Huancavelica

From Iszuchaca to Huancavelica, we will travel 75km from one valley to another, and from village to village on the plateau at around 4000m. On our way out of Iszuchaca, we run into trouble with dogs, as often; unfortunately one of them grabs Alice's calf in his mouth. Lots of adrenaline but fortunately no bite nor damage and we can continue.

It is Saturday, marked by collective activities: one village, notable for its giant figures posted on the road, holds a lively general market; on route to another village, a travelling party is organized, the young generation dress up and dance on the road, stopping traffic to offer drinks (spirits and beer) -- which of course we cannot accept.

We stop for the night 20km from Huancavelica, near a little village cemetery. A delegation of friendly villagers soon arrives wanting to talk. Our spanish being limited, they undertake group pictures with great laughter. Once they are gone, we are left on our own with the dogs, very interested in our dinner, and whose language we don't speak either. This is less funny, but we manage to keep them at a distance. We are treated to a little barking concert around midnight, it's also the dogs saturday night, after all.

After this almost quiet night we restart in the morning with superb play of light and fog... and a puncture. We arrive to Huancavelica from the north side of the valley, welcomed by extravagant formations of limestone deposits.

Huancavelica is a little colonial city, with several churches from that era. By the time we arrive, the Sunday morning is passed and they are all closed.

We enjoy our first ever Alpaca steak at a local restaurant next to the Plaza de Armas; stroll in the market on the river bank; and experience a tremendous episode of tropical rain. The next morning all is clear, and beautiful.Read more