3. Riding in The Clouds
Day 123
I was up early today as couple of overachieving roosters start squaring way before sunrise waking up the whole valley. Looking out of my windows I can see lots of clouds. It is especially dark towards the west. It looks better south, in the direction I am heading. Even my waterfall is shrouded in clouds. And the forecast calls for rain. It is time to get out of the valley. I packed and loaded everything quickly like a pro. I need to get out of the valley before 0800 as the road closes for construction after that till 1300. I inhaled my breakfast, said good byes and I I am heading down the hill.
I soon reach the valley floor and follow the river through some pretty narrow canyon. My neck will hurt as to see tops of the canyon walls I need to look straight up. After about 20 km I leave the secondary road and follow basically one lane road upstream. Nice scenery but I pay attention to the road with potholes and the traffic.
My destination today is 245 km away. I already know when I see a driving estimate in Google Maps, it is not a typo but a very close estimate. And it is showing the last 150 km in 5 hrs! I am sure it’ll be interesting.
The first 100km was spot on, almost 2 hrs following the valley. Then I turn onto even narrower road which pitches up. Way up. And I start climbing. Soon I can see huge panoramas with enormous valleys and mountains. It is impossible to describe it. Even picture don’t convey the depth or the hight or the steepness of the mountains. And everywhere you look you can find a house, way up near the top of the hill. It would take me a day to get there! What people do there, I have no idea. But it is very impressive. The road is now going from bad to worse. Big potholes and I don’t get out of the 2nd gear. Constantly turning, big switchbacks require 1st gear. It is tiring. But the views are better and better with altitude. One good thing is, there is virtually no traffic. When I meet oncoming traffic, the road is so narrow that one of us has to stop to let the other one go by. But the views! Any descriptions won’t do any justice and I run out of superlatives a long time ago.
I started today at 1,800m. Then I went down to 1,000m and now I am approaching Calla Calla Pass at 3,600m. OMG. Spectacular! I took some pics and then walked few hundred meters on the other side of the pass, WOW! Gigantic valley with steep wall and mountains as far as you can see are in front of me. Incredible sight. The tops of the mountains are all in clouds, adding even more hight to the scenery. It is partly cloudy and at the Pass it is +13˚C. It is time to head down to the valley.
The roads gets bit better but even more narrow now. Sheer drop offs on side, no guard rails. You better not suffer from a vertigo. You are always 2 feet from the edge of the cliff. It is a strange visual perspective as you have only something to anchor your eyes only on one side. There is a huge abyss on the other side. Feels very strange and I have to really concentrate on riding. The descent is endless. You can see other valleys and ridges and many roads on slopes that defy gravity. It is hard riding as I want to look and see what around me. But I better stop, then look. One mistake here would be your last. Just like on the way up I ride the 2nd gear all the way down. I stop many times taking photos on the way. And the temps are getting higher the lower I get. I have to check my handlebars because I grip them so hard they must be flat by now. And I think I need to change my underwear as well. And again, when I meet a traffic, I pull over and wait till they pass. I think I might have developed an arrhythmia because my heart skipped many beats. I am not gonna lie, this is pretty scary. After a looooong descent I reach the valley at 800m. The temp showing 39˚C. It is hot and dusty. I look at my GPS where the road goes next because I don’t see any exit from the valley. And the GPS is showing straight ahead. But there is a huge mountain! Sure I am not going there. Well, I do. I start to climb again on the other side of the valley. I look back and see the road I just descended on. This is incredible. The road up as as scary as the descent. A huge side of the mountain ahead has the switchbacks heading for the skies. I am lost for words. Oh well, I have to keep climbing. With every turn I can see more of the valley. And on the horizon at the top across this valley is the pass I came through. It seems like a long time ago. I navigate through all those switchbacks and impossibly narrow turns and after what seems like an eternity I reach another top. 3,500m again. And guess what, the steep descend on the other side. But this one is not that long and soon I reach my destination, town of Calendín. A fairly big town situated on a high plateau. I don’t have hotel reservation but have one hotel marked as it has good reviews from other bikers. It is right at the centre plaza. They have room for 60 Sol ($24). I take it. I put my bike in the hotel’s courtyard, out of everybody’s eyes.
Wow, what can I say? I think this was the most intense riding I have ever done. And one of the most beautiful. I keep finding these back roads with incredible views. There many more to come, I am sure. It is time to calm my nerves and have some cervezas and catch me some dinner. More adventures tomorrow.