by bicycle

Day 15: Urcos to Tinke (02.04, 71 km)

After the evening rain the skies are clear and the weather is beautiful this morning.

Day 15_1.Morning

Couple of hours into the day here it is – the official start of the Interoceanic Highway. It felt good to finally see a road sign with this name on it after riding more than 1,000 kilometers!

Day 15_2.Bienvenido Carretera Interoceanica

On the way up I started feeling cold and sweaty, and I knew that it was because of the descent in the previous day.

On the way
Day 15_3.On the way

Winding road
Day 15_4.Winding road

Going up
Day 15_5.Upwards

Bad weather comes
Day 15_6.Bad weather comes

Day 15_7.Me

Lunch break in a market on the way
Day 15_8.Lunch break

Day 15_9.Lunch break

The way down was not so nice, and during the last couple of hours I was feeling sick and was just praying that the day ends. All of a sudden I take the last curve, and I see the impressive peaks of Ausangate, a sacred mountain for the Inca, where thousands of Quechua pilgrims gather each year for the Quyllur Rit’I (Star snow) celebration.

Day 15_10.Ausangate

I was in constant awe for the next hours when looking at the mountain, but as it is there since times immemorial, of course the locals were graciously ignoring it.

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I found accommodation in a nice hostel run by a local lady, who said that the Interoceanic Highway is good for her business, as now there are more tourists coming to Tinke, and the time to get to Cusco is so much shorter (less than two hours compared to half a day before). When I went to bed I realized I have a bit of a cold, so I decided to stay here one day to recover and be fit before the final assault – Abra Pirhuayani here I come!

4 Comments

  1. Jair

    La primera foto parece el paraíso!

    • Cosmin

      Si, falta un cevicheria para que sea el paraiso.

  2. radu

    Moshule, imi place ca esti activ…(nu pasiv…). Frumoase imagini, da’ mai fati si tu loc printer ele…
    Am auzit ca ai ceva probleme fizice… Te rog ai grija, nu forta, faci ce se poate…
    Te iubim si ne e dor de tine..

    Unchiu’

    • Cosmin

      :-)) ma bucur ca iti plac pozele. Stii cat m-ai batut la cap sa fac poze…

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