Santa Rosa de Ocopa
Quiet but cold night, when we wake up, the outside temperature is 8° and 14° inside ... Heating operation is on !!!
We’re thinking of doing some shopping in the next town, but it’s impossible to get there. The city centre is occupied by stands for the Holy Week festivities.
We continue our journey and stop at "Conception" where, to our delight, it is market day.
We buy a lot of vegetables, fruits, cheeses, fish and meat.
Our day stop is the convent of Santa Rosa de Ocopa.
Here too, we are not alone to visit this convent : it’s a place of pilgrimage.
This Franciscan monastery was founded in 1725 to welcome the friars who were prepared to evangelize the Indians of the Amazon forest. In addition to its four cloisters, it is best known for its magnificent 30,000-volume library and Natural History Museum, which houses a large collection of Amazonian animals and insects.
We attend the reconstitution of the "Way of the Cross" and in the early evening the Easter procession.
Following the police’s advice, we move to the central square in front of the police station to spend the night.
On the way to the Rio Mantaro valley
Day 1: Before leaving for France at the beginning of January, we bought new tyres corresponding to our camper to change them on our way back... It is a European model that is difficult to find on the South American continent.
On the parking lot of our night stop , a specialized garage intalle them. We thentake the road towards the Andes Cordillera.
We are south of Lima and we have to go back north east. We use the toll expressway always in traffic jams.
On the way we fill one of the gas cylinders and we are ready for the next few days knowing that the temperatures will be low in the Andes.
We stop after 5 hours of driving and we only covered 80 km.
The crossing of Lima proved a bit difficult but it is especially the main axis that connects the capital to the Andes Cordillera which is in very bad condition and which crosses towns or villages where the "Tope or speed bumb" are present.
What is coming next !!!
2nd day: After a quiet night, we wake up under a beautiful sun but having the surprise to see that the road is jammed ... It’s only 7:00 in the morning!
We quickly realize that it is Holy Week and that Thursdays and Fridays are holidays on the whole South American continent.
Around 9 am the road is clear ... But not for long.
The very winding road climbs quietly up to 4,810 m through varied landscapes between green gorges and rocky or desert mountains while following the highest railway line in the world.
This magnificent and grandiose spectacle is paid at a high price ; it takes us 7 hours to reach our drop point which is only 207 km away .... Most of the trip is done driving first or second gear ; we’re not alone— Hard for our motorhome without counting the lack of oxygen !!!
We camp at the edge of the "Laguna de Paca"
Pachacamac
The TIP in good standing, we leave the storage to finally continue our journey.
Before leaving we make an appointment with a mechanic friend of Heraldo to adjust the belt of the alternator which whistles a from time to time.
We thought it was gonna take a one-hour , actually we left after three.... The belt had to be changed and the one in our possession was not the right one ... The mechanic has to find one !!!
After lunch on site, we cross part of Lima in traffic jams to reach the archaeological site of "Pachacamac"
Between its museum and its archaeological remains, the site traces the history of the Lima civilization dating from 200 years BC to the Inca civilization dating from 1450 AD.
Only the nobles lived in Pachacamac. The rest of the people made pilgrimages, They came loaded with offerings, gold, pottery and shells so that the shaman could consult the god and answer their requests.
These treasures, brought from all over the country for hundreds of years, were hardly found on the site.
It is said that during the Spanish invasion, an Inca messenger warned the shaman of the arrival of Pizarro.
He sent a convoy in which was transported all the riches of the site on the Inca road leading to Jauja.
Until today, the treasure of Pachacamac has never been found.
The site covers 465 hectares and includes several structures: the pyramid, the old temple, the painted temple, the temple of the sun, the Plaza de los Peregrinos…
We liked the well arranged museum, but are disappointed by the site where only collapsed walls remain.
We bivouac on a parking lot of a supermarket where we do a lot of shopping ..
ROAD BOOK 143
MAVROS ODYSSEE