Latest: 19,134km for 460 road days.

June 9th Today I ran from Chinllahuacho at km 911 to Cusco at km 968. A big day with 57km and a late finish.. Its a very big city. I am going to spend about 3 or 4 days in Cusco and Machu Pichu

June 8th. 33km today.  From Puenta Sisma (bridge) at km 878 to km 911 in Chinllahuacho Finished early as I got an invite to stay in a Peruvian home.. Lovely family

19,044km run In 458 Road days. I plan to start stacking up the kilometres now as I just want to get to Argentina and further south. Am running really comfortably with my 3kg pack. Sometimes when I take my breaks I forget to take it off! Weight is no longer an issue. Sorry I am falling further and further behind with the blog but am sheduled some time off now so will see what I can get out..

Today Thursday 60km run.. Glorious running mostly downhill, except for the last 10km. 19,000km run!!

Yesterday Wed. 45km run.

I WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGISE FOR ANY OFFENCE CAUSED TO IRISH READERS RE: MY RECENT RANT WHICH I HAVE REMOVED FROM THIS SITE.

I WAS WRONG AND WILL NOT MAKE ANY EXCUSES. UPDATE. IT WAS NOT A CRY FOR HELP OR A FUND-RAISING ATTEMPT, JUST A BADLY THOUGHT OUT RANT.

HOWEVER, I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO THOSE THAT HAVE DONATED AND WILL ACKNOWLEDGE ALL SOON

UPDATE. Total 18,939km for 456 road days.

JUNE 5TH. 45KM TODAY… FINISHED ABANCAY

June 4th.. 52km today. I finished about 35/40km south/west of Abancay, so commuted there. Will return to same spot at km 353 in morning and run to the city, so should be here tomorrow night also. I got so many issues going on I am finding it impossible to get the blog up to date. I continue to meet many interesting people and have so many photos to show. The mountains are incredible, this is my fav part of the Andes

I should be in Cuzco and Machu Picchu by the weekend. Machu Picchu is not on my route as you can see so I will make a side trip from Cuzco. This will be the very first real sight-seeing of the run for me! God knows when the next sight-seeing will be, perhaps Lake Titicca in Bolivia. Sight-seeing is not my thing – but some things and places just cant be ignored. As you can tell from the photos on this blog I am more of a people person. I will then run south to finish Peru, making another side-trip to see a friend in Arequipa for a day or two. Thats the plan for the next three weeks.

June 3rd…48km today, ran well after a sluggish start as first 35km were all uphill. I finished in a small village where Marie-Lou the local teacher let me stay in a school room! She gave me hot tea, bread and blankets! Then coffee and more bread in the morning

June 2nd I had a lovely 33km today, mostly downhill and stopped many times to talk to the locals. Nobody speaks English here but my basic Spanish is holding up well!

Total 18,794km for 453 road days. I am about 300km away from Cuzco.

June 1st 41km today then commute to Andahuaylas.. Will return to today’s finishing spot about 30km away and run to my hotel in Andahuaylas tomorrow.

TOTAL IS 18,761KM FOR 452 ROAD DAYS.

THE  20,000th KM WILL BE RUN IN BOLIVIA NEXT MONTH. THE 25,000th Km MORE THAN LIKELY WILL BE IN ARGENTINA IN THE PATAGONIA REGION BUT AS I RUN THROUGH JUST A SMALL BIT OF CHILE, THAT´S ALSO A SMALL POSSIBILITY.

MAY 31. IN URIPA. 30KM TODAY. TOTAL 18,720KM FOR 451 ROAD DAYS.

LATEST….TUESDAY 29TH IN ACROS..

THE ROAD TO CUZCO IS A TOUGH ROCK ROAD.. TOTAL 18,653KM FOR 449 ROAD DAYS.

ITS VERY COLD IN THE EVENINGS AND EARLY MORNING. UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE COMMUTE SYSTEM AS ITS TOO FAR ON BAD ROADS WITH NO SUPPORT VEHICLE.

YESTERDAY I DID NOT PASS A SINGLE HOUSE,SHOP OR VILLAGE  BUT AS ALWAYS MY LUCK HELD AS THERE WAS A MAJOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECT GOING ON. THE CREW FED ME BOTH DAYS ON THE ROAD AND GAVE ME WATER. OTHER THAN THAT IT WAS 80KM AND NADA!!

ALSO STAYED IN ANOTHER PERUVIAN HOME. ITS VITAL I GET A ROOF OVER MY HEAD EVERY NIGHT AS I AM RUNNING WITH JUST 3KGS AND NO TENT OR SLEEPING BAG, JUST MY LIGHT WEIGHT TARP. NOT MUCH INTERNET TIME… THIS IS THE TOUGHEST SEGMENT OF THE ENTIRE RUN THAT IS FROM AYACUCHO TO CUZCO.

I FEED ON ALL YOUR GREAT SUPPORT AND COMMENTS WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH… THANKS SO MUCH IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE EVEN ONE COMMENT TO THE BLOG FROM MY RUNNING CLUB MSB WHO HAVE NOT SENT EVEN A SINGLE COMMENT IN OVER A YEAR TO THE BLOG… THAT HURTS  I WEAR THEIR SINGLET EVERY DAY WITH PRIDE.

KEEPING MY SPIRITS HIGH IN THE ANDES!

26 MAY.

HI ALL AM IN AYACUCHO AND ITS BEEN 6 DAYS SINCE LAST INTERNET AND MAY BE FEW MORE TILL NEXT. BEING KICKED OUT OF INTERNET CAFE IN 5 MINS!

TOTAL = 18,546KM FOR 446 ROAD DAYS.

LAZY UNMOTIVATED MON = 17KM AND LATE START AND THEN TUES WAS 27 DUE TO RAIN

I DECIDED TO PICK UP THE PACE AND WED WAS 50KM, THURS = 57KM, FRI 65KM, TIRED SAT, WONDER WHY SO ONLY 44KM TO AYACUCHO.. WANT TO PUSH THE PACE FROM NOW ON AND MAKE UP LOST TIME IN THE ANDES…. aM RUNNING WITH JUST 3KGS TOTAL INCLUDING MY PACK AND MAKING IT TO ACCOM EVERY NIGHT WITHOUT COMMUTE.

I CARRY ANOTHER ALMOST 2 KGS OF GEAR IN MY POCKETS OF RUNNING TOP AND HIGH VIZ VEST. THIS SEEMS TO BE THE BEST RUNNING WEIGHT FOR ME AFTER MUCH TRIAL AND ERROR!

THE DRIVERS ARE AS BAD AS COLOMBIA AND SO TOO ARE THE DOGS!!

DAYS ARE HOT AND HUMID, EVENINGS NOT BAD.

HEADING FOR MACHU PICHU AND CUZCO SUNDAY…

THANKS FOR SUPPORT

GOTTA RUN! TONY

I MEET SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE MOUNTAINS, PERHAPS I SHOULD JUST LET A BLOG DO THE TALKING.

18,000km for this mountain man!

LLAMA CROSSING..THIS MAKES A CHANGE FROM BEING RUN DOWN BY TRUCKS!

 

 

 

DON´T THEY HAVE A FUNNY EXPRESSION?

 

 

Still deep in the rugged mountains bound for Huancayo I finished after a 30km day in a small village called Huachinga.

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THE RUN INTO HUACHINGA. VIOLETS HOUSE WAS THE FIRST HOUSE I CAME TO.

It was like a village that time left behind. Though there were street lights in the village plaza, there was no electricity anywhere in that village of 200 as far as I could see. No televisions, signs of newspapers, the only connection to the outside world were the battery operated radios that people listened to. Normally even very poor people have satellite dishes or antennas, here nothing, not even power.

People in the previous villages had told there was an hotel here. On the way into the village a lady at the very first house I passed greeted me. I asked her about the hotel. She told me that if I had no luck to return to her and I could stay the night. I asked a couple of people, nothing doing, the hotel had long since closed down, derelict, just like the plaza which was overgrown by grass. I was about an hour away from the next village called Lamblam where I was also assured, but the offer I had here was just too good to be true.

HUACHINGA PLAZA

I was delighted it had been closed down, this would be a rare experience to observe very closely life in a Peruvian home.

Back at Violets house, as the lady is called, I talked some small talk with her and some of her neighbours. There was a man called Luis also there. I took photographs and asked Luis, probably in his forties to take one of me with Violet. I reckoned he had never taken a photograph before.

THE LOVELY VIOLET.

She told me I was the very first gringo this remote village had ever seen. Inside Violets house, which was really just a converted barn with a bed, table and chairs I drank some coffee and bread she had given me. She told me her husband was out working in the fields as a potato labourer. Her house was full of potatoes. They were everywhere, under the bed, table, in every corner. They are obviously very poor. I shared my spare food with them. In the morning I will give her my hotel money. This is always a very delicate thing to do as the poorest people in the world are often the kindest one could meet. I try to do this in as sensitive a manner as possible. What with their wonderful hospitality, kindness, also not wishing to offend or whatever they are still very poor and need it more than I do.

LOIS AND SON

I also got a smell of varnish in the house. Lois had come back in and sat down to talk to me. I took a bit of a dislike to him when he started only what I would call interrogating me. Then I realised the varnish was coming from him, I suspect it was not on his clothing but he had either been drinking it or inhaling it.

He was right up in my face almost shouting…

” But what are you doing here…?

” How can you afford to do this…? ”

” Have you money…? ”

Then he asked me why I had finished early for the day instead of running onto Lamblam!

He was getting so carried away that I just wished he would go away… Then Violet started to briefly get in on the act, also shouting up into my face. This was after Luis asked if had any weapons! I was starting to become very uncomfortable here and wondered what I would do as it was now very dark and cold outside.

 I told them I write and this is more or less my work… So then I was asked if I was a journalist and what was I doing!

Eventually and thankfully Luis left after telling me his wife left him for another man, I wondered why. He has custody of their small boy while she has custody of their young daughter.

I enjoyed my coffee in peace after that and talked to Violet. She had boiled the water over an outside fire.

She told me she is very sick and can´t afford the doctors bills, so has to live with her illness. Then she tells me I am welcome to sleep in her bed. Worried about the illness I decline and tell a fib saying I am more comfortable on the floor. Being a former barn it´s a rough kinda potholed floor, it was to be an uncomfortable night, that night. Several times I looked over and was almost tempted to get into it but I resisted.

VIOLETS BED, MINE ON THE ROUGH FLOOR AND POTATOES EVERYWHERE

Violet and her husband had obviously gone to sleep in another building. There are so many abandoned derelict buildings that this didn’t surprise me. Luis told me that people can´t just move in and take up occupancy.

BEFORE LEAVING THE STRANGE GRINGO STOPPED TO TALK TO SOME VILLAGE FOLK

Before Violet left me for the night she showed me a small piss pot I could use as they had no toilet. She told me they sometimes use an old abandoned house for a toilet. If I needed to go out in the middle of the night there was a big stick to beat away the ´Bad Dogs ´as she called them. I could hear the bad dogs barking all night, and had no reason to go outside.

In the morning Violets son and daughter came over to see me, we chatted and had coffee and bread before I left.

Violet then told me her illness was a sore back, so I guess that I could have slept in her comfortable bed!

THE OLD LADY IN THE MOUNTAINS

I was told not to be surprised if ´townfolk ´from the villages ahead wanted to see my passport. They are harmless and are just likely to need to be reassured I am not up to anything bad. Not really sure what they could tell by my passport I was glad of this tipoff as perhaps I would have been a bit apprehensive and resisted, if such a situation seems calm enough I will just show it, but may try showing my photocopy first.

Violets son walked me to the edge of the village. I talked to a few more people among them a woman who was holding something that was smouldering in her right hand, then I realised it was dried cow dung to start a fire for presumably her breakfast.

ADIOS HUACHINGS, YET ANOTHER INDELLIBLE MEMORY

Saturday 19th I took a rest day to watch my team Leinster win the European Rubgy cup for the 3rd time..Well done lads… Also Chelsea win the European Champions League soccer Championship all against the odds..Well done to them also.. I had a terrible internet connection and wasted a lot of time on the computer last night due to this, Today Sunday I need to take another rest day at the office to catch up on my Andes mountain load of work, blog, emails, research, and route logistiics..just to name a bit.I expect to be here all day.. Thanks to everyone for your loyality and patience.. Have a nice day.. Tony

LATEST 18TH MAY:  18,288KM FOR 440 ROAD DAYS.

NOTE: MY SPOT TRACKER HAS BEEN GIVING ” PATCHY ” FIXES TO PUT IT MILDLY OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS AND WEEKS. I AM NOT IMPRESSED TO PUT IT MILDLY ABOUT THESE MISSING TRACKS, IT LOOKS LIKE I AM SKIPPING HUGE AMOUNTS, WHICH COULDNT BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. I HAVE RUN, OK SOME WALKING EVERY SINGLE LAND KILOMETRE SINCE THE START IN OCTOBER 2010. I AM ALSO NOT IMPRESSED THAT IT ONLY GIVES MY FIRST  50 DAILY FIXES WHICH ARE (10 MINUTES APART) WHAT THIS MEANS IS, SHOULD I RUN A LONGER DAY THAT THE ENDING LOCATION WILL NOT BE RECORDED ON THE SHARED PAGE MAP AND THERE WILL BE ANOTHER GAP AT THE START OF THE NEXT DAY. I HAVE EMAILED SPOT AND AM NOT SATISFIED BY THEIR RESPONSE. REMEMBER LAST YEAR WE HAD A GREAT GOOGLE MAP WHICH WAS ON TOP OF THE SPOT SHARED PAGE? WELL THEY PULLED THE GREAT GOOGLE MAP  OFF MY SITE SAYING SOMETHING LIKE THEIR SOFTWARE COULD NO LONGER SUPPORT IT.  THIS JUST HAPPENED TO BE PULLED WHEN MANY PEOPLE MYSELF INCLUDED MISTAKENLY MADE COMMENTS THAT THE SPOT MAP DID NOT UPDATE, IN FACT IT WAS THE GOOGLE MAP THAT DID NOT UPDATE. NOW THEY HAVE ALL THEIR ADVERTISING IN  OUR FACES ON TOP OF MY VERY HARD WORK.

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ALWAYS PLAYING CATCH UP HERE IS THE END OF THE DESERT STAGE. I NEED TO UPLOAD PICTURES AS SOON AS I GET A CHANCE AND THEN WRITE MY AMAZING  MOUNTAIN EXPERIENCE. SORRY FOR THE DELAY, TIME IS TIGHT ON THE ROAD.

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I was really enjoying my Peru desert experience as I continued running south along the Peruvian desert coast. At times there was little shoulder but lots of gravel and of course, plenty of sand!

At km 347 I stopped for a quick ice cream at a restaurant called ” Restaurant La Balsa ” The restaurant is owned by a very kind-hearted man called Clemente who takes an interest in any traveller that stops by, mostly cyclists around the world or from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska, motorcyclists, walkers and myself the very first runner!

CLEMENTE WELCOMES ME TO HIS FAMOUS RESTAURANT

Clemente fed them all and got them to sign his 3 guest books dating back to 1998.

I knew two of the travellers, both walkers –  French Canadian Jean Believue who completed an 11 year world walk last year and Karl Bushby walking in unbroken steps from Tierra del Fuego at the very tip of South America all the way to his doorstep in Hull,England all without any transport whatsoever. He has already walked the Americas, crossed the Bearing Straights between Alaska and Russia when it was frozen. Karl is now in central Russia, he has obviously gotten some kind of a special permit to walk under the English Channel and through the Chunnel from France to England… Now there is an idea… Got me thinking, I must admit

Having read his book Giant Steps and knowing the eye he has for women I laughed when I say his entry on a map he drew into the guestbook of South America with the places he had met lovely women en route! You see Karl is a Curt Cobain lookalike, the former front man of rock band Nirvana and when girls mentioned it to him, well reading between the lines I think he took full advantage of his good looks!

I was thirsty... FOR WATER ....So I stopped here.. NOT SURE IF CURT; SORRY I MEAN KARL DID!!

He also wrote in big letters NO BICYCLE, yes I can relate to that irritating question! He signed off by telling cyclists to get off their bikes and stop being girls and to walk instead!

Here in the restaurant Clemente brought me into his special room for his travellers. I signed his almost full and third guestbook called ” Amigos Adventurous. ”

THIS IS YOUR LIFE CLEMENTE!

There were also photos of a French couple who were

cycling around the world on a tandem towing their young child in a Chariot trailer behind. What a wonderful learning experience for the youngster but I cant imagine how the drivers here treated them.

I spent about two hours there and could easily have spent the whole day. Clemente fed me fish and chips. I wondered how many travellers have gone by oblivious of this great place. Just as I was wondering this an English world cyclist called Ivan who I had met that morning flashed by. I told Clemente that its a pity he doesn’t have a sign outside.

I MET IVAN THAT MORNING AND LIKE MANY OTHERS HE JUST CYCLED BY UNAWARE OF CLEMENTES TRAVELLERS HAVEN

Next day I got lashed by a sand storm, sand getting in everywhere, my face, eyes, mouth even with my bandana covering most of my face, also shoes, socks even into my pockets. It only lasted about half an hour, I guess its not a desert trip without a sand storm!

ENTER SAND MAN... AS METALLICA WOULD SAY...

The advice I had gotten from many people that had travelled this desert route is obviously now out of date. I was told it was a lonely stretch with little traffic and long distances between villages or shops. The longest I went was about 28-32 km on four occasions and as for the little traffic, well there is a major road widening project going on due to the amount of truck crashes.

And this construction supervisor stopped me to see if I was ok! Thank you señor!

¿AUGA AMIGO?

The next couple of days having shook the mountains out of my legs I ran strong to record 46 and 54km days. I don’t normally time myself but couldn’t resist it and some of my kilometres were around 5.40 which is very fast for me now, and a confidence boost for when I eventually leave the Andes behind in Argentina in about two months time.

That second day I had gotten off to a very late start and at the end of the day got a police escort to the edge of the town of Gramadal. Four cops on two motorbikes escorted me about 6 km as far as km marker 196 as it was dark. 

THE END OF A LONG DAY TODAY WILL BE THE START OF MY LAST DAY IN THE DESERT TOMORROW..A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE.

I finished my day at that marker and got a mototaxi to town for the night. I will return to the same marker in the morning as usual.

When I arrived at the plaza the mototaxi driver told me the police had paid my fare, just goes to show a few bad apples ruin it for the majority as mentioned in a previous blog.

THANKS LADS, NICE COPS!

I am now 11 degrees below the equator, I feel I am making steady progress.

The next day I finished my 43 km canter at km 153 right at junction 18. This will be the end of the desert for me. I had to make a side trip to Lima to pick up a package sent from home containing fresh supplies. It was sent to the Irish Embassy there but the post office said I had to go to their main sorting office to have it examined by customs.

First I got a taxi to the Irish embassy but unfortunately Irish ambassador Michael G Russell was at a meeting with all the other ambassadors in Lima. I was helped by his assistant a very friendly and helpful man called Kevin from Kansas.

OUTSIDE THE IRISH EMBASSY IN LIMA WITH KEVIN

Another taxi took me over to the post office depot, which took up a whole city block. I was told to expect to be there for a whole day, such was the bureaucracy. In fact I was back in my hotel within two hours eating my Irish chocolate with a lovely cup of tea!

While waiting for my number to be called I noted on the information monitor that the importation of used clothes and shoes was strictly prohibited into Peru. I thought that funny as I am sure some of the people I see wearing Chicago Bears tee-shirts and the like comes from charity drives.

I had one of  my favourite  running tops which my sisters friend Ger modified for the next stage of the run… Also two new pairs of running shoes. I had asked my folks to muddy them up and let them dry out in the box and mark them as used so as not to attract serious import tax!

Through a glass counter screen I watched the post office official in the company of a customs officer open my box. The customs officer just had a casual root around the top shoe in the box, closed it and said $5 charge! Nice one.

The most important contents in the box was some of my favourite chocolate, a crushed Easter egg and belated birthday cards. The jokers in my family boxed my package in a box which previously contained chicken fillets and knowing what I have written about the Latino chickens in the past I got a great laugh!

That night I went to dinner with Alejandro Torres, a Peruvian software designer, son of a doctor and runner who had run the Dublin marathon in 2011. I had always had visions of Lima, a city of 9 million inhabitants to be crawling with beggars at every street corner, in fact I had expected this all over Peru, which is not my experience. I have met only about a dozen in the few weeks I have been here and usually try to help.

Having said that there is a huge poverty problem here but also an elite privileged class.

Granted we were in an exclusive area of Lima and looking out the restaurant window out over at a beautiful beach. Alejandro told me he can run long distances unhindered on that beach, even a marathon.

DINNER WITH ALEJANDRO WHO WAS EDUCATED IN AN ENGLISH SCHOOL

 Before I left Lima, Alejandro a great music fan bumped my music up by a further 18 gb! In the box today was another 32gb memory card which he also promises to fill up… Timing is everything… Anyone else got a good music collection they want to share with me, I can arrange a memory stick delivery!

GASTRONOMICAL PERU

Many thanks to Barbara Churchley a resident of my former homeland Colorado! Barbara is an artist of some magnificent  fine art. If anyone makes a purchase from her WEBSITE  please mention this website!

Barbara has made a very kind donation to my Paypal account on the sidebar of this website to help me fund this world run.

I would like to dedicate this current, and most difficult of mountain crossings all the way to Huancayo to you Barbara for your generosity Timing is everything and fittingly in the next few days I am due to climb up to SANTA BARBARA DE CARHUACAYAN which many locals tell me is over 4,400 metres high or well over 15,000 feet! Just like being back in good old Colorado! And with no support vehicle, this is the life of the dream!

If anyone else wants to sponsor a day or hotel night  please feel free to make a donation on the side bar and I will acknowledge it in the blog!

Thanks to everyone for your great support and comments to the blog, it means a lot to me

SHORT UPDATE.

THINGS ARE REALLY REMOTE NOW! 2 DAYS AGO NO CARS PASSED ME ON THE ROAD, O I WAS NOT RUNNING FAST! YESTERDAY I LOST COUNT OT SURE IF IT WAS 8 OR 10!  TODAY WAS A SHORT DAY JUST 13KM AS I RAN FROM WHERE I FINISHED YESTERDAY TO ACOS. THE COMMUTE DIDNT LEAVE TILL 11AM DUE TO ROAD WORKS, SO IT WAS TOO LATE TO RUN ON. I AM IN A SMALL VILLAGE WITH THIS LIMITED INTERNET SERVICE, SO BEST TO STAY ANOTHER NIGHT HERE AS I HOPE TO REACH PIRCA TOMORROW. I UNDERSTAND THERE IS A HOTEL THERE. THEY WILL BE FAR APART FOR A WHILE, SO BEST TO TAKE ADVANTAGE WHEN POSSIBLE, EVEN IF SOME DAYS ARE SHORT.

ON MONDAY I STAYED WITH A VERY POOR ELDERLY COUPLE WHO OPENED UP THEIR VERY MODEST HOUSE TO ME AS THE HOTEL IN TOWN WAS CLOSED. I GAVE THEM MY FOOD AND HOTEL MONEY. I LOOK FORWARD WHEN POSSIBLE TO BLOG ABOUT THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE IN THE PERUVIAN ANDES MOUNTAINS. I STILL HAVE ABOUT 2 WEEKS OF THE DESERT BLOG TO CATCH UP ON ALSO! IT´S ALL GO IN THE ANDES!!

THANKS TO EVERYONE AGAIN FOR YOUR WONDERFUL SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT!

I HAVE JUST BEEN TOLD TO HURRY UP AND FINISH ON THE INTERNET AS THEY ARE AFRAID WHEN THEY PUT ON THE LIGHTS IN THIS GROCERY STORE THAT THERE WILL BE A POWER SURGE!

¡ HASTA LUEGO!

AN OUTDOOR CHURCH IN THE ANDES

**** HI ALL. THE MOUNTAIN ROADS ARE IN VERY BAD CONDITION, ROCKY ROADS, LUMPY,GRAVEL.

 MY PROGRESS WILL BE SLOW FOR NEXT FEW DAYS. IT”S GOING TO MORE OF A MARCH THAN A RUN FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

THERE WAS EVEN A SOCCER PITCH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD! I DONT KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY SCORE A GOAL!

 I ALSO DO NOT EXPECT TO HAVE AN INTERNET CONNECTION FOR A FEW DAYS ****

I MISSED THIS RIGHT TURN TODAY AS I JUST STAYED ON THE MAIN ROAD AND HAD TO BACKTRACK 6KM! IT'S ALL IN THE DREAM

I HAD TO BACKTRACK TO SAYAN TONIGHT TO POST THIS!

THERE WERE 10 OF US IN THIS TOYOTA COROLLA WHEN I WAS COMMUTING BACK TO SAYAN, INCLUDING THESE 3 IN THE PASSENGER SEAT!

ROUTE FOR NEXT WEEK AND A HALF PRESS > HERE

5TH MAY UPDATE….TOTAL TO DATE: 17,869KM FOR 427 ROAD DAYS.

PERU DAILY LOG HAS BEEN UPDATED. TO VIEW FULL PERU DAILY DISTANCES AND DETAILS PRESS > HERE

 MAY 5TH 2012. FROM KM 31 ON ROUTE 18 TO KM 46 IN SAYAN THEN TO ROUTE 1NC AT KM 0. AS FAR AS KM 15, NOTE SPOT TRACKER DID NOT UPDATE THIS LAST SEGMENT. 30KM TODAY.

MAY 4TH 2012 FROM KM 153 ON PAN AMERICAN HIGHWAY AS FAR AS JUNCTION 18 (EAST TOWARDS MOUNTAINS AND CUZCO) ROAD HAS NO SHOULDER, JUST 2 MTS OF ROCKY,UNEVEN GRAVEL. I RAN FROM KM 0 TO KM 31 = 31 KM TODAY.

MAY 1-3 IN LIMA FOR BUSINESS.INCLUDING PICK UP HEAVY BAG/RESEND TO HUANCAYO, AND PARCEL FROM HOME. ALSO A VISIT TO THE IRISH EMBASSY.

 PM MAY 3RD TRAVEL BACK TO ROUTE FOR RESTART TOMORROW INTO THE ANDES TOWARDS CUZCO.

APRIL 30TH 2012. FROM KM 196 TO KM 153 TO FINISH CLOSE TO JUNCTION 18 TOWARDS SAYAN.  43KM TODAY, FELT GOOD, TRAVEL TO LIMA. STAYING IN HOSTAL TROPICAL.

29/4/2012. FROM KM 250 TO KM 196 (BARRANCA CROSSROADS ON PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY) LATE SLUGGISH START AND LATE FINISH. GOT A POLICE ESCORT TO FINISH. 54KM TODAY, GOOD DAY, I MANAGED TO RETRIEVE 3 OF MY 4 WATER DROPS ON THE ROAD,THAT SYSTEM WORKING GREAT! HEAVY TRAFFIC/GOOD SHOULDER. AM NOW 11 DEGREES BELOW THE EQUATOR. 

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A couple of routine days took me to Lambayeque, which is about 12km from where I decided too base in Chicalayo. I got there early and wanted to get out and back onto the road as quickly as possible. I asked a mototaxi to take me to a clean, cheap place and so he starts talking about a place where gringos stay. Fine I say thinking it’s a backpackers hostel, so he took me to a 5 star luxury hotel and wondered why I didn’t tip him! At the reception I was told $250 a night!
I turned around and sprinted out. So another taxi driver takes me downtown and everything is very expensive and without wi-fi. So I wander around and am standing outside a Hotel called Hotel Kalu. It’s a nice place. I see the cheapest room advertised at 100 soles a night, about 40 dollars. Next thing the doorman starts negotiating with me. He quickly comes down from 100 soles to 70, to 50 No deal I told him, then he says 40. So I say 30 soles = $12 is my offer. He goes inside and checks with management who say yes. As I was checking in I noticed breakfast was included, but didn’t say anything in case they said no as I was getting a great deal. That’s what happened, I got breakfast the first morning and they cut me off the other two days I stayed there including a rest day.

Running out of Chiclayo was tough, really congested, the noise, honking taxi drivers who think I came all this way to take a ride in their beat up motor! Anytime I ask anyone for directions I am told it’s far away, even five blocks is far, when I tell them that’s nada they are genuinely astonished. The next day I am running towards Mocupe, it’s another tough day even though there are only 27km on the clock today. I stop at the side the road, it seems there is some kind of a charity fundraiser going on as the vendors are selling juices out of half litre used soda bottles for about 50 cents, a steal here.

THE DESERT ONLY BEGAN 12KM BACK AND ALREADY IT'S PARTYTIME!

It’s at the side of the road, outside a factory gate in a remote location, a true oasis for me. I drank a lot of water that day. I sometimes wonder if drinking water is just like lubricating a rusted bicycle chain. Neglect it and it will seize up, just like the body, lubricate it and it will perform wonders.

Sweat and salt from sweat fluid are creating a glue like substance on my lips, the wind and sand dont help and its sometimes painful when I open my lips. Yes it’s very hard for me to open my mouth I now have very sore lips exasperated by my addiction to hot tea and coffee. It is sometimes very painful brushing my teeth.

A PENNY FOR YOUR THEM.

A couple of days there were strong sandstorms. I had to cover my face as much as I can. Its difficult to keep my hat on, sometimes I just leave it off.

ENTER SANDMAN! THE SANDSTORM IS ALMOST OVER.

I have been told that the further south I go in south America the cheaper things will be. That’s not what I am finding,I am finding Peru to be expensive and just like Ecuador more expensive for a lesser product all the time.

I spotted the ocean today for the first time, what a thrill, I pinched myself, yes it’s really happening!
The roadside and desert fields are littered so much it’s just unreal. It’s almost like the city officials either allow people to dump their household waste, including old sinks, broken tiles, you name it.

I saw a woman cross the road and empty a sack of rubbish into a hedge opposite to her house.

But as I have said before, what can people do if there is no rubbish collection, only bury or burn but I don’t really see much of an effort to keep the place clean. Last week I saw people burning their waste right up against a wall of…. wait for it…. A gas station! And there was no sign of anyone stopping them. I passed many desert dumps with scavengers who appeared to be living on these dumps in a desperate effort to scrape out some kind of a living, it was very sad.

In this part of Peru I have seen more syringes than I have ever seen in the whole of my life put together, it’s always eerie seeing a used syringe, even if I didn’t see any blood stains. I wondered if they were from hospitals or diabetics or junkies.
At the end of the day a young boy shouts over to me ” Un otra dia senor! ” or another day, he is smart, really tuned.
The desert thickens, more and more sand dunes. Sometimes, usually near small towns there is some vegetation as small patches of sand have been irrigated by the few small river channels around.

THIS MAN IS WORKING VERY HARD TRYING TO CULTIVATE A FEW PLANTS.

 There are a few vegetable and fruit farms, even one vineyard. I stop at one of these farms and the security guard lets me fill up a couple of my empty bottles from his water cooler. Fill at every opportunity.
Then I get to a place called Ciudad de Dios, or Gods City.

GODS CITY!

It truly is a miciraculas place as the dogs don’t even bark at me, they haven’t barked all weekend. Here in Peru dogs are often up on the roofs, up where they belong in my view!

UP WHERE YOU BELONG, WHERE THE AIR IS FREE

I stopped for an ice cream there and the vendor insisted I gave him a 5 soles coin, he is persistent, it, takes all my bargaining skills, but this time in reverse to convince him that it was only a 2 soles coin, Gods City indeed, there is hardly a day when a couple of people don’t try to cheat me, just like back in Panama. I call it the Gringo tax.

By now I feel the mountains are out of my legs, I am starting to feel strong and pound out 3 days of over 50km. It’s a great confidence boost for when the mountains will be ahead of me when I get to Argentina in about three months time.
I have written about my energy crises in the past in the Colombian and Ecuadorian Andes, but what can I expect with over 17,000km in the legs, having run for over 2,300km in the Andes, without no support vehicle, no support crew, all the extra work what with blogging and the never-ending emails, late nights, long days on the road.

The fact that I often have to hit the snooze button in the mornings for over two hours. I now use my ipod alarm connected up to my external speaker and the fact that I can fall back asleep to the sound of AC DC, Iron Maiden and Metallica tells it’s own story! Night time I usually drift off with something light, often classical Beethoven or Mozart which is nicely placed between Metallica and Motley Crue!

I mentioned before that this coast has a bad reputation for armed petty crime. A lot of the time I keep to myself, well as best as I can! I just don’t hand out as many cards as I used to and mostly tell people I am just here for a couple of weeks vacation. If a car stops in a suspicious manner I have trained my mind to memorise its registration number as I run towards it. I never run on the inside, if the road is clear I just run wide on the road or cross over. I still remember the registration number from a suspiciously parked white pickup truck in northern Ecuador, PSB1258.
There was a morning when I was commuting back to Viru from Chimbote. A couple of cops got on the bus and examined peoples identity cards. Being the only gringo on the bus he asked me for my passport. I told him I left it back at the hotel, so I got pulled off the bus, bag and all.
They tried to scare me telling me it’s an offence not to carry my passport with me and especially the visa slip. The general advice is not to try to talk them down, just go along with the flow.
” How do we know it’s in your hotel, you do not have a passport and are travelling on this bus? ”
I pulled out the hotel card as I always ask for one, in case I get lost.
” Here phone them, they will confirm my passport details as I just registered there today and the phone number is on the card. ” I said.
Then he said in English… ” How much will you give me if I let you go, 100 soles or 200 soles? About 40 or 80 dollars! The nerve of the man, I couldn’t believe how dumbly he phrased it, 100 or 200!
I lost my cool and with my right index finger started tapping him on his left shoulder ignoring his English and in Spanish, and for all around to hear I shouted…
” I will give you Mierda (shit!) Nada, nothing, and will write about you in my blog! ”

I also tell him if he wasn’t busy collecting ‘ fines ‘ his country would be a lot safer and wouldn’t have the bad reputation it has and that I would be able to carry my passport around safely with me.  Colombia and Mexico are much safer countries now than they used to be, all because they took crime seriously and swamped the highways with the police and military.

That night I get copies made of my passport and my visa, I will carry them around with me in future and continue to leave my passport back at my hotel. 
He asked another couple of dumb questions before backing down and told me to get back on the bus. I had just passed through a small tunnel, so now I am a bit worried when I run through this area tomorrow. It’s funny that the last time I had hassle with a cop, it was just before a small tunnel in north Colombia. (Not the blog posting where I got lost. The one where I got interrogated and asked questions about how much money I had on me.)
Next morning I ran through that tunnel without spotting the cop or having any trouble, it was only 200 metres long.

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DESERT DREAM!