Leaving San Pedro
It was a beautiful sunny day. A pleasant surprise after the storm and heavy rain yesterday evening, and into the night. For the first half and hour or so we were driving through a wide, level valley. Intensive cultivation. Maize and all sorts of vegetables.
Soon we started to climb and the scenery changed. Much more arid and brown with less vegetation. Wide open spaces. Interspersed with small settlements and farmsteads. Mainly herds of sheep and cattle. All a very dusty grey/brown colour, merging with their surroundings.
Dennis wasn’t very keen on going to Colca Canyon. He fears it will be a disappointment. Even if it is, after the ride and the scenery we experienced this afternoon, it will have been worth it.
Yauri
There had been no major settlements during the morning, until we came to Yauri. It was larger than we anticipated. Traffic was a mess and several roads were closed. We found ourselves trying to go the wrong way down a one way street. A police lady was waving her arms at us. We had to reverse and turn around.
We stopped for fuel. I was concerned we would not have sufficient. Dennis kept looking for a cheaper fuel station and said we had a spare jerry can. Having looked at how isolated we were going to be, on the map, I persuaded him to fill up.
Eventually we found our way out of Yauri, driving along beside the airfield. No fencing or indication it was a runway. Soon the road changed dramatically. No longer tar seal, just gravel.
This was a surprise as the map indicated a surfaced road. We found a sheltered spot and stopped for lunch. It feels very remote.
The scenery is magnificent. We are in a canyon beside a river. On the far bank we came across some interesting Inca ruins. In fact we passed several sites along the route, but most require a hike of an hour or two to reach them, though, so we continued.
We came to a point where three canyons meet, the Tres Canones de Suykutambo. There was a small visitor centre. The two ladies who managed the centre were sitting at the viewpoint knitting, when we walked up to take some photos. One lady wanted us to sign the visitor’s book. Dennis duly obliged. The previous entry was in 14th October by an Argentinian. A very little travelled route, obviously.
The gravel road continued taking us beside the river with some spectacular scenery. Eventually we left the river and started to climb. It felt even more remote and we obviously didn’t make as rapid progress as we had expected. I thought we would be lucky to get to Colca Canyon by nightfall, but now it was very doubtful. Instead of sheep and cattle there are now herds of alpacas and llamas.
When we first came into Peru from Ecuador, the northern coastal area was unattractive and dirty. I think we made the comment that we could not understand the people we had spoken to, who said Peru was their favourite country. Now we understand. The south of Peru is gorgeous scenically, with so many interesting natural as well as historic sights to visit.
We came to a point where two roads meet and are able to make slightly faster progress as the road was graded and is smoother. Out of the blue, brand new tar seal appears. There are many Lorries now too. The sealed road is a work in progress. Sadly it doesn’t last long.
Crossing a river, I read that according to Wikipedia it is the main source river for the Amazon. There is a tanker pumping up water from the river. During the day we passed several tankers pumping water from some barely flowing rivers. It is so dry everywhere. Drought is apparently a big problem through a large part of South America at the moment.
We catch up with a procession of trucks which are producing so much dust from the dry, gravel road we simply cannot see to pass. Fortunately, 6 trucks all pull up in a line and we can get past.
Starting the descent we could see the town of Sibayo in the valley.
Sibayo
There are two possibly places to stay here. We found the first in a narrow street. Eventually someone came to the door, after our knocking. Inside is a pretty courtyard, but there is nowhere to park, so we move on.
Looking for the other place, we couldn’t locate it. It may no longer exist, as the write up on iOverlander is dated 2019. It is getting late so we have to find somewhere to stop. Dennis decided to pull in beside a large building on an empty piece of land, which is reasonably out of the way.
Setting up camp, after we had tried to remove as much dust as possible from everything, it was quickly dark. We cooked dinner and I wrote this blog. We had limited wifi on my phone, so loading photos wasn’t possible, nor could I post it. Dennis said the building next to us was being used to play football. We could hear the players, otherwise it was peaceful.
We were camped at 3,880 meters. Most of the day we were over 4,000 meters. In some places considerably over. Dennis wonders if this is contributing to our poor sleep recently.
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