May
3rd,
2018
Cold,
icy morning leading to a very sunny, warm day
I
knew it had been cold in the night but how cold I am surprised at.
Ice is covering my tent! Peaking through the opened flap I can see
frost covered grass and little else. There is thick fog outside. I
curl up deeper into my sleeping bag.
Emerging
an hour later, the fog has gone and there is a deep blue sky and
sunshine. I wonder of the sky is a deeper blue at this altitude than
at sea level? Packed and pushing, the road takes me through beautiful
green valleys. Road workers are busy once more improving the surface.
A large vehicle sprays the surface with water and two immense
vehicles with metal rollers flatten it out. They are all so friendly
as I pass.
Mile
after mile has me mostly pushing the bike uphill. Herd after herd of
Alpaca and Llamma are seen and then Vicunias, the beautiful, fragile
smaller specie of Llama dominate. The males alert the rest of the
family of my presence and they watch alert, calling a strange
warbling sound as I pass.
A
large lagoon greets me over one summit and on it there are a pair of
Silvery Grebes. The occasional Thick-billed Miner scurries from off
the road into the grass. The occasional raptor flies over;
Black-breasted Buzzard eagle, Variable Hawk and American Kestrel.
There is the occasional flock of Andean Geese. Another lagoon has
White-tufted Grebes on it. Not masses of birds but enough to keep one
looking.
Lunchtime
and the unusual apparition of a smart-looking brand new bus stop
shelter is well timed. I sit and munch and watch a hairy caterpillar
attempt to climb one if it's walls. Dusty lorries pass and the
expansive views of limestone layered hills, angled away from the
perpendicular, and green grasslands are beautiful. It is a lovely
day.
A
long descent on a descent road, there are thousands of sheep
corralled into a large barb wire surrounded field. The lack of
vegetation in this makes one aware of how sheep over graze an area.
The sheep look grey and skinny and all are searching for the merest
morsel. On the other side of the road is a field with no sheep. The
contrast is marked.
The
road bends and ends with a junction onto a busy, expansive road of
pure, smooth tarmac. I turn right and the next twenty two miles
almost requires no pedalling. The road descends steeply through a
stunningly beautiful gorge of white rocks and green grasslands. The
road is a toll road but I am waved through the toll gate. No fee for
me. There is a railway line all the way down the valley but no
trains. How wonderful it would be to explore Peru by train.
The
cliffs have layer upon layer of limestone angled to the sky, bent and
eroded layers exposed to show earth works, millions of years of
sediment now compacted and thousands of feet above any sea.
As
the Sun disappears behind the hills I reach the city of La Oroya, a
busy, noisy city with a huge factory complex at the south end of it
that has an immense chimney belching out some disgusting stuff. I
find a hostel. It has been a long day. After a walk around a few
streets to get some food I sit on my bed with the intention of
relaxing and eating. That doesn't happen. I fall asleep.
Green
Year list : 184 birds average new birds to list per day : 5.58
birds
Distance
walked : 36.40 miles
elevation
: up 2,221 feet, down 3,381 feet
altitude
: 12,500 feet
No comments:
Post a Comment