Demob happy - last days in Lima

With the trip all but over, I've neglected my blogging activities somewhat and failed to take many pictures to document the last week. Not that there's been much to tell really, it's been a lazy, lazy week and I rarely left the district of Miraflores where I stayed.

 The ride into Lima had been hanging over me for a while. Having lost my helmet back in Ancash I was nervous about the potential for traffic and the hazards it could pose to my fragile little head. Nevertheless, I was determined to complete the trip without using buses and, opting for a Sunday morning entry, believed I could probably enter Lima unscathed if I used a little care and caution. This is the convoluted route I planned on my mapping app.  

 The route would pass pedestrian bridges that, after a bit of unloading and reloading the bike, took me over the busiest roads.  

 Like this one.      

 Once past the city's outskirts the route was a beeeze with a succession of city parks, bike lanes and quiet backstreets to navigate. Before long I'd reached Miraflores, simply a different world to the rural backwaters I'd known in the previous two months in Peru.

I was elated but  a little bewildered to have finished the ride: VIDEO 

 For much of most days the skies of Lima are grey and overcast. It's famous for the garua, thick fog which lends the city a melancholy atmosphere for some parts of the year. 

 With upmarket restaurants, bars and modern shopping centres , Miraflores would fit comfortably in a European city. My jaw dropped when I saw these signs encouraging drivers NOT to use their horns. It's like asking the English to not drink tea.   

 I spent a week staying with John, taking over his comfortable apartment in a quiet corner of Miraflores. As I arrived, three Canadian cyclists, Fin, Elliot and Adam, who I'd met in Ecuador were leaning. Modest, softly spoken chaps who are undertaking their first big tour at the tender ages of 18/19! Inspirational. I also met Cass Gilbert who had written the biking chapter in my guide to the Cordillera Blanca.   

 Wow, clothes drying having been  washed in a washing machine. The first time in South America! Berthas lurking in the background. 

 As I said, I didn't do much during the week, just a few chores like getting a bike box and giving Bertha a damn good clean. 

 A little bit of data analysis on the trip. Glad to see homestays dominated, meeting people has been a major focus of this trip. If you're reading this and use Warm Showers, my place will be available from the end of August. All welcome!  

In another bit of number crunching I worked out that my average daily mileage on tour was 40 miles but if you take out the days off the saddle and just include the days I actually rode it's a whopping 56 miles. Pleased with that considering all the mountainous sections.

 This picture sums up my week. I don't think John believes I've been on tour, all he saw of me was a lethargic idler. He invited me to the local

climbing wall, to go surfing but I wouldn't budge until Saturday when I was animated enough to go out for cake! However, we did go for a 9 km run on Sunday with some steep climbs. Just  about finished me off... 

 John works at Markham College, a local private school with fees if around $17,000 if I remember correctly. It was fantastic to visit the school and meet some of the students. There was a great buzz around the campus and I felt ready to return to  Icknield. John is thriving in his role of leading outdoor learning and he is genuinely one of the most positive and enthusiastic teachers I've ever met. Though he's too modest to say so himself, I got the impression he is making a huge impact on the school and students.

 At the start of the week I set off on a mission to find the city's best cafe. In the end I decided it was John's kitchen. Here's an odd thing, buying good quality South American coffee in a supermarket is more expensive in Peru than back home in the UK. The global food industry frequently makes no sense to me. 

 This was a sad moment in truth, boxing up Bertha for the flight home. As I've frequently posted, I'm desperate to get home and see my family but I shall miss the bike touring lifestyle and am already dreaming about future tours. 

 John, if you're reading this blog, please don't think I'm wired for have my taken a photo of a photo of you! I stayed all week with this incredible host and never got a picture with him. After months and months of communicating in Spanish it was a real treat to stay with a Brit and communicate in English. We had a lot of common interests - the environment, conservation, teaching and even found we had a mutual friend who lived just minutes from me in Oxford. John, being a vegan, has also encouraged me to think a bit more about my diet both in terms of health impacts and environmental impacts. 

11 months riding through the Americas had led me to frequently think wow, what a beautiful world but wow, it's a world we really have to fight for through our lifestyle choices - diet, transport, leisure activities, materialism etc.

So I write this from Mexico Airport where, in truth, it's been a miserable day! 2am start, taxi driver to Lima Airpor.tried to charge me more (because it's Fathers Day!), got charged £70 for checking in my bike, strained my back moving one of the boxes, despite strained back Mexico airport staff wouldn't give me a trolley, they wanted 10 pesos, 9 hour layover here in Mecico City.....

But, but, but I'll be home in just over half a day, I hear the weather's hot in the UK, I'll be meeting new niece Clara soon and, the first time I've taken painkillers on this trip, the drugs (ibuprofen) are kicking in. There's a smile on my face, yes, the world is a beautiful place!