Villa Unión

July 6, 2025

A glorious day's cycling.

The first 13 kilometers had us climbing nearly 700 meters. The views as we made our way up the mountains following the Rio Miranda to its source more than made up for the effort.

Nearing the summit of the climb Leigh spotted some birds in the distance. Andean Condors! This iconic bird has alluded us the whole trip and now we had at least six using the growing thermals to provide lift.

This Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) came close enough to photograph. My hands were still shaking from the effort of the climb so it's a shaky shot.

The climb topped out at 2040 masl after which we had a magnificent downhill to Los Tambillos. By this stage we had already decided to skip spending tonight there so we sped through the rather depressing looking hamlet and rode hard until we got to Villa Unión.

Finding accommodation proved to be a bit difficult but eventually we landed a simple cabaña near the south of the town. The two week long winter school break has just started so we might need to book ahead from now on.

Tomorrow we head to Guandacol, less than fifty kilometers away.

Today's ride: 78 km (48 miles)
Total: 2,302 km (1,430 miles)

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