raining. We’re camping in the grounds of a hostel, but for $4 I grabbed a warm dry bed instead of setting up my tent in the rain. Best $4 I've spent in awhile.

Cooked by the host with everything else by Kirstin, dinner tonight was guinea pig, or cuy as the locals call them. They’re not pets in South America, but just for food in the same way as we don’t keep pigs as pets. I’d had it when I was in SA in 2004, but we were all having it tonight, so I had it again. The verdict? Not a lot of meat for the amount of work. They’re all bone. A wise local said, ‘Never order cuy when you’re hungry.’ It takes so long to get bits and there really isn’t that much meat there. Contrary to what you might be thinking, they’re not a tourist novelty, but appear on many local menus throughout Ecuador, Peru and if I remember correctly, Bolivia too. They’re a good source of protein for the people here as they don’t take up much room and don’t have to be taken out to graze. The agricultural department have bred special fatter bigger ones for eating, apparently. Here are a few photos of our group dinner of cuy.

Malcolm

(to be continued)

Andean Mountain Bike Adventure 5

We've all heard of the urban myth that dog owners tend to look like their dogs. Well after seeing these 20 pictures below we can correctly assume that is no longer a myth.
 Part 4