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Tuesday September 8,
2015
I woke up too early because the sun was shining brightly so I immediately made the decision to get out on Toxic and head towards Giron. I added another $1 of gas and headed from the Autopista onto Las Americas south.
I was in no hurry so I just stuck to the shoulder and putted along at 30-40kph. I was wearing my bright yellow vest so that I would be very visible and the traffic was really surprisedly light.
I had no firm destination but I figured I would head to at least the monument at Portete and decide from there. On the way there is a nice little valley that is dominated by 3 windmills that is quite a pretty sight. I even went up the hill behind them to get a couple of shots.
It was the first time that I actually went into the town of Tarqui and went up to the church to have a look. A fellow came out of a nearby house and greeted me like a long-lost friend and offered me a drink from a large bottle in his pants pocket. I politely refused because I was driving, so he asked for a photo with me.. Too funny.
Across from the entrance to the Portete monument was an entrance to another road that I had not noticed before, and it was a bicycle route that said "Welcome to Giron".. Now I had seen this road on the opposite side of the valley from the highway before and actually thought that it seemed to be a much more direct route. Even though it was gravel I decided to check it out for a stretch, but I did not want to get way down in the valley at Giron and overwork Toxic because he is still in his break-in period. It really does seem like a more direct way to get to Giron and it certainly offered some different spectacular vistas of Giron and the surrounding valley. It was a trifle windy through that mountain pass but nothing too cold.
I then turned around and headed back to the Portete monument to the defeat of the Peruvian army trying to squeeze past Mariscal Sucre and his troops holding the high ground in this narrow pass. I always love the views from here even though it is always cool and windy.
There were some guys cutting trees on the next hill with chainsaws. I walked around the back of the monument and saw smoke coming from a freshly sawn tree so I called over one of the fellows to please check out this smouldering fire. He said that it was the responsibility of the military and it was nothing to worry about... I wasn't about to argue... I was just trying to avoid a forest fire.
The ride back was just as uneventful and I was certainly glad that I got off my butt and got out of the house for a change.
For some reason my Pixresizer program didn't want to work for me today so I used Photoscape instead and it has saved the screen-sized photos at a much higher resolution.
I hope you enjoy the photos. That was the day's excitement, Cheers, Al
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| A view of Cuenca from the Autopista |
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| This church is at the west end of the Autopista |
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| I will make no rude comments about the shadow on the left horse.. |
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| I believe that hill is at exactly 3 degrees south of the equator |
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| The windmill valley |
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| The 3 windmills are very eye-catching |
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| This is a view from behind them |
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| Looking NW towards the Cajas |
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| Another view NW |
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| This one seems to be pumping water back into the "lake" |
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| The main square and church in Tarqui |
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| My new-found booze buddy |
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| All these horses make me think of home |
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| The govt wanted to use this flat valley for an airport |
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| Horse and cattle country, just like Alberta |
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| A lovely view towards Giron |
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| The Giron valley is the opening to the Yunguilla valley |
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| This is pretty high up in the Andes |
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| Moving down the gravel road on the right side |
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| Toxic is enjoying the view |
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| Spotted these beauties at one stop |
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| Breathtaking view of the Andes |
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| Getting pretty close to Giron |
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| Farming and ranching right to the top of the Andes |
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| The Portete monument to the Feb 27, 1829 victory over Peru |
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| Cold and windy up here but the view is unbeatable |
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| I always make this stop on the way by... |
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| Yes, this is a selfie using the self-timer |
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| I didn't like the looks of this smouldering fire.... |
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| Left 1/2 of the left panel |
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| Right 1/2 of the left panel |
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| Left 1/2 of the right panel |
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| Right 1/2 of the right panel |
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| A view of the monument with Giron valley to the right |
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| Back to my windmill valley |
