May 6, 2017
We have arrived back in South America and are preparing to get back on the bikes.
What happened…
ANDREW (yahoo) writes: So we both got over the altitude sickness very quickly. And then we spent the next few days mostly relaxing but also there were a lot of things to be done. For instance we took one of our bags and packed full of items that we don’t think we’ll need for the next few weeks, and we sent it to Juarez. It ended up being about twenty-five kilos worth of stuff, and I have no idea how or where it came from nor do I know where will put it when we get to Juarez maybe we’ll just go the way of the dodo bird. We also bought a few last-minute items that we notice for missing for my cat like some rechargeable batteries and some medicine and some other small items.
The time spent in Cajamarca wasn’t without challenges though, because we found that some of the equipment that we had purchased but we’re in Canada wasn’t working and now we have to figure out how to both send it back to Switzerland and also get Replacements well we’re here in South America in the meantime, it looks like we will be cycling with an extra 10kg of broken stuff.
Well we don’t normally do a lot of touristy things, one thing we did do was go to the nearby town of namora where I had hoped to get my violin repaired. Nomura is famous for its guitars and violins and other wooden instruments and there are several Craftsman there who who make them and send them off to Lima. Our host here in cajamarca Vicky, has been so great as has Merida who runs the hostel where we’ve been staying.
I’m trying something new with this post and I’m just trying to use an audio translation instead of typing all the words, just in the hopes that it’ll make everything maybe a little bit easier not necessarily faster. So after four days here and Cajamarca we’re ready to set off we’re both really excited to get going.
Amanda writes: The few days was filled with lots of activity. Getting our bikes sorted out and trying to get them ready for our new addition in equipment of pedal assist motors. It was a big investment and while things didn’t go well, I’m still optimistic that it will turn out. Andrew tested one of the motors in Canada to ensure it was working, but the second one didn’t work right out of the box. So what that means for us is we will be pedalling for who knows how long with an extra 10 kg worth of weight that doesn’t help us at all. Importing things into South America is very hard and time will tell us just how hard this will turn out.
On Sunday our host Vicky took me and two other guests at the casa to the city market. I’ve been to them before but never with someone who is local and knows their way around. It was such a pleasure to spend time with her and Paul and Jasmine. I recall as I type this that some people at home couldn’t believe that we left our bikes and all of our worldly possessions with two women whom we had met only for two days. We just had such a good vibe with Mirita and Vicky and they always seem to make us feel like family. So it was no surprise to us that we were welcomed back with open arms and all of our stuff was just as we left it. Just another great example of how people in this world are wonderful.
Photographs:
Paul and Jasmine from California who are on a five week trip in South America. We met them at Casa Mirita and had a great time with them
Amanda’s attempt at cooking plantains.
These kind gentlemen at the bike shop helped us install the parts for our new motor-assist Adde parts.
This woman was going to order door selling Alfalfa to people who are raising cuy or guinea pigs
A look at our lifes belongings that we need to fit on our bikes.
Amanda playing with the front door to Mirita’s home.
Our host Vicky took us to this amazing guitar maker.
This is Mirita, one of our hosts here in Cajamarca.