The First Day of Cycling

In our last entry we mentioned that hell would have to freeze over before we would cycle out of Lima. While that was easily said, it wasn’t quite so easily done to actually find a vehicle that had the capacity to carry three bicycles, our bags, and three people.

On the evening of the 28th we therefore used an app recommended to us by another Dutch resident in our hostel in order to find a suitable ride. After some uncertainties, discussions and calls with several drivers we made our decision: Edgar would pick us up in his truck at 9 AM sharp. There was a bit of a catch, however. No vehicle available to us through the app with enough room to fit our bikes had space for three passengers in the booth in addition to the driver. So we made a deal with Edgar that one of us would sit in the back of the truck but always safely tucked away from the eyes of the police.

The next morning, everything was ready, our bikes and luggage neatly lined up outside the hostel, waiting to be loaded. At 9 AM Edgar arrived with a punctuality that I found both assuring and a bit annoying as well. How come someone who had to battle the rush hour traffic of Lima managed to be on time, while I in my life full of European conveniences nearly always managed to be late despite my best efforts.

After everything had been loaded onto the truck bed and our bicycles were properly secured, Göran hopped into the back of the truck. He genuinely wanted to travel in the back of the truck, although why he would voluntarily ride backwards through a noisy, dusty city with bumpy roads and little to no clear view of what was going on around him completely eluded me (probably because of my tendency to get very carsick very fast). With everything in place it was lights out and away we went… in a very slow, dirty and bumpy way with a lot of honking. Personally, I was inwardly high-fiving myself throughout the entire 50 km ride for our decision to chauffeur us to the outskirts of Lima after witnessing the state of the traffic, streets, and partially also slums, that definitely would not have been safe to cycle through, the further away from the city centre we moved.

To save money, we didn’t drive all the way out of Lima, but only went as far as Santa Clara. We were surprised by how much traffic there still was over there but we had to get out of the truck and start cycling at some point… and so we did. It would be an understatement though to say that it wasn’t great. The traffic situation was still positively dangerous and you can imagine the air quality of so many cars whirling up dust. Not to mention that thick plumes of black smoke were coming out of a quarter of the exhausts that passed us.

This unpleasant condition went on for quite a while and although it wasn’t pleasant it made us more aware of prettier little details such as a beautiful flower growing somewhere or an elderly man who was lovingly tending to the tiny patch of garden in front of his house. Another such positive experience was our first lunch stop parallel to the busy main street in front of what seemed like the entrance to a compound. There was a lot of greenery and flowers and we could hear music from what we were guessing was a school. Although none of us particularly fancied plain Philadelphia cream cheese at home, during our lunch break the Olive Ciabattas that we bought at the supermarket in Lima, topped with Philadelphia, tomato and cucumber tasted like a feast.

We cycled on for several kilometers pushing up into the mountains. The traffic didn’t disappear, but the scenery slowly began to change. Although we had aimed for Surco, the daylight was fading (the sun sets at 6:04 PM) and the continuous uphill climb, we settled for a campsite at Sol y Campo instead.

Although it was clear that someone had once put a lot of love and effort into the campsite, it really looked like its glory days were long gone. The bathrooms and toilets were extremely primitive and the showers not even connected to water. Our only option was to wash off the day’s sweat and dust in the pool. Luckily, the water was clean and mercifully chlorine-free. The pool was actually refreshing and one of those unexpected little delights.

Despite the overall landscape having been arid and dusty the campsite itself was covered with thick green grass, perfect for resting and pitching the tent… though, unfortunately, also perfect for breeding mosquitoes and midges. Combined with the roar of the nearby highway, it wasn’t exactly an oasis of peace.

Still, after a long day of impressions, traffic, and cycling, we were grateful for a place to lie down and crawl into the warm comfort of our sleeping bags. Eventually, exhaustion won out over the endless honking of passing trucks, and we drifted off to sleep on our first night on the road.

distance cycled: 31 km
elevation gain: 660 m
Actual altitude: 1280 m
time cycled: 3 h