Perú - Cordillera Blanca & more
In Caraz we relax for a few days. We had a good time at Juan Carlos' Mia Hostel. Juan is a real beer connoisseur and of course he also knew Edwin from the Caxas brewery. During our daily walk to the market, we notice that the hats of the market women are much smaller in contrast to the Cajamarca region. Some are quite high and decorated on one side.
Since the mountain peaks of the Cordillera Blanca look so impressive from Caraz, we decide after a little research for an extra tour through the Huascarán National Park. We want to go around the highest mountain in Peru, the Huascarán Sur (6,768 m). We will cross the huge Cordillera Blanca mountain range twice.
Already at the beginning of the first ascent we are surrounded on all sides by impressive glaciers. That shouldn't change for the next 5 days.
We needed two whole days until the first pass, the Portachuelo de Llanganuco at 4,700 meters of altitude.
The height still gave us a lot of trouble and the second day we mostly pushed the bikes.
But we were still in a good mood, probably it was because of the many coca leaves and coca candies we had nibbled.
From the pass you have a gigantic view of the many glaciers and the two Llanganuco lakes.
The next day we could eat as much as we wanted, but nothing came in the legs. We dragged ourselves to the next village of Chacas and took a day off.
Chacas is a beautiful little mountain village. A commercial was filmed that day, where we helped out without further ado with a few lenses that the crew had been missing.
The next "Paso" is the Punta Olímpica. The road is paved and it was much easier for us this time to cycle well over 4,000 meters.
In the evening we find a great place for camping at 4,600 meters of altitude, directly below a glacier.
The evening sun has wrapped the surrounding glaciers in a golden guise - beauty.
In the early morning there was a beautiful alpine glow of the mountain peaks.
Until the pass it was not far from our unforgettable campsite. We only had to go through the second highest tunnel in the world, the Túnel Punta Olímpica.
On the other side we had a 45 km long serpentine descent with a view of many more glaciers. The remaining 30 km to the city of Huaraz we drove in zombi mode on the road.
We enjoyed the tourist city of Huaraz very much. Varied food (not always just "Arroz a la Cubana") and a good bike shop where we had ordered new hooves a few weeks ago long.
Well strengthened we make our way to the "Carretera a Pastoruri", where we will cross the Cordillera Blanca for the third and last time.
Since Cajamarca we tried to photograph the very shy Puna Ibis. Now it finally worked out, they were so busy putting their long beaks in the muddy ground that we could even get very close to them.
An Andean Goose couple was also on a parade nearby.
We knew that on this route there is also "Puya Raimondii" to see. We were very excited about the largest inflorescence in the world. Only after more than 30 years does the trunk begin to grow from the spherical leaf rosette. When they have reached a height of about 12 m, they are up to 100 years old. Although this plant can become so old, it only blooms once for about 9 months. After that, it slowly dies off. We were lucky enough to see some in bloom. Hiding under them in the rain is pointless.
During our ramen lunch break with glacier-view, we saw for the first time a Lagidium, also called mountain viscachas. They are a little as big as a rabbit and have a very fluffy tail. They look a little weird.
After the Cordillera Blanca we cross the Cordillera Huallanca. This became an absolute highlight for us. We were so overwhelmed by the colors and how the "layers" of the mountains are folded and shaped here.
The mountain landscape with the last rays of sunshine looked simply unreal.
We camped at 4,800 altitude meters. It was quite frosty at night, but in our winter sleeping bags it was nice and warm.
Again we are awakened with incredibly beautiful alpine glow. This time with a very frozen landscape - breathtaking.
After we warmed up, it went downhill to La Unión. The weather was on our side and again we see crazy mountain formations.
In La Unión we refresh ourselves with an Inca Kola. There are only two countries in the world where Coca Cola is not the most sold soda drink. Thanks to the "Inca", Peru is one of them.
On a climb to a high plateau we were able to photograph many different birds. The Mountain Caracara was very common. Only when he is fully grown up does he get his colored beak and his "suit". The young animals are brown.
An Anden Ibis couple roams a field.
In addition to a Yellow-billed Teal, we also saw many Andean Flicker woodpeckers.
We were very surprised about the woodpeckers and wondered where they nested, because there were nowhere trees on this plateau. People don't have firewood here either. We often saw how cow flatbreads were dried and then later used for heating or cooking. Everything from nature is simply used here.
What we are very sorry to see is that many animals' front legs are tied together so that they do not run away or are better to capture. You can really see how uncomfortable it is for them and how they avoid moving at all.
After a shorter stage we find in the village of Antacolpa a small hospedaje. There is no shower and no electricity until morning. With the mini golf toilet you have to be quite accurate.
Almost half of Peru has passed and now we see Alpacas for the first time - it was about time.
On the next ascent we roam the Cordillera Huayhuash. The area reminds us of the colors of the rock and the grasses strongly of the coast of Norway. We follow the many lakes that are connected to each other up to the glacier.
In the morning there is a great reflection to see while brushing teeth.
Shortly before the summit, a large silver and gold mine disfigures the view of the Nevado Santa Rosa mountain peak with its glaciers. However, the open-cast mining brings good wages to the small surrounding villages. On the other side of the mountain, however, we got our photo of the glacier.
We feel very well physically at the moment, but the last few weeks it has been a pure firework of highlights. We are very overwhelmed and decide to cycle from the village of Oyón for a few days on the road. Since there is usually not much new to see there, we can relax a little.
