Råph & Røll

La Unión - Pasó de Yanashallash - Glaciar de Pastoruri | 74 km | +2.350 m

Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature's darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature's sources never fail. - John Muir

I spend the night on the way to the Pastoruri glacier at the height of the Paso de Yanashallash at 4,700 metres. With my improvised cooker made from a tin can and Ron a Quemar, we have half-cooked pasta - a real 5-star meal after the altitude metres.

I set off at sunrise the next day - alone with the snow-covered peaks of the Cordillera Blanca.

I let the majestic peaks carry me through the thin air - until I notice a recurring clack. I stop. I notice that my rear rim is starting to crack. There is probably not a soul on the route to the glacier. No alternative - we have to go on. The rim holds.

Shortly before I reach the Pastoruri glacier, another obstacle: a herd of cows with 4 handsome black bulls block the narrow path that winds along the mountain range. After a muesli bar and a cigarette, I start throwing stones from higher rocks in the direction of the musclemen, I don't feel like hand-to-hand combat, I don't think my martial arts skills are trained enough for that.

The bulls give way & with dusk I reach the glacier, which - before the tourist buses arrive the next morning - I have all to myself.

Huancayo - Junin - Cerro de Pasco | 270 km | +2.600 m

Between thunder and sun
Humans opening nature’s veins
For society’s fun

Flamingos enjoying the lagoon’s breeze
I roll and roll
And in the night together with the sheep I freeze

Glances.

Alone on the bike, one's own protective zone is always quite fragile. While the earth flows under my tyres, my own head is the daily scene of an emotional rollercoaster that reacts to internal and external influences like a finely tuned echo sounder. Smells, colours, rain and wind, cities and landscapes meet one's own reserves of strength and emotion and make the emotional merry-go-round whirl constantly.

And then there are the glances. One's own: curious, open, exhausted, searching, always realigning.

And the looks of others:
Sometimes:
Irritated, tired, strained, apathetic, dismissive, cold.

And then there is this look, like a campfire. That signals: "You may rest here. Don't be afraid. You are safe here."

Looks like a warm stew in winter - this is home.

On my way north from Patagonia, I have experienced the great fortune of being met time and again by one of the latter looks. And even after my cooker let me down on the way to the mountains, it was these looks that sprouted happiness again from brief frustration. Glances like those of Gloria Cenaida from Moya (📸 1-4), Delao from Laguna Jahuacocha (📸 5), Abel from Huancayo (📸 6-8) or Tito from Vicco (📸9-10).

In the end, one thought: humankind is good.

Day 78 - 80 | Uyuni - Salar de Uyuni - Isla Incahuasi - Salinas de Garci Mendoza | Part 2

After spending the first night in the middle of the salar, the alarm clock rings early in the morning. Then: endless silence. Nothing but the crunch of footsteps on the salt. The gaze wanders into the distance as the rising sun transforms this hostile world into a breathtaking play of colours.

Filled with the feeling of experiencing a unique moment, we set off towards Isla Incahuasi, an island in the middle of the salar, where we want to spend our lunch break and seek refuge from the blazing midday sun. On the way, however, we take a moment for the obligatory naked photo session - a tradition among bicycle travellers.

Shortly after our arrival on the island, Alice, Manu, Melanie and Fabien () from France - also cycling - reach this little oasis.

Without further ado, we decide to end the day on the island with Noé and celebrate our farewell after two months of travelling together. While for me the journey will continue in a northerly direction, Noé is planning his return to France from Chile and is therefore taking a route towards San Pedro de Atacama.

Thank you for an incredible time, dear - the humour in the never-ending Patagonian rain, shared summit ci******es and culinary masterpieces. See you in Berlin!