The 4200 Meter Pass - 73km post to Puquio, Peru - 86km

Frank here...

It was so nice to awaken beside a big valley in the cool sunshine. I had a headache and was not as quick to move as normal, in fact I even laid down a bit longer. By 7:00am it warmed enough for a t-shirt.

The ride began tough, but by 12 kilometers (85 km post), I seemed to hit the summit as I passed by many llamas and herds of vecuñas. The pass was at 4200 meters above sea level. Yahoo, or so I thought. The terrain continued to roll until 98 km post. I was so relieved. I was rewarded with a 26 kilometer descent. What a flight! I deserved every wheel rotation of it.

Before the great descent I stopped for lunch in Pampa Galeras (89km post) and had a fun visit with Naesa and Dareo. Nasea, a Quechua woman, was very witty. I could tell because of how Dareo sometimes laughed after she said something in her native tounge. We bantered about getting married and she coming to Canada to live and sell traditional Peruvian food.

Back to the downhill ride... It was awesome not only because of the treat of not having to pedal, but the road got very smooth with a great wide shoulder. As I negotiated the switchback and I looked at the community below I was reminded of how it looked when skiing down a big ski hill in western Canada. For all you skiiers, it was like doing a 40 minute super giant slalom. Yahoo! And, for you cyclers, it was like heaven.

The other side of the mountain was different. As I descended, trees, vegetation and agricultural land appeared and I even saw and heard rushing streams near the bottom. A totally new sight was the appearance of many many stone fences about one meter high with no mortar and terraces. They gave the landscape a wonderful patchwork appearance.

Immediately after my great descent, I again had to climb. I resigned to the comforting idea that the last 26km was a gift. I rode into Lucanas and was called by a young girl to have lunch at her place for one sol (30 cents). Somehere there was confusion because the woman who ran the place did not give me change from the two soles coin that I gave her, but that was OK with me because the meal was worth more to me. I was a bit unsure of the health safety about the food, but I took a chance. I needed food. Like yesterday, I put my head down at the table for a bit of a snooze before heading on the road again. During my break it poured hard for about 30 seconds. Is this the rainy season that everyone is warning me about?

I decided to continue another 30km towards Puquio even though my local sources said that it was mostly uphill. Well there was more uphill, but not too much, so I was able to enjoy another downhill flight but not as much as earlier in the day. I am glad because I was dreading another big climb. I made up a little game to make the uphill part a bit easier to manage.

Puquio looked pretty rough to me with no hint of any asphalt, not even the main thoroughfare and the homes looked a bit more delapitated. The people, however, were a big contrast to the rough looking town. They were very encouraging and cordial. I was even asked for my autograph for a couple of students. I took the first hostal that came to my view, Hostal Central for 10 soles. I was so glad that I was able to stay on the main floor, and was even more glad that there was a shower with hot water.

The first thing that I did was write a note for Tad. I went to the Plaza de Armas and went to post the note on the right side of the right door of the main church. As I approached the church a bunch of teenagers hanging around got my attention and pointed out a note for me from Tad on the wall. Great, and what a surprise! I never new that he was ahead of me. I guess he passed me on a bus while I was in some tiny restaurant. Well the message said that he left from Puquio at 4:00pm, and it was 5:00pm when I read his message.

I did not feel like trying to catch him because the sun was now on its way down. So, I took in the festivities at the Plaza. A local educational institution was having its 16th annual anniversary celebration. What great timing for me.

There was music with what appeared to be traditional sierra dancing. Another performance consisted of guys with white paint on their face throwing water and powder on the audience. That was followed by a Christmas nativity scene (even though the celebration was not for Christmas). Puquio seemed to be populated by mostly Quechua people.

After the festivities and before nightfall I shopped in the market for the next day´s food. Well some of it ended up being my supper because I fell asleep from 6 to 10:00pm and ate some of my groceries for a late dinner.

The night was chilly. I was glad that I was in tbe warm roon of the hostal. I wondered if there was snow in my home town of Thunder Bay.

-Would people feel as poor if they never had the chance to compare to rich people - and vise versa?

-Frank Pollari

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