Cordillera Blanca

Caraz was home for the night, February 22nd. Shortly after checking in to the hotel I met Guliver Rojas. Guliver, a well traveled Peruvian, had recently returned from time in South Bend, Indiana and was being joined by his brother, Cristian, and sister-in-law, Isobel for some sightseeing. They invited me to join them on Saturday to visit Laguna Langanuco in the Cordilleras, I gratefully accepted.

To get to the lake you pass through Yungay, another town in the Andes that suffered tragic loss of life after being inundated by a snow, rock and earth avalanche triggered by the Ancash earthquake,  May 31, 1970.  Pictured above are the twisted remains of a bus caught in the landslide, the floor points skywards, the cab buried. Over 20,000 people lost theirs lives in Yungay, many of whom remain buried under the slide, the site has been declared a national cemetery. More pictures of the lake appear in the video.

Saturday was also the day I tried cuy (koo-ee), guinea pig, in a picante sauce. It tasted fine but was a lot of effort for very little meat, Guliver informed me that it is very protein rich. It is my belief I disappointed my hosts by not spending more time nibbling, guinea pig like, at the bones.

Departing Caraz on Sunday for Huari required crossing the Cordillera Blanca range. Approaching the range the skies parted to capture a picture of Huascarán, the highest peak in Peru, and the sister peak at left.

When the GPS looks like this you know that fun lies ahead, especially on a well paved road, like the 107.

The other rider in the picture is California Chad on his Honda Africa Twin, I met him the prior day and again on Sunday as I was ascending the Cordillera. We stopped and chatted a while.

The road peaks at 15,538 ft, the tunnel is on the continental divide, the picture taken on the Pacific side. There were a couple of local riders at the tunnel.

The clouds lifted on the Atlantic side, the views were stunning, the road made for two wheels. It was the best couple of hours of the trip so far.

A lunch stop in Chacas and then the second 60 miles of the day to Huari, though on an unmade rocky and muddy road made more interesting with periods of heavy rain, thunder and lightening. That was the price for the day, but the pay off was worth every drop of rain.

More views of the two days in the video below.

A short clip as seen from the cockpit.

                                     

Hanging in Huari for the day, a working rather than a tourist town. Rest up and catch up before making two more crossings of the Cordillera, tomorrow from east to west and the final one west to east as I meander to Huánuco arriving on Friday. The bike will be parked there for the time I return home.

All for now, T2.