Part 16 Northward on the Inca Road, Cusco, Ayacucho, Huancayo, Huanuco, Cerro de Pasco, Peru, Aug 17

Part 16 Moving Northward on Peru's Inca Road

Firstly, a few photos from the Cusco area that didn't make it to the previous entry:

On The Inca Trail 

Cusco's Plaza De Armas 

Fountain in the Plaza De Armas

Day 139 Rainbow Mountain

We woke at 3 am to prepare for an early start to a very full day. A passenger van brought us to the motor coach and we left the city at 4 am. Most people slept during the bumpy ride through the countryside, unable to see anything in the dark. Eventually we arrived in the small mountain village of Japura, elev. 4030 m, for breakfast and a briefing by our lead guide, Patrick.

Inca Bridge at a Rest Stop on the Road

Yes, It's Strong Enough for Us Both

The hike to Rainbow Mountain took about three hours. Patrick grouped us together several times along the way to provide rest and to pass on information about the significance of the mountain and about the indigenous people who have lived here for thousands of years.

A House Beside the Trail

Horizontal lines appear on the sides of most of the mountains above the natural tree-line. Patrick told us that these were crude but very old terracing to provide plots for “papas hielado”, which means frozen potatoes. These mountain people lived on a diet of papas hielado, trout from the streams and alpaca meat. Llamas cannot survive at these elevations. The potato travelled to Europe with the Spanish and became a staple there too. Goats, sheep and cattle later came from Europe to the Andes but they cannot eat the harsh and sparse high elevation vegetation. Horses learned to adapt to the environment but required special food.

Looking Up the Valley

Many of the local villagers were ready with their horses when we arrived, to provide a ride to those who wanted or needed one. We knew this in advance and had considered hiring a ride for Isabelle, because of her sore knee. She was feeling confident about her knee and was keen to make the hike so off we went. During one of the rest stop briefings, Patrick told us that horses that came from Europe with the Conquistadores could carry a load only as high as 2300 and possibly 2500 m. Five hundred years of breeding and evolution had made the horses smaller and wider, to accommodate larger lungs. They also grew a thick coat to keep out the cold. They could now safely and reliably carry loads as high as 4, 800m.

Mountain Horses and Their Handlers

The hike was quite easy and pleasant until the last hour when altitude became a serious challenge. Isabelle and I said several times to each other, “Gabi would have loved this hike”. We had planned to do it with her but put it off until after she left for home. Gabi had been having difficulty with altitudes over 3000 m.

Highland Pastoral Scene 

Mountain Stream 

Alpaca, Too High for Llamas 

Perfect Weather

The Indigenous horse handlers, who had stayed with the slowing groups, began to get more and more takers. We saw several people go past on horseback with white, expressionless faces. Many turned back, even after accepting a ride. We listened to the horses and tried to learn from the shape and rhythm of their laboured but efficient breathing. Imitating them seemed to help our progress. The horse rides stopped with 300 meters of climb remaining. This was the safe limit for the horses. Everyone was on their own from this point.

We had been living at altitude for two months and felt confident about continuing. We had none of the symptoms people around us were exhibiting. We became winded if we went too quickly but that was all. We “hiked” the last 300 meters of the climb at a steadily slowing pace. One step forward, pause for two breaths, then put the other foot forward and pause for two more breaths. The relatively easy hike was greatly complicated by the effects of high altitude.

Llama at the Summit

"Rainbow Mountain"

Two months earlier Isabelle had broken her ankle on the way to a hike up Volcan Fuya Fuya in Ecuador. She hadn’t realized it was broken and insisted on beginning the hike, saying that this might be the only hike she got to do on the trip! A cast and five weeks of inactive recovery in Quito followed that little adventure. Today, Isabelle “dug deep” and made it to the summit at 5100 meters (16,600 ft), one step at a time. It was a good accomplishment. The reward was an all-around view of snow covered mountain tops and the beautiful bands of colour in Apu Winicunca, "Mountain of Colors".

Views from the Summit

Apu Winicunca is one of four “rainbow mountains” found on earth and has the distinction of being at the highest altitude. Indigenous people had been making their way to this high point for thousands of years. They made offerings to Apu Wanicunca of different kinds hoping for the reward of better fertility for their crops, animals and for human unions too. Offerings and sacrifices were made from the same three categories of living things.

Look Down Views from the Summit

Day 140 Cuzco to Abancay

It was minus two degrees in our little courtyard this morning as I removed the covers from the bikes. Final packing and breakfast were accomplished quickly and we were under way by 9. We still hit crazy Cuzco traffic early on a Sunday morning! We eventually got to the outskirts of town and found “98” octane gas at one of the stations. Weeks of bad fuel, labelled 90 and 95 octane had caused pre-ignition knocking in my engine at low rpm.

Coffee Break at Pachamama's (Mother Earth)

We were treated to beautiful mountain views, many of the mountains with shining white caps on them. It was a day of curves up steep, dry mountainsides and down into lush, fertile valleys. Isabelle is becoming more confident, trusting that her moto won’t fall down when she leans it over in a hairpin curve.

Beautiful Mountain Views 

White Capped Peaks  

Deep Valleys Cut by Tiny Rivers

Day 141 Abancay to Uripa

It was another day of beautiful riding on a constantly curving road. Two hundred kilometers of curves made for a long day. We were tired by the end. We passed through at least three distinctly different ecosystems and over two high passes. The highest pass was at 4275 meters of elevation. Temperatures ranged from a high of 30 to a low of single digit degrees. We’re getting better at choosing clothing for such days.

Water Brings Life to Desert Valleys

Roads Run Beside Rivers

The scent of eucalyptus trees was a constant in the valleys. Are they a native tree here?  In California, they are not native and the ubiquitous trees are unpopular with Californians. It seems that if the sap filled trees catch fire they can send out showers of flames in wildfire plagued California. But they sure smell nice!

Lunch Spot in an Unnamed Quechuan Village 

River Scene

Breakfast and lunch in small villages today cost $2 each. Hotels are also inexpensive away from the big cities. Our hotel in Uripa gave us the best shower in weeks, has a beautiful garden to park in, provided a clean and modern room with friendly staff and served us breakfast the next day for $20 CDN.

Quechuan Village

Coffee Break  

Marching out to Breakfast

We walked slowly through the village that evening, past groups of children squealing and old men jawing in the otherwise quiet streets. Pleasant greetings were traded with people we encountered, “Buenas noches”, with a smile and a nod. We spent some time in the market that earlier that day had caused us to detour with our motos. Women in traditional dress were picking up bundles of herbs and vegetables, putting them on their backs, wrapped in colourful fabrics tied around their collar bones and going home as darkness closed in. Other marketers sat around the street food vendors for evening “cena”. There wasn’t a single sign of tourism infrastructure. We were well off the beaten path, truly in rural Peru. We heard Quechuan being spoken here, not Spanish.

Adventure Rider 

Interior Plains of Central Peru

Day 142 Uripa to Ayacucho

Leaving town was easy this time and before long we were in the mountains. Arriving in Ayacucho at 2 pm landed us in thick traffic and some of the most aggressive drivers we have yet encountered. We found a clean place with private hot bath for 35 Soles ($14) with inside parking for the motos.

We took a taxi into the centre of town. The teachers were protesting and had banners strung up all around the large plaza. They have been striking for many months throughout Peru. This was not the first demonstration we had seen. We found a meal and had a stroll around, trying to get a feel for the place.

Inside Santo Domingo

Ayacucho is becoming a tourist destination with many services. Numerous tour companies and vendors with stalls full of textile products and souvenirs are scattered around the main plaza and nearby streets. The “Shining Path”, a paramilitary revolutionary group, long used Ayacucho as the base for their operations that included kidnappings and violence. That is now in the past and Ayacucho is working hard at establishing its self as a major Peruvian tourist destination.

Ayacucho is famous for its Basilica and 32 other churches, one church for each year Christ lived. We visited the Basilica (1672) and Santo Domingo church (1548) and enjoyed a 2 km walk back to the hotel. On the way, we encountered one of the neighborhood churches, San Sebastian (1670). It had seen better days and was quite run down looking.

In Need of Some Attention

Day 143 Authentic Rural Peru

It has been quite a day of adventure! Narrow and rough dirt roads, death plunge opportunities, tractor trailers passing within inches of a death plunge, us getting caught up in the struggle to pass, river crossings, getting lost, finding lodging – these are a few of the things that happened today.

The First of Several Narrow Bridges

We began the day with an archeological site visit, called Wari. The Wari people controlled much of the central valleys of the Peruvian Highlands. They coexisted and traded with the Nazca people and built large, organized stone cities. They made fabrics and pottery that sometimes resemble examples we saw in the Nazca exhibit in Lima. They also made bronze tools and weapons.

Like a Scene from a Modern Cowboy Movie

The ancient city we visited is an active archeological dig site. The Wari people were a well-structured society, believed in life after death and made both animal and human sacrifices to enrich or protect their lives. They had laws and government and the means to enforce their laws. It is thought that the Wari (550-1100AD) left this site after an extended dry period. Human remains deposited after the Wari people left show marks of violence suggesting there was much chaos in the ensuing power vacuum. The doorways to the Wari homes had been barricaded, indicating they hoped to return when the rains did. No more evidence of the Wari has been found and it is thought that the Wari faded out, never returning.

 Young Mountains with Interesting Details

The Incan Concept of Reciprocity in Action

We got back on the highway and headed toward Huanta, which is on the way to our ultimate destination for the day of Huancayo. The Wari visit had taken more time than expected. We knew we might not make it to Huancayo and found a town about 60k before wherein Open Street Maps (OSM) indicated a hotel. The name of the village is Izcuchaca. Google Maps showed no trace of it but in the past we have found OSM to be more detailed and accurate outside cites.

Temporary Bridge

Having said that, OSM took us on a wild goose chase out of town. The “highway” became worse and worse. Narrow pavement gave way to gravel, rough gravel then single lane dirt. Then came a steep descent with very tight switchbacks and sand that increased in depth with every corner! Isabelle managed to stay upright through the first few of them. It looked like we were going down into an open pit mine. We stopped right there.

Sometimes There Was Gravel

Getting the motos turned around was challenging and required strong pushing by Isabelle. Having accomplished that I rode both motos back up the steep and sandy switchbacks to a patch of gravel road that was more reasonable for Isa to navigate.

Sometimes There Was Asphalt

I checked the GPS carefully. It is loaded with OSM and it really did believe that this sand track was highway 3S, that it would get us to Huancayo. The GPS is set to lay down breadcrumbs so we followed them back to Huanta. We stopped to consult maps, looking for the ‘autopista” (paved highway) to Huancayo. A kind man on a motorcycle came along and took care of us. He explained how to get onto the highway and when he saw that we weren’t understanding all of it he offered to lead us out of town. A smile and a handshake, “Muchas gracias por su ayuda!” at the edge of town transpired and we were on our way on the tarmac, another 1 ½  hours behind the plan. We chose from this point to follow Google Maps on the phone instead of OSM.

Easy Stream Crossing

The road became rougher and then we hit a large construction site. The road ahead was closed and we had to cross the river to use the detour. The suspension bridge was a little scary with its single lane, open sides and bent up metal plates. The detour road was mostly good gravel and felt easy after our expedition in the sand a while earlier. There were a few temporary bridges and short but steep climbs in the gravel before we re-crossed the river to the 3S again. We stopped in a town to have a coffee and to catch our breath after the challenging 20-minute detour. We were unaware that the worst was yet to come.

There Were Numerous Stream Crossings

During our coffee break we had a friendly time with a group of construction engineers who were also taking a break. Our interactions came to an end, finishing with multiple photos of them on our bikes. They gave us some advice about the road ahead, not much, just that it was narrow. This would prove to be an understatement.

Excellent Form!

The road was indeed narrow, beginning just outside town. This section would require several hours of very slow going. The road lay along a steep gorge, usually suspended a few hundred meters up the canyon side with huge “death plunge” opportunities. The road was clearly a very old dirt track that had, at some time in the past, been simply paved over with a thin layer of asphalt. The asphalt had broken away leaving potholes everywhere. Long sections with no remaining paving were typical of the sharpest curves with the deepest death plunges. Stream crossings were numerous and became rougher, larger and deeper as the afternoon wore on.

Several Tunnels

A traffic jam with the potential for disaster added even more thrills to the day. Four tractor trailer trucks, two in one direction and two in the other, had met on a very sharp blind corner. This scene was suspended above a massive death plunge to the rocky river below. Much backing and many small maneuvers eventually allowed everyone to pass. It was fascinating to watch as truck wheels inched forward and back, impossibly close to the edge of the precipice. We were motioned through and past the trucks at various points in their maneuvers.  

Share the Narrow Road

Four o’clock came along and we were nowhere near our goal or even our secondary goal. We saw the word hotel and checked it out. This village isn’t on any of my maps but there is a small plaza with a couple of basic restaurants and a hotel. People speak Quechuan first. The hotel is basic but they allowed us to put the motos inside the shop below, beside the huge bags of animal feed, for the night. Sleep came easily.

Don't Look Down

Day 144 To Huancayo at 3200 m

Just after getting started the road began to improve. We passed by a large walled in compound with barrack style housing and recreational facilities that included a pool. The place looked abandoned and was overgrown, the pool was empty.  Nearby, there was a hydro dam spanning the deep v-shaped valley. We guessed that the abandoned camp was built to accommodate the workers while they built the dam.

The road continued to improve as we saw more and more human presence. The pavement became continuous and eventually the road opened out into two distinct lanes with a yellow line down the middle! We arrived in Huancayo at noon and checked into Hostal Los Pinas, an i-overlander recommended one. It’s lovely. There is easy indoor parking for the motos. Our room is modern, clean and comfortable, only costing $17. We decided to stay for an extra day, get our laundry done and visit this lofty town at 3200 m.

Isabelle had began to feel an upset stomach coming on. That went on all night.

Day 145 Huancayo 

I went out for breakfast and ran errands for Isabelle, looking for things to make her more comfortable. I had several stops to make. Shops and services are highly specialized here. Much walking, asking and searching is required to find things. It always seems to take longer than it should when you are in a new place. Words change within Spanish as you move from region to region. A drug store might have been called, “Farmacia” once but now it is called, “Botica”.

After getting some comforts to Isabelle I set out in search of a small electric kettle. An internet search followed by a 5 km walk and it was mission accomplished. Breakfast and lunch in a restaurant are huge meals here. We have come to enjoy having just tea and light food in the evening.

I did some moto maintenance and got the “Denali” headlights put back on. A mounting bolt had vibrated out a few weeks earlier and I had tied off the dangling light pod with a bungie cord. Finding a replacement bolt was interesting.

Like businesses tend to agglomerate in Latin America but especially here in Peru. A street may have several blocks of tire shops or bumper replacement shops, or floor mat shops or welding shops. Shops really are highly specialized here. I went to a tiny shop that sells used bolts and screws (no kidding, that’s all he had) with my sample bolt, looking to duplicate it. The bolt shop owner, a kindly and slow-moving gentleman helped me. He searched through jars and jars of unsorted used bolts by dumping them, one after another, on the small patch of concrete in front of his shop. He eventually looked pleased and handed over his discovery. I paid the requested 1 Sol and he threw in a few greasy washers. I may have been his only customer that morning.

By the evening Isabelle was feeling somewhat better. We both walked 2 km back to the laundry service to pick up our clothes. She was quite tired when we got back but was happy to have gotten out a bit. We had a light tea after returning to the hotel and Isabelle managed to eat a little more. We decided to stay for another day to let her recover more fully.

Day 146 Huncayo

Isabelle woke feeling much better. We walked to the city centre and spent most of the day on our feet. We shopped for various little things we needed. About two hours was happily wasted asking around the “Vulcanizadora” or “Llanteria” shops for tire repair plugs. The words both describe a place where tires get fixed, using the same vulcanizing process as the shop owner in Quito had used to restore Isabelle’s rear tire. No luck with the tire plugs but we did find three bottles of octane booster, enough for 240 L of gas – bye bye engine knock!

A Typical Peruvian Saxophone Band at a Wedding We Stumbled Upon 

Music Education is Important! 

A Shopping Mall in Modernizing Huancayo

Day 147 Cerro de Pasco

The road to today’s goal, Cerro de Pasco, was immaculate. We passed the Junin National Reserve on the high plains, well above the tree line. There is a large lake, Lago Chinchacocha, and surrounding wetlands that reminded us of places we have seen on Canadian canoe trips. Across the high plains we could make out the snow-covered peaks that marked the southern end of the Cordillera Blanca. We reminded ourselves that we were looking at mountains rising high above the flat ground we were moving across, and that flat ground was at 4,200 meters elevation! We will ride towards them in the days to come and hope to hike within this mountain range in the national park, Huascaran.

We arrived in Cerro de Pasco at 1 pm, much earlier than planned. The first half of the route had traffic going to Lima. The traffic wasn’t thick but the drivers were aggressive and dangerous. After we turned toward Cerro de Pasco we followed The Mantaro river valley. The river was quite large and looked very polluted as we crossed it a few times, trading places with the railroad tracks.

We passed by evidence of mining and also shared the valley with a pipeline. We came upon what looked like a very large ore refining plant and a large town beside it named La Oroya. Portions of the town were gated, containing what looked like abandoned military housing. We were travelling upstream and immediately after the refinery the water in the stream was clear. The rock that made up the mountains had a strange appearance, like fluffy, whitish whipped cream.

Smelting Plant at La Oroya

Human activity at La Oroya dates back to 10,000 BCE. Today, La Oroya refines and produces lead, copper and zinc. It is a large emitter of sulphur dioxide. Lead, arsenic and cadmium also contaminate the soils in the town. 99% of the children in and around the town have blood lead levels that exceed acceptable limits. It has made several international lists of “worst polluted places”.

Silver was discovered in Cerro de Pasco in 1630. The mines that followed allowed the area to become one of the leading silver producers in the world. It is still an active mining centre. The silver mines at Cerro de Pasco were a chief source of wealth for William Randolph Hurst and his family. Lead contamination is also present in Cerro de Pasco. Cerro de Pasco (population: 70,000) has another claim to fame. It is the highest city (defined as having a population over 50,000) in the world, at an altitude of 4,400 meters or 14,300 feet.

Hotel Imperial in Cerro de Pasco

Sleep at this altitude came in small patches punctuated by large gasps for air that woke us up. If our breathing didn’t wake us the cold temperature did. The average night time low is -3 degrees. Buildings are neither heated nor cooled. Morning and moving on couldn’t come quickly enough.

 Street Scene in Cerro de Pasco

Cerro de Pasco, Mining Town at 4,400 Meters

Day 148 Huanuco, pop 172,000

We have reached the northern end of the “Cordillera Route”. Below is an excerpt from my research notes on the route:

o   This road is often narrow and construction sites are frequent and sometimes challenging.

o   See spectacular mountain views punctuated by hardscrabble Quechua villages

o   330 km can take a few days

Well, it’s understated but it is accurate. It was definitely a highlight of our time in Peru to be visiting these parts that are so far off the beaten track for Peruvians, let alone for any tourists. The views, some unspoiled and others not, really were remarkable. People are reserved and cautious with strangers but warm up quickly after they finish sizing you up. We had a few really fun exchanges with people in our butchered Spanish. Smiles and body language are very powerful.

We constantly stuck out and were stared at. We are taller and greyer and are dressed very differently than everyone else. The indigenous people in this region have jet black hair, even into old age, and pretty much no facial hair. People’s eyes would settle on Isabelle and follow her. Once, in a restaurant, two tiny girls walked past us. One said to the other in Spanish, “Look at her!”. The other girl froze in a surprised stare for a couple of seconds then caught herself, giggled and kept going.

We have emerged from the highlands by descending 2,500 meters into the city of Huanuco. It is a much more modern and prosperous looking city. We spent a few hours wandering about in it this afternoon and had a very tasty cappuccino in a café on the Plaza D’Armas.  Major highways run through the city connecting it securely with the outside world. We have the front room in a pristine hotel. Things feel quite “normal” again tonight as we try to digest and absorb our all too brief experiences in the remote highlands of central Peru.