Adventure Travel In Peru – Trying A New Path

Website design By BotEap.comIn my missionary work here in southern Peru, I sometimes help some short-term teams that come from the US Eddie and his team from Florida. They were driving from Pausa and were supposed to meet me on the high plain about an hour before Oyolo, as they were going to use the “new road” we had learned about when we were there a few months before. It was supposed to connect between Tactanga (there is a good path between Pausa and Tactanga) and Oyolo, saving a 4-5 hour walk. On Monday afternoon, I waited for Eddie and his crew for a while at the designated meeting place, but that didn’t last long because I’m not a very good “waiter.” So I decided to drive as far as possible on the new road to find them. I drove down the road for a few minutes until I came to a steep hill and stopped to check. I was afraid if I went down there I wouldn’t have the power to get back up since my car doesn’t have a “low 4×4” range and the road was kind of soft. No problem as this path seemed to be just a shortcut if you wanted to go to Oyolo. The main road seemed to be about six miles to Cotahuasi, so I backed up there.

Website design By BotEap.comThere were recent truck tracks on the road, with double wheels, so I figured if a big truck could go through there, the road wouldn’t be so bad. However, about 10 minutes down the road, the truck tracks turned around, but there was still a set of tracks that continued down a hill. Those turned around a few minutes later and the trail was gone! He could see the road leading out of a ravine on the other side, and he could also see the way he was going towards Oyolo. But there was at least a mile of rocks and a deep ravine between me and there. Walking down, I followed a faint trail through some sand to what looked like a swampy area; luckily it was now dry. I lost the tracks, but was able to get to the top of a hill where I could see the trail less than ¼ mile below me, but there was no trail or tracks, just more rocks and ravines. After waiting for about an hour, I decided to go on to Oyolo and see if there were any messages there.

Website design By BotEap.comIn Oyolo I called Pomacocha on the public radio (the last town they passed through with a radio) and I found out that they had left there at around 3:00 pm, but the operator said they were on the trail. I started walking down the path, asking everyone I met if they had seen the gringos. Finally at about 6:00 pm I ran into a man who said they had started the road in Tactanga at 3:00 pm and were definitely trying to go by truck across the altiplano. They had told us that it was only three hours from Tactanga to Oyolo, so I hurried back to Oyolo, hoping they would be there when I got there at 7:00 p.m. There was no sign of them, so I started walking down the road, hoping to find them. After an hour I gave up and got back to Oyolo around 9:00 pm Now I didn’t know what to do, I knew they had to be somewhere in the highlands, I couldn’t drive or walk there, so I finally went to bed Praying they’re okay.

Website design By BotEap.comTuesday morning I got up early and drove two hours back up the highway to where I had waited the previous afternoon. Still no sign of them. I went down to the road below and then up the road on the other side to a ridge an hour away. They should have been there by then. I should have been able to see their dust if they were in the way. Nothing. I walked back to my car, clearing the road of rocks and filling in holes to make it passable, since it hadn’t been driven in months, since the rainy season. I cleared the rocks to make a path to the hill I was parked on, so I could drive down. I was able to drive to the highway without too much trouble, I went up the highway as far as I had walked, probably about 10 miles total. Finally I came to another steep hill, going down to a flat plain, where I could no longer see the road. No truck, no dust. I finally decided that they must have turned around and come back for some reason.

Website design By BotEap.comI returned to Oyolo where there was a message to do it by radio immediately in Pause, it was urgent! It turns out that they got lost there on Monday night, spent a cold and restless night at over 15,000 feet with little sleep in the truck, and returned to Pausa on Tuesday to get more fuel and a guide. Eddie said they’d try again on Wednesday, so I got up early and met them again. I waited at the top of the hill, over his path because he had only just returned the day before. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, I saw their dust and they finally showed up. It took them five hours, not three, because the road was very bad. A few days later, when they returned to Pausa, I rode with Eddie to learn the trail. I then walked back to Oyolo to pick up my car and return to Cotahuasi. On a future trip they plan to fly to Arequipa and drive through Cotahuasi to get to Oyolo, instead of taking that road again.