18.11. Total: 6839 km
Nuevo Paraíso- Tumbes: 42 km
Today I didn't feel very well when I set out. I think I'm coming down with something. Yesterday when I bathed in the sea, it was a bit chilly and windy.
16.11. Total: 6796 km
Mancora- Nuevo Paraiso: 66 km
I stayed on a campsite last night. Peru qualified for the world cup so there were a lot of people celebrating noisily :-( I couldn't sleep at all. Today, however, I cycled to a very quiet place and evidently not at all popular among tourists. I put up my tent 50 meters from the sea and went for a swim as well :-D
15.11. Total: 6730 km
Sullana- Mancora: 157 km
The last two days I also stayed with a host family from Couchsurfing. Again, it was a great experience.
13.11. Total: 6573 km
Piura- Sullana: 38 km
Just a short ride to the next city where a family will host me. I really like staying with host families.
11.11. Total: 6531 km
Morrope- Piura: 190 km
I was very lucky today as I had tailwind and had to cycle on a plain.
10.11. Total: 6340 km
Guadalupe- Morrope: 124 km
Cycling on a plain and with tailwind is heaven. For some reason stray dogs are friendlier and people don't shout "gringo" at me any more. The only bad thing is there is so much rubbish everywhere!
09.11. Total: 6216 km
Trujillo- Guadalupe: 143 km
Today I cycled on a plain so it was quite easy. But the landscape was not that interesting. It looked a lot like a desert.
07.11. Total: 6073 km
Chao- Trujillo: 69 km
Ready for a scatological anecdote? I promise there won't be photos. :-P I virtually slept on a toilet last night. I must have eaten something it clearly didn't agree with my stomach or maybe it was the water. In the morning I felt a lot better but after having cycled for 5 kilometres I had to go again:-$. At a chemist's I was advised to take antibiotics for two days which, of course, I did
06.11. Total: 6003 km
Yuramarca- Chao: 132 km
The landscape was beautiful today and I enjoyed myself a lot especially the first 70 kilometres as the road was in good condition. But after 2 hours cycling I started feeling sick. I tried eating something but it was worse. Even drinking water made me sick which was why I didn't eat or drink at all for many hours. After seven hours cycling I felt so weak that I couldn't go on so I stopped and put some coke leaves in my mouth. I was immediately very sick and had throw up but at least chewing leaves gave the strength I needed to reach the next town and find accommodation.
05.11. Total: 5871 km
Huaraz- Yuramarca: 125 km
The landscape today was magical. In fact, I met a guy from Canada who's been travelling in Peru for 5 months who told me he had never seen such beautiful landscape before
03.11. Total: 5746 km
Chavinillo- Huaraz: 178 km
Today was the last day I had to cycle up to almost 4700 metres above sea level. It was quite hard. First I cycled from 3500 to 4700 metres ASL, then I went downhill to 3500 and then up again to 4300 metres ASL. I cycled about 60 kilometres uphill and the rest downhill. The landscape was wonderful. Tomorrow I'm not cycling but resting :-)
02.11. Total: 5568 km
Chavinillo- Huallanca: 90 km
Yesterday I was given a false 1 Sol coin which I used to pay for a piece of cake today. ;-) People have tried to give me false coins three times today. It's crazy!
Today I met these three cyclist: two are from Colombia and the girl is from Belgium. She can speak Tirolese perfectly as her mother comes from Tirol.
I had to cycle along this road today. There was a lot of traffic so each time a car overtook me, a cloud of dust built up making it very difficult for me to breathe. On top of that there were loads of stray dogs which ran after me. I almost fell twice. The people there were not much better than the dogs. There were aggressive and kept shouting "gringo" at me, which I find very very annoying. I keep asking myself: Are they stupid or xenophobes?
The good news is that I'm done cycling in the Peruvian mountains. I did it! Ich hab es geschafft! ;-)
Las Palmas is a very quiet place and I enjoyed my stay at Aldo's very much.
1.11. Total: 5478 km
Las Pampas- Chavinillo:
30.10. Total: 5390km
Ambo- Las Pampas: 17 km
Today there was an earthquake. I had never been in one before so the feeling was totally new to me. I'm staying at a Couchsurfing host in Las Pampas.
29.10. Total: 5373km
Carhuamayo- Ambo: 135 km
Today I cycled to the highest city in the world. I am not quite sure if that's true but local take pride in saying that. When I was at the top it stated hailing. As I cycled down it rained and was so cold that my fingers were nearly frozen but I kept on going as I knew that at 2000 metres ASL it would be a lot warmer
28.10. Total: 6237 km
La Oroya- Carhuamayo: 89 km
Today I cycled from 3700 up to 4100 metres above sea level. It was quite cold and rainy.
27.10. Total: 5148 km
Concepción- La Oroya: 109 km
26.10. Total: 5039 km.
Quichuas- Concepción: 133 km
Tip for people travelling to Perú: There're a lot of fake coins and notes! For example there are many 5 Soles coins from 2015 that are fake. I was given one yesterday :-(
25.10. Total: 4906 km
Huanta- Quichuas: 114 km
The landscape I saw today was breathtaking but the road I cycled along was extremely narrow and dangerous. It is like the death road in Bolivia but in Peru. On top of that my bike had a puncture today.
There was a stream that crossed the road. It looked shallow and I thought I would be able to cross it without much difficulty. However, I sunk in the mud a lot deeper than I had expected to and so did my bike. Getting out of the mud was nearly impossible.
I thought I had had enough adventure for one day but no... A couple of kilometres ahead there had recently been a landslide so the road was closed.
24.10. Total: 4792 km
Ayacucho- Huanta: 50 km
Today I cycled only for about 4 hours and guess what! I wasn't attacked by stray dogs today! ;-) I still can't believe it!
23.10. Total: 4747 km
Chumbes- Ayacucho: 122 km
I got up at 3:30 today. My goal was to reach Ayacucho. I rode the first 44 km uphill and after that it was always either uphill or downhill. I rode through a storm but I had to keep on as there was no place to stop.
22.10. Total: 4620 km
Talavera- Chumbes: 131 km
Today I got up at 3:45 am and I set off at 4:45 am. After cycling 2 km a thunderstorm broke. Luckily it was not bad. I rode 65 km uphill.
21.10.Total: 4488 km
Huancarama- Talavera: 96 km
Once more I got attacked by dogs many times today. The good thing was that people saw that I was in trouble and started throwing stones to scare the dogs away.
Today I set off at 2900 meters above sea level and cycled up to 4100 metres and then downhill back to 2900 metres. The next three weeks will be like this. I will be cycling either uphill or downhill- no plains ;-)
20.10. Total: 4392 km.
Curahuasi- Huancarama: 139 km
Today I got up at 4 am and rode first 70 km uphill and then 70 downhill. It was quite hard today. Unlike a couple of days ago when one or two stray dogs attacked me, today there were five of them at once! Thanks God for my wooden stick.
Strangely, I get called "gringo" a lot in Peru. This is something that didn't happen in Argentina, Chile or Bolivia. I guess "gringo" must mean foreigner.
19.10 Total: 4253 km
Cuzco- Curahuasi: 128 km
Still sore from the hike yesterday, I was surprised when I started cycling and had no pain at all ;-). Today I withdrew money from a cash machine. Most banks charge you 20 Soles to withdraw a maximum of 400 Soles per day! Luckily at Banco de Crèdito de Arequipa it's possible to withdraw 700.
18.10 Machu Pichu by bus
After a dangerous six-hour journey we got to Machu Pichu safe and sound. The driver was so reckless that 3 passengers were sick- I didn't feel so well either. I stayed one night in Aguas Calientes, a place one can only reach on foot. It took us 3 hours to get there. I woke up at 3: 40 am. I had been hiking for an hour when it started raining heavily and it was very foggy. Luckily, when the sun came out, the fog cleared. Machu Pichu is really beautiful but overrun with tourists. The journey back to Cuzco was also a nightmare.
Tomorrow I'm starting to cycle in the Peruvian mountains for about 1800 km. The next 2 to 3 weeks are going to be very hard.
15.10. Total: 4124 km
Urcos- Cuzco: 54 km
Today I started cycling in the rain. When I arrived in Cuzco there were a lot of street dogs. They were really very aggressive. Five dogs attacked me so I had no choice but beat them with my stick. I must have cycled across a bad area in Cuzco because there were a lot of drunkards and prostitutes.
After having cycled more than 4000 km, I changed the bike chain today. Luckily everything is going as planned.
I've just booked a two-day tour in Machu Pichu for 77 Euro. I hope I'm not becoming one of those...t..t.. tourists :-P
14.10. Total: 4070 km
Sicuani-Ulcos: 100 km
13.10. Total: 3969 km
Ayaviri- Sicuani: 112 km
Today I cycled La Raya pass at 4300 metres above sea level. Strangely, it was not hard. It rained again for about two hours. I had already got used to dry weather but now it is getting wetter and wetter. It will rain every day in the next couple of days :-(
Today I met a cyclist from Bolivia who was having a very very hard time cycling or rather walking uphill to the pass. I also met a couple from America.
12.10. Total: 3857 km
Puno- Ayaviri: 149 km
Today I met 5 cyclists: One from Mexico, one from New Zealand, two from Belgium and one from Chile. The guy from Chile is the only one going the same route as I am but he's slower because he has to work to pay for his trip. Today was the first rainy day since I set off in August. It rained for about 10 minutes.
11.10. Total: 3707 km
Desaguadero- Puno: 153 km
Today I arrived in Peru. Crossing the border was really easy- it must have taken less than 5 minutes and I'm allowed to stay for 90 days. I wish the Customs officers in Chile were half as easy- going as those in Peru.
Nuevo Paraíso- Tumbes: 42 km
Today I didn't feel very well when I set out. I think I'm coming down with something. Yesterday when I bathed in the sea, it was a bit chilly and windy.
16.11. Total: 6796 km
Mancora- Nuevo Paraiso: 66 km
I stayed on a campsite last night. Peru qualified for the world cup so there were a lot of people celebrating noisily :-( I couldn't sleep at all. Today, however, I cycled to a very quiet place and evidently not at all popular among tourists. I put up my tent 50 meters from the sea and went for a swim as well :-D
 |
| Today I met this French cyclist who's cycling from Quito to the south of Argentina- from north to south- like most people do, except for me ;-) |
 |
| Perfect camping spot! |
 |
| Today, after a very long time, I cooked pasta with tomato sauce. It was delicious! |
15.11. Total: 6730 km
Sullana- Mancora: 157 km
The last two days I also stayed with a host family from Couchsurfing. Again, it was a great experience.
 |
| Church in Sullana |
13.11. Total: 6573 km
Piura- Sullana: 38 km
Just a short ride to the next city where a family will host me. I really like staying with host families.
 |
| The drink is called tiger's milk and then there is ceviche which is raw fish with lemon and salt. Not a big fan of it. |
 |
| I stayed with this family in Piura. They are perfect hosts. |
11.11. Total: 6531 km
Morrope- Piura: 190 km
I was very lucky today as I had tailwind and had to cycle on a plain.
 |
| Almost like a desert. |
10.11. Total: 6340 km
Guadalupe- Morrope: 124 km
Cycling on a plain and with tailwind is heaven. For some reason stray dogs are friendlier and people don't shout "gringo" at me any more. The only bad thing is there is so much rubbish everywhere!
 |
| Full of rubbish |
09.11. Total: 6216 km
Trujillo- Guadalupe: 143 km
Today I cycled on a plain so it was quite easy. But the landscape was not that interesting. It looked a lot like a desert.
 |
| Austrian consulate in Trujillo. |
 |
| Dad don't speed. Your family is waiting for you. |
07.11. Total: 6073 km
Chao- Trujillo: 69 km
Ready for a scatological anecdote? I promise there won't be photos. :-P I virtually slept on a toilet last night. I must have eaten something it clearly didn't agree with my stomach or maybe it was the water. In the morning I felt a lot better but after having cycled for 5 kilometres I had to go again:-$. At a chemist's I was advised to take antibiotics for two days which, of course, I did
06.11. Total: 6003 km
Yuramarca- Chao: 132 km
The landscape was beautiful today and I enjoyed myself a lot especially the first 70 kilometres as the road was in good condition. But after 2 hours cycling I started feeling sick. I tried eating something but it was worse. Even drinking water made me sick which was why I didn't eat or drink at all for many hours. After seven hours cycling I felt so weak that I couldn't go on so I stopped and put some coke leaves in my mouth. I was immediately very sick and had throw up but at least chewing leaves gave the strength I needed to reach the next town and find accommodation.
 |
| There were many tunnels like this one |
 |
| Look at the state of this road! :-( |
05.11. Total: 5871 km
Huaraz- Yuramarca: 125 km
The landscape today was magical. In fact, I met a guy from Canada who's been travelling in Peru for 5 months who told me he had never seen such beautiful landscape before
 |
| I tried this fruit today. I don't remember its name, though. |
 |
| Huaraz |
 |
| Huaraz |
 |
| Rubbish |
 |
| Toilette paper delivery service;-) |
 |
| Roadkill |
 |
| Deadly road |
 |
| I cycled through many tunnels today. The longest one was 1 kilometre and there was no light |
 |
| The view from the hostel |
 |
| Love this fruit |
03.11. Total: 5746 km
Chavinillo- Huaraz: 178 km
Today was the last day I had to cycle up to almost 4700 metres above sea level. It was quite hard. First I cycled from 3500 to 4700 metres ASL, then I went downhill to 3500 and then up again to 4300 metres ASL. I cycled about 60 kilometres uphill and the rest downhill. The landscape was wonderful. Tomorrow I'm not cycling but resting :-)
 |
| It's quite impressive what they do to prevent these rocks from falling down. However as I cycled past this place I saw small stones crumbling down. |
 |
| At 4700 metres ASL |
02.11. Total: 5568 km
Chavinillo- Huallanca: 90 km
Yesterday I was given a false 1 Sol coin which I used to pay for a piece of cake today. ;-) People have tried to give me false coins three times today. It's crazy!
Today I met these three cyclist: two are from Colombia and the girl is from Belgium. She can speak Tirolese perfectly as her mother comes from Tirol.
 |
| Pigs blocking the road |
 |
| Cutting sugar cane at Aldo's, my host. |
 |
| Eating birthday cake at my host's |
 |
| Las Palmas |
I had to cycle along this road today. There was a lot of traffic so each time a car overtook me, a cloud of dust built up making it very difficult for me to breathe. On top of that there were loads of stray dogs which ran after me. I almost fell twice. The people there were not much better than the dogs. There were aggressive and kept shouting "gringo" at me, which I find very very annoying. I keep asking myself: Are they stupid or xenophobes?
The good news is that I'm done cycling in the Peruvian mountains. I did it! Ich hab es geschafft! ;-)
 |
| A dusty road |
 |
| My host Aldo joined me fro 20 kilometres. |
 |
| Church in Las Palmas |
1.11. Total: 5478 km
Las Pampas- Chavinillo:
30.10. Total: 5390km
Ambo- Las Pampas: 17 km
Today there was an earthquake. I had never been in one before so the feeling was totally new to me. I'm staying at a Couchsurfing host in Las Pampas.
29.10. Total: 5373km
Carhuamayo- Ambo: 135 km
Today I cycled to the highest city in the world. I am not quite sure if that's true but local take pride in saying that. When I was at the top it stated hailing. As I cycled down it rained and was so cold that my fingers were nearly frozen but I kept on going as I knew that at 2000 metres ASL it would be a lot warmer
 |
| "Welcome to the highest city in the world 4380 metres ASL" |
 |
| It may look like snow but it was actually hail |
28.10. Total: 6237 km
La Oroya- Carhuamayo: 89 km
Today I cycled from 3700 up to 4100 metres above sea level. It was quite cold and rainy.
 |
| Can you see Lago Junín? |
27.10. Total: 5148 km
Concepción- La Oroya: 109 km
26.10. Total: 5039 km.
Quichuas- Concepción: 133 km
 |
| These cyclists from Holland are 73 years old and they're travelling from Quito to La Paz. |
25.10. Total: 4906 km
Huanta- Quichuas: 114 km
The landscape I saw today was breathtaking but the road I cycled along was extremely narrow and dangerous. It is like the death road in Bolivia but in Peru. On top of that my bike had a puncture today.
 |
| The first flat tyre |
 |
| There were loads of lorries |
 |
| Road traffic victims memorial |
There was a stream that crossed the road. It looked shallow and I thought I would be able to cross it without much difficulty. However, I sunk in the mud a lot deeper than I had expected to and so did my bike. Getting out of the mud was nearly impossible.
 |
| Before crossing the stream |
 |
| After crossing the stream and getting stuck in the mud |
I thought I had had enough adventure for one day but no... A couple of kilometres ahead there had recently been a landslide so the road was closed.
 |
| Closing the road after the landslide |
 |
| Clearing the road |
 |
| After such a hard day I totally deserved dinner (for only 5 Pesos / 1.30 Euro) |
24.10. Total: 4792 km
Ayacucho- Huanta: 50 km
Today I cycled only for about 4 hours and guess what! I wasn't attacked by stray dogs today! ;-) I still can't believe it!
 |
| Tito, my host from Ayacucho |
23.10. Total: 4747 km
Chumbes- Ayacucho: 122 km
I got up at 3:30 today. My goal was to reach Ayacucho. I rode the first 44 km uphill and after that it was always either uphill or downhill. I rode through a storm but I had to keep on as there was no place to stop.
 |
| This Japanese cyclist is riding from Alaska to Argentina. |
22.10. Total: 4620 km
Talavera- Chumbes: 131 km
Today I got up at 3:45 am and I set off at 4:45 am. After cycling 2 km a thunderstorm broke. Luckily it was not bad. I rode 65 km uphill.
21.10.Total: 4488 km
Huancarama- Talavera: 96 km
Once more I got attacked by dogs many times today. The good thing was that people saw that I was in trouble and started throwing stones to scare the dogs away.
Today I set off at 2900 meters above sea level and cycled up to 4100 metres and then downhill back to 2900 metres. The next three weeks will be like this. I will be cycling either uphill or downhill- no plains ;-)
20.10. Total: 4392 km.
Curahuasi- Huancarama: 139 km
Today I got up at 4 am and rode first 70 km uphill and then 70 downhill. It was quite hard today. Unlike a couple of days ago when one or two stray dogs attacked me, today there were five of them at once! Thanks God for my wooden stick.
Strangely, I get called "gringo" a lot in Peru. This is something that didn't happen in Argentina, Chile or Bolivia. I guess "gringo" must mean foreigner.
19.10 Total: 4253 km
Cuzco- Curahuasi: 128 km
Still sore from the hike yesterday, I was surprised when I started cycling and had no pain at all ;-). Today I withdrew money from a cash machine. Most banks charge you 20 Soles to withdraw a maximum of 400 Soles per day! Luckily at Banco de Crèdito de Arequipa it's possible to withdraw 700.
 |
| Cuzco |
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| Cuzco |
 |
| Cuzco |
 |
| Cuzco |
 |
| Cuzco |
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| My host in Cuzco. She´s very nice and hospitable. Today she cooked me a spinach and cheese omelette so that I would have enough energy to cycle. |
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| Cuzco |
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| A cyclist from Lima I met today |
18.10 Machu Pichu by bus
After a dangerous six-hour journey we got to Machu Pichu safe and sound. The driver was so reckless that 3 passengers were sick- I didn't feel so well either. I stayed one night in Aguas Calientes, a place one can only reach on foot. It took us 3 hours to get there. I woke up at 3: 40 am. I had been hiking for an hour when it started raining heavily and it was very foggy. Luckily, when the sun came out, the fog cleared. Machu Pichu is really beautiful but overrun with tourists. The journey back to Cuzco was also a nightmare.
 |
| This is the entrance to Machu Pichu. Six hundred people lived here. The city was built around the year 1450 |
 |
| The way to Aguas Calientes |
Tomorrow I'm starting to cycle in the Peruvian mountains for about 1800 km. The next 2 to 3 weeks are going to be very hard.
15.10. Total: 4124 km
Urcos- Cuzco: 54 km
Today I started cycling in the rain. When I arrived in Cuzco there were a lot of street dogs. They were really very aggressive. Five dogs attacked me so I had no choice but beat them with my stick. I must have cycled across a bad area in Cuzco because there were a lot of drunkards and prostitutes.
After having cycled more than 4000 km, I changed the bike chain today. Luckily everything is going as planned.
I've just booked a two-day tour in Machu Pichu for 77 Euro. I hope I'm not becoming one of those...t..t.. tourists :-P
 |
| This pre- Inca archaeological remains were built during the apogee of the Wari civilization (500 -900 AD) |
14.10. Total: 4070 km
Sicuani-Ulcos: 100 km
13.10. Total: 3969 km
Ayaviri- Sicuani: 112 km
Today I cycled La Raya pass at 4300 metres above sea level. Strangely, it was not hard. It rained again for about two hours. I had already got used to dry weather but now it is getting wetter and wetter. It will rain every day in the next couple of days :-(
Today I met a cyclist from Bolivia who was having a very very hard time cycling or rather walking uphill to the pass. I also met a couple from America.
 |
| First time in my rain gear. |
 |
| The Bolivian cyclist pushing his bike uphill |
 |
| At La Raya pass at 4338 metres above sea level |
 |
| A market for tourists at La Raya pass |
12.10. Total: 3857 km
Puno- Ayaviri: 149 km
Today I met 5 cyclists: One from Mexico, one from New Zealand, two from Belgium and one from Chile. The guy from Chile is the only one going the same route as I am but he's slower because he has to work to pay for his trip. Today was the first rainy day since I set off in August. It rained for about 10 minutes.
 |
| The church in Puno |
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| In the morning there was a bit of snow in Puno |
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| This Belgian couple started started their trip in Cuzco, Peru and are cycling to Patagonia, Argentina |
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| I ran a race against rain clouds today. I didn't always win :-( |
11.10. Total: 3707 km
Desaguadero- Puno: 153 km
Today I arrived in Peru. Crossing the border was really easy- it must have taken less than 5 minutes and I'm allowed to stay for 90 days. I wish the Customs officers in Chile were half as easy- going as those in Peru.
 |
| A football stadium and behind it Titicaca lake |
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| Titicaca lake |
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| Can you see the fire? |
