Renew Ride

After biking out of the mountains, I made my way toward the southern coast of Peru to make up some distance. Then it was back to Lima to meet my sister for a 10 day journey that included an electronic concert, a trip to energetic Machu Picchu, and a tour through the thick Amazon jungle. We covered all three of Peru's terrains in a short time, and finished with a smile.

Huancavelica, Peru to Arequipa, Peru 9/16 to 10/16

Video of the Amazon Jungle, Machu Picchu, and an Ultra Concert in Lima, Peru

 My sis and I next to a massive ceiba tree in the Amazon jungle 

Vicuna, Peru's national animal

Nazca lines from up in the air

One night a family in the mountains gave me a stack of sheepskins to sleep on that was more comfortable than my normal foam mat

Solar Water Heaters in Peru, good to see!

The last few weeks have been spent at consistently high elevations, among big herds of alpaca, sheep, and cattle, and the occasional shepherd, motorcycle, or vehicle. Biking the remote mountain back roads of the Andes mountains in Central Peru, I am rewarded with great landscapes and a lot of peace and quiet. This post is filled with those landscapes, as they are literally all that I see each and every day.            

Huaraz, Peru to Huancavelica, Peru 8/13 to 9/16

I surprised my high school buddy Matt Keenan who has been teaching nutrition and sex ed with the Peace Corps up in the mountain pueblo of Huallanca, Peru. We dominated a basketball game against 3 locals, which coincided with Team USA basketball teams winning gold in the Olympics. 'Merica

Among little mountain pueblos, this is a well-stocked grocery store and restaurant

One late afternoon I passed through a mountain village that was celebrating a festival with bull fights. I entered the little stadium right after one fight had ended, and being the only gringo there in that remote village, I quickly became the show as all eyes were on me as I found my seat.

Bike Safety Lesson #104, Don’t go too fast down mountains or you will crash and destroy your rim

Traffic Jam

Four days biking and I arrived in Huaraz, outside the Cordillera Blanca mountain range, considered one of the more beautiful mountain ranges in the world. I found the best guide in Peru, Cesar Vargas, and we planned a mountaineering course up in the mountains. Three days of instruction in all aspects of mountaineering led to a summit climb of the Mountain Yanapaccha, Quechuan for Black Waterfall. It is another world up among the snow covered peaks of the Peruvian Andes mountains, and it left me hungry to explore some more. I departed alone on a three day trek of the famous Santa Cruz route, with breathtaking views every step of the way. If you have any interest in mountaineering or just seeing these beautiful mountains, Cesar Vargas is the guy to go to for direction (exploringandes.com).

Trujillo, Peru to Huaraz, Peru 7/24 to 8/13

This was view from base camp for 3 nights

View from the top of Mount Yanapaccha

One road through National Park Huascaran

Cesar Vargas, aka The Cat, The Snail, The Tiger, The Turtle, Jefe, and sometimes Wey

Just a few knots in case someone falls in a crevasse

Crevasse fields of Yanapaccha

Mount Yanapaccha, 5460m/17,913ft

Union Pass

You know the mountain from the Paramount Pictures preview? Yep, that would be this guy, Mount Artesonraju

This bull gave me all kinds of problems during the night

Rewarded for going off the beaten path with this camp view of Mount Piramide

Mysterious ruins of Chan Chan on the coast of Northern Peru

Can I get some baby with my pineapple?

Canyon del Pato leading up to the Cordillera Blanca

An earthquake in 1970 caused a massive avalanche that covered the town of Yungay and killed 20,000 people. In this photo, the old town lies below the flat ground and the avalanche came from Mount Huascaran behind.

I have been biking like a fool the last few weeks, making up for some time well spent in Colombia. I crossed through several types of terrain and cultures in Ecuador, surprised my host family who I learned Spanish from 3 years ago, and ate a bunch of bananas for about 5 cents a piece. Northern Peru has meant riding on flat ground along the coast and across the seriously large Sechura desert. I look forward to getting into Peru's Andes Mountains, some of the most beautiful in the world from what I hear.                        Quito, Ecuador to Trujillo, Peru 7/3 to 7/24

Ecuavoley, Ecuador's cooler version of volleyball, is heavily bet on and filled with intense arguments over the rules

Reunited with the Rosales family, the greatest family from Montanita, Ecuador who taught me Spanish more than 3 years ago

My new American buddy Ryan on the first day of his trip, in the middle of stunning architecture in downtown Quito

The courtyard of the Monastery of Santa Maria del Paraiso, south of Quito, Ecuador 

Southeastern Ecuador is filled with banana plantations. The locals manage to squeeze some other things in the middle of the fields, including mini futbol fields and cemeteries

The locals say the Laguna de Quilotoa is bottomless and changes colors between blue green and yellow

 At the base of Volcan Cotopaxi, couldn’t climb this one as it it closed off due to recent activity

Ecuatorianos seem to love statues, and I could make a book with all the incredibly random statues I saw. But the Peruvians made me giggle with this one, I think the dolphin is biting her hand.

Colombia is the most biker friendly country I have ridden through, and I will miss it as I continue south. I learned to dance the sexy salsa, got my hands on some cock fighting roosters, and got my butt kicked by every Colombian biker who would glide up mountains like it’s a warm up. 

Medellin, Colombia to Quito, Ecuador, 6/5/16 to 7/3/16

North of Quito inside of a salt mine lies an underground Cathedral that the miners built years ago

Jahkco dropped 25 pounds in the last month biking from Peru to Colombia, all in training for a race in Bogota.

Uruguayan bike couple selling photos to finance their trip

Sunday morning ride with a local biking group

 Roosters in line for surgery

Lil Colombianos who helped me pick out a bag of spaghetti and a tomato, and then jumped on the back of a semi to catch a ride up a mountain

Girlfriends

 Spanish colonial architecture in Villa de Leyva 

I biked to a casa de ciclistas, or a bike hostel, located in San Antonio de Prado in Colombia. The owner of la casa, Manuel, is one of the more fun people I have met in my life. After telling him about my interest in renewable energy, he asked if I could build a solar water heater. After several design changes and help from other cyclists that came through the house, I managed to build a functioning solar water heater. It was a great experience to harness the power of the sun and water that flowed from the Colombian mountains to provide hot showers for cyclists from around the world. If you have ever considered a solar water heater for your home, give it a try. Constructing a DIY system is easier than you might think, and there are plenty of affordable commercial systems available as well. Check out builditsolar.com for design ideas.

Turbo, Colombia to San Antonio de Prado, Colombia 5/3 to 6/4 2016

1) So you start by building a box... (while enjoying a Colombian beer and soda pop concoction. Maybe 1 part miller lite, 2 parts cherry 7up if you made it back in the States)

3) Next you untangle 100 meters of black PVC...

6) Close the box with plastic...

Thermosiphon physics experiment with hot water

Shout out to Origon and Celine for all their help!

Source of water for the bike hostelFinished product, designs 1 and 2

2) You then paint it black with a metal bottom...

4) Then wrap the PVC in the box...

5) You proceed to tying the PVC to the box..

7) And put it on the roof!

Thermosiphon system #2

Making connections to the hot water tank

Damn you Colombian coffee propaganda, you win! .... I drink coffee now

Colombian cock fight

 Manuel and I explored new territory up a series of waterfalls

Mexican taco night in Colombia? OK

Beautiful views of Antioquia in Northern Colombia 

Part of the fat statues collection in downtown Medellin, Colombia

Lunch in the casa de ciclistas

I made Chicago Deep Dish pizza one night, and kind of felt back at home. Shout out Chitown!

The roads across the jungle in Panama felt like a real rollercoaster, straight up and downLeaving the isla de CartiFilling up the gas tanksTypical rainstorms in the Darien Gap

Pulling into Puerto Obaldia, the last town in southern PanamaCapurgana, Colombia

The Kuna island of Carti

Shout out to Sergio for giving me a hammock for the evening!

Scenes from Pirates of The Caribbean were filmed on islands like this one

Capurgana, Colombia's northern border port, can only be reached by boat or plane on the edge of the Darien. That means no cars, at all

View of Puente de las Americas just before crossing over from Central America into South America

I have been lucky enough to stay up on the 20th floor of a high rise apartment building with a host here in the middle of the Panama City. The view offers an interesting look at the two worlds here. Below these skyscrapers are shacks of poorer fisherman, housing that I am more accustomed to seeing throughout Central America. Another Panama City skyscraper

 View of the shipping port along the Panama Canal

View along the huge Panama CanalPanama City before its afternoon showers

Someone made great use of a bunch of old tires, an entire jungle gym of them on the side of the Panamerican highway

In my former life I was a Supply Chain man. So I take interest in things like refrigerated containers being transported in a staging area next to the Panama Canal. Here's a "behind the fence" look at how they get it done.

Mmmmm

This was the booze cruise

Costa Rica country

The highest point of the Panamerican highway in Central America was up here on the top of el cerro de la muerte. At over 11k ft, the humid trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean turn into clouds, creating a mystical feeling in the midst of the mountains.

These lovely ladies invited me on a booze cruise

I rode up the Cerro de la muerte (hill of the dead) with Danny, a bike shop owner who put me up for a night with his family and tackled the climb with me the next day. Thanks Danny!

Ferry across the Gulf of Nicoya

Costa Rica sees a lot of rain, so you know the locals stay dry AND comfortable while waiting for the bus

Costa Rican grub? How about some gallo pinto (rice and beans), a fried platano (banana) with cheese in the middle, and a loaf of fresh bread. Did I hear carbohydrates?