Santa Rosa - The seventeenth step ... one step beyond! - CycleBlaze

May 7, 2025

Santa Rosa

A landmark day because we rode to the highest elevation I think we will ever reach. To make things even better it was really enjoyable cycling with breathtaking views. 

Setting off from Aguas Calientes.
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350 meters of climbing.
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Gradients varied between 2 and 8 percent.
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Topping out at 4338 masl, or even higher if other cycle tourists' Garmins are to be believed.
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Scott AndersonWell, that's disappointing. I thought I'd finally bested you at something with my climb of Mount Evans (now Mount Blue Sky) back in 1991. The road to the top is advertised as the highest paved road in America, and Mount Evans' elevation is 4348 meters. I win, by 10 meters!

But then I checked the elevation of the top of the road, and was chagrined to see it stops at 4336. So close!
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1 month ago
Jean-Marc StrydomTo Scott AndersonTwo meters between friends isn't worth quibbling over and I suspect there might be a margin of error involved when claiming the heights of mountain passes.

The most important thing for me is that we got here. When I first suggested to Leigh that this would be the most likely route we would take her response was that we would probably end up catching a bus over the pass.
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1 month ago
La Raya is a popular tourist stop but it also marks the boundary between the regions of Cusco and Puno. Streams flow in both directions here so I am guessing this is the source of the Urubamba. The Urubamba is considered to be a headwater (but not a source) of the Amazon.
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Once again we had some great birding, a few new species and some old favourites. 

Caracaras, most closely related to the elegant falcons, are amongst the least attractive raptors but the Mountain Caracara (Phalcoboenus megalopterus) is still a handsome bird and a graceful flyer.
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There were quite a few Mountain Caracaras in the air today but the only decent flight shot I got was of this Variable Hawk (Geranoaetus polyosoma).
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Home for the night is Hospedaje Geminis in Santa Rosa.  Plain and simple but excellent value for money. 

Today's ride: 40 km (25 miles)
Total: 232 km (144 miles)

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