Peru and Back Again

             Sunrise over La Paz

Lucy and I recently took a short trip to Peru, partly for Lucy to change from a student visa to a tourist visa, and partly to meet up with our friend Alix Wicker. Alix has been living in Chile, but happened to be traveling in Peru. She'll be joining us on the bike trip later this spring, so we also had some camping gear to hand off to her. 

We agreed to meet in Puno, on Lake Titicaca. Our journey began with an overnight bus to La Paz. We showed up at the thoroughly-crazy Cochabamba bus terminal an hour or so before we wanted to leave. Tickets are cheapest right before departure, so we walked around asking about prices at the various desks advertising late buses to La Paz. Meanwhile, the terminal was dense with passengers and touts yelling city names -- Orururururururu Orururururururu! 

            A bad photo of the Cocha bus terminal

We purchased tickets, headed to the gate and handed across our luggage. We were gestured to wait at the door next to the gate, which was still locked. Around the time our bus was meant to depart, we decided to ask again, and were told to go a couple gates further along, to an open door. Whoops. As we ran outside to a wall of parked buses, a random passenger looked at our ticket and told us where to find our bus. As we ran up to it, we found it reversing out, with doors shut. We gesticulated and waved our tickets, but the driver wouldn't open up. Eventually the luggage guy grabbed us and we followed him at a run to the terminal exit. We waited there as our bus pulled round, then jumped aboard when the bus paused to let us on. I (Adie) was filled with adrenaline, but Lucy was calm. I guess acclimatizing means more than just getting used to the altitude!

We got into La Paz as the sun rose behind Illimani (6500ish meters), as seen in the top photo. After breakfast we got on a bus to Puno. The route, via Copacabana, took us to a straight where the bus crossed Lake Titicaca (on a wooden barge...we passengers disembarked and took little launches across). However, at the far side there were two immigration officials checking passports. I got through fine, but they pulled Lucy aside. Lucy had a preliminary 30-day student visa, but the Cochabamba immigration office never gave the final approval to SIT, so Lucy technically had no visa after her first month here. The students were simply told to pay a fine when exiting the country. The officials took Lucy to the office, while I waited for the bus. I got on last and explained the situation to the driver. He was not happy, saying we were already behind schedule, but I then chatted to the luggage guy and he was more understanding. Still no Lucy, and the driver was getting frustrated, engine running, horn honking, edging forward. Finally Lucy appears and we are off. 

Lucy paid a fine, but the officers had given her 90 legal days, the allotment for tourists, instead of 30. However, they then said that because she had had her 90 days, she wouldn't be allowed back in the country until January (when everything resets). Yikes! When we reached Copacabana, Lucy called the administrator of SIT for advice. She said to simply go to the border, not mention that she had already paid a fine, and make sure the officials there only gave her 30 legal days. This she did, which worked, and the official said Lucy could re-enter just fine. Yay!

We got to Puno mid-afternoon and spent several hours walking around getting cash and finding a reasonably priced place to stay. Meanwhile, we hadn't heard from Alix, but knew there was a roadblock on her bus route to protest rising water prices, so we got some dinner and hung tight. Eventually Alix turned up and we had a fun reunion in the hotel room eating exotic fruit and dark chocolate! We read up on Puno and decided that actually, it didn't have much going for it.

The next morning we walked up the hill behind the city, and then traversed through farmland before descending back into town. Then we packed up and got on a collectivo (shared minivan taxi) towards Llachon, a town on a peninsula about 50km from Puno. The peninsula is visible in the center of the photo above. We had vague plans to sleep on a beach there, if nothing better turned up. Puno has some very touristy areas, but as soon as we stepped off the tourist trail we were the only gringos around. On the collectivo we got to chatting with a man about our age, who was heading back to Llachon to visit his family. Turns out they rent rooms through a budding community tourism association. So we got off with him and followed him back to his house, and what a stroke of luck it was! His siblings live in a set of houses right above the lake, where they farm and fish. 

That evening, we hiked up the hill behind the house for the sunset, then returned for dinner. Both of us were definitely feeling the altitude, while Alix was able to scamper ahead after having a week to acclimatize while hiking to Machu Picchu!

 

Over the next two days we got to know our hosts a bit better, particularly the two young girls and the family's new kitten! They were all very kind and generous, sharing about their lives, the fledging tourist business, and the drought they are currently suffering from. All while providing simple, delicious meals, fresh mint tea, and endless entertainment! The two little sisters were quite a smart, playful pair!

Our second day we hiked over to the other side of the peninsula, where we found a beach and went for a chilly swim!

We left the family promising to spread the word about Llachon (get in touch if you're heading to Peru!) and thinking it would be fun to go back when we are next in Peru, in April.

We headed back to Puno and parted ways with Alix after lunch. We got on a bus to La Paz, but again Bolivian immigration was a pain. Lucy with her American passport had to provide all sorts of extra info (including a slightly-modified letter of welcome from her host family to prove she had somewhere to go in Bolivia). Then, the immigration officer said she couldn't get back into the country until January. Lucy protested and spotted the officer who she had dealt with three days earlier, who confirmed it was ok to let her back in. Phew! Post-immigration happy-Lucy can be seen below.

We changed buses in Copacabana, but were running a bit late. When we realized we also had lost an hour due to time difference, we knew that we would be cutting it close in La Paz. We weren't sure when the last bus to Cocha would be, but 10:30 was a good bet. As we inched through traffic in El Alto, above La Paz, 10:30 was rapidly approaching. We got to the bus terminal at 10:45, and thankfully, just inside the door was a tout shouting "Cochabamba, Cochabamba!" We yelled, "si!" and followed her to the bus. We didn't have enough small bills to make up the fare, and she didn't have change, so we got our tickets even cheaper. 

Looking back at Peru, we are surprised at how open and curious people were. We had conversations with lots of different people, which we weren't expecting because of how touristy the places we visited were. We're looking forward to spending some months in Peru later this spring! 

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Bolivia-Found

I, Adie, arrived in Cochabamba almost exactly two weeks ago, after more than 30 hours of travel. This included a 4 hour drive with my parents and all my luggage (including bike box) to the, then three flights. My first stopover was in Madrid, where much of my 5hr layover was eaten up by switching airlines and terminals -- with my bike box-- and then an absurd checkin/bag drop process with Boliviana de Aviacion (Boa). From there an approximately 12hr flight to Santa Cruz, Bolivia's biggest lowland city, then a 45 minute flight to Cochabamba.

With my British passport I had no problems at immigration, but after waiting and waiting, my bike box failed to turn up at the luggage carousel. It turns out Boa has a policy that they don't garuntee that overweight bags will make it on the same plane as their owners, a fate that befell my bike box not because it was overweight but because it was oversize. At this point I was told to come back when the next flight from Santa Cruz arrived, 2 hours later. So I waited in the airport, trying not to fall asleep, worried that the luggage items I had with me might be stolen. Unfortunately, the bike didn't show up on this flight either, so I was told to wait another 3 hours for the next flight. The box finally arrived, but not without fanfare. Or at least there were lots of fans, about 30 grungily-dressed teenagers awaiting the arrival of the Argentinian heavy metal group Rata Blanca on the same plane as my bike box.

I then took a taxi into town, where Lucy had arranged for me to stay with her host family in her absence (she was at an end-of-program retreat at a hotel some way outside of Cochabamba). I spent the afternoon chatting with her family, assembling my bike, and napping. It felt very strange to be in Lucy's house without her! 

The reason I chose to arrive before the official end of Lucy's program was to be in Cochabamba for el día peatonal, or pedestrian day, when the streets are closed to cars, and bikers and walkers rule the city. After a surreal early morning reunion, Lucy and I spent the day biking around Cochabamba with Oscar and Lenka and others. It was a perfect introduction to the city, encompassing many of the city's neighborhoods, including some that were new to Lucy.

The week that followed turned out to be a very busy one. We moved out of Lucy's house to the apartment of a friend who was out of town (and realized it was the first time we had ever had a house to ourselves -- before then the best we had managed was a tent to ourselves!) The greatest chunk of our time, however, was Not spend playing house, but in building a cargo bike. Lucy had gotten to know a guy named Freddy, who runs an organization called the Pedal Project. Over the last couple of years he has been building "bici-maquinas," pedal powered machines to do things like make soap and ice cream. With him, we built a prototype two-wheeled cargo bike. He reckons it's the first one in the country! The plan was to exhibit it at an eco-fair last weekend, but Freddy felt that, although rideable, it wasn't in an advanced enough state to display. This was unfortunate because we put quite a lot of time into it to get it done, but never mind! 

The evening after the fair, Lucy and I headed to Peru, but that's for next time!

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Bolivia-Bound

I'm headed to Bolivia, tomorrow! That is all.

My sister made this awesome drawing for my birthday. We haven't decided which rider is me, and which is Lucy. Presumably I am the squatter one!

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MYOG Handlebar bag

I've just finished sewing this snazzy new handlebar bag for my bike. It is a randonneur-style bag which sits on top of a small rack over my front wheel. It opens towards the rider, so the "front" of the bag faces the rear of the bike. It's a bit smaller than most bags of this style, about 6" x 7" x 5". Construction is of X-pac fabric, with a recycled sailcloth lining. The interior is fully lined, and has a hidden, removable stiffener made of coroplast forming four sides of the bag.  Off the bike, it can be worn as a fanny pack or over the shoulder like a messenger bag. 

Here's the tour:

Front, with a 40mm buckle closure

Right side features an external pocket with velcro closure 

Left side features a simple line of daisy chain, for my mini tripod, and the waist belt tucked around

Top with four lash-points for stuff...

Back view, showing the waist belt/shoulder strap

Bottom view, showing the velcro which straps the bag down to my front rack 

Open: the interior has five pockets in addition to the main internal volume of the bag. These are a voluminous zippered lid pocket for camera bits, a big side pocket for my camera, a thin back pocket for my wallet, a thin left pocket, and an external-ish pocket on the front which is covered by the main flap. 

A gusset keeps water out while the lid is closed, and stops it flopping all the way forwards when open

Generous waist belt tucks into a hidden sleeve on the front of the bag, behind the front pocket

As side-release buckles are very hard to close one-handed, I added a loop of elastic which hooks over the top buckle, which can be done one-handed. 

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Tools for a Mobile Bike Shop

Here are the right tools for the job, in my opinion, if the job happens to be an extended bike tour in South America. Many people would carry less, a few would carry more. Of course, there is little point in carrying a tool you don't know how to use!

1) 2x inner tubes

2) adjustable wrench (spanner), fits pedals, axle nuts, crank puller

3) zip ties

4) extra chain links

5) random nuts and bolts (more on frame)

6) spare brake cable (doubles as spare shifter cable)

7) mini bottle chain lube, rag

8) bottom bracket tool (doesn't fit in my little wrench, but a wrench is easier to find than a bb tool!)

9) crank puller

10) 2x sets of disc brake pads

11) home made chainring bolt tool

12) 2 tire levers (plus a third on multitool)

13) repair kit (lighter, cord, superglue)

14) sewing kit (needle, thread, safety pins, silnylon fabric scrap)

15) extensive patch kit

16) Torx and Allen keys for brake pad and eccentric bottom bracket adjustment, respectively

17) multitool (includes chain tool and spoke wrenches)

Not shown: 2 spare spokes and nipples (one each of the two lengths I have on my wheels), presta-to-schrader adapter (because as we learned in Norway last summer, its easy to find a pump, but hard to find a presta pump!), spare Shimano Alfine shifter cable bolt thingy, gorilla tape on a a full sized frame-mount pump, and a Leatherman with pliers, cable cutters, file etc. 

Bike nerds: you are welcome. Everyone else, I hope you found it at least intriguing! 

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There's Nothing Like the Right Tool for the Job

This one's a bit of a ramble, part philosophy, part documentary.

Postyn and my Iceland trip almost went very differently (and badly!) because of lack of a couple key bike tools. We found ourselves pushing our bikes along a rough dirt road in Iceland's interior, the nearest bike shop three day's ride the way we had come.

Just walking our bikes through Iceland's interior, as one does

My bike was unrideable, and I was without two important tools to fix it. I needed a bottom bracket tool to tighten my bottom bracket, which had worked so loose that it was binding against the crank arm. That adjustment requires removing the cranks, using a crank puller. Without those tools, we were lucky to be able to improvise with a rock for a crank puller, and the screwdriver tools of two different Leathermen for a bottom bracket tool.

Not a bottom bracket tool

However, the bottom bracket didn't get fully tight and my cranks look like someone attacked them with a rock. Which, ahem, someone did...I was able to limp through the rest of the trip, but had to repeat the whole ordeal a second time part way through.

When I first began working on bikes, I didn't really have any bike tools. In 2010 I built a bamboo bike, which I then rode for two months across France and Spain. I documented the trip here, and the build process here.

On that project, I used a hammer to remove my cranks, a hammer and a file to remove the headset, and a hammer and a screwdriver to remove the bottom bracket. Is there a trend there? Should I bring a hammer to South America?

Since then, however, I've been spoiled for tools. At Williams, I had the Purple Bike Coalition shop (which over the years I was involved, built up a good set of tools, including many that can be replaced by a hammer, but really shouldn't!). I also had access to the machine shop and the sculpture shop, and was on good enough terms with the people running them that I could pretty much come in and borrow or use tools any time. At Williams, I built, or helped build three other bikes.

The first was the steel 29" touring bike that I will be riding in South America.

Here she is, just after being built up. Practically nude! Many more dings and scratches since then.

The second, along with Ben Corwin and Will Wichersky, was a tall bike.

The third, with Matthew Goss, was this BMX-based cargo bike.

Small but mighty -- for its maiden voyage I carried one human (on the front rack) and three six-packs of cider (on the back)!

Williams was not the type of place that encouraged practical, hands-on learning. The opposite, in fact. But that's not to say that opportunities aren't there, if you don't mind looking around corners or reading between the lines.

 I built my blue bike as an extended Winter Study project, advised by an art professor. It was thus a "sculpture" project -- art is allowed at Williams, just not craft! The project would have been completely infeasible had I not befriended Gary, the guy who ran the sculpture shop, who taught me how to braze. And likewise Michael, who ran the science departments' machine shop, who allowed me free reign in an incredibly equipped machine shop, and put many hours into helping me with the project. I really was spoiled, not by Williams as an official institution, but by the people there who helped me bend the rules, and by the huge, huge wealth the college has, which paid for all the "right tools."

Moral of the story? There is nothing like the right tool for the job, but that is nothing without someone to teach you how to use it. Other moral of the story: I'm bringing lots of bike tools to South America!

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Independent Living in Cochabamba

Well my title may be a little misleading, as I have not moved out of my host family's home as it may make you think. Here's the fam (plus Lenka, at whose house I spend nearly as much time!) at the SIT farewell dinner:

Why a farewell dinner already? You may wonder. Well, we have finally reached the final stage of the program: the month of independent research! The options are pretty much endless for this project, as long as you stay in Bolivia, tell SIT where you're living, and remember to check in with our director twice a week so they know you're alive. My situation has not changed much: I am still living with my host family, hanging out with the same friends, and seeing Heidi, the director, every once in a while. I decided back in October that our time in Cochabamba during this semenster was really too short and that I'd rather stay in the same place and deepen my friendships here than go somewhere new and try to enter a whole new community in just a few short weeks! So far, two weeks in, I am pretty happy with that decision!

One of the great things about this open month is that there are no scheduled meetings of the group! So even though there are 7 other students in Cochabamba as well, I can choose whether I want to see them or not! For me, this means that I am finally getting some freedom from English-speaking and American culture because I can spend all my time with my Bolivian friends instead of having to go to group classes and excursions! I've really been enjoying that element of freedom and trying to spend a lot of time with the people I've met, and keep meeting, here.

The fateful Halloween night!

Well, I would be spending all my time with people here, but a shocking change has occurred in my life! For the whole semenster until Sunday night, the wifi in my house has been pretty terrible, and I have had to go stand in the corner of the kitchen in order to pick up a decent signal. But on Sunday night, when I returned to my room from the kitchen and continued using my iPad, I realized that the wifi symbol did not disappear! I was shocked. How could the wifi magically have become so powerful? I immediately called my mom to Skype, then watched Netflix for the first time in nearly three months! 

The next day, when I told my host mom the unbelievable experience of the night before, she chuckled and simply said, "Oh, I moved the router into the dining room." What???? I've been awkwardly standing in the kitchen for three months and we could have just moved the router?? I guess I should've asked about that earlier. So anyway, I now have Internet in my room, which is a great temptation to surf the web and chat with Adie all the time. But I am trying not to get too carried away! Frankly, it was probably a good thing that I didn't have it for most of the semester because I spent my time in other ways!

**News update: before I had a chance to finish this post, our internet went whack for a few days, so now my host mom has returned the router to the original location and is afraid to move it. I don't think the problem had anything to do with the location, it did not resolve until more than a day after she moved it back, but nevertheless, it looks like I will be back to standing in the kitchen for the duration!

But in happier news, I am now borrowing a smartphone from Lenka so that I can participate in the primary means of communication here: whats app. Basically it's an app that sends texts and calls through the Internet, either wifi or cellular data. Pretty much all cell use is pay-as-you-go here, and data is much cheaper than regular calls/texts, so nearly everyone uses whats app at this point. Not knowing this beforehand, I did not bring my iPhone with me, so I've been out of the loop for most of the semester. But know that's changed and I'm suddenly bombarded with messages all day! If anyone feels like chatting, download whats app on your phone and we can message for free!

Lots of photo-sharing occurs over this app, and the phone saves all of them automatically! A bit overwhelming. 

And in even happier news, I joined a pool this week! The system of entry is very strict, there is very little space, but with the help of Lenka's grandmother I was able to get in! You're assigned an hour and go five days a week. There are five lanes, divided by ability level, with an instructor for each one, who gives the drills. It's been years since I felt like I was in a sports practice! Somehow I managed to make it into the top group of my hour, which is 12 people in one lane. It's very much like being in a team setting! And I'm finally learning butterfly, something I've always wanted to do! My hour is 12-1, so immediately after I rush home on my bike and eat a heaping lunch! I think I've surprised my family by how much I can put away, not that I wasn't eating twice as much as them before starting at the pool! They're a pretty sedentary group. I wish I could've been swimming all semester, but with the very irregular class/travel schedule that we had, it really wouldn't have been possible. At least I'm getting to make use of my swim cap and goggles that I brought for this last month!

Still going out for Sunday rides when we can!

I will write another post soon about what I've been up to for my independent project. But as a brief summary, I have taken to biking all over the city, talking to people, observing any and all cyclists, and gaining a better sense of what it takes to maneuver through the streets of Cochabamba! Then there are all the events and interviews and bike routes and meetings that I am going to. So far, it's been a lot of fun. And hard to believe that there are only two weeks left until the program ends and Adie arrives! Well, actually Adie is arriving first, but I'm planning to sneak him in to wherever we're having the evaluation retreat for a night or two. 

A relatively small group from one of the nighttime rides. I'm in the middleish with white helmet, backpack and blue shirt. 

Ciao!

Lucy

 

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Projects: MYOG tool roll

So this is the first of probably a bunch of posts on similar subjects: this autumn, in preparation for heading down to Bolivia to meet Lucy for our bike trip, I have been working on a bunch of gear/bike/sewing projects.

Here is the first of them, a tool roll made of recycled sail cloth.



The material is actually from an old ripped Laser sail that we had lying around--it's fun to work with  a fabric that has some history to it! I have made a few items from sailcloth recently, including a trendy duffel bag for my sister, complete with sail numbers and an interior lined with old spinnaker fabric.

But going back to the tool roll, it is held closed by a strap, in this case a great G3 stretchy rubber ski strap. This means it can be strapped to the underside of my saddle when out for a day ride, or live in a pannier while touring. The tool roll wraps around an inner tube (I'll be carrying a second one in South America, which also fits).


The adage "a place for everything and everything in its place" comes to mind. In the middle of the roll is a decent sized zip pocket. This holds all my odds and ends, and provides a core to wrap the rest of the roll around.



One great advantage of making your own stuff is that you know exactly what it needs to do.


I developed the pattern for this tool roll by gathering together everything that would go in it, and playing with different 2d and 3d arrangements. Consequently, there is almost no wasted space, and the whole things rolls up like a dream.



As you can see, a lot of stuff fits in this little tool roll! More on what tools I am bringing in another post.

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Halloween in Bolivia

Before I begin my Halloween story, here's a photo that captures the general sentiment of our time in the department of Santa Cruz:

Photo by Emily Wyler, who collapsed onto the fourth bed immediately after. 

Also, I finally had cause to take a family photo for the farewell dinner we had this week (the program's not over, just some students are headed to other cities for their independent projects). Here we are:

My sister Faby on the left, me, my host mom, Ginez, and my host aunt, Charo.  (We didn't even plan the color coordination!)

Now onto the post. The popularity of Halloween here has taken off in the past couple years, mostly with costume parties, but trick-or-treating is starting too. The traditional holiday of this period is Todos Santos, which is more comparable to Day of the Dead in Mexico. The idea is to celebrate own's deceased by preparing tables with their favorite foods and symbolic pastries and by going to the cementary to clean and pray at their graves.There is also a tradition in which children go from house to house, enter and pray for the deceased, and receive masas, pastries, in exchange. So this element is like trick-or-treating a bit, though more spiritual and with better quality treats! 

My host family does not participate in Todos Santos, so I didn't get a great sense of what other elements it can entail. But I was lucky enough to participate in a costumed bike route, sponspored by one of the mountain bike clubs and the environmental office of the city government! The event was a mix of Halloween and Todos Santos, all on bikes! The idea was to promote the use of bikes and the recuperation of the traditional holiday. Perfect material for my research project!

A gigantic representation of one of the classic masas, a tantawawa, which represents the soul of the deceased. 

Lenka, Oscar and I showed up in costume of course!

There were over one hundred people, with more than half dressed up. The route was designed so that we would pass by 6 bike shops and stop at each one to receive masas and sweets! Some even had a traditional table for Todos Santos set up. It was great fun, riding through the nighttime city, in a great caravan of all ages, shocking the passersby. Definitely the best Halloween experience I've had, because it was on a bike of course!

Afterward, there was a costume show, and we all received metals (actual metal, not plastic!) and discount cards to a bike shop! 

So that night, Friday, was the best Halloween experience, certainly that I've had in a long time! The following morning began the worst part. I'm sure there are plenty of kids out there who have gotten sick from eating too much Halloween candy, but I was never one of them. I was the one who made it to the next Halloween with candy still in my lock box from the last year! 

But this year, Halloween had it out for me. I woke up Saturday morning with a bout of diarrhea, which probably should have given me some alarm, but a little diarrhea here and there feels like the norm at this point. So I headed out with Lenka and Oscar anyway, to bike to Oscar's dad's bicycle "shop" in the bike section of the market. I started to feel pretty exhausted during the ride, and, when we arrived at the corner where we were going to breakfast, was certain that I had no appetite. What a shame because breakfast was a heaping plate of the most deliciously-cooked quinoa, with fava beans, potates and shredded cheese, all for 5 bolivianos (about 75 cents)! 

After Lenka and Oscar ate, we hopped back on our bikes to go another block or two to the bike stand. That's when it all went downhill fast. My head started to cloud over, my ears filling with fuzz and the world taking on a slow-motion quality. I made it to the middle of the street behind Lenka when she crossed, but there my vision went totally black! I called out to Lenka and apparently tried to blindly cross the second side of traffic. But I felt someone's arms grab me, pull me off my bike, and sit me down on the curb of the median! Turns out it was a stranger crossing the street, who bought me a lollipop, then continued on his way. Sitting in the middle of the street, I gradually regained my full consciousness and made it to a pharmacy for a peptobismol, then the public bathroom.

I then sat for the next three hours or so with Oscar's dad at his stand. It was actually a great spot because I was able to observe the flow of the bike market and chat with Oscar's dad about his history of working with bikes. And he replaced a part that's been giving me trouble with my saddle!

Once I was feeling more energetic, Lenka and I set out for home. Unfortunately, I had to ride my bike back because I couldn't just abandon it, and when I got to Lenka's house, my energy was drained once again. I slept a few hours in her bed, tried to eat dinner but had absolutely no appetite, then went home in a taxi, got in bed at 7pm, and slept nearly straight-through until 11 the next morning! Talk about being wiped! I spent the rest of that day chilling in bed, gradually regaining my appetite, then went to sleep hoping to feel better the next day.

As luck would have it, I woke up feeling great! And starving! So, at 10am, when my friends showed up ready to go on a biking adventure, of course I had to accept. Five of us headed to the town of Sipe Sipe, a relatively flat 25km away. And I felt good all day! Though it was probably wish that I declined to partake of the traditional beverage of the town, guarapó, which is a fermented fruit (alcoholic) drink. 

Here's the gang hanging out in the Plaza Principal!

What we really go for: to take goofy photos!

Lenka remarked near the end of the ride that we are the worst cyclists in Cochabamba: we leave late, spend most of the day eating/drinking, then are lucky if we make it back before dark! But really, who doesn't want to make a Sunday outing (or Monday in this case, because it was a holiday) a whole-day affair?! Isn't that what bike touring is? So I am happy to have found a group of medium-hard core cyclists because I've certainly been able to explore a lot of the area but also relax and connect as friends because of it.

Unfortunately, my rapid return to health did not last, and my diarrhea took a turn for the worse a few days later. I was prepared to call the doctor today, but my digestion finally seems to be improving, as of yesterday. Such is the life for us gringos here.

Ciao,

Lucy

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Long Day Hike

Last weekend, my Dad and I went on a long day hike on the Coast Path. We began walking at 8:30 and walked back to our house, arriving around sunset, 5:00pm. We figure the hike was about 18 (hilly!) miles. Here it is in pictures.

We left the car on the side of the road in Crackington Haven

Tim looking dapper in khaki shorts. Oh, and a view. 

Can't beat the coast path for views. Full time views.

The air was hazy, probably because it was so warm -- almost 70 degrees on the first of November!

We WERE both on this hike.

Hot enough to stop for ice cream in the afternoon. My beard is coming along.

Biggest mushroom I have ever seen.

The home stretch, above our closest beach, Tregardock.

The following day, we finished the adventure by cycling back to Crackington Haven to pick up the car. 

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