Cordillera Blanca - Part 1 - Road to Huaraz

For my last big trip of the year, 2014, I decided to go to Huaraz in the Cordillera Blanca. Part of the Andes the Cordillera Blanca extends some 200 kms and has over 75 peaks over 5000 metres (16400 feet) - compare this to Ben Nevis, the tallest peak in the British Isles which stands at 1345 metres (4400 feet)! Most of these peaks have snow on them all year round, and winters at that altitude get very cold, so I was a little concerned as I did not have any really cold-weather gear, nor knew how Oli's knobbly tyres would stand up to the roads if we found any ice!
Huaraz is the main city in the Cordillera Blanca and a very popular tourist destination, and I was informed that many mountaineers use the peaks in the area as training for trips to the Himalayas and Mount Everest!

Huanchaco to Huaraz

Huaraz is the capital city of the Ancash Region and home to some 125,000 people, and as it sits at over 3000 metres (9800 feet) above sea level I did have some concerns about altitude sickness. Usually you should go gradually above around 2400 metres, dropping back at night to allow your body to acclimatise, but other than continuing through Huaraz to other small towns at lower altitudes I didn't really have a choice - so decided to take a chance, but did book 5 nights in case I had to spend time acclimatising.
As is the case when travelling almost anywhere from Huanchaco I had to start on the Panamerican Highway! The highway by-passes Trujillo, but to the South passes through an industrial area, so is very busy for the first 20 kms or so, but then returns to being the same boring highway - miles of sand hills and nothing much else to see. The first 200 kms of the 350 km trip was like this - mind-numbingly boring, but once you turn away from the coastal highway and start climbing the scenery become much more interesting.

Still not very pretty close to the road ...

... but the distant mountains looking very appealing

This is typical scenery all along the Panamerican Highway through the coastal desert!

The route climbed gently at first and the sand gave way to vegetation -

My route was taking me higher

and the route started getting steeper -

Decent road surface

Beautiful mountain streams along the way

Looking down on one of the small towns I passed through

and the hairpin bends started as I climbed more, through agricultural land 

Fields laid out on the mountainsides

- and it started getting colder the higher I climbed! Suddenly as I crested a pass which was over 4000 metres above sea level (over 13000 feet) I got my first sight of the snow-capped high Andes peaks!

First sight of the snowcaps

High peaks of the Cordillera Blanca

My first snow in South America

At this altitude exposed on top of the pass it was very cold, so I soon pressed onward, following the tight hairpins towards Huaraz. Traffic, as it had been on all my travels away form towns, was very light and the decent road surface, along with the amazing scenery made the trip very pleasant.

Soon Huaraz appeared nestled beneath the mighty snowy peaks

It was very tempting to keep stopping and taking photos as each new vista unfolded, and my next stop was a viewpoint overlooking Huaraz.

Huaraz

Huaraz Panorama - showing the hairpins I still had to navigate.

Although nestled in a valley, surrounded by mountains, Huaraz is still 3000 metres above sea level!

Looking Southwards

There was a large 4WD camper truck parked at the viewpoint, and while I was taking photos I was hailed by a man sitting under an awning beside it. He spoke in English and turned out that he and his wife (Austrians) were travelling South America in this beast of a vehicle and planned to paraglide in as many countries as possible! He showed me round the motorhome, which was like a Winnebago on steroids, but he explained that a lot of the storage was taken up with his paragliding gear so they had less "living" space than usual on a vehicle this size! His wife had cycled into Huaraz to shop for groceries and should be on her way back - and, in fact, I passed her on my way down. The road from the parking area to Huaraz is about 5 kms, extremely steep, and full of hairpins, so I was really impressed at how she was riding up. We chatted for a few minutes, but I needed to get on and find my hostel, so we wished each other well and parted company.
As already mentioned the road down into Huaraz is steep and twisty, but fortunately my hotel was not that far from where the road arrives in Huaraz, and I found it very quickly. The parking, however, was not on site, but in a locked area in the next street, so after unloading and being showed to my room someone walked me round to leave Oli.
I had booked a single en-suite room but the one they showed me had 4 beds in it, though I did have it to myself the whole length of my stay, and the tariff behind the reception desk showed the price as around 5 times what I had been quoted (and had the booking form to prove it!) on Booking.com, so I was a little concerned about what would happen on checkout when I came to pay, but my concerns were unfounded and I was charged the booking price.
As I unpacked I found that I had left the charger for my Netbook behind, so headed out to see if I could find something suitable - but like an idiot did not take the Netbook with me, so it took two trips! The short walk to the electrical store had left me a little breathless, as I had expected at that altitude, but I still felt fine so after a short rest and taking a picture of the sunset from my window (not a great view from it) I went for a short walk again and some dinner before turning in for the night.

Sunset over Huaraz

Total distance travelled 350 kms (193 miles).

Northern Peru Adventure - Part 9 - the journey back to Huanchaco

After the wonderful day in Cabo Blanco I decided to have a quiet day round Mancora before heading back South the following day - I had had a great time this trip, just as I had the previous one, but wasn't really looking forwards to the bum-numbing ride home! Oli, the bike, handles the miles extremely well, the engine feels strong and reliable, but the seat leaves a lot to be desired, and the now well-worn knobbly tyres transmit quite a lot of vibration to the handlebars, and contribute a lot to the noise you always get when riding a bike.

Baja Beetle - not something you see every day

Three up and no helmets - on the Panamerican Highway through Mancora with their dog following behind!

Not too clear but a small child standing holding the handlebars on a scooter

Mobile Garden Centre

Juice bar

Hot drinks - many of these are herbal remedies

Another unsafe child on a bike on the highway

School run

I want one of those!

It amazed me how many parents were risking their children like this

This minibus had seen better days

Child sitting on the tank holding on to a mirror

Or maybe I would prefer one of these!

Baby squashed between parents on a bike

Same family as before coming back the other way

These are common in Peru as light commercial vehicles not requiring a car driving licence - with a payload of around half a ton. The engines are generally 200-300 cc

Road to the beach in Mancora

I love the Peruvian scaffolding poles

One thing I really enjoy about travelling is seeing how things are done in other countries - we (in the developed world) are so safety conscious these days, but in may places they simply cannot afford to be, despite the fact that they do not have any social security if things go wrong, nor insurance cover as back-up!

Blue-footed Booby on Mancora beach

Flat calm sea - well, Pacific Ocean!

In the UK we have donkey rides on the beach - here it is horses

Egret on the rocks

I hadn't managed to get in my fishing trip - the nearest I got was one man in a small agency calling a captain who promised to get back to me, and never did - and when I went back to the agency it was blamed on the weather (which had been terrific the whole of my trip!). That would now have to wait for another adventure!

Scenic route from Piura to Rancho Santana

Even miles from anywhere you find rubbish dumped at the side of the road

Oli all loaded up - looking a little dirty at this stage!

Retracing my route back to Piura was straightforward and much easier to find the same hotel despite the roadworks still in place.

Ovalo Bolognesi near my hotel

I have just found out that they have now completed a bypass of Piura, so my "convenient" hotel (where I have now stayed 4 nights) is miles out of the way, so I will have to find an alternative next time I venture North.
You may recall I had parking problems last time as I got parked in and had trouble raising the owner who was between me and the gate - so this time I spoke to reception about it and they suggested I didn't park my bike till late evening after everyone else would be in. So after dinner, around 20.00, I did just that - and next morning again I was parked in! It didn't take quite so long this time to get the driver to move for me - he could have parked further back as I had left space, but instead parked in front where it was too narrow for me to pass!
I was heading out on a different route this time from Piura back to Rancho Santana - avoiding the boring, mind-numbing Panamerican Highway through the Sechura Desert. This route was taking me inland some distance, then alongside a range of hills and looked more promising, and was almost the same distance as the "faster" highway, but was unknown territory for me, and I was uncertain ow good the road would be. As it turned out the road was in good condition, traffic almost non-existent, and it was a good decision to make this detour!

Much nicer scenery than the Sechura Desert

Looks like I have the road to myself 

Great road with gentle sweeping corners

... and stunning scenery

These mountains flanked my route

Steep and forbidding in places

Panoramic view

Came across this overturned truck on a fairly straight stretch of road - a reminder to stay vigilant

At one point the road passed over the mountain range - through a series of hairpins

Peru does have some magnificent scenery

In the small town of Naupe there is a protection centre for the White-winged Guan

One of the very few townships I passed through on this route

Travelling alone can be daunting for some, but driving through spectacular scenery like this on good road surfaces makes it a pleasure - I was in my element!

Andes foothills

Oli, cooling down!

My route was taking me down into the valley below, before turning Southwards towards Pacora and Rancho Santana

... but even here miles from the nearest town loads of rubbish has just been dumped at the side of the road

The road from here on to Pacora is relatively flat 

Although I had now joined a major route over the Andes traffic was still very light - and here consists mainly of speeding minibuses!

I was now looking forwards to renewing my acquaintance with Andrea and her family at Rancho Santana not that far away from here. I have been fortunate to find some lovely places to stay at on my travels, thanks to Booking.com.

One of Rancho Santana's cats on my roof

Some of their chickens

Hornero - a type of ovenbird

My tyres were showing signs of wear - some of the knobbles were worn down, making vibrations and road noise worse. Front tyre.

Rear tyre

Cow at Rancho Santana

Hornero

Vermilion Flycatcher

The cat finally came off the roof and wandered off

Let sleeping dogs lie ... 

... hard life being a farm dog!

I renewed my acquaintance with this cat, too, but she didn't look happy at having her picture taken - as I had stopped stroking her!

Another of the cats trying Oli out for size - I still have the claw marks in the seat!

After a leisurely breakfast with Andrea and two volunteers she had staying I set out on the relatively short leg back to Huanchaco, with no further mishaps along the way. Around another 1600 kms (1000 miles) added to my travels round Peru, and some wonderful memories along the way.