Peru Tour Day 3 Abancay to Chalhuanca

Plenty of aches to go around this morning.  My arms and hands are particularly sore from the climbing yesterday and from holding the handlebar and brakes on the big downhill.  We had an excellent breakfast at the Ozy Wasy Hotel in Abancay.  Today was sunny and warm.  We left Abancay on a downhill run for the first 28 km.  After that we spent the day mystified by false summits and false downhills.  A false summit occurs when the apparent summit is not the summit, but turning a corner reveals a further climb to pursue.  A false downhill occurs when the landscape says you’re heading downhill and your speed and cycle computer tell you otherwise.  We followed the Chalhuanca River today but opposite the direction of flow.  We are generally travelling west and the river travels east.  This is what gives rise to the false downhills.  We climbed 3,700 feet today, but net of the initial downhill we rose only to 8,500 feet. 

We travelled the river valley all day.  This is an arid region with a little agriculture and very sparsely populated.  Often today I found myself alone on the road, no traffic in either direction.  The traffic we do see is mainly of three types: delivery and supply trucks, long distance busses and local taxis that pick up local people along the roadside.  No phones, so travelers go to the side of the road and flag down a taxi.  Since there are few private cars, the taxis are often full, leaving would-be customers for the next driver. 

Some of the great adventures of this trip involve eating.  Today, the spot scouted out for of lunch in the planning of this tour was closed.  The guides went a little further down the road and found a great restaurant which featured trout.  I had Saulta Trucha which was trout sautéed in garlic, onions and tomatoes.  It was delicious.  You can see from the photo below the setting of the restaurant was idyllic.  The owner farms his own trout, so literally our lunch was caught the same day, prepared and served.  All for 15 soles (about $6).

After lunch and a short ride to the end of the day, we arrived at our resort destination.  Deluxe, even without comparison to some of our more Spartan lodgings. 

Lunch stop along the road, romantic, eh?