Day 292 - Huallanca

I checked the brakes this morning before the steep downhill drive to the buried village of Yungay.

We had an interesting conversation at the memorial with a surviving farmer who had lost his house and his entire family in the disaster. Among other things, he told us that the Red Cross had assisted the village. But because of corruption, the money and goods were not distributed evenly among the victims. He pointed to his felt hat with a grin and said: this is all they gave me!

We continued exploring the Huaraz Valley further to the North. It finally became narrow with steep drop-offs and ended in a long gorge with 34 tunnels. The road was built on an old railroad track.

At one point, we came to a newly constructed section of the road. The old section could be seen at 50 feet below. A damaged bus was still sitting on it. It looked like a drawing in a comic book! But it was nothing to laugh about. It’s the rainy season; it could happen again at any given time.

After a while, the road was worsening with slippery sections, potholes, and fallen rocks. We were almost out of the gorge when we had to stop at a barricade with a Do-Not-Cross sign. A worker made us understand that we should turn around. He said the road ahead to Chimbote was closed. Flash floods had washed away a bridge. An oncoming car confirmed his message.

So, we had no choice but to drive back the same way we came. And at the same time, the floodgates of heaven opened. We picked up a backpacker along the way. The poor guy was soaking wet and glad he could hitch a ride with us.

After hours we were out of the gorge again and already past Yungay. It was dark and still raining heavily. Up ahead, a large construction truck was blocking the road. There was no way to pass it. The driver said it couldn’t move due to a broken fuel line. He had sent his son to get help.

At that point, we were all tired but didn’t want to spend the night there. Instead, we drove back to Yungay Nuevo and camped at the new town square.

Stats: Miles 117, Expenses $2.30Read more