Urcos

April 30, 2025

We breakfasted on the pan chuta and cheese left over from lunch the day before and made our way out of Oropesa and its countless panificadoras.

Most panificadoras sell three or four types of bread.

The road was busy but the good shoulder made for safe cycling. Good to see signs warning motorists of cyclists on the shoulder.

Motorists often give a warning hoot to warn us when approaching from behind. Slightly irritating but it helps us move to the outside edge of the shoulder when the vehicle in question is a large one like a bus or truck.

We passed through a number of small towns today, the first being Huarcarpay. Here we left the main road a detoured through the town ending up on the banks of the Laguna Huarcarpay where we spent some time birding but only getting distant views.

After that we got our first taste of climbing hills at altitude. The first climb of the day only gained us about a hundred meters in altitude over a bit more than two kilometers but we felt every meter of it.

The steepest part was the section from the laguna back to the main road, all on gravel just to spice it up a bit.

But we were rewarded with lovely views of the laguna with the village of Lucre on the far bank.

At the top of the climb we turned off to look at the Rumicolca Archeological Site. The structure here was first built by the Wari civilization as an aqueduct. Along the top of the wall-like structure, which is now a mix of Wari and Inca construction, runs a channel that likely brought water to the nearby center of Pikillaqta. It’s also possible that the Wari built the aqueduct to serve a secondary function as a gate or control point along this important route. A few centuries after the collapse of the Wari, the Incas expanded and fortified Rumicolca with unmistakable Inca stonework: huge slabs of perfectly cut and perfectly joined andesite stone. It’s easy to see the difference between the Inca stonework and the far simpler Wari walls. We chatted to an old man who seems to be posted there to ensure people don't climb on the walls. He said that the Incas used the gate to control the ancient road between Ecuador and Santiago de Chile.

After a good downhill it was mostly flat again with a few small climbs, the last being just before Urcos.

We passed these men drying maize, large cobs with enormous kernels.

At the top of the short climb before Urcos we stopped at the Capilla de la Virgen Purificada de Canincunca. The run down exterior hides the beauty inside.

On entering Urcos we found the town square commandeered by a school parade. Unfortunately it was not the best school brass band which might explain why the marching by the khaki clad pupils was so bad that we had to choke back our laughter.

With the square being closed off we had to detour up a steep hill to get to the hospedaje we had earmarked for tonight's digs. It was all closed up and there was no answer from either of the two numbers posted on the door so we assumed that the owners must be down watching the parade. It was starting to rain lightly but luckily there was a restaurant just opposite the hospedaje. They kindly let us park the bicycles in the foyer and we sat down to enjoy a good lunch of soup and arroz con pollo.

One of the snacks accompanying our meal - a plate of these enormous maize kernels.

While we were eating the dueña of the hospedaje stuck her head in and told us to pop over to the hospedaje once we were done eating. A younger man, I assume it was her son, let us in and he told us he had passed us twice on the road earlier today.

Hospedaje Inkawasi is clean and good value - forty five soles for a matrimonial with excellent wifi, hot water and a place to store the bicycles. Martin and Elspeth Jarman, currently cycling through South Korea and Japan, stayed here two years ago.

Today's ride: 23 km (14 miles)
Total: 59 km (37 miles)

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