October 11 Heidi:
  We started our relay today just like normal. Piggy, one of our support vehicles, needed it's usual jump because the battery or electrical system is not doing so well, but other than that, everything was fine. After dropping off two people, we had to stop in a city to get some food when lo and behold, the car would no longer start, even with the jumper cables. Besides the fact that we couldn't finish the milage for the day, there was the slight problem of the other vehicle not knowing where we were or what had happened. As it turns out, they passed right by us continuing on clueless. The fixing didn't take too long and we were off before we knew it, to try to cover as much distance as the sun would allow for. We passed through some gorgeous desert, with huge, wild sand dunes covering the horizon. It really made me feel small and vulnerable but it was absolutely stunning. Cycling was very difficult though, with the wind blowing as hard as it did. We stopped outside of Trujillo and slept early to ready ourselves for the next few days of cycling up into the mountains.

October 12 Jessica:
  I had a really rough time on the bike today. 65 km took me four hours. The wind was howling and constantly pushing me back. Though the route was flat, I felt like I was going uphill the whole way. It wasn't so much hard as just really frustrating and annoying. We are passing the desert and the wind didn't help the sand getting all over me, and all over my eyes. I couldn't even look up at how beautiful the dunes and the shadows that sun makes because the sand would totally blur my vision. We were hoping to get to Lima. However, because of The Pig yesterday, we lost 125 km and ended up way on the outskirts of the city. We decided to drive closer and find our usual hotel for the night - a Mobil or Texaco station. Saturday and Sunday would be used to cover the distance missed today and keep going to get a head start to Machu Picchu. Right before we stopped for the night we grabbed some dinner. I must say the food is delicious here, and so cheap!! All ten of us ate for about $12. Huge plates of chicken and rice and potatoes and salad and drinks. Definitely very yummy in my tummy. :)

October 14 Naoki:
  When you think about Peru, what do you imagine? I think of it as a place with high altitudes like Machu Picchu or Lake Titicaca. But the Pan American Highway where we are biking goes through only desert. This place is more desolate and vast than Arizona where we already biked. There is no sign of any animals or plants. The strong winds which comes from the ocean makes a dust storm and jumps into my mouth, ears and eyes. I was bending myself while I had been biking because of strong winds and seeing boundless ocean visible to the right. And just after the ocean, I went through a lot of sandhills and rocky mountains. When I finally found some green, that meant entrance to the oasis. There were a few houses which were made from beige bricks. In there I smelled some life for the first time. The environment in the desert is full of variety! Today I biked 40km. It was a very dense time for my eyes.

October 15 Renaud:
  Peru, Bolivia, Chile: three countries that were like dreams full of llamas, Andean people and markets and huge mountains. But our route and project is not having this face. We need to do some distance and with our vehicles previously stuck in Ecuador we don't have that much time to turn around. So for me, Peru is more a synonym for a huge, beautiful, desert. Bolivia is the place where it was a mess that paralyzed the country last month, and now we ask can we take the gamble to go through there? And Chile is echoing visas with a much easier route: a nice way to avoid Bolivia's mess but a juggling game to get visas for the Koreans! Anyway, we used this weekend to gather a few kilometers south, cycling to Nazca and coming back up to Lima to discover another project that is huge and noisy within a nervous city. By the way, Nazca, doesn't it sound familiar to you? OK, here's some help: lines and drawings. That's it! It's that place in the desert where pre-Inca civilizations have made huge drawings just visible from the air. Why? No sure answer: from the landing instructions for extra-terrestrials, to astronomical calendars through religious rites, about all the hypotheses have been made but it's still not clear. We saw a little bit from a tower on the side of the road; no time for the usual airplane tour.

October 16 Dylan:
  Lima, Peru (Two days working with an N.G.O. becoming aware of issues in local shanty towns/slums - notably womens issues)
Today brings me full circle. I have been struggling in myself with an almost obsessive questioning of every thing I do; within the team, within myself, within Pole to Pole. It has become notably apparent that my dissatisfactions are leading me to lose focus and make considerable mistakes, not hold my responsibilities well and generally be a poor representative of that which we the Pole Pole 2000 team strive to be. As well feelings caught in the traps of my minds own shackles, I find myself more frequently in power struggles with others on the team. My observations and thinking over these last months leads me to conclude (if conclusions are justified) that for me and often others on the team, one of the greatest issues we have is about power. Who is powerful? How am I the individual Dylan unique in comparison to the others. What do the others have that I don't, and does that bother me? If so why? And am I willing to sacrifice my egos own vigilance to let them help me, and hence face a part of me that says by doing so I am less. For example, I keep screwing up the route, making bad estimations, judgements and not holding that position in a responsible matter. Renaud on the other hand does his work and also has everything figured out for the route and logistics, much quicker, much more accurate, and much more reliable. So I let myself be caught in a spiral of inferiority, he's better - I'm worse, does it reflect on me as a person, why am I so slow - blah, blah, blah. It may sound small but the amount of turmoil it causes in me is significant and I see it as a subtle thing at first that becomes dangerous over time as I spiral downwards in my self consumption and quest for personal power.

That is some of the consciousness I took with me as we entered the shanty towns on the outskirts of Lima to assist with a local comedor (eatery) set up for extremely low or no income people. In the back of my mind I sarcastically thought "oh great these people are gonna love to see a couple of wanna be gringo do gooders". After all why should they receive us well? A 20 ft square plywood shack with a tin roof may as well have been a church on Sunday mass (compared to what I expected) as I entered this afternoon. Inside, a group of women chopped vegetables, meat and prepared the single meal which was today's humble notable contribution. They took us to the mercado, gave me a paintbrush to woo my sorrows out on some rustic plywood walls and smiled and laughed without effort at the French/Canadian duo that had joined them this day. Dirt floors do not reflect an air of uncleanliness as they were frequently swept and kept in order. From outside, the view is one of note: miles upon miles of shantytown shacks, plopped in the desert (literally sand dunes), in a fashion that they almost appear as the pueblos of old. Here, though, the touch of the modern world leaves its track in the lines of electricity, leading from the city to power the small radios and TVs which ironically are more common than not, in most places. I consider the paradox of these technological entertainment boxes (plopped in the middle) in some ways, a subsistence living. Perhaps it is the government's way of gaining popular vote by distributing TVs among the poor? The people talk of coming to the city to look for work, but there is no work. It is a place, in comparison to home, void of opportunity, and some could say hope. Hope for me was only apparent in the enthusiastic spirits and attitudes of those I met. I guess that's where it really begins. If only they knew of the opportunities for youth and adults alike in North America, they would jump at them. And for sure they would be bitter to see the lurking lack of motivation of much of the population back home. Within me the ideals and realities of our two worlds collide. Different struggles for different folks, I guess. I feel inspired as, despite these surroundings, these women hold an enthusiasm and a good attitude which reflects the strength of their minds. Maybe the greatest struggle is in the mind of the human being as they learn to deal with what they've been given. I hope I can be equally great in the manner with which I deal with my own situations in life.

October 17 Devlin:
  Today I did something I could never have imagined. We went with the Cepromup group to join 200 other women in the centre of Lima for the Worldwide Womens's March for democracy against poverty and violence. Despite being one of only six men, it was a great experience to see women gathering together to oppose the current status quo where women are virtually forced to stay at home. Some of the women, specially from Amazonas, were wearing traditional dress which was quite impressive. We stopped on a road and everyone gathered in a large circle to chant and sing. We were also treated to a somewhat eerie traditional dance by three women wearing large head-like masks. They moved around with slow, deliberate movements, waving Peruvian flags. I definitely moved out of my bubble today.

October 18 Mercedes:
  We left Villa El Salvador (in Lima), where we had a great experience with CEPROMUP and all its staff. It was an inspiration for me, to meet people with so many problems but with such a positive and energetic way to see the world. Now we are traveling to Cuzco, and in two days we will hike to Machu Picchu, the most famous Inca ruins. We will drive the whole day and night, to arrive in Cuzco with some daylight to prepare the equipment we will need for the next days. I was driving in an amazing place, going to the east we are now in the Andes Range climbing up to 4000 m. I love when the landscape changes so abruptly. In less than a hour we left behind us the desert and the beaches and entered into the incredible (and so familiar for me) steeps and valleys of the hills. Both cars and us humans are feeling the altitude, Piggy in some places wasn't running more than 30 km/h, and personally I am feeling dizzy. I think in my case, it is the combination of the altitude and the twisty route we are traveling.

October 19 Jay:
 It was a long day. Since yesterday, we drove our vehicles all the way to Cuzco from Lima. It was 27 hours of driving. We didn't stop, we just went on and on. Eventually, we arrived in Cuzco at noon. We arrived at the hostel and organized our stuff to go hiking. Machu Picchu, it's going to be three days of hiking, starting from 33km away from Machu Picchu at 2,600m high, going up to 4,200m and coming back down to 3,500m, and then go back up to 3,850m and go back down again ... Machu Picchu is 2,280m high. But to go there we better practice climbing up and down several mountains. We're gonna start about 10 o'clock tomorrow. I guess it's not gonna be so easy, however I found myself very excited to see the old Inka civilization.

October 20 Jessica:
  The whole team was running around like crazy this morning, making final preparations for Machu Picchu. We had to improvise on a few bags because most of our climbing bags are still in Canada. We took a bus to KM 82 where we started our much anticipated hike. I was very worried because my back has been aching very badly lately. It gets to the point where by the end of the day I've taken over 2000mg of medicine and all I can do is curl up in a little ball and try to fall asleep. Until yesterday I was even considering not climbing. However, I couldn't give up the opportunity of seeing the famous ruins and decided to try and see what happens. A few hours into the hike, Merce arrived from a steep slope, sat on a rock to rest, looked at me and fainted, falling over into the mud. I quickly tried to remove her pack as two Spaniard climbers came to help. She hadn't eaten dinner last night, nor breakfast, nor lunch and was starting to get sick as it was. The climb, with the heaviest pack, and the altitude change didn't make things any better. We continued on for a few more hours, being very careful with her, because we all know that Merce will push as much as possible without saying anything about pain or sickness. We decided to stop early to see if maybe a good night's rest and some food would help for tomorrow. I guess we'll wait and see what happens in the days to come...

October 21 Heidi:
  Today was a tough day for me, full of strong gut feelings and inner questioning and doubt. We began our hike from our first camp, we woke up before dawn and started as it got light. We were by far the first group to get going, and it felt so good to be on such a beautiful trail. The days hike was to involve two mountain passes and then a downward hike to our last camp before reaching Machu Picchu. I have been excited about seeing Machu Picchu since I first heard it was on the itinerary, way back in 1998. I could not help but look forward to something that had fascinated me so much as a kid. But as we were hiking, I had this bad feeling. At first, I thought it was just me being weak because we were in the middle of a tough uphill climb. I hate being weak, so I kept going. But this feeling persisted, and my gut was telling me again and again that it was not right for me to be there, that maybe it wasn't my time to be on this mountain or to see Machu Picchu. Just as we reached the highest pass of the day, I decided that I should follow my instinct, and after failing miserably to explain my feelings to the team, Mercedes and I turned around. Merce had a very rough day yesterday, fainting, throwing up and generally feeling weak. She decided to come down with me. We took a long time to go down, stopping to rest and talk along the way. Once again, I couldn't explain myself any better than it was just a feeling. I realized that for some things there are no words. But let me tell you, I felt such a peace, such a lightness within myself on our downward decent. I felt like I had really done the right thing and I was proud of myself for believing in myself, even without a concrete reason. Merce's and my trip down the mountain was incredible. It was so beautiful and sunny that we took lots of extra time. By the time we had gotten back to our starting point it was past 6 p.m. and everyone we asked said there was no way to get to Cusco so late. But everything fell into place, like I knew it would. We finally found a man with a truck, willing to make the journey to the next major town. After two more bus rides, packed like sardines, we found ourselves in Cusco. We went to a cheap hotel nearby with hot water (of utmost importance when you are in a cold mountain town). It was a primarily Israeli hostel and we found ourselves immersed in a completely different culture. It was very interesting to hear Hebrew as the common language and to realize how easy it is to get wrapped up in my "American" world despite the fact that we are in such different cultures. Today was a tough day where I had to make a personal decision that affected the team and a dream I have had, but it also brought with it something I would never have suspected, a strength and pride within myself that I know I will be stronger for. And when Machu Picchu calls for me to come, I know that I will hear it, and all will be right.

October 22 Naoki:
  I was awakened at 4am in the small tent. Jessica was sleeping next to me. When I tried to raise up my body, I felt a little muscle ache on my back. And I just remembered about yesterday - it had been a really hard day for us. We had been traveling for 13 hours yesterday. After Mercedes and Heidi had gone back to Cusco, we had passed two high peaks which were 4200m and 3800m. We had been walking, using our entire body, and some people had slight altitude sickness which gives you a headache or makes you dizzy. When we had lunch just short of the 3800m peak, it began hailing intensely! Big hailstones and mud had jumped into our food. We ate cookies with mud, and it tasted awful for sure. I never felt like taking a rest. We had visited five very interesting ruins and Inca trails, which were made of countless stones and just beautiful. Although Devlin and I had arrived at the campsite before sunset, the other guys had been walking in the darkness. Walking with headlights had made their fatigue worse, they were nearly dead when they had arrived back to the campsite. "Today we arrived at Machu Picchu!" I could not rest the night before because I was so excited when I thought about it. We left the campsite at 5am, and I quickened my pace on the last road to Machu Picchu. Hiking on the road wasn't hard, but there was only one long set of steep stairs. Devlin and I went up the stairs like we were in a competition, we even used our hands. I reached the hill where I could see a complete view of Machu Picchu which was surrounded by high peaks. After 30 minutes of walking, I arrived at Machu Pichu at last. I climbed up to the top of the terraced fields. There is an old graveyard there. I could see the entire ruins near by. What was crossing my mind was thinking about the old Incan people who lived in here. 5,000 to 10,000 people lived in Machu Picchu. And they had made a living with offering a prayer to the sun, wishing for self-sufficiency, and hoping the sun would look over their children and bring fulfillment to their lives. How diverse the environment which human beings are surrounded! I will not forget this landscape. It was so so amazing.

October 23 Renaud:
  This date has always been fairly special to me. But for the first time on this birthday anniversary, I might have trouble remembering that I have to change my answer to the "how old are you?" question. This might be a little bit confusing, let me explain it better. I have always been with older people at school or at work and have always been tempted to turn a year older four to fice months before the crucial date. But this year with Pole to Pole, I've been for the first time with younger people than me. And until a few days ago, I still answered "25". Pretty strange feeling and I don't really know for now, how next year will be: still this kind of need to be older? or am I definitely in the camp of the old ones who'd rather not rush the moment to add 1 to their age? Right now I have two sentences in mind: the one saying "you learn by being in contact with older people and their experiences" and "you learn by being in contact with younger people and their open mind". Still feeling young, I'm pretty sad to say that if I learnt a lot from this year, and will still continue to do so, I would tend to say that looking back a few years, both thoughts are true. I still learn more from older people - will that change with the number of years? Or maybe it's not a question of age and another sentence might apply "value doesn't wait the number of years" (translated from a French proverb). Could I add: "even if it is sometimes pretty long ...". Anyway as we are leaving the beautiful Cuzco and all the memories - plus muscle ache - of the Machu Picchu, I realize that in less than a month we'll have finished the crossing of the Americas, getting ready to fly to the quietness of Antarctica. I'm already impatient to see where my next learning's will come from, once this journey is finished! Maybe the impatience of youth, who knows ???

October 24 Dylan:
  Heading back to Nazca today to begin cycling again from Nazca south along Peruvian coast to Chile. At this time there is alot on my mind. The striking beauty and spirit of the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu, the contrast of that with the hordes of people (or so in my perception) which flock to this special place. In my thoughts is the mission of Pole to Pole, to demonstrate that small steps can make a difference and with that inspire people to take responsibility for the planet. Have we done that? And, more important: are we doing that? At this time the team focus is turning more towards after Pole to Pole. Often it is challenging to keep focused among the often mundane schedule of travel day after travel day. I'm in the middle of a very questioning period within myself, focusing a lot on who I really am and who I am not. My facades are falling away, as is everyone's. I'm learning to appreciate my weaknesses and not hold them in dark corners secreted from the world around me. Perhaps it can be a goal for us all to keep no secrets, first from ourselves and then from our mates (mates, must be hanging around a south African!) I look on the side of the road and see a toothless old man and a barefooted and dusty five year old exchanging smiles and laughter - it seems sometimes I think too much, as I consider the toothless smile beckoning me to see beyond my own selfish contemplation's. Snow capped sentinels, the cumbers of the Andes rise like the ancient spirit guardians of the Inca above the plain we traverse. A poetry of images soothes my tornado brain consciousness, and the Andes send us a glowing farewell as the alpine glow reflects its beauty off the eastern slopes. Time is lost in this picture and thought not far behind it. If only my words could capture these moments, I may never need to speak again.

OTHER PICTURES & REPORTS: 

Panama to Guayaquil

Nandaime to Panama

Puerto Escondidas to Nandaime

Los Angeles to Puerto Escondidas

Washington to Los Angeles

Ottawa to Washington

Thunder Bay to Ottawa

Vancouver to Thunder Bay

100 Mile House to Vancouver

Inuvik to 100 Mile House

North Pole to Resolute Bay

Training Camp