All Saints Day on the Rocky Road

Hugo and I had a unique All Saints Day experience. We decided to go to a town an hour out of Cajamarca and bike back into town on Monday. Chetilla is known for being a Quecha speaking town that holds true to it´s colorful dress and strong town traditions. It turned out that we had come a day too early to witness the towns' tradition. They celebrate Day of the Dead (Nov. 2), not all Saint´s Day (Nov.1). So we had a coffee, bread and egg breakfast and made the random decision to head to the coast, on bike. We had no idea how long it would be, although we were told it would take us a long time.

A long time turned out to be 5 1/2 hours. Mostly downhill on a rocky mountain road, with less than perfect brakes and a hard as can be bike seat. The scenery was spectacular, but our bodies were in pain at the end. We gave thanks to have made the ride safe and sound back to Cajamarca, blistered and burnt. The only sneak peek we got of a All Saints Day celebration was an old man cleaning his sister's grave off the path we were on.