Rocks; very big rocks
July 31st, 2013
Whether it’s the towering peaks alongside the Pastoruri Pass outside of Huaraz or the mysterious standing stones of the Bosque de Piedras (Forest of Stones) near Cerro de Pasco, Central Peru has some impressive shows of rock.
I wouldn’t describe myself as a geology buff, but as we make we our way south through Peru, it has been impossible to ignore the swirls, textures, formations and sheer size of the Andes.
Sarah
Leaving the road after Huaraz to begin the climb to Pastoruri, the snowline is immediately visible.
Enormous boulders lay strewn in the surrounding fields.
We are about to take another pass over the Cordillera Blanca and ride through remote sections for three days, so we take on-board the emergency “bread blanket”…you can never have too much bread.
Only on the dirt road for a matter of minutes before we stop for lunch and James is found in his favourite resting pose: map gazing.
We share our camping with German cycle tourers Tilo and Sonja.
Day two and time for more ascending, past ominous grey rock faces…
…towards a field of Puya Raymondii.
These incredible, enormous plants – also known as Queen of the Andes – only grow here and in Bolivia, between 3200 and 4800m.
Each plant can take can take up to forty years to flower and once done, it sadly withers and dies.
We climb, leaving the stunning valley behind…
…and keep climbing, where the craggy faces get craggier and the serious weather happens – it is snowing here.
When the weather clears, we have another pretty sunset…
…and another campsite where the curves of the ground are bathed in the last of the day’s golden sunlight.
It’s always a battle between enjoyment and endurance for me at this altitude: camping alongside jaw dropping landscapes is incredible…
…but you have to cope with seriously cold temperatures at nearly 5000m. The ice on our water bags freezes overnight inside in our tent…
…and it’s good to get moving again in the morning; on to more stunning backdrops.
Vibrant, spongy plant life contrasts beautifully with craggy harsh peaks.
Every turn brings a new view, a new snow-capped peak. We stop to absorb…
…shapes and colours…
…and, when we happen to ask, as always up in the mountains the hospitality is free flowing. We meet Lydia who quickly presents us with a bowl of the finished product: delicious cancha (toasted, salted corn) and two sweet mandarins to give us energy to finish the climb towards Huánuco.
On the way, I practice my Spanish/Quechua tongue-twisters trying to pronounce local village names – although this one looks Welsh to me.
Our back-road ride from Huánuco to Cerro de Pasco via Pallanchacra had its moments. Some very pretty…
…like stopping to admire llama’s pom poms (each farmer identifies their flock with different ear finery – tassels, pom poms, ribbons and bows)…
…and spontaneously being fed hot potatoes by a group of kids.
Others were downright nasty. At 4380m, Cerro de Pasco lays claim to being the “highest city in the world” and with a whacking great mine in the middle of it, it can also claim to be “one of the ugliest”…
…and “one of the coldest”. The only sensible way to warm up here: hot chocolate and a big slab of chocolate cake. James fulfills a long held desire in Cerro de Pasco: to buy an entire cake and eat it all. Mission accomplished.
We’re happy to leave Cerro de Pasco behind and explore the Bosque de Piedras at the nearby Santuario Nacional de Huayllay.
…a cobra…
…a kissing couple…
…with beautiful textures when you get up close…
…and of course the most fun is identifying obvious formations that never quite made it into the official tour brochure.
At the end of our walk, in the mysterious “magnetic” stone circle, James puts into practice some of the meditation techniques taught at Rhiannon; although I could have sworn he was thinking about that chocolate cake again…
August 28th, 2013 at 1:18 pm
Love the pictures. How strange that our visiting priest Fr Martin was talking to us about the standing stones in your photos only this morning! Love and miss you both in multiple millions!
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August 28th, 2013 at 3:09 pm
Espectacular. Como siempre, lo mejor y buena vibra. Los queremos.
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August 28th, 2013 at 4:19 pm
Haha, especially love the elephant. I was recently meditating on the thought of a kilo of sticky toffee pudding with a litre of vanilla haagen daaz, but it never manifested.
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August 29th, 2013 at 1:23 am
Whenever I see your photos I am transported to a new place I want to experience. Somehow this post tugs at me more than before, the light, the open spaces, even the city leave me wishing I was with you. Thanks for the photo journals, I always love to see them and know that you are both well.
All the best from both of us… Skip and Nancy
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August 29th, 2013 at 3:22 am
Wow! Fabulous!xxx
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August 29th, 2013 at 12:55 pm
Excellent to see you both clearly enjoying your once in a lifetime experience. I could nearly feel jealous…
I was thnking of you guys, I went to Cuba for 3 weeks, and I took the bicycle with me, and although this will sound nothing to you, but coming from a untrained, not as young as before man I did a little 600kms tour. It brought back the reality of past fun that I did with you all them years ago Jim. Wishing you both a good week…
Best Dave
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August 31st, 2013 at 11:28 am
Great snaps as always guys! Cerro de Pasco looks wonderful – maybe we’ll detour there. Do you think a fortnight would be enough to explore thoroughly?
Were the puya flowering? They weren’t when we went past in June, but were last week – espectacular!
chow
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August 31st, 2013 at 12:08 pm
An awesome snapshot, as always! The Major will henceforth be known as ‘Cake Slab’ Butcher. Very unusual thinking about the drop in temperatures and snow! You two will be hard as nails when you get home to Blighty. Love yous xxx
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September 11th, 2013 at 3:23 pm
Catching up again!! It really is outstanding, also sounds very cold!!!! I spent the weekend with your Mum n Dad, they took me down to Hyde Park for Last Night of the Proms…… Birthday Treat!!! It was lovely but very cold, well nothing like what you are experiencing but cold enough, a shock to the system after all our lovely summer!!!!
Back to normal again and it is raining here and cold!!! Autumn has arrived!
Love to you both and take care of each other! lots of love n prayers, Margy xxxxxxxx
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September 15th, 2013 at 9:26 am
By just looking at your different and spectacular pictures I can feel the cold weather and start shivering.The changes in scenery are just incredible!!Keep pedaling!!
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