All those sodding dogs!

In the morning we made use of the fact that ATMs were available one more time (they are hard to come by in the tiny villages we usually pass through) and bought fresh produce such as vegetables and bread. Although we were eager to head out of the noisy town we found one thing that made us stay a bit longer: Next to the market there were little stalls that sold fresh smoothies, fruit juices, homemade breakfast cakes, and buns with fried egg or cheese. So we sat down amongst the locals and had a fresh smoothie with banana, cactus, beetroot juice, apple and another fruit that I didn’t recognize the name of when the local said it. It was delicious and while the men took a ‘pan con huevo’ I opted for the home baked breakfast cake. Everyone who knows me knows that I have a weakness for pastry and good versions of those are hard to come by over here.

With our vitamin levels and stomachs filled, we headed on the road out of Chupaca towards Chongos Bajo and further up towards the next mountain pass. On this piece of road we experienced a phenomenon that we encounter almost every single day, but has barely been mentioned in our blog so far: dogs. Regardless of whether they are street dogs or have owners who just let them do whatever they want, as soon as you pass them they are hot on your heels growling, barking, and yapping away just 10 cm from your legs. The experience is frightening and stressful every single time that it happens, which is several times a day. Usually between five to ten times with varying amounts of dogs.
Every. Single. Day.

People who know me know that, apart from my weakness for pastry, I have come to love dogs ever since my aunt and uncle got their lovely late dog, Jimmy (although not a single one can live up to Jimmy in my eyes). But those dogs here I could truly live without. Especially when you’re already struggling to cycle up a steep incline and then suddenly out of fear for the health of your calves you start cycling even faster than you can because you suddenly hear aggressive barking and see them sprinting towards you in the corner of your eye. I’m certain I would hate this experience even if I weren’t asthmatic.

I know it’s not their fault they weren’t raised to be more sociable and that they are just a victim of their circumstances. Or they are simply being the Peruvian version of a good boy by protecting their owner’s home from the evil likes of international cyclists but still. It is incredibly stressful and annoying as I have already mentioned. Every time we leave nature and pass through a small village I inwardly prepare myself to be startled. I see a dog? Pure stress and my fight or flight responses kick in. Needless to say that it’s even worse for poor Göran who was bitten on his first day. Inwardly we are all praying silently that the situation will be better once we are in Bolivia. Very unlikely but as we all know: hope dies last.

Enough about the dogs for now though. We also cycled (quite a lot of it uphill but it was manageable). At first we cycled on smaller roads but because of the slope and safety (we were now in the red zone) switched over onto the bigger road afterwards. It was strenuous cycling once again but on blessed tarmac rather than gravel or worse. We made good time and left the city boundaries, where police were patrolling quite quickly. Every time we met one of those police patrols they were cheering us on and high fiving us 😀
Cycling on the big road still wasn’t always pleasant despite the good road conditions though. The amounts of garbage and dead animals along the roadside (and the pungent smell that came from them) made us sad. They had such beautiful nature but it was so incredibly littered. It made us appreciate how well things are organized in Europe. Things might not be perfect there and we can complain a lot about certain things in life or politics, but at least we have the convenience of disposing our trash and it being picked up in an orderly fashion. Protecting both our environment and our nostrils to a certain degree.

We cycled on until we found a good place to stay the night. It was a beautiful patch of greenery close to the main road but out of view (and most of the noise) by a little hill that was separating it from the main road. That night Chef Jacques made Nasi Goreng which was delicious and we all enjoyed it very much, while Göran and I set up the tent once again. With full stomachs and the content of already having cycled so much, we went to sleep happily.

distance cycled: 29.7 km
elevation gain: 602 m
Actual altitude: 3720 m
time cycled: 3 h 7 min