March 6, 2000
Day 136 Abra Pampa: highest point
All during the night it drizzled. And when we wake at 8am, it is still drizzling. We decide to go on today, even though we hate packing up in the rain.
By 9am we are on the climb out of town back to Ruta 9. Today we have 90kms and 754 meters of altitude gain in 59km. The rain is intermittent.
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We reach an area where a river is flowing over the road. Patrick puts on his tevas and takes his bike across then comes back to help Rachel.
Just then a car is going through, and a truck comes over the hill toward us...out of control. He tries to break and is sliding; Rachel is thinking he is going to hit the car and the car is going to slide into her. She moves with her bike to the other side of the road by Patrick. The truck veers off the road upstream and rolls on it roof, then on its side.
Patrick runs over to the truck, gets up on the side and helps 2 kids and the driver out of the truck. Rachel took these pictures and then quickly laid her bike down and went over to check out the kids. One only had a split lip! The others ok.
Patrick wanted to help the man roll the truck back upright. The people in the car had driven on. People in a second truck stop but didn't want to get their feet wet. One attempt was made to roll the truck but a lot more muscle poser or a wench is going to be needed.
We ride on.
Abot 20 km from Humahueca the road leaves the river valley that we have followed since SS de Jujuy and starts a long climb into a wide plain bordered by mountains.
As we climb, the cactus that has covered the hillsides suddenly disappear. The steady drizzle/rain of this morning has ceased. WE get a little bit of sun enough to get warm, until the next rainstorm passes.
After cresting a ridge, the road suddenly drops back down to the river and railroad bed alongside it. We lose some altitude here, but immediately start climbing again towards the highest point on this road in Tres Cruces.
The scenery is spectacular.
Barren hillsides with multicolored rock layers, old railroad bridges crumbling and high mountains on the horizon.
We reach Tres Cruces (3693meters) at about 2pm. 60 kms down, 30 to go. After a brief lunch and a coke, we set off for a final climb. Then the road dips down to the wide valley in which Abra Pampa lays. Most of the road today has been well paved except for a short spectacular section through a narrow canyon where the bridge crossing the rives is still under construction. The old road crossed the muddy stream over a concrete bed under which the river flows. At higher water levels the concrete would be submerged.
During our descent to Abra Pampa we can see dark storm clouds over the mountains in the North. We first see our first herds of llamas. Still about 15 km from Abra Pamp we can see the town. We pass by the beginning (or end) of Ruta 40 and have to get a picture.
Carnival also rules in Abra Pampa, a band roams the streets and people are everywhere. Except in the residencial we check out first, nobody answers our call. The next one we are able to get a nice room for $20. Our bikes barely fit through the narrow winding corridor leading back to the rooms, but we get them in.
After a nice how shower, we walk-through town, eat some empanadas at the square and find a small restaurant that serves us a large pizza for $3.
Today's ride: 90 km (56 miles)
Total: 4,441 km (2,758 miles)
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