Link to PHOTOS and VIDEOS Album
Just copies of my facebook posts since my last update. If you see my FB posts, you have seen these.
There were two main reasons to come to this area. One was the Canyon del Colca, which was really beautiful. The other was Mirador Cruz del Cóndor. This is a place you can reliably see condors everyday. They're typically there from 8:00 in the morning to 10:00 in the morning. My Home Stay Host said that because of the weather they might be getting up a little bit late today. The first one came by at 8:30, but The rest not until 9:00. By 9:30, most were gone. Then they all came back with friends for just a bit, by 10:00, all but one or two were long gone. So I left. I suspect they came back a number of times after I left.
They really were something to see. Some very high up, so very close, it was just a fun experience. And of course you saw the photo of the condor with the cell phone. They are pretty smart.
Not all the photos have condors in them. Some are there just for the scenery.
Condors 1
Condors 2:
Condors 3:
Again today, I had two choices. There was the preferred route, which was known to be almost all dirt. The second route, was mostly paved and I would have to go in on a dirt road to see what I wanted to see, and backtrack out. Time wise, they were not much different. Yesterday, I had enough time that when I realized the dirt Route was going to suck, I was able to backtrack and get on the pavement. Then when I got to the colca canyon, I could go in and still get to my destination about the same time. Today, if I backtracked at the area that was likely to be bad, that was it for the day. I would be staying the same place I did last night.
Today I chose the dirt road. It was well maintained, even though they were doing construction. Imagine that, with all that construction equipment, you can make the road you're working on passable by vehicles. What will they think up next.
After the construction area, I crossed the Amazon River. There was supposed to be a water crossing here, but I could not find it. So I went across the bridge. Okay, if you know anything about geography, you're probably wondering how I could have crossed the Amazon in this part of Peru. Well it wasn't actually the Amazon, it is a river that feeds into the Amazon. Close enough for me.
Apurimac River
Crossing The Amazon River.
The scenery up to the point where the road would cross the Amazon River, was real pretty, was definitely worth the trip to this point. But immediately after the bridge, there was a water crossing.
So water crossings, for those that are not motorcyclists, are pretty much what they sound like. You're crossing water. It can be really mellow, like a concrete culvert that barely even dips down, where water can flow across it. Or it can be like crossing a River. I had actually had a plan to turn around at this point If necessary. I knew there was supposed to be a bridge option, but I was supposed to go across the water crossing. That would have been crossing the Amazon river. I wasn't sure I wanted to do that alone, on a rather large heavy fully loaded motorcycle.
There are lots of water crossings in Peru. Most of them are not that bad. Sometimes you can see the bottom, and you know what you're in for. Other times the water is too muddy. You can usually watch another vehicle go through to get an idea of what there is under the water.
If the bottom is smooth, well packed earth or even concrete, it's not an issue as long as the water is not so deep that it will drown the engine. I have done water crossings where the water was well up my calf, while standing on the foot pegs of the motorcycle. But if there are no other vehicles going through it, and you can't see the bottom, you don't know what's there.
If you cross, and hit an unforeseen rock, it can knock you over. If the water is deep, and the bike lands on you, it can break your foot or leg, and it can pin you. If there's no one there to help you, you can drown. You normally cross these standing on the pegs. You do this partially for control, and partially because if your feet are on the ground, and the bike falls, bad things happen.
Needless to say, I get a little nervous doing an unknown water crossing if there's nobody else around.
So here I am in the middle of nowhere, staring at a water crossing. The stones are river rocks. Some the size of melons. Some softball size, some smaller. And there's another water crossing after it. And another, and another. This is where I would normally turn around, because even I have a little bit of sense.
Then my guardian angel arrived. In this case, the guardian angel took the form of a man in a bright orange construction workers jumpsuit. With a woman on the back of his 250 cc motorcycle. She was in traditional Peruvian clothes, and sitting side saddle. Totally relaxed.
His bike was made for these roads. Mine was not. He obviously rides these roads every day. He knew all the perfect lines, a perfect line being the best route to take. I followed him. On the valley floor, valley being 12,000 ft, there were a lot of water crossings. And I followed every one of his lines. There were only two times that I did not follow his lines. One time, he took a bad line, because there was a motorcycle on the other side of the crossing in the way of the good line. I waited and took the good line. The other time, I had stopped too close to the water crossing, and I couldn't get up enough speed early enough to follow his line. It was sloppy, but I made it through. Speed is your friend on these, you need the momentum to carry you through.
The only time I had a difficult time, as opposed to just hard work and risk, was when I had stopped the bike, and had not turned the traction control back off. On this bike, when you turn the bike off, traction control resets to on. Traction control reduces the power of the engine when the rear wheel starts to slip. When you're going through these water crossings, the last thing you want to do is let off power. So I got into one deep water crossing with deep squishy gravel, and the traction control engaged. I almost didn't make it across. It was an ugly crossing.
We have gone through so many water crossings on this trip, deep ones, rough ones, scary ones, muddy ones, plain old everyday ones. And yet, I have no good pictures of any of them. I finally broke down and got myself a GoPro for scuba diving. I may have to get a helmet attachment for it, because, if you've never done these kinds of things, and you've never seen these kinds of things, it's really hard to get a feel for just what we're dealing with here. The most interesting, and/or scary parts of the ride are never photographed. That's the last thing on your mind.
My guardian angel was there for the whole thing. And I did notice a few times where he stopped and waited to make sure that I made it through. He did stop once, to let his lady readjust her clothing, and I thanked him for watching over me. Peruvians are some of the best people I've ever met.
Once at the three canyons area, the scenery was just astounding. None of the pictures even touch on the beauty of this area.
My guardian angel
Eeepa = IPA
