Diarios en Bicicleta

from Wilbert and Rob
desde Arequipa, Perú

So far, so good…

We ( Susana, Rob and Wilbert ) arrived Monday morning ( three days ago ) as planned in
Lima. Susana stayed in Lima to visit family, and Rob and Wilbert flew in the late afternoon
to Arequipa. We had brilliant views over the Andes. Snow covered mountains reached
5000 to 6000 meters in the sky. It took us 1.30 hour to fly to Arequipa to cover a distance
of 800 kilometer. It will take us by bicycle a bit longer, but it is certainly no punishment to
cycle through such amazing landscapes.

We slept in Arequipa at 2300 meter between the peaks of six-thousanders with illustrious
names like El Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu. The altitude is nothing to worry about, but
you feel the dry air which warns you to drink enough. So, when you arrive in Quito - which
is at 2.800 meter - make sure that you drink a few extra glasses of water to avoid the
symptoms of altitude sickness. Once more : drink, drink, drink...



Our reason to come to Arequipa is to pick up the truck which we gonna us to support “The
Andes Trail”. It’s sooner said, than done. The truck isn’t the problem; it’s the paperwork.
The Peruvians like it. We needed a dozen of taxi rides, twenty telephone calls, faxes, a lot
of patience, and finally some bribes to get it done. Welcome to Peru. Hopefully we have all
necessary documents to cross the South-American borders smoothly, but it’s of course no
guarantee that we don’t run into some unwilling policemen, customs officers or other
officials. It will be all part of the adventure…

Tomorrow we hit the road to Lima – where we will pick up Susana – and continue our
route to Guayaquil in Ecuador. A container with the 4x4 and all our equipment should
arrive there next week. Hopefully…