to the Balsa border: and on to Vilcabamba Ecuador

March 17, 2017

"I don't plan on doing much"Patrick says, though he is feeling better.

Our restday in San Ignacio is uneventful.

We have our hotel breakfast, try the WiFi for a while, but it is just too slow to accomplish anything. Rachel does laundry, then we walk around town and have one more lomo saltado for lunch. In the afternoon, Patrick does some bike maintenance. With the wet weather we are keeping the chains well lubricated, which also means they pick-up a lot of grit that wears them and the chain wheels out. In dry weather we prefer to keep the chains dry and lubricate with wax, but in rain they would rust. We find a (bad) movie or two on the TV that are not dubbed over in Spanish, even two old Twilight Zone Episodes and the another Chifa dinner.

Then our last day of cycling in Peru.

Starting out our plan is to go to Namballe today, cross the border tomorrow and get a ride to Vilcabamba. The cycling goes pretty fast, there are some uphills, but also a lot of downhill. At distance marker 130, we reach the hill top out of town then a brief downhill with the next hill top at DM 138 dropping down until DM 150 and crossing the river with another climb before the final descent into Namballe.

The clouds shade us for the biggest climb, but as we descend to Namballe and the river that forms the border it gets really hot. We get to town at about 11 and even though there are some descent looking guesthouses, there are three that we saw and shops, we decide to try our luck in Ecuador. There are six kilometers left to go in Peru.

We get our exit stamps and cross the bridge to Ecuador. On the other side obtaining the entry stamp goes quickly. There are two motorcycles parked at the border post, belonging to the Reid brothers, Dylan and Lawson have been on the road exactly two years today and covered 80,000km through many of the same places we've cycled. A little later a Landrover Defender shows up, with two Polish guys, Maciej and Michat, travelling around South America on their way to Alaska. They are both in wheelchairs! One of them is an engineer and has built lifts on the outside of their car that hoist them up to the rooftop tent. Very inspiring! http://www.wheelchairtrip.com/

We have just missed the noon-time bus from here to Zumba. It sounds like there will not be another bus until later this afternoon. The immigration officer directs us to a tienda across the street where the lady can call a taxi from Zumba to pick us up. Price is 20 $US. (Ecuador uses US currency). Reading other cyclists journals we do not want to tackle this unsealed steep road and think it is money well spent. We have to wait about an hour in which we talk with Dylan and Lawson while they wait for the paperwork on their motorbikes to come through before taking off ahead of us. Their plan is to reach Vilcabamba today. Their blog is http://brothersreid.com/

The taxi arrives, it is a pick-up truck and we find out why: the road is in rough shape and very steep up and down in sections. It takes about an hour to go thirty kilometers. We are dropped off at the bus station, where a bus will leave at 4 for the 150 kilometers to Vilcabamba. We are surprised to hear this ride will take 4 to five hours....... As soon as we leave we understand why. First of all the driver is constantly trolling for more passengers or cargo and crawls through any village. Second, the road is again very rough, and steeply up and down. It takes forever. Good news is that there is no fuss about our bikes or luggage; all get their own compartment in the rear of the bus. No charge! We give kudos and our respect to all the cyclists who have cycled this section!

We are dropped off in Vilcabamba at about nine and make our way to the guesthouse Dylan and Lawson are staying. Unfortunately they are full. Down the street is another recommended place where we find a nice room with a very hot shower.

We will stay a day to check out this town, and try to buy a sim card.

Spreading out the coffee beans. If you have a nice paved road outside your casa you might as well use it.

Immigration and customs are quick and painless. No dollars or visas needed here.

At the Ecuador immigration post. We did not even see customs. We do meet several other travelers.

Two Australian brothers travelling around the world by motorcycle. They have been on the road two years today.

Two Polish guys, both in wheelchairs, traveling around South America and up to Alaska with their modified landrover defender. They have a pop-up tent on the roof and have self-built lifts on the side to hoist them up there. Inspiring.

We take a taxi from the border to Zumba, here unloading the bikes from the pick-up truck taxi.

Waiting at the Zumba bus station for a ride to Vilcabamba.

Today's ride: 48 km (30 miles)
Total: 29,228 km (18,151 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0