What do cyclists do on a rest day?

The first part of the day was sleeping in. I managed to drag my lazy ass out of bed around 8.30 am and I could have slept much longer but there were a couple of things I wanted to do today, eat, eat some more, visit 1 historical site, and go to the markets.

Buck and I headed off to find the tourism office, get a map and a brochure of the city. The only historical site was the church. We did take a look inside but really it wasn't that grand. If you do a search for Tarma on Lonely Planet or any of the other travel websites, you'll find no reason to go to Tarma. I still found the city a nice place to take a leisurely walk, have a coffee and eat some of their nice cakes. 

Whilst taking in the sites of the city we came across a film crew doing some work. They had a lot of security around the set and all I can manage was a discreet photo of the actor reading a newspaper whilst having his shoes cleaned. I thought I might have got a small part in the film if they knew I was close by.

I took the above photo to show not only the church but the way the people builds their homes nestled on the sides of the mountain. When I read stories of villages being engulfed in mud/land slides, I can see how it happens. If an earthquake was to occur and some heavy rains the whole side of the mountain would come down on the city of Tarma. 

With some more walking I joined Carmen and Alec for a coffee in a specialty shop, another 2 nice people on tour. Now it was time to leave them and head to the markets, a place I love to wander through for hours. Whether it be in Cairo, Bangkok or any other place on the planet, it's where you get to see local life at it's best. There is no high pressure selling, just local people happy that you are looking at their wares. I can assure you it's better than sitting around the hotel playing on the computer like so many cyclist do when the chance arises.

The market area of Tarma is a place where you can buy, meat, chicken, cuy, wheat, corn, potato's, clothing, suits, socks, undies, hardware, you name it and they can get it for you. I did take a couple of photos but they are just like so many other photos I've taken of markets, so not to bore you, no photos of the market today.

By the time 4.30 pm had come around, the weather was turning from a sunny day to a chilly afternoon. It was time to return to Hotel El Dorado and get my gear ready for tomorrow. 

Tomorrow we start 4 days of riding to our next rest day. I'm not one for studying the route, how far, how much climbing, paved or unpaved, it is what it is. Tonight we're going out for pasta and then I'm coming home and watching a movie on the laptop, the rise of the planet of the apes. Tomorrow we're staying in a hotel and that's about all I care about right now, and the fact I probably have to get out of bed early, which I still despise.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.