Day 1,080
Into the rainforest
Oh what joy! I woke up with the realisation that I didn't have to climb over the Andes today. I could breathe easily too. We were at around 1,500ft and the air was full of oxygen! I gulped it in. Unbelievably I felt fantastic and was ready to ride. Tom, aka superman, wasn't feeling quite so perky, hardly surprising after his awesome riding over the last 3 days. I was positively bouncing with energy, what on earth was going on? I didn't care, just bring it on! I could almost hear my riding buddy Martin groaning, yep Martin, it was going to be one of those days!
We now had just over 180 miles to go to reach Puerto Maldonado. We planned a day or two off here, to rest and recover before we crossed over into Brazil and deep into the Amazon, we would leave the Interoceanic Highway and hit the dirt. First though, we had to get there.
The cool mountain air had disappeared and we were greeted with oxygen-rich hot, sticky air. The daytime temperature was 35-40C. Ah well, nowhere is perfect. As we rode we were entertained by butterflies dancing around us, some of the most beautiful we have ever seen. We could see and hear an amazing range of birds, from tiny colourful creatures to birds of prey, soaring high above us. Snakes could be heard slithering in the undergrowth beside the road, monkeys howled above us. This was more like it. We saw our first capybara, the largest living rodent in the world, they grow up to 4.3 feet high. Unfortunately though clearly a fully grown magnificent creature, it lay dead at the side of the road.
For what was supposed to be a flat road we had a fair bit of climbing. Constant ups and downs. No moaning though, these ‘ups’ lasted mere yards not miles. Day 4 done, nearly 54 miles, we pulled into the surprisingly large town of Mazuko. We treated ourselves to a bed in a hotel. I had energy to take advantage of the shower, cold though, and we hit the town. Well, 2 doors down was a Chinese restaurant, that's living it large for us. The waitress was clearly deep in method acting mode, she was very convincing as a bored teenager, she had the sighs just right. Without words, no way was she wasting energy on speaking she could convey so much, ‘you want a table? Food? Drinks!!! Why don’t you just go away, eat elsewhere and leave me alone?!’. She was awesome! The food was hot and actually quite tasty, two things we don't usually get from a South American Chinese restaurant so all was well with our world. The night in our hotel, though not quite the worst of our entire trip, was definitely in the top 5. Everyone but us seemed to be playing a game, which involved stepping under the hall lights to turn them on. The winners probably got a free room for the night so competition was hot. Tom managed to fall asleep mid-competition, so only I got to hear ‘super vomiting man’. I think he might be the very ‘exploding bottom man’ we shared a hotel with a few months back. I spared you the details then and will now, but take it from me, we will always book a room with our own toilet from now on. Anyway he managed to throw up continuously for about an hour, and just when he finally shut up the cockerells started. No it wasn't dawn, more like 9pm, but it was yet another competition, and it went on all night, hourly, like clockwork. The cockerell that lived by our bathroom window would start, then I could hear them, one after another, crowing away until finally I could barely hear the cry, but then, one by one, in turn, they all called again until it got back to us. It was quite impressive unless you were trying to sleep. At dawn they finally shut up and we all managed a few hours of sleep.
Day 5 started with a 1,000ft climb, seriously? There wasn't much to see. The soaring hills had gone, the land had been cleared for farming, it was starting to be a chore. We managed to stop for lunch in the unfriendliest town in Peru, the first restaurant simply ignored us, the second served us one of the worst meals of the trip, and remember, Tom's eaten callos! On we went, after another 54 mile day, Tom spotted a great wildcamp and we settled down for the night, no noise at all, bliss. Then day 6 dawned, yet another 54 miles to go but a proper rest in sight. It was another hot and sticky ride. We smelt a lot. We had given up eating lunch in a local restaurant after yesterday’s experience and opted to buy bread and cheese from a local tienda. We got a seat in the shade and enjoyed some of the best bread in quite a while. It got even better, several hours later we pulled to a stop at another tienda. We were greeted with a sight that brought us virtually to tears of joy, we were giddy with happiness. To understand our excitement you have to leave your home, friends and family behind. Cycle for 3 years. Then you will understand. What made us so happy you ask? A proper comfortable armchair, not plastic, plus a coffee table. Sat there, outside, on the dirt floor, under a shade. The lovely owner sold us ice lollies and cool drinks. But for the fact we had a room booked that night, we'd still be there.
