Rest day in Andahuaylas. 2 naps in 1 day.

If you're wandering what cyclists do on their rest day, here's a short story for you.

Firstly they try and sleep in. But if the rooster across the road decides to wake up early and starts crowing at 5.30 am then I guess I'm awake and not happy.  I toss and turn trying to get back to sleep, all to no avail. 7 am is as long as I can lay in bed. I need to locate the rooster today to make sure he doesn't do it to me tomorrow morning.

The next thing we had to do was go back down the road on the bike and locate the car wash chap. Barry and I had to sit around for about 30 minutes and then he turned up and washed our makes for 5 sols each. That's about $2 AUS.  These bikes were full of mud and needed a good blast.

Since we left so early to get the bikes done, we returned to our hotel for breakfast. Luckily we weren't riding today as the breakfast was not enough if you were riding 100 kms. I do accept that's it's reasonable for a tourist who spends his/her day walking the streets of Andahuaylas.

The next thing I had to do was replace and repair the tube I had punctured yesterday. During the muddy ride into town I really hit some big rocks. I found the problem to be a microscopic splinter that I just managed to find. I had to use tweezers to pull the thing out. The tyre is still up and ready for tomorrow.

With all my chores now complete and the washing not ready to be picked up till 6.30 pm, it's time for me to go and have a look at the markets. I must admit to being a market junkie. 

This market was big on fruit, vegetables and a small array of meat, fish and chicken. I came across a section that was devoted to fruit drinks. I took up a seat and purchased a banana smoothie and a slice of butterscotch cake. They were both delicious. The photo below is of the lovely lady who served me.

 And the photo below is of the cake and drink. I actually got 2 refills for my 4 sols. Less then $1.50 AUS.

With lunch only an hour away I headed back to the hotel and continued reading 'Lone Survivor'. It's a great read an highly recommended. After 10 minutes of reading I had my first nap for the day. I fell asleep as I was so tired.

The afternoon was spent lying on the bed reading, playing on the net and sleeping. We went to a nice place for dinner and ate plenty of pasta the fuel needed to start the long 4 day stretch to Cuzco.  An early night is on the agenda for tonight. Sort the bag, put the clean clothes away and read for an hour. By 9 pm I should be snoring my head off.

Tomorrow is a bush camp, so no update for a day or two.

I posted another photo of our trip to the school yesterday. It didn't upload when I tried and I wanted to post the photo as it meant so much to me. That's Barry, Jan Willem and Hilda Mendoza Ocanipio and her children.

It's so nice to meet beautiful people on this tour, and it's those unexpected side trips that make it all the worthwhile.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.