Day 16 - Riding the Top of the World

Today, we left Nasca early to embark on the longest day (distance and time) of the trip so far.  As we left Nasca, we headed straight East towards the Andes to begin our ascent.

Our first stop was in Piqueo.  A great small town with a lively scene at the central garden.  We met some people there ... all curious about what we were doing.  It is always good to connect with people. 

We went on to a great road with unending curves and switchbacks and cliffs and drops ... as we ascended to 15,000 ft. where we found another world of strange and unique landscapes, the occasional herd of Alpacas, deep blue lakes, snowy peaks in the distance.  Mesmerizing.

After 6 hours of negotiating all these exciting and challenging roads, we stopped to see if we could get something to eat up there.  We met these women that were happy to feed us ... we had the most delicious rice, yuca, and cuy (guinea pig) ... or maybe we were just hungry : )

Indigenous people in these parts have very unique and elegant physical features ... their eyes, their noses ... the resemblance to the people in the Himalayas is hard to not notice. I wonder if somebody has connected these two populations to a common ancestor.  

Meeting them was a great reminder that all the people around the world are the same ... eager to help and feed a stranger ... smiling and laughing ... unconditional love for children. ... and love for music and dancing.  

I learned that their favorite music is called Huaylia ... it sounds Chinese ... and dancing to it requires a lot of footwork. A little girl showed me how it was done.

After riding for several hours at 15,000 ft we started to come down through impossibly twisty roads towards Abancay, our destination for the day.  The final two hours were slowly descending through a deep canyon carved by the river inside it.

Abancay is as a Peruvian town as you can get.  No tourists, a real working town, with traffic, and lots of stores, and a central main square.  We saw a political demonstration in the streets supporting a candidate for Mayor.

We had dinner at an old mansion looking house ... kind of out of place in this town ... and called it a day.  Tomorrow, we head to Cuzco. 

Our first fuel stop of the day

Riding the top of the world for hours

A quick stop in Piqueo as we began to climb to the top of the Andes

Discussing the meaning of life with the elders in Piqueo

Piquets small central square

Beautiful and unique landscapes at the top of the Andes.  Wow.

Just stunning views everywhere

Riding the canyon towards Abancay

Beautiful blue lakes at the top of of the Andes

And the welcoming committee

Our stop for lunch in the middle of nowhere way high

They were playing Huaylia (local music) and this girl wanted to shown me how to dance it

Hearty plates of rice, yuca in a curry like sauce, and cuy (guinea pig)

A satisfied bunch ready to ride through more peaks and mountains

The canyons as we approached Abancay

Abancay perched on a hill between mountains

Our hotel in Abancay - very basic, this town is not a tourist destination

But I did find an ice cream store with cappuccinos and empanadas - so good after the long long ride

We were caught in a political demonstration in the streets of Abancay

The main square in Abancay

We found this old mansion (so out of place in this town) and a restaurant inside

Our dinner table inside the old house - the rest of the group was too beaten to go out

Our route so far - we are now heading to the Amazon basin to begin the crossing