Cordillera Blanca National Park

Alas, it is time to say my goodbyes and depart Huaras - I am sorry that I do not have a picture of Tito to post but after spending enough time together one forgets to take photos - however, we will see each other again. Matt (www.pedalpanam.com) and I rode down to the plaza and met Lucie and Torrey (www.pedalingsouth.com), two Canadians Matt had met in Trujillo, headed in the same direction. We were all headed south through the Cordillera Blanca National Park then onwards to Huanuco. Initially on pavement but within 45km a rough dirt road headed up into the Carpa section of the Cordillera Blanca National Park. Starting up the gentle grade of the dirt road the altitude in already apparent - my two weeks sitting at 10,000 feet help. We all stop to coca up for the climbing.

The landscape is wide open puna giving unobstructed views of the mountains to come.
A couple kilometers shy of the ranger station we set up camp for a restless night of sleep at over 4100 meters (13700+ft) but woke to a beautiful morning just cold enough to create a skim of ice over the ponds. The area is sparsely settled with camps for herding sheep, the occasional cactus, coarse ichu grass, and an abundance of birds around water. I find it hard to imagine living at this altitude, especially when I am seeing stars laboring up a pass and most people only live here seasonally to graze animals. Campesinos avoid contact for the most part attending to their pastoral duties. Camping is pretty much wide open where you will.
Stopping to register at the ranger station I am told that Puya Raimondis are in bloom. YES! I had two botanic goals for this trip 1. see orchids in bloom outside of a greenhouse, which I did in profusion on the Volcano Conception (4/28/2010) 2. see a Puya Raimondi in bloom. The Puya Raimondi or Titanca, in Quechua, is the largest of the Bromiliad family and very rare existing only in a few places in Peru above 3800 meters and one place in Bolivia. The life cycle of a Puya is anywhere from 40 to 100+ years. Besides being one of the oldest plants, the Puya has the world's largest florescence with a 10 meter high spike of 3000+ creamy white flowers producing 6 million+ seeds. After flowering the plant begins to die. I have seen plenty of young or dying Puyas but never one flowering because I am always in Peru before they begin flowering in late August. This was my second time through the Carpa region of the Cordillera Blanca. Finally, I see Puyas in bloom after looking for over a decade.

The fronds of the plants are lined with stout thorns able to hook into a sheep's wool coat holding them until they starve or rescued – hence making them rather unpopular with local herders.

A Puya Raimondi at its end.
After climbing around the hillsides checking out Puyas and doing handstands we begin climbing up the valley in earnest for what promises to be a long beautiful day.
Passing some 1600+ year old paintings along the way.
The road remains a gentle grade as it switchbacks towards the pass but loose gravel and altitude make walking a reasonable and appealing option.
We top out on the first pass at about 4800 meters and begin a gentle descent passing herds of alpaca grazing in the wetlands below created by the glaciers.
Climbing to the second pass the road passes beneath a glacier hanging above the road. The time is mid afternoon and nothing seems to be moving but the abundance of boulders in the road means I am not going to be hanging out. If it was 5 or 6 in the evening I'd be crapping my pants. The freeze/thaw cycle can create some spectacular ice avalanches but I prefer watching them from a distance.
The second pass was a brain deadening 4900 meters - we admired the view, put on some warm clothes, then it was time to head down down down. Within 10 km we intersected a paved road, no wait, the paved road and continued a beautiful descent for over 20km into the valley below passing from treeless puna to eucalyptus trees, to farming and several large scale mining operations. You will have to trust me on the beautiful part – fading light, freezing temperatures, starvation, a leak in my front tire, and a serious front end shimmy kept my attention on the riding and not photography. We pulled into bustling little Huallanca at dusk full of mining pickups, mototaxis, and food stands – ate and went to bed.