The whole concept of yesterday’s unplanned off-day was that it would be more like half an off-day. Thankfully the dance-and-drinking party didn’t rope us in, and we were able to get to bed early enough that our 4:13am alarm didn’t feel quite as brutal as it sounds. It also helped that at this 9,500 ft.… Read more…

Day 2 Yesterday’s later-than-desired start meant we didn’t arrive into Izcuchaca until 4pm, and knowing that we had an even-more-challenging day to follow it, we had raised the possibility of revising our plan before we were even done with Day 1’s pedaling (presumably by splitting Day 2 into a Day 2 and Day 3). But… Read more…

Our week off the bikes meant we were ready for a more-challenging ride that our downhill entry to Huancayo, but we would need good fuel for the long day, so as a final bit of cultural comfort food (literally!) in this big city, Rett crafted an exquisite French Toast breakfast for us. In Mexico, “pan… Read more…

The final day of our 4-day, 4000-foot descent from Cerro de Pasco would bring us to Huancayo, Peru’s 5th-largest city. Yesterday we had curled slightly north to enter Jauja, but since our hotel was well south of the city center, and we would be exiting south, we did something we haven’t done yet in Peru:… Read more…

We again were out of the hotel looking for breakfast earlier than anywhere was open, so we finally settled on a street vendor serving caldo. But then we noticed there was a sit-down restaurant open right next to the food cart, so we grabbed a booth in there instead. But then, our food was just… Read more…

In the United States, if you woke up and your bedroom was 55°F, it would immediately drop you into a terrible mood because it would mean figuring out why your furnace stopped working, and how much it would cost to get it repaired or replaced. Here in our Junin hotel, it was a grin-inducing luxury.… Read more…