We got our washing back - quite a relief really. I was not looking forward to searching all over Cusco for replacement underwear for Nina.
The drive to Abancay which we had covered late last year was just as spectacular as we remembered. In particular approaching Abancay from Cusco the road tops out at 4200m before commencing a spectacular twisting descent into the town of Abancay itself (at 2000m) and continuing down to cross the Rio Apurimao at 1800m. This entire descent of 2400m (7800 ft) takes only 24 miles. As we negotiated this part of the road we marveled at our friend Max and his traveling buddy Mike who cycled the 190 km from Abancay to Cusco, including climbing this incredible hill, in one day.
At the river crossing our route left the paved road and ventured onto the gravel road towards Ayacucho. Immediately we started to climb via a series of switchbacks that we thought would never end. Along the way we saw numerous piles of freshly cut eucalyptus trees taken from the abundant forests that covered the hill sides. These logs were being carried away by trucks and horse drawn carts.
The camping spot we chose gave us a wonderful view of Abancay and the valley of the Rio Apurimao.
Camping
After a steep and dusty climb out of the Rio Apurimao below Abancay we came upon a rough track that led off the road into a field. It took some effort to get approximately level as the field was full of lumps of dirt (from a previous ploughing) overgrown with grass.
We got propane at the Repsol station that is located on the road out of Cusco going towards Abancay.
