Peruvian Andes (Updated again)

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BlueBull2007

Bachelor Dog
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Nov 14, 2007
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Location
Carribean
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AJS (all models)
This is the trip I have been waiting months and months for.  :wav:

The trip that sets the scene for our next couple of years in Perú.  One of riding at altitude on roads that have seldom, if ever been done before on DS bikes.  :deal:

I leave Lima on Wednesday morning. Itâ??s a typically misty morning, the cold sea breeze mixing with the warmer land air and the smog of more than two million vehicles. Still its drawing close to summer now, so the mist is thinner, and the sun makes a meek appearance.

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The traffic is mostly against me, everyone trying to get into town for a days work. My job requires me to travel to work at Cerro de Pasco, a mining town some 300km away and at altitude of 4,300m. What a great excuse to go riding and get paid for it! :evil6:

At a traffic light I have the chance to glance at a taxi driver going the other way. He looks depressed, he´s stuck in heavy traffic.  On the other hand, I feel fabulous. :ricky:

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This is what we have to contend with, even going in the opposite direction to peak hour traffic.
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Everyone jostles and shoves, there is no regard for lanes, lines or the timid driver, never mind bikers. It´s eat or be eaten, make sure you´re seen, take the gap and above all leave yourself an escape route.:eek:


We live to the east of the city, so its not long before I´m out of the worst. I also leave the mist behind.

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I see another biker on his â??workhorseâ? in front of me. 

An unwritten kinship is mutually felt and we exchange waves and smiles before I speed on.

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Stopping to get some empanadas (Cornish pies), I see this poor old lady trying to catch a bus. No one will stop to pick her up because they think she won´t pay. I wave one down and bundle her on before the driver realizes what is going on.

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A little later at the fuel station I come across another one of these work bikes. Seems you can transport anything and anyone on them!

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The main road inland connecting Lima with the Amazon from is called the Carretera Central, and is a fairly congested tarred single lane highway.

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The curves are amazing, but the buses, trucks and maniac drivers make it a very hazardous route in general. I prefer the smaller tracks and dirt roads, so I plan to run the Antigua Carretera Central, which is the old dirt road running parallel in the adjacent valley.

In Chosica, the last big town out of Lima, I come across the first of a series of hydropower stations.


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Water is channeled along a system of canals and tunnels from the main river far upstream and dropped down huge pipes into the turbines. It´s pretty impressive engineering and a really clean way to produce power for the city.
I turn off in Chosica, this is the view of where I have come from.


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The road is now smaller, with little hamlets and houses dotted along both sides.


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The road leads me on, and I can´t wait to see what is around the next corner.


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Apart from Santa Eulalia, there are smaller villages which also have little â??plaza de armasâ? or  main squares and church. The bigger places have cathedrals.


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They are always neat and generally well kept, no matter how small and poor the village may be. People here are very proud of their heritage, it´s refreshing.

I meet Enrico, who nearly dives off his bike to talk to me. I think his bike has character.

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He likes mine, can I sell it? I tell him it´s not for sale. He tells me about his sister up the road who is really beautiful, I should meet her and her friend.  :3some: I tell him I´m flattered but I have a long journey to make and anyway I´m taken (pointing at ring on finger).  8)


The road on quickly narrows and big potholes and the gravel section begins. I´m enjoying myself immensely.

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I ride for another fifteen minutes and reach the end of the tarred section. The route to the right invites me into the base of the valley, but the way to the top of the pass is left and up the side of the mountain.

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The road really starts to climb fast, and as I look back I am struck by the green valley floor against the harsh desert landscape. The drop off is tremendous.


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The condition of the road is not bad, with a bit of bull dust here and there, and numerous river crossings over small bridges mostly.


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A bit later, I look back the other way.

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I am reminded that this little single lane track leaves little room for error. You can see the road continuing on the next hill.

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Around the corner these three watch me with detached bemusement. They don´t wave back. Is he going to slip on those rocks?
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I make it through easily and climb up the mountain above the village. The drop-off once again become staggering.

The road continues in the this fashion, and cuts above a very deep gorge perhaps 20m wide.

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After a while the route opens out into another huge valley.
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A short tunnel provides a break from the exposure.

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The formations in the cliffs above the road are equally impressive.

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I try not to think of the huge drop below. This is what it looks like the other way:

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Chapman´s peak se moer!

I a bit further on I look up the valley, I think I see something crossing the over the river in the distance.

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As I get closer, I realize it is a road bridge!

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I have to see this! I race along, forgetting the awesome drop and the possibility of meeting oncoming traffic. it is a slight disappointment because I don´t get a sense of the height when I on it.:

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Perhaps my perception of height has been seared... :biggrin:

The road ahead continues up the valley, with the river climbing fast again to regain the higher elevation of the road.

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Itâ??s a beautiful day, and I can´t get enough of this place, so I take a shot looking back at the bridge.


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As I get higher and higher, the potato farms

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are gradually replaced by trout farms. The river is full of wild trout as well.

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The track ahead has deteriorated slightly, and becomes little bit more technical with rocks strewn about.
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The gradient remains the same: 4%. I take my hat off to the engineers who built this road. A snapshot of my altitude shows me I am only half way to the topâ?¦

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You can see the temperature on my bike´s computer is 19 degrees, it a little cooler than lower down but still plenty hot for this kind of riding.

I come across a group of school kids on a trout fishing outing with their teacher. I have to give this little blighter a go. He loves it and presses the hotter loud and long much to the delight of the others.

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The higher I go the smaller the trees get. One of the hardiest trees here is of course the Australian gum tree. Can´t go anywhere without seeing these trees somewhere. Over here they use them extensively for firewood & charcoal which makes for dodgy, exploding  braais :xxbah: They alsouse them for building purposes apparently!!?  :eek7:


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The track is still not to bad and I am able to speed up on some twisties for a while.

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I get to a place called Barbar Blanca (white beard) which is a hydropower plant and coffer dam for feeding other hydro plants lower down.

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Most of the water does not go down the valley but into huge pipes and tunnels under the mountains.

Upstream there is a lot more water, and the road also get more tricky with bigger rocks and sections awash with water and deep mud.

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I see quite a bit of abandoned terracing of the steep slopes here and there, done by the Inca´s.


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