We left Rio de Janeiro on July 26th and today 134 days later we have arrived in beautiful downtown Quito. And what a ride it has been. Day after day of visual and sensual stimulation and a sense of great satisfaction, the type one experiences when one uses extreme exertion. Today was another example of this. We started the day in a small place called Papallacta, at elevation of about 3,300 meters known for its hot springs and spas which many of the riders enjoyed yesterday, and then we had to climb the Papallacta Pass located at an elevation of 4,064 meter (oh, just another climb over 4,000m). Then it was turn for maddening descent (rather cold) and then another ascent of 600m before we found ourselves on the street of Quito enjoying the last few km on Avenues of Rio Amozonas one of the main streets closed to motorized traffic every Sunday. (Toronto, the place I live, will you ever have such a street?)
And so the inaugural Vuelta Sudamericana has come to an end. Like our other Epic Tours this one has accomplished what its set up to do and that is to cross a continent on a bike, to experience a continent only the way a person can, while cycling and feeling every inch using his or hers own power, feeling the
sun, the wind and the rain. And now that we have done it, we have a unique feeling for this continent, for the seven countries we have cycled through, for the pulse and the beat of these places. What joy, what a way to spend 134 days.
We have arrived in Macara, Ecuador - our final country. Upon crossing the border, the first sign we saw was - Quito 868km. After 11,000km what is 858 give or take a few as we are not taking the most direct route.
Today was a lovely 60km ride on a great newly paved road, little traffic and great scenery. The crossing was the type many Canadians remember wistfully from the past between Canada and US. Friendly, quick and polite. Oh those were the days.
Yesterday I wrote that I wish I was a better writer or a poet in order to describe our month in Peru, today while cycling I wish I was a naturalist or even a bird watcher so I could describe the plants and trees that we saw today like the similarly looking Baobab tree that we see in Southern Africa - except this is not baobab. It just looks like a young baobab. Or the many beautiful birds I saw today, whose names I do not know or the colorful lizard we saw at lunch three days ago.
But alas, I am not a poet, nor a birdwatcher and certainly not a natuarlist.
So this will have to do.
After three days of rest where riders had the opportunity to visit the famed Machu Pichu, we assembled this morning for what according to our Tour leader Randy is the hardest part of the four and half month expedition. The route will take us form Cusco to Nazca in six days with repetitious climbs and descents through spectacular scenery.
And the first day was not dissapointing. To leave Cusco we had to climb from 3,400m, the elevation at which our hotel was located, to about 3,900 meters just to get out of the city. After that some nice long undulating hills and then a spectacular descent of 40km to about 1,800m where all of sudden we were feeling rather hot. Well what comes down must go up and we had a 30km climb to our destination at about 2,700 meters for the most part againts a strong head wind. But we all made it and now we can´t wait for tomorrow. To start with the firts 30km we are climbing to 4,000m to be folowed by another spectacular descent to be followed by another climb. So much fun.
We have arrived in Colonia our last stop in Uruguay. Tomorrow we sail across the river delta to Buenos Aires. Uruguay has been a pleasant and perhaps really unexpected surprise. For one we had warm sunny days with temperatures in mid twenties, though the nights were rather cool. The roads and the drivers were absolutely great, treating us with respect, giving us plenty of space when they were passing, and being patient when needing to turn. The terrain of small undulating hills, the wind mostly benign or from behind and the vistas of cattle ranches, woodlots and agricultural produces was a daily occurrence.
The people polite and friendly, with lots of young men and women as well as families (yes four people) cruising on their mopeds and motorcycles. Colonia itself is a lovely old town set up by Portuguese in early seventeen century and the old city of cobbled stones, has several old buildings from that period. Of course the city has buildings from all periods and the place has a rather charming feel to it.
Oh and almost forgot the ice cream. Worth walking a mile or two.
Yesterday we crossed into country number three, Uruguay. The crossing was supposed to have been simple as our Uruguayan driver promised. The border is just before the large Uruguaya River on which a dam was constructed few years ago.
Unfortunately Alfonso our driver was not aware that the law does not allow bicycle (or pedestrian) crossing on the dam and as a result the truck had to wait for all the cyclists to arrive (well almost all), load the bike for the short ride across the dam and then continue on our merry ways.
The initial impressions of Uruguay are good. The roads are good with a good shoulder, the drivers polite and give us lots of room, the traffic is light, the weather has been excellent and to top it all Alfonso had his cousin prepare for us a traditional barbeque at the campsite after most of the riders had a good opportunity to soak in the thermal baths.
Ah the barbeque. According to Alfonso Uruguayan beef is the best in the world. And Alfonso’s cousin prepared tons of it. And as much as we tried to eat it all, there was still plenty left for the extended family and even a few dogs.
We have arrived in Foz do Iguazu and the first section of Vuelta Sudamericana is done. It was not easy. After riding for three days and then a rest day, then four days and a rest day, we rode for eight days arriving if Foz
yesterday. The terrain difficult, many rather too many rolling hills, the lodging varied from lovely camping, to nice hotel, to an interesting hostel, the food good to excellent, the weather mostly cooperative, the scenery an interchange of green farms, forested areas and small towns, the only problematic issue - Brazilian drivers. But the group was not fazed by all of this and in fact the challenges seem to have positive affect on the group.
All are in good health and now are enjoying the sights and sounds of one of the most spectacular waterfalls on the planet. Personally having had the opportunity to visit Victoria Falls four months ago, Niagara Falls two months ago and seeing the Iguazu Falls
this morning, I would have to say that the Iguazu Falls and the surrounding area are certainly the most spectacular of the three.
Tomorrow another rest day, time to decide what to do - see the falls from the Argentinean side, go for a day to Ciudad del Este or spend the day in the city.
bckbk
This morning it looked bad once again. It was foggy and cool. There was a feeling that after a couple of nice sunny days we were back to the weather of last week. But a couple of hours later, the sun burnt the fog, and with the wind in our backs we sailed into Curitba, a city famous for its public transportation system and creation of public places.
Short history...
It was in the 1960s when Mayor Jamie Lerner came up with an almost heretical concept and created surface metro which used buses, dedicated lanes and other innovations. The result was that, for a fraction of what it costs to build an underground subway and all done in a fraction of the time, Curitiba's bus system now manages to move as many people as efficiently as a subway would.
Today Curitiba has the highest standard of living in Brazil, with some great pedestrian areas, many historical buildings and a general sense of a city that works. It is no wonder that for many city planners Curitiba is high on the list to visit.
For those of us who have forgotten that the word rainforest means a lot of rain, the last few days have made this very clear. Since Randy wrote in the blog about lots of rain, we have had an increase in rain. In fact it has probably been raining continuously for the last 48 hours.
So yes, we are all wet but so far the spirit of adventure is holding strong and we are moving right along as per our plans.
Our Brazilian cyclists that are riding with us, tell us that there has not been so much rain in 70 years. Mata Atlantica rainforest in which we have been cycling is only 7% of what it used to be, but if the rain keeps falling the way it has, this area is sure to expand quickly.
I guess I am almost dry now, so it is time to get out there and make my way to camp.
And the first day of 2009 Vuelta is done.
For over a week we had been hearing that there will be rain and wind in our faces, but this morning when the riders lined up at the rock formation where Copacabana and Ipenema beaches meet in order to take a group photo, sunshine broke through the clouds and we were off.
The first few km were on a road (parallel to the beach) that is closed on
Sunday to vehicular traffic. The next several km were on a spectaculr road overlooking the ocean. This road was also closed to automobiles due to an accident. The next few km was on more busy roads, but overall we had a fine day of cycling with amazing scenery and good weather.
The inaugural Vuelta Sudamericana 134 day journey, 12,000km from Rio de Janeiro to Quito via Buenos Aires, Santiago, La Paz and Lima is ready to roll. The bikes are assembled, the support vehicles are packed and the support team is now heading for early bedtime in order to be ready for an early start.
Six years ago the team from Tour d’Afrique initiated a bicycle race and expedition across Africa, an event never attempted before. Two years later it was a bicycle tour from Paris to Istanbul. Two years ago we successfully crossed the Silk Route from Istanbul to Beijing and now with only a few hours to go we will attempt the longest and certainly from the physical endurance required, the toughest bicycle expedition ever attempted.
I hope that all of you will join us on our website and follow our trials and tribulations as we cycle (at about 120 km a day – not including rest days) from the beaches of Rio to Quito the capital of Ecuador.
