An Encounter with the Police

We got up at 5:45 AM, had breakfast, packed our belongings and got ready to cycle again. Leaving Lima was a very gentle incline but already being a bit further up in the mountains now the climb was steeper. The continuous incline and the burning heat of the sun made for a strenuous ride and we needed several short breaks for a bit of rest and to stay hydrated. Because the highway had no shoulder on our side of the street attempting to drink while cycling was out of the question. At least the traffic had calmed down a bit and was not as terrible as in Santa Clara or Chosica, albeit still dangerous.

We crawled on bit by bit but as the air got thinner and energy levels sank, we decided to stay in Surco for the night rather than cycling on to Matucana. It was early in the afternoon so we still had quite some time ahead of us so we went to the place where Google and Apple Maps promised we’d find a camping. After pushing our bicycles up a steep, bumpy gravel road, we were sorely disappointed when the campsite no longer turned out to exist. Instead, we found a small uneven patch of grass with a donkey happily grazing in its midst.

Surco is famous to Peruvian locals for its waterfall but every single person we passed guaranteed us that the road was not manageable by bike. As it didn’t feel safe to leave our bikes and luggage in the village while we headed to the waterfall, we gathered to discuss, while the answer to our predicament slowly walked towards us. A group of five Peruvians with different age categories were so excited to see European tourists (although initially for some reason everyone always thinks we are Russians), that they started filming and interviewing us for their Instagram channels and local newspaper.

After we had dutifully told them how amazing Peru and its people are and it had all been captured on film and a dozen pictures, we asked if they knew a place we could safely park our bikes and luggage. After a bit of discussion amongst them they decided it would be best to park them in the patio of the police station. They showed us the way, organized everything for us and were extremely kind and helpful all round.

When we saw the patio, we decided that this place was definitely both safer and more convenient than sleeping on the donkey’s little pasture. To our surprise the police were okay with it and so we were in high spirits when we packed our towels, swimming clothes and such for our hike to the waterfall. We profusely thanked our helpers and the police for their kindness. Because two people were still busy working in the patio one of the police guards brought a chair and sat guard in front of our bicycles the entire time. What kindness!

Thanks to their dedication, we could now hike to the waterfall with the comfort of knowing that all our belongings were safe. The hike was pretty and the waterfall very nice to see, a bit less nice to wash under because the water was very cold. After we had washed we went away from the lower part of the waterfall where more tourists and locals were gathered and moved back up to the upper side where a pleasant stream fed the waterfall. There, we found a good place to sit and completely relaxed with the warm rays of the sun on our cold but washed skin and the pleasant sound of the mountain stream. What had started out as not such a great day had quickly turned into a highlight as we happily sat there in the sun.

Apparently word of our presence there started to spread and more and more people started coming to our nice little green patch by the stream. So as the sun was starting to sink behind the mountain range, we made our way back down into the village. We had some delicious Spaghetti for dinner (shout out to Jacques, our cook) and the luxury of electric light and a socket to charge our appliances with.

At the end of the day, we lay on the ground in our sleeping bags looking at the night sky and listening to the cheerful melody of traditional Peruvian folk music of the fiesta next door. What a pleasant day and what a pleasant ‘noise’ to fall asleep to compared to the traffic from the previous night 🙂

distance cycled: 21 km
elevation gain: 800 m
Actual altitude: 2080 m
time cycled: 2.5 h