Our last days in South America

We cross the Nazca desert and get to the Pacific ocean at Paracas. We finally arrive to Lima, the last stage of our South American journey. Before saying goodbye to the southern hemisphere, we leave our bicycles for a small detour through Iquitos in order to discover the incredible world of the Amazon...

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We set off from Nazca under a blazing sun. The road is monotonous and rarely goes through villages. As soon as we get out of the river bed, no vegetation is to be found, just plain sand. One might feel like riding in North Africa.

Exiting Nazca, with some geoglyphs on the left

Around us, sand

The arrival in Paracas is a highlight: after 6'000km, we finally spot the Pacific Ocean. Obviously, we have to swim, with jellyfishes and pelicans! We stay for a few days, in order to discover the Ballestas islands and the Paracas nature reserve, where Nature is revealed in its utmost beauty.

Akira and Popeye after swimming in the Ocean

The pelican gang, Paracas nature reserve

Pacific coast, Côte Pacifique, Paracas nature reserve

Paracas nature reserve

Martin riding in the Paracas nature reserve

Birds gathering, Ballestas islands

Sea lions napping in the sun, Ballestas islands

Short before Chincha Alta, we get along with a group of cheerful chaps and spend the late afternoon drinking with them.

With Cesar, José and Umberto

Highway to Lima

Séb in the middle of the traffic before entering Lima

Bonus: our trip to the jungle. Considering that it would be a pity to leave South America without having experienced the humidity and mosquitoes of the Amazonian rainforest  we set off for a 3-day trip to a lodge located by one affluent of the Amazon river.

In order to get there, we first fly to Iquitos, a unique town that gives us mixed feelings. Indeed, it is difficult to tell whether the place is a metropolis or a small village in the middle of the jungle. And actually, both descriptions are true since despite its 500'000 inhabitants, the city is not connected to any other city by road, isolated in the middle of the forest.

Iquitos, an incredible city, only accessible by plane or boat

People here live on water

We then embark aboard an old metal dinghy propelled by a powerful outboard motor and sail on the Amazon for about 100km before sailing back up a small affluent. We are accommodated in a wooden house built on the water. In fact, in this season, the whole Amazon basin is flooded and areas of emerged land are hard to find.

Our lodge, on an affluent of the Amazon

Tarantula in our hotel roof

On the lookout for dolphins, on the Amazon river

Edwin, our guide, brings us in the luxuriant nature on a canoe. We go to a village and meet the local shaman who presents us a bottle of Ayacucha, a plant-based beverage with highly hallucinogen characteristics. Going out of his house, we find a Bothrops Atrox snake, renowned for being the deadliest in the region. Still, this doesn't seem to impress Edwin, who pins it with a ridiculously small wood stick on the ground before forcing it to spite its venom.

Edwin peacefully taking away the deadly venom of a Bothrops Atrox snake

This type of encounter is the reason why it is recommended not to grab trees

One night, we paddle to the neighbor village to taste the locally distilled sugar cane liquor. Abraham, the boat captain, talks passionately about Peru. Working as a boat captain on the Amazon for a big oil company, his job is to bring workers to oil wells that are sometimes located deep inside the rainforest. He therefore knows the river and its affluents like the back of his hand, and has plenty of captivating stories to tell.

Playground for wild animal hunters

Little frog travelling with us on the canoe for a while

"Goliath" spider lying low under water lilies

Ok, my smile is a little bit tense...but for my defense, it's a tarantula

Admire the similarity of the teething!

Three local fishers encountered close to our village

Good piranha catch

Tarantula, Iquitos

Martin, who finally came to realize how terrific Akira and I are, decides to continue the adventure with us to Japan. We therefore buy three Lima-Houston-Tokyo airline tickets.

I discover after buying my ticket that I need a visa in order to transit through the United States. I'm really out of luck because this document is mandatory only for Swiss citizens whose passport has been issued between 26.10.2006 and 01.03.2010. I throw myself into an administrative struggle. I need to get a visa in three working days, whereas the regular procedure lasts for about two weeks. It will finally be possible, thanks to helping hands from Switzerland and Peru, as well as declaring my journey as a "sports competition".

This experience did cost me 160 USD and a lot of energy. It also made me realize, while chatting with numerous Peruvians, how easier it is to travel with a white-crossed passport. Indeed, Peruvians must show up at the embassy with all sorts of documents, answer numerous questions that are sometimes humiliating, to finally often hear that they are not welcome on the American territory.

Dismantled bicycle (and some additional stuff) ready for the plane

With the end of our journey in South-America, a part of our project is behind us. It is with a heavy heart that I say farewell to a continent that brought me a lot. I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart every person that we met on our route and who has, each one on its own way, made our trip unforgettable. Without the slightest doubt, I will come back to South America!

We are now flying to Japan, where we will ride from East to West, from Tokyo to Osaka. We will therefore change of hemisphere, season, culture, language, standard of living... well, it's going to be a violent shock for us bike travelers, who got used to watch the surroundings change at the speed of our pedal strokes.