Kai’s private taxi organized by Hostal Kokopelli in Lima for $15 met him at the airport but then told him to wait for another person arriving on a different flight – after 30-40 minutes the taxi driver gave up and drove Kai to meet me at the hostal.  We sat and drank some beer and contemplated all the 20-year-olds who seemed to dominate the hostal.

Lakes near 4,500m pass Lima to Marcavalle, Peru

The following day we slouched about Lima, going to the surf beach and cliffs near the Miraflores neighbourhood, tried to buy Alpaca sweaters and failed, and drank lots of coffee.   The urge to go out to bars struck quite predictably in the evening and we ended up in several disco type places until very late. So our plan to drive to Huancayo the following day got off to a late start and we ended up fighting through Lima traffic in the sweltering sun and fumes for until about 1:30 pm.   Finally the mountains that always appeared to be so mysterious to me from the whole road along the coast loomed large.  The road followed the river canyon through the dry and craggy mountains and quickly gained altitude.

Freezing cold around 4500m Lima to Marcavalle, Peru

Both of us started to feel quite cold and I checked the GPS to realize that we were reaching 4,000 meters.   As per experience this meant that clouds were soon surrounding us and the temperature kept dropping.   Then it started to drizzle, hail, and although dizzy from the altitude and numb from the cold, I’m certain there were snow flakes as well.   When we finally crested the pass the altitude was 4,500 4,830 (GPS accuracy) meters, the highest either of us had been without the aid of mechanical wings.  There was a beautiful set of lakes just over the other side although neither of us was in the mood to hang around long.

Lunar Marcavalle, Peru

When we got to what seemed to be a more humanly habitable altitude we passed through a moon-scaped town (Marcavalle, north of Oroya) with bare hills and decided to spend the night.  It wasn’t apparently habitable yet for us as we felt breathless and slept very fitfully all night at just under 4,000 meters. about 4,400 meters.

Colonial town before dirt-road turn-off to Ayacucho, Peru

By the next morning Kai was beginning to question WHY we were in the mountains anyway and hadn’t taken the coastal road.  In my defense I think I had explained the reasoning and we had had an accord about which route to take.  So we set off in anticipation of making it to Ayacucho which the Lonely Planet described with glowing ‘well off the gringo trail’ praises.   After about 70 kms into our 376 km trip we stopped at a pleasant tiny colonial town.

Canyon to Ayacucho, Peru

From there the road unfortunately turned to gravel with sheer drop-offs into the river canyon below.   200 or so kilometers on bumpy, twisty, and dusty single-track road had both of us wishing to be back on pavement and happily checked into a hotel.  As dusk was rapidly approaching we did pass into a desert-area that redeemed the exhausting trip for me – although I’m not sure Kai would agree.

Desert before Ayacucho, Peru

Desert before Ayacucho, Peru

We rolled into Ayacucho – which indeed was a pleasant town mostly off the tourist trail entirely, at about 6pm.  After ~10 hours of bumpy riding, covered in dust, and exhausted we found a hotel and a little irritated discussion and managed to eat, have some beer, and fall asleep.

Ayacucho Plaza, Peru

4800m pass Lima to Marcavalle, Peru	4800m pass Lima to Marcavalle, Peru	4800m pass Lima to Marcavalle, Peru	4800m pass Lima to Marcavalle, Peru
4800m pass Lima to Marcavalle, Peru	4800m pass Lima to Marcavalle, Peru	Marcavalle, Peru	Marcavalle, Peru
Marcavalle, Peru	Marcavalle, Peru	Marcavalle, Peru	Marcavalle, Peru
	Colonial town before dirt-road turn-off to Ayacucho, Peru	Colonial town before dirt-road turn-off to Ayacucho, Peru	Canyon to Ayacucho, Peru
Canyon to Ayacucho, Peru	Canyon to Ayacucho, Peru	Canyon to Ayacucho, Peru	Canyon to Ayacucho, Peru
Canyon to Ayacucho, Peru	Canyon to Ayacucho, Peru	Desert before Ayacucho, Peru	Desert before Ayacucho, Peru
Desert before Ayacucho, Peru	Desert before Ayacucho, Peru	Desert before Ayacucho, Peru	Desert before Ayacucho, Peru
Desert before Ayacucho, Peru	Desert before Ayacucho, Peru	Desert before Ayacucho, Peru	Desert before Ayacucho, Peru
Desert before Ayacucho, Peru	Desert before Ayacucho, Peru	Desert before Ayacucho, Peru	Desert before Ayacucho, Peru
Descending to Ayacucho, Peru	Ayacucho Plaza, Peru	Ayacucho Plaza, Peru

Lima, to MarcaValle, To Ayacucho