Antiplano Sights [Dom]

---

Hello everyone,

We´ve arrived in the town of Puno and, it seems, mostly crossed the antiplano. Might get a whole lot hiller from now on. Been taking lots of breaks along the way eating lots of Titicaca trout and generally easing our way into this cycling caper so as not to tyre ourselves out (ouch) by the end. It´s a marathon not a sprint remember, but we´re making better progress than expected as the road has been mostly straight and flat so our rough estimate of doubling the as the crow flies distance was only half right.

You get to take in a lot as the legs go round - which they are by now without me doing too much egging them on. There are some sort of regional elections coming up on 19th November. I´m not sure who does all the cleaning up at the end but every wall seems to be painted with slogans, names, promises of 80,000 seated stadiums etc. Most confusing is the selection of symbols that the parties use to represent themselves. So far we´ve come across the "No Spades Party" which as far as I can tell isn´t a KKK racist thing but some kind of workers party sybolised by a no smoking sign with a spade rather than a cigarette. Also the Horse Party has been very popular and have evidently invested heavily in a radio advertising campaign consisting entirely of neighing (any spelling suggestions welcome) horses. Most bizzarrely perhaps way the ironing board party which I´ve only seem once and am not sure if I remember correctly but it must be some sort of extreme ironing minority interest pressure group. I don´t think they´ll get manage to gain any seats. Sunday´s especially seems to be the time for heavy drinking and chanting. I´ll try and get some photos and find out what it´s all about using my Spanish interviewing techniques.

Every now and then, and so far approximately once a day, there appears over the horizon a familiar shape. Wobbling slightly in the heat haze, laden like a pack horse, but undoubtedly a kindred spirit chooseing to explore using pedal power. A pair of swiss couples heading to Santiago de Chile, two Argentines who were once 20km ahead of us, an eccentric old German going round the whole world (and a couple of others who were going too downhill to stop). With every one there is an instant understanding, a firm handshake, the assumption for some unknown reason that we are German and bafflement at our lack of luggage. I´m not sure why I´m so troubled by the second last one or so proud of the last but we are neither organised for our German-ness or quick for our lightness, but it should make some difference once the landscape starts to fold up into peaks and valleys.

The days are starting earlier and earlier as we get into some sort of routine, rising at six-thirty and on the road before eight the sky is a vast blue and the sun casts long shadows on the empty road (mine is unfortunately still considerably shorter than Jac´s). Fruit from the market for breakfast number one and and over an hour´s ride to breakfsat number two. Dark patches appear one by one on the plains around us as clouds form out of the nothingness. After a heavy lunch and an afternoon snooze the weather has changed dramatically for the final rides of the to day. From the hills above Copacabana on the lake you could see different weather systems in every direction circling around us one moves in behind us to where we had just come from, another positions itself ominously above our destination. As the afternoon progresses thunder and lightning and thick grey slanting rain fill the horizon. Coming into Puno we had heavy storms on either side but somehow they avoided us. Since we failed to buy llama foetus´s in La Paz or have our bikes blessed with alcohol at the church in Copacabana our luck will soon run our. It´s only rain until it´s hail...

Thanks for reading if you got this far,

Dom

---

Comments

[Dad/Robin]

am I getting through?
Hi J and D - I'm not sure if my 'blogs' are getting through! It's all a frightening new experience (far more tricky than a mere bike ride through South America!) and I'm probably pressing all the wrong buttons. Anyway IF this does get through, we are following the GREAT BICYCLE EXPOTITION with great interest. Keep it coming! I'm supposed to be preparing 'workshops' for Riyadh next week so better get back to it after this interesting 'mini break'. Buen suerte y cuidadate (or to be translated in case Dom's phrase book has got lost - ''good luck and be careful'!) D/R

[Aunty Norma]

Hurray
Hurray Jack and Dom, well done, you both survived to the ton weight of attention from my folks in La Paz, even the bolivian flag seemed to be over your head d. Jack. Thanks for the opportunity to see those stunning photos of Copacabana and Lake Titikaka. I think from this point, it will be much easier for you to achieve your challenge. My brother in law (Roberto) would be much proud to see Dom wearing a TIGRE T-shirt. All the best, take care. Norma