Monday March 21, 2016, 207 miles (333 km) – Total so far: 15,637 miles (25,165 km)
March 19, 2016 After a good rest we started early and spent 10 hours on the bike and just barely getting to the next town right after dark. It was a typical Peruvian desert day, hot, headwinds, with lots of hills. We are well prepared with 10 liters of water per day and sometimes it seems like such a hard battle against the wind. But you never know what is around the next sand dune. Today we were surprised with many small beautiful ocean coves that were completely deserted. When we rode into our last town a dog completely surprised me while he jumped over a small wall and almost chomped on my right leg. Fortunately at that same moment there was a steep downhill and with my speed increase he missed. What’s interesting is that there were other dogs on the property that just watched without barking. I immediately hit the brakes and yelled at the dog. He stopped and ran away. A few days ago we were chased by a dog with no hind legs! Yes, this dog powered itself with his front legs with its rump dragging in the sand barking all the way. He probably lost his rear legs chasing a car. At the hostel we couldn’t find a safe place downstairs for the bikes so the senorita said to just carry them to our second floor room. So we did just that. One of these days the racks will break off with the entire load. This morning I was feeling poorly again but we pressed on with a relatively flat day. Jocelyn found Huacho, a nice beach town and we settled into a hostel then out to a late lunch. At this restaurant we met Elena, a Puerto Rican with family from Florida. She immediately saw from our tattoos that we were biking and that we wanted a meal without meat. She talked with the owners that she knows and they made a great fish soup and salad. The restaurant was out of beer so Elena walked with me to several markets to find the beer she recommends for our biking activity. Back at the restaurant we enjoyed a delicious lunch, conversations with her (she was so excited because this was the first time in 3 years she has talked with fellow Americans), and the restaurant family, pictures and a marching band from the Catholic University down the street. What a great afternoon with the locals. Like I always say this trip is all about the people you meet.
March 21, 2016 After more desert riding we arrived in Ventanilla where we had a decision to continue on the Pan-American and head straight into the middle of Lima or take the coastal route besides the port and airport. There was a lot of traffic on the Pan-Am, more than usual, so we rode the coastal route. At that it was another 3.5 hours to the old town district of Lima where we found a hospedaje. When we cycle to major cities we like to find the road less travelled. On our way to Istanbul, Turkey instead of taking the main highway straight into Istanbul we cycled to the port city Bandirma, Turkey and rode a one hour ferry straight to old town Istanbul. Bangkok was another story but it really wasn’t bad at all.
