PERU: Huancayo to Huancavelica (January 22, 2017)

At 3680 metres, the town of Huancavelica is about 400 metres higher in the mountains than our starting point in Huancayo. As the crow flies, the two towns are 84 km apart, but by road the distance becomes 114 km due to the number of switchbacks on the very steep route. Although the road is paved, it is narrow with no barrier on the valley side. I don't suffer from vertigo, but from my seat I couldn't see the road edge, only the drop into the valley. Even though we had a cautious bus driver, the journey was at times a white-knuckle experience.

At first, the landscape was gentle and fertile, a patchwork of cultivation. No doubt some of the produce we saw in the Huancayo market came from here.

As we proceeded, the mountain sides grew steeper and more barren. Photographs don't do justice to how high we were above the valley floor.

By the time we arrived in Huancavelica, I was feeling slightly dizzy and short of breath from the altitude. The town actually lies in the Mantaro River valley and is surrounded by even higher mountains, some reaching almost 5,000 metres.

Huancavelica is said to be one of the poorest towns in Peru. Since the closure of the Santa Barbara mine, once the largest source of mercury in South America, it has been struggling to attract tourists like ourselves, but since it is not on the well-travelled route to Machu Picchu, most give it a pass. We didn't see any other tourists during our short stay.
Our hotel, the Illariy, had only been open for a year. Although it was a bit cold and unadorned, it was convenient and comfortable, especially after we paid an extra 20 Soles for an electric heater. There was plenty of hot water and the included buffet breakfast was quite generous. Like most hotels in the Andes, they provided us with coca tea to cope with the altitude dizziness. Ibuprofen also helped.

We had hoped to find a thriving handcraft market, but were disappointed in the manufactured goods we saw. There was, however, a substantial book and magazine store, as long as you could read Spanish.



Otherwise, the attractions seemed to be a small square, pretty but inhabited by some snarling dogs, and several interesting churches.

The combined effects of altitude, the cold and the rain meant that we probably didn't appreciate the town as much as we would have in different conditions.

PERU: Huancayo (January 21-22, 2017)

We took a collectivo (shared minivan) for the 20 or so kilometres from Concepcion to Huancayo. Huancayo is the cultural and commercial centre of the Mantaro Valley in the Central Andes and Sunday is market day, so the van was packed with people. I sat near the front to have a good view out the window, but Michael had to sit in the centre of the back seat to have room for his long legs. The locals are short and sturdy, more or less my height. There were even some small women that I towered over.
The collectivo stopped often to drum up more customers and we were charmed by the conductor's melodious cry of "Huancayo, Huancayo" at every stop. The road was busy with other forms of transport, including bicycles.

When we arrived in the big, bustling city, we had to take a cab to our accommodation, which was across the river from the centre, but would still have been within walking distance if we hadn't had our bags with us.
There had been heavy rain overnight and the river was running fast.

Our hotel was friendly and clean, but our room on the second floor was quite dark and cave-like. Hot water came from a tank equipped with a blue solar panel on the roof.

It was a perfect location for visiting the market which occupied several streets just two blocks away. The rain had not discouraged any of the participants: a colourful medley of mainly food items was laid out under green and yellow awnings and the narrow spaces between stalls were thronged with local people. (Both here and at our next destination, Huancavelica, we saw virtually no other foreigners.)

The array of wares was extensive: apart from lots of fresh vegetables we saw dried beans,

... various kinds of flour, including quinoa and plantain,

... honey,

 ... cheese

... cuy (guinea pig), Peru's national dish, both alive


                                                                  
                                                                               ...and dead

... corn, looking very unlike the cultivated hybrids we grow in North America,

... potatoes of several kinds

... plants

... carved wooden masks

... the biggest avocados I've ever seen

... and fresh oregano.

There were also several stalls selling ready-to-eat food like steaming bowls of soup, but the most popular were the ones offering chunks of whole roasted pig.

Later in the day, we walked across the river to check out the centre of town. It was just as busy as the market, with lots of people shopping, eating or just hanging out in the main square.

The square also had some unusual topiary.

We noticed that as we were getting further away from the coast, we were seeing more locals, particularly women, in traditional dress: full skirts over leggings, long single braids, and straw hats.

PERU: Concepcion and Santa Rosa Monastery (January 20-21,2017)

Our hotel in Concepcion, although an attractive colonial mansion full of antique furniture, was cold and dim, the latter due to chandeliers whose original five candles had been replaced by three low-wattage compact fluorescents. We were, however, able to negotiate for a small electric heater at no extra charge. Our room overlooked a pretty green courtyard.

Searching for dinner, we found El Gran Chickens, a crowded and cheerful restaurant specializing in flame-grilled chicken.

 It rained heavily overnight, but the following morning it cleared to a cloudy but dry day.
After breakfast, we hailed a minicab to take us to the Santa Rosa monastery.

As we came to the village beside the monastery, our progress was slowed by a band marching into the main square.
 

Santa Rosa was founded in 1725 to house a group of Franciscan brothers who were preparing to evangelize the Amazon Indians.

To the left of the main building you can see a low, reddish-brown pillared structure. This is the original monastery.

The existing complex includes four cloisters, a natural history museum with a collection of Amazonian animals and insects and a library renowned for its collection of 25,000 books, some of them dating to the 15th century.
While we waited for the start of the obligatory guided tour, we admired the mosaic panels on the wall near the entrance.


 The words say " I praise you, Lord for brother sun."

We also visited the columbarium, which we found behind a small food and gift shop to the right of the main building.

As it turned out, we were the only visitors that morning. Our guide spoke only Spanish, but she spoke so slowly and clearly that we understood most of what she told us. She led us through rooms and galleries filled with art, some of it executed by an obviously talented member of the order.
Photographs were not allowed so we couldn't record the illuminated manuscripts and leather-bound tomes in the beautiful wood-panelled library, but I found a small picture on-line.

I did, however, manage to sneak a quick picture of the fabulous walls and ceiling of the refectory, painted by a local artist in the regional style.

The whole 45-minute tour was well-worth the 5 Soles (about $2) cost of entry.

PERU: Lima to Concepcion (January 20 2017)

Concepcion is a small town high up in the Andes. We wanted to go there to visit Conventa Santa Rosa de Ocopa, an 18th-century Franciscan monastery that has a fine art collection and a magnificent library of over 25,000 volumes, including a 15th century bible. We booked seats with Cruz del Sur bus line, which had a reputation as the most comfortable of the options for the five-hour journey. As it turned out, thanks to roadworks around Lima and road conditions generally, that 5 hours stretched to eight. The numerous traffic jams allowed ample opportunity for food vendors to hawk their wares from the roadside.

 Accidents, like a truckload of potatoes skidding off the road almost into a river, also slowed our progress.

The hapless owners were busy salvaging what they could of their load.

As we climbed higher above the coastal plain, switchbacks became commonplace.

Gradually, the mountainsides changed from sandy brown to red.

By the time we reached Ticlio Pass, 4818 metres above sea-level, the landscape had changed again to a black-and-white vista of snow and dark rock faces, punctuated by brilliant blue lakes.

As we descended slightly towards our destination, we began to see greener hillsides again, and occasional flocks of sheep or alpacas, often with a shepherd in attendance.

 In the large town of Jauja, we transferred from our bus to a shared taxi for the last 20 km of our journey, arriving in Concepcion late in the afternoon, just in time to appreciate the setting sun highlighting the elaborate towers of its church.