May 31st,
2018
Sunny
intervals
The last day of the month and I
am up at 4.00 a.m. Not that I want to be but my patience has reached it's end
and the group of people in a room down the hallway, who have been talking,
laughing and playing music all night, have finally got me out of bed and
banging on their door. On the second round of my persistent knocks they open
the door and my begging that at four a.m such noise is not on brings an English
word, “sorry.” They carry on until 5! Oh well, I edit my three hundred and
eighty seven photographs and listen to music.
Five o'clock, they stop. A
cockerel just outside makes his own persistent noise for an hour! I'll shoot
the bloody thing. Another one replies to him. Aaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhhhh! I give
up trying to get a couple more hours sleep and get up, packed and ready to go.
Pushing the bike up a very steep
dirt side road in the village, to get to the main road at the top of the
incline, two snarling dogs are surprised when instead of abuse and the threat of
a pebble, they get some chicken bones instead. I always prefer sugar to a stick
and they both stop their attack to fight over the bones.
The road to the top most point,
the summit as I call it, has me fooled. The map says it is only eight miles to
it yet the gradient is one of the steepest I have had to push on so far and
therefore the time taken to get there is longer than I had expected. Two women
stop me before I reach that point and practically beg for one of my cuddlies. I
go through the now regular reasons why that cannot be.
At the summit, which is at the
far end of an almost empty village, I meet the first cyclists of my tour. A
Swiss couple from the beautiful city of Lucern, have been cycling from
Patagonia for six months and are heading north. To cycle as a couple must be
wonderful and I have pangs of envy. I often feel lonely and someone to share a
tent with on a cold night would be wonderful. Any female Biking Birders out
there?
The cycle down is as rapid as
the uphill struggle wasn't. I stop after just a few kilometres because some
pale looking swifts are dashing around the fir and Eucalyptus tree canopy. I am
surprised to find that they are a sub-species of the already seen Andean
Swifts.
Now I have been surprised and disappointed at the lack of swifts and
swallows on this trip and hope that will change once I am walking down the
Urubamba river valley to Aguas Calientes.
Another stop to see what birds
are in the large bushes as I munch some lunch. Red-crested Cottinga, Sparkling
and Green Violetear show themselves. Now what was that cotinga-sized bird with
the bright orange wings? No idea!
The descent continues and the
temperature rises. By the time I have reached the river the afternoon heat is
incredible and as I turn to face north instead of south, as I cycle along, a
strong breeze hits me. Unbelievable, from freezing ice two nights ago to
tropical temperatures. Peruvian Andes, ringing the changes. A cafe attached to
a petrol station saves me. I am tired and the thought of a ten mile push up to
Abancay has me thinking of where do I camp. I turn in and find a table.
Half an hour later, a cup of
strong coffee inside and a litre of some sort of milk inside me, I am ready,
refreshed and ready to face the hill. Headphones on, The Who . . . perfect!
Two hours later, just as
darkness falls and having faced the largest number of barking dogs on the trip
so far, I arrive in Abancay centre and find a great hotel, chuffed that I made
it.
Green Year list :
204 birds average
new birds to list per day : 3.34 birds
Distance walked, pushed and cycled : 39.63 miles
elevation : up 7,407 feet, down 8,976 feet
altitude : 7,504 feet
May statistics :
total miles : 596.7 elevation : 74,622 feet
UP! 81,696 feet down.
New birds for Green Year list : 24
Solitary Sandpiper, Puna Snipe, Ornate Tinamou,
Aplomado Falcon, White-collared swift, Streaked Tit-spinetail, White-bellied
Hummingbird, Blue-capped Tanager, Black-backed Grosbeak, White-winged Black
Tyrant, Sierran Eleania,Red-eyed Vireo, Scarle-fronted Parakeet, Bran-coloured
Flycatcher, Mitred Parakeet, Cinereous harrier, Black-tailed Trainbearer, Green
Violetear, Red-crested Cottinga, Crimson-mantled Woodpecker, Rust & Yellow
tanager, Azara's Spinetail, Rufous-webbed Bush tyrant and Rusty-fronted
Canestero.
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