Day 34 – Sunday, March 1, 2026

It's March already , there is a war raging a continent or two away...this did not go unnoticed in Peru either.

Khamenei dead

The day broke at 5 am and I was in the saddle at 6 am. I had camped in the "outskirts" of this tiny settlement.

My tent, with the restaurant opposite (white entrance)

Interesting-looking palm trees

The "downtown" area of Ite was pretty, with a green park, a playground and modern buildings. A Sunday narket was being set up - but I did not wait for it to open, it would have an hour later. Leaving town, it felt like any village in e.g. Italy. The smell of the freshly cut grass, birds tweeting - I realized how much I have been missing these impressions. A highlight was the farming of pepper - orange and black color pepper was growing everywhere - and when laid out in the sun to dry, it was quite a spectacle. I almost regretted for having not having stayed in Ite.

"Downtown" Ite

This is the town hall, the yellow figure is my reflection

Lots of pepper being dried - quite a view!

Baaaaaa! (missed these guys and the smell of freshly cut grass!)

I was in good shape and even though it was quite of a roller-coaster ride, I made it to the large town of Ilo before 11 am, covering some 60 km by the sea.

At first, I found the town somewhat unattractive; but the situation improved as I got closer to the center. There I had a really yummy brunch, consisting of a slice of beef, fried eggs, French fries and rice. After the food, I visited a pretty church and a nice park. I was about to leave - but something made me look further.

Yummy brunch! Washed it dwon with a maracuja juice

Pretty chapel

The seaside part of town was quite a surprise. There was a pretty and well-maintained seafront area, including a boardwalk. "Under the boardwalk" (as the song goes) were dozens and dozens of pelicans and what I first thought were seals. I took a closer look and they were actually sea lions. I guess the town is paying for a couple of gentlemen for feeding these animals - it attracts a massive storm of tourists, clicking their cameras - just like me. As far as I could tell, they were all domestic visitors.

Can you count these pelicans?

They would never stop eating

Hey! Nobody feeds me!

After the visit to the "zoo", I knew I was leaving shady trees, beautiful flowers, maintained walk paths - and trade these in for an arid desert.

>This is the middle of the arid desert...

>Enjoying an icecream

>Lots of boats

Just outside the center, there was something interesting at the beach. The thing that caught my eye was a major swimming competition. Dozens of swimmers, all in wetsuits, were competing in swimming a circle of the bay. There was police, lifeguards both at the beach and in the water, loud music was playing. Perfect for me, so I thought. Sure someone can watch my bike and belongings, and should there be an issue while in the water, there is help nearby.

Alas, we are no longer in chill Chile. in Peru, things are more complicated and is hard to get off the beaten path. The security guard would not allow me to enter the guarded area - no matter how much I asked. None of the many-many drivers of the lifeguard drivers would volunteer to look after the bike. Finally, three cops told me they would be the bike guard. Thanks!

I changed and dove into the cool, refreshing ocean and headed out into the bay. The race was almost over, only a few swimmers were left. As I was swimming out, I kept hearing some whistling, which I ignored. Eventually, I found out where it was coming from - a motorboat was following me and a strict lady with English knowledge (something not too often) reprimanded ne and told me to leave the area. I had been swimming out for 15 minutes, so it was anyhow time to head back to the coast. Peruvians, chill! Be more like the Chileans!

The competition

Refreshed, it was time to face reality. Ilo was quite impressive, I had a good brunch, visited a live zoo, had a good swim and marveled at the flowers on the beach. I got back to the barren desert. Initially, the terrain was flat and I madel good progress, aided even by a tailwind. I knew, though, this would not last. It did not.

I spotted an incline, just before it there was a kiosk where I got a sandwich to gain strength - and some juice. It was an investment well worth. The nice, straight road turned into a real uphill struggle, it would go to 300m, drop down a bit, then again uphill. It was truly tiring. Worse, the next populated area was many miles away - around ne was a fascinating, but arid desert.

Fascinating desert...

...this, too...n

...not to mention this

This was not the pretties factory - right on the seaside!

Finally, I reached a flat area, by that time (7 pm) it was dark. Close to Punta de Bombon (funny name), I found a bungalow for about €36. The issue was that it was next to the beach, about a mile from the main road and a very bumpy dirt road led to it. I maanaged to make it.

I had ridden 150 km and ascended 1,600 meters. This was more than I was planning to cover - it was the only possibility of not getting stuck in the wilderness.