So what are giant Puya Raimondii?

It's a rare plant from the bromeliads, or pineapple family, that is only found in parts of Peru and Bolivia. It starts out as a large bunch of long spiny leaves that reach up to 2m in diameter. It takes about 100 years to get to full size and then it flowers by producing a huge vertical spike up to 10m high which is covered by as many as 20,000 flowers. It flowers for about three months and then dies. These plants are pollinated by humming birds.

We took a side road out of Pachacote into Huascaran National Park to see these plants and were rewarded, as we found many in flower and got what we hope are some great photos. After seeing these amazing plants we continued east on the side road to a pass in the Cordillera Blanco at 15,800 ft. In all we travelled about 22 miles east on this road and all along the way we saw Peruvian indian groups tending crops and animals. The dwellings they were occupying were very primitive but we guessed they were only temporary shelters rather than permanent homes; at least that's what we hope. Another interesting thing we noticed, and have seen on our previous two days side trips, are irrigation canals along the sides of the valleys. Even in this remote and lightly populated valley there was an irrigation canal that ran at least the full 20 miles that we drove. What is interesting is that it appears hand dug; there are no roads or signs of access for even moderate earth moving equipment. In some of the other places we have seen these canals, the land is too steep for earth moving equipment.

At our high point today Nina started showing signs of mild altitude sickness (headache, lethargy, blurred vision) so we decided that for tonight we would continue to lower altitude. Hence we retraced our path along the side road and then continued towards the coast until we were below 10,000 ft.

Before leaving Huaraz this morning we stopped in at a Bridgestone dealer to have the flat tire fixed. Unfortunately the flat was caused by a small 1 inch tear in the side wall of the tire and while the technician did a good job with an internal patch I don't think the tire is up to the treatment we give the vehicle on some of these minor roads. So for now it becomes the spare and in Chile I will try and replace it.