More Adventure - Mancora, Peru

In line with the rest of our six month trip and the adventures we have experienced, we never were going to lie back and enjoy a simple beach holiday before our return. After my extreme marathon 10 days ago, and my feet still recovering, this time it was Heather´s turn to keep our team colours flying high by taking her first ever surfing lesson. Heather did fantastically well as the photos show, getting upright and riding some waves from her very first attempt. Needless to stay, this evening Heather is very stiff !

Mancora, Northern Peru

13 hr flight from Johannesburg, South Africa to Buenos Aires, Argentina with a stop over in Cape Town; 5 hrs at Buenos Aires airport followed by a five hour flight to Lima, Peru; 15 hrs in Lima, followed by a 16 hr bus ride north. We finally arrived at our objective, a rustic sea side resort called Mancora, close to the border with Ecuador. It is a surfing spot, with a great beach, warmish sea and lots of sunshine. We plan to spend the entire week here relaxing, (and me recovering from the extreme marathon), before heading back to Lima for our flight back to Toronto next weekend. The last week of our six month trip. It will be strange returning to city life and our day jobs, but what a phenomenal adventure we have had together!

Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon 2008 !!!

Heather and I are back in Johannesburg and close to the end of our three week trip to South Africa. Early Wednesday we fly back to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Finally, after almost five years of thinking about the extreme marathon, and two previous attempts, I have completed the race in 2008. It was great to have Heather in support as part of the crew. It is a race run in a remote area of South Africa in the Kalahari desert, and the large crew have a lot of work to do in keeping the race progressing and the runners safe. Apart from the sheer length of the race of 240km in seven days in stages, with one rest day, the main challenge is coping with the heat and humidity. My particular mental barrier has always been the long day/night stage of 75km, this year on day four and five. I coped with the first couple of stages very cautiously trying to preserve some energy for later in the race. The staggered start for the long stage had me starting at midday (12h00), just an hour in front of the race leaders. I kept going through to 02h15 the next morning to complete the 75km, and from then on, with just two stages left, the end was in sight. Surprisingly, having never covered such a distance before, I felt stronger with each day, and I think all of us adapted gradually to cope with the heat better. Two days after the race, my feet are still a little trashed, with swelling and blisters. It is a spectacular environment in the Kalahari, and just a remarkable place in which many animal and bird species thrive. The race website (www.extrememarathons.com/augrabies/) includes many photographs, and some links to videos on "youtube".

Mendoza to Buenos Aires, Argentina

We had our second attempted theft of our trip, this time my day pack at an internet cafe in Mendoza. A young guy tried to snatch it from next to me not realising I had my foot on a strap. He was red-faced when confronted and fled out of the internet cafe. I guess we have got into the mode of being aware all the time of possibilities like this. Well, we are now back in Buenos Aires, and fly out to South Africa tonight for three weeks, returning to Buenos Aires for our last ten days in South America before flying back to Canada at the beginning of November. The trip to South Africa had always been a possibility before we started our South American trip. One objective is for me to attempt the Kalahari extreme marathon again (and finish!), a challenge I have had on my mind for a few years now. This year, Heather will be a part of the race crew, a tough enough task on its own.