Andahuaylas to Ollantaytambo

And then the fun really began...

The day started off innocently enough, we left Andahuaylas early, prepared for any eventuality as always, first heading for the  Chanca fort (approx 1000 AD) at Sondor which affords incredible views of the valley thousands of feet below.

But not every morning.

And then on to Abancay where are trusty route (3S) joins up with the main road to Cusco from Lima. Once again it started out as a wonderful twisty mountain climb on a brand new perfectly surfaced tarmac road. But then became a muddy, dusty (both are eminently possible here) pot holy track waiting for justification of development.

The scenery however, was breathtakingly staggeringly beautiful...

So we bumped and thumped our way to Abanacay and joined the main road thinking that all tracks and mud slides and minor glitches were behind us, right on schedule to get to Cusco that night and meet a friend for lunch the following day, the only pre-booked appointment on the entire trip...

And then as we dropped down once more into another gorgeous valley we started to pass trucks that were parked at the side of the road. Looks ominous I thought, could there be another road block? 

After passing some 30 trucks and tourist buses it was obvious something of a more serious delay had occurred, oh I thought, maybe the bridge is out, this doesn't look too good, but I carried on overtaking the parked vehicles as no one stopped us...

Once we had gone past approx 200 vehicles of all shapes and sizes we ground to a halt, to what turned out to be our resting place for the night.

You see this time the landslide had been a major moment of mud and rock and violence and destruction, known here as a 'huaico' - fortunately during the night before we arrived. But the road had been well and truly blocked ever since, hence the tail back of a few kilometers and many many vehicles.

So along with the crowd we watched three earth moving diggers attempt to move the large rocks obstructing the way forward.

They did manage to move the one rock, and almost got it out of the way, but not quite. The machinery was just simply not man enough to shift these boulders.

But never fear we thought, this is Peru, this is the rainy season, this is the main route between Lima and Cusco, they are used to dealing with such issues and with hundreds of vehicles of economic interest (goods and tourists) being blocked it won't be long before it is cleared.

So we retreated to the car, made ourselves as comfortable as one could and settled in for the night.

Next morning all that had changed was that the not so heavy machinery had disappeared. As I had done the previous evening I started chatting to members of the onlooking crowd, asking what they intended to do, how long they were prepared to wait etc One chap suggested, as we had a 4x4, that we take go back 5k and take the 'other road' that winds its way over the hills.

We checked the map and sure enough there was another road, up to the point where it met the river (a raging torrent of raging torrentness) where it promptly stopped, only to start again several hundred meters up the other side. It didn't seem like a good idea to lose our position in the queue on the off chance that the river crossing was passable. The other alternative was a 10hr detour, on secondary roads (tracks), again this didn't appeal.

And then a policeman appeared (the first we had seen since arrival) and he confidently stated that we would be through the problem by 2pm. I asked how that could be when there was no machinery working on the issue, no problem he said they were on their way.

So we settled back and watched the various small enterprises that had sprung into existence since the block occurred 1) the ferrying of people too and fro - anyone without a vehicle was clambering across the rocks/river/detritus of the landslide, with all their belongings/children/animals to then be taken by bus or taxi to wherever they were going and 2) food and drink 'shops' were providing all the essentials to the waiting crowd. Never let it be said that in Peru an opportunity for a sale is ever missed!

By 10am when no machinery had arrived we were beginning to wonder if the mountain track should be attempted. Our lunch appointment was being threatened, but we also had Machu Pichu entrance and train tickets (not inexpensive/unchangeable/should be booked at least a week in advance) booked for the following day, we absolutely needed to get through! 

No one had a clue as to what was going on with regards to municipal assistance, but there was plenty of activity around the rocks, where members of the crowd had taken it upon themselves to get things sorted.

By 1pm, after much chipping away with hammers and any implements available in the assembled truck and van tool kits, a gap wide enough for a car with wing mirrors pulled in had been created between the boulders. I ran back and we pushed our way into the queue of revving engines :)

And a few minutes later we had crept through the mud, through the gap and through the still flowing tributary of the river that had caused the mud/landslide in the first place as the crowd cheered with each successful passing. Of course we paid a respectfully  plentiful tip to the stone mason posse as we were guided with almost nothing to spare either side.

Goodness knows how long the buses and lorries had to wait before the road was properly cleared, we had been there for 21 hours.

But through we were, so we hightailed it to Ollantaytambo about 100kms away, the last stop before Machu Pichu in the Sacred Valley and the beautiful El Albergue hotel which has been built in the old train station. If ever you are in the area, this is the place to stay.