South America in Versys 650 – Motorcycle Latin America (15): trek on the Cordillera Blanca –

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Latin America by motorcycle (15): trek on the Cordillera Blanca

South America in Versys 650 - Latin America by motorbike (15): trek on the Cordillera Blanca -

After Sabrina returned to France, I resumed my journey north. At 11:00 am, I see an old Behemoth in front of me: I pass the biker and signal him to stop. Obviously, he’s a German !

After the, I resumed my journey north. At 11:00 am, I see an old Behemian in front of me: I pass the biker and signal him to stop. Of course, he’s a German !

A hell of a backpacker the type: he started his round-the-world tour in May 2010, heading east. After Asia and Australia, here he is in South America, where he is racing back up to Alaska in August. An entire program !

In Barrancay, we separate. I leave the Pan-American road towards Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca. Grandiose! The Cordillera Blanca has the most beautiful glacial mountains in South America and magnificent high altitude lakes with turquoise water.

Andean populations

It is also an opportunity to meet the Andean populations in places inaccessible by motorbike. On April 11, I made the preparations in Huaraz and I went to the small village of Cashapampa where I spent the night. This will be the start of the trek at 2900 m altitude.

The next day, I leave at 8 am on foot for Hualcayan. This little warm-up is an opportunity to cross this agricultural plateau and chat with a family met on the way, who also goes to Hualcayan.

First break at 3200 m

At the end of the course I let them slip away, my bag is heavy and I prefer to save myself. I arrive around noon in Hualcayan, where I take a final break at 3200m before starting to climb the first mountain pastures. For this first day, I stop at 4 p.m. at an altitude of 3800 m to set up my camp.

In order to limit the weight of my bag, I did not take a tent but only a tarp and a hammock, which necessarily takes a little longer to set up…

After a rainy night, I take the path that climbs up the mountainside. But morally it’s hard, because I can always see the village. Fortunately, around 4200 m the landscapes change, I get closer to the lagoons.

Camp at 4650 m

Around 3:30 p.m., finally, I arrived at the Cullicotcha lagoon at 4650 m above sea level. I’d rather stop there for today, the view is great! The next morning, it’s been a while since I woke up when the sun comes out and melts the ice on the tarp.

What was it cold! During the morning, I pass the abra Cullicotcha at 4850 m then the Alpamayo viola at 4700 m, before having my first meeting in two days: Sam, an American who has not seen anyone for three days, is fine. glad to find someone to talk to !

I then continue down the valley and follow the river until I settle on its shore, where tomorrow I will branch off for the Cara Cara pass..

It took me three quarters of an hour to find the way to the pass, but by dint of trial and error I climb and finally reach the top.

The descent on the other side is not easy either. I cross a marshy border valley before going up towards the Paso de Mesopampa. The view is splendid on the snow-capped peaks, but quickly the weather is cloudy so I descend to the Safuna lagoon.

Jesus and the trout

Along the way, five horses gallop with their stomachs to the ground, followed by a shepherd on his mount. His name is Jesus! I greet him, he stops, we chat, he invites me to eat, then to sleep and finally to stay the next day.

After a good night’s sleep in a bed of straw with Peruvian dimensions (1.50 m!), We set off for a frolic in the valley looking for its animals in one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world. Around 1 p.m. we come home to finish the leftover soup from the day before, then we fry some corn before starting a hell of a fishing trip in the river opposite.

With his net, he brought back 20 trout in less than an hour! It is 5 p.m. when we finish emptying them. It’s funny to see them get agitated when I have just torn their heart, lungs, intestines … The evening ends like this, with a full stomach, satisfied with my day as a shepherd.

I would have stayed longer, but I really have to keep improving. He shows me the way to pass the pass, but it is really not obvious and the clouds block the view…

I still try to find the passage, but after an hour I prefer to change my mind: the weather is too blocked near the peaks.

Jesus’ wife

I turn around and take the path for Pomabamba, which I must reach during the day in order to find a hotel and recharge the camera. Along the way, I meet a "campesino" who is also returning to the city. I thus begin a long descent in the muddy pastures of the Cordillera Blanca.

In the middle of the day, we meet Jesus’ wife who comes home from the city with saddlebags full of provisions! She still has to pass the mountains in front of her before nightfall, so she don’t hang around.

During the descent, the valley is more and more inhabited. I discover small villages where walking and riding a horse are the only means to access these steep places.

The day goes by in the course of the meetings which accompany me for more or less a long time until Pomabamba, where I arrive with bloody feet after more than 10 hours of walking.

Return to town after 10 hours of walking

After six days in the mountains, I find it hard to land in this small town where everything becomes easy, but I only stay one night: the next day I go back to the mountains after having treated my feet! They still have four days to go, so I’m careful not to overdo it. In the evening, I move back to these high mountain pastures that have become my home.

The next day, I cross a new agricultural valley where each meeting is an opportunity to ask my way to the Huecrococha lagoon, where I will take a final gastronomic break before setting out again for the mountains. Until I hang on two eucalyptus trees at an altitude of 4200 m !

When you wake up, isn’t the view magnificent? I pass yet another pass at the end of the morning, then descend to the Huishcash lagoon before climbing up to the Punta Union pass at 4700 m. My last pass, phew! Now it’s just downhill, and this will be my last bivouac.

The last day, I end with quebrada Santa Cruz where I meet Pedro and his son, who have left for two days to have a look at their animals in the mountains. I have three hours of walking left and this is the end of this terrible adventure in the mountains of the Cordillera Blanca.

I pick up my motorcycle, and after an hour on the track I find myself in Caraz where I can finally rest … To be continued: stay connected !

Maxime BARAT

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