Cordillera Blanca - Part 4 - final days

For dinner that night I chose a very popular large restaurant on a small square not far from the centre of Huaraz, and their speciality was Pachamanca, which is a Peruvian speciality, traditionally cooked in an earthenware pot either in an underground oven, or surrounded by coals. The dish itself is a selection of meats in large chunks, with a variety of vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, yucca, as well as others I couldn't identify. It arrived in an earthenware pot with a very narrow neck - too small to effectively eat through or see what lay beneath, so you had to remove pieces onto the small (side plate sized) plate they supplied. It made eating the dish quite challenging as the meat pieces were large, so unless you wanted to eat all of the first type than emerged (a leg of chicken) before moving on to the next type, it was a juggling act, removing and replacing the meats - and the potatoes and vegetables were all at the bottom, under all the meat. I tried to get the attention of a waitress to ask for a larger plate, but none came close enough (I was outside on their terrace), so I had to make do. It was very tasty, but the experience was somewhat spoilt by the whole performance.
On the way back to the hostel I passed an ice-cream vendor, with an array of home-made ice creams on offer, so succumbed to temptation - but was a little surprised by one of the flavours on offer:

Tuna ice cream?? Tuna - the fish - is called Atun in Peru, and this was actually Prickly Pear!

it wasn't tuna fish, but prickly pear fruit, called tuna in Peru! I passed, but understand it is very tasty.

As is my usual custom I decided to spend my last full day in the town, knowing my butt would get a workout on the way home the following day! There was a large new fresh produce market close by, so went to explore that first. It was on the other side of the main road out of Huaraz, and there was an impressive footbridge over the road.

From the footbridge - looking Northwards

... and looking South, with the stadium to centre right. 

Despite the proximity of the new market there were those that still preferred to set up their stalls on the edge of the main road

The fresh food market was a little disappointing - many empty stalls, and looking very characterless - so much so that I didn't take any pictures inside!

Three-wheeler taxis, Huaraz style - the cold meant that they were all solid closed-body vehicles

... and another

Potato seller outside the market, under the footbridge

Towering above the surroundings and no safety harnesses in sight!

Birds for sale, near the market - much of this trade is illegal, but the authorities seem to turn a blind eye to it

I then headed to Plaza de Armas to do some people watching!

The llama ladies were out again trying to tempt visitors to get their photos taken

There was also a variety of other vendors around - this one selling ceviche ...

This one appeared to be a council worker overseeing the other traders

Hats for sale

... followed by a book seller

... something for the kids - bubble pipes

sunglasses vendor - next to a photographer in case you wanted a selfie, but forgot your camera!

Ice cream on the go

More sunglasses - this guy carried round the huge display, and others had a few in their bags, but came to him for more stock

I love finding a quiet spot in the Plaza de Armas and watching the daily hustle and bustle, but soon decided it was time for some lunch, so moved on.

This one was closed

But I found a bakery where I had something savoury, and sweet dessert, and marvelled over the cake display

Cakes in Peru tend to be very colourful and elaborate

Impressive display of rolls and savouries too

After lunch I headed back towards the Plaza de Armas and experienced one of the most bizarre things I have seen in my life - this view of the cathedral behind the Plaza is apparently an extremely popular place for wedding photos, and there was a wedding party there as I went past, so like many others I stopped to look, but out of respect kept my camera in its case.

Huaraz Cathedral behind Plaza de Armas

Suddenly from the right, walking diagonally across the road towards the wedding party was a man - stark naked, with a slight limp, gesticulating wildly with his arms! Now I know nothing about Peruvian traditions, especially provincial ones, so wondered whether this was part of the wedding ceremony (you never know), especially as no-one reacted to this mans presence - but as he got closer the wedding party hastened into waiting cars and drove off. The naked man continued into the Plaza, all the while still gesticulating, and then out the other side and wandered off up the middle of the main road leading off the square! Still no-one reacted to this, and he actually passed several police officers (who patrol in twos and threes) who also ignored him. I still have no idea what this was all about, but assumed that he may have had some mental illness, though he needed help not to be ignored.

I started making my way back to the hostel for a siesta 

Traditional dress - with wide skirt over leggings ...

... contrasting with the modern in jeans, but still carrying the baby in a traditional sling

Another traditional lady with a vary tall hat!

Hams hanging high in a building overlooking the street

Puppies for sale - also quite a common sight

Flag seller - Independence Day is at the end of July, so early July the flag sellers are out in force

Cuy - or Guinea Pig - which is a national delicacy for sale at the roadside

- the rest of the day was uneventful, and I had pizza for dinner that night. I tend to be cautious about what I eat the day before a long journey, as I do not want to risk getting an upset stomach and being caught short in the middle of nowhere!

The trip home was not without incident - my map showed a "short cut" out of Huaraz to the main road, which twisted and turned for several kms on the approach to the city, and I was assured by the hostel that this would shorten the route a little. However the tarmac soon gave way to dirt, and then the road petered out completely as they were doing roadworks at the other end, and  it was impassable. I was at quite a steep, deeply rutted stretch of road and attempting to turn my bike, I managed to drop it! The pannier boxes and my bags made it quite top heavy on a manoeuvre  like that, and with the roughness of the road surface I was left with no option other than to step away - but no damage was done, except to my pride!

Oli was also sliding around quite a bit round sharp corners, so I approached the hairpins with some trepidation, and tried to find a tyre place to check my pressures, but all I passed were either closed, or didn't have a pressure gauge! Eventually on one stop I had a good look round the bike and found that my front forks were leaking, and it was, in fact, hydraulic oil that was getting on to the rear tyre and causing the problems! I proceeded with caution, making up time on the straight bits, but going very slowly round any curves, and eventually arrived back home without any further mishaps.

The trip to Huaraz had added another 1000 kms to my total travel on Oli for the year!