Aguas Non-frios

By now you should know our usual morning routine: getting up at 6 AM, breakfast, packing our belongings and hitting the road. This morning was the same only that the tent and our sleeping bags were very wet and we had to wait quite a while for the sun to come out behind the clouds and dry them sufficiently to be packed. While we were waiting, two shepherds passed us with their large flock of sheep and goats, which they guided up the slopes to graze on the mountain grass.

We cycled further up until we reached the pass and then rolled down the other side until we reached Imperial. We were eager to get there because our maps had shown us that there were two Inca ruins situated there that were worth seeing. Well, the map lied. There were indeed Inca ruins there, supposedly, but the disorganized selection of stones that would have not even made sense to people with greater creativity than us was definitely not worth seeing. While Dad and I checked out the ruins, Göran found something much more promising on the map: a location of hot springs right along our route. What a joy! It was a bit less of a joy that, according to the map, there was no bridge across the river which meant that we had to cycle a 12 km detour with quite a lot of elevation gain to get there. But after weeks of mostly cold showers and river baths, there are certain lengths you are willing to go to for a nice warm bath.

We cycled for several kilometers from Imperial further down into the valley. Initially, the condition of the road had been pretty good, but the further we went the worse it got to the point, where I personally would say that the road didn’t have potholes but rather that the pothole had some pieces of road in it. We weren’t that happy about having to cycle the detour in the first place but even less so under those conditions. So imagine our positive surprise and joy, when we discovered a suspension bridge on our side of the river right to the aguas calientes a few kilometers further down the road.

In fact, there seemed to be several places, each with their own suspension bridge leading to them. The first bridge we saw was locked so Göran cycled to the next to check if it was open. Turns out that it was, but it turned out to lead to something similar to a public pool filled with families. Right as he came back to tell us this, a man came walking over the closed bridge, opened it for us and ushered us across. With my fear of heights and the questionable state of the bridge, which was obviously the product of a hobbyist with limited resources, the only way for me to get across was with a lot of courage and a stubborn refusal to look down.

Crossing it was worth it though. We ended up in a little Peruvian paradise. A lovely garden with a lot of artistic details and two pools for the mineral rich ‘agua caliente’ were set in the beautiful garden. There was even a hammock next to it. And the best part of it all? It was still a work in progress so not officially open yet. Ergo, we had the pools all to ourselves! We enjoyed the sunshine, tranquility and in Göran’s case also a glass of beer with the setting. The only downside was once again that Peruvians seem to take the term ‘caliente’ quite liberally. The water could hardly be described as hot. Just about not freezing was a better description for it which is why we dubbed the pools close to Izcuchaca ‘Aguas non-frios’.

Unfortunately, our time of warmth (from the sun, not the water) and relaxation were short-lived. After only half an hour big dark clouds started covering the sun, a cold wind was blowing, and a few minutes later it started pouring down. By the time the bad weather had passed, the sun was already behind the high mountain peaks and covered our lovely little paradise with a cold shade. At least we got to enjoy 30 minutes of sun though 🙂

Because all of us really liked the place, we happily made use of the hosts’ offer that we could pitch our tent there (not for free, alas). There was one downside though: there was no access to potable water, even not when cooked, because the water from the well contained too many minerals. Therefore, Göran and I followed instructions from our hostess for how to get water. We crossed the terrible bridge and went to the bakery on the other side of the road to fill our bottles. The people were very kind and even gifted us a few buns (muy rico!).

After setting up the tent and getting everything ready for the night, Chef Jacques prepared what was going to be his best Spaghetti dish yet while I was working on the blog and Göran was helping Rosana and Víctor-Hugo, our hosts, set up a location on Google to help them attract tourists to this lovely place. Time passed all too quickly. We greedily enjoyed our delicious dinner (yes, with the power of hindsight I can confirm that it really was his best Spaghetti dish yet) and sat in the patio talking with Rosana afterwards. We enjoyed the conversation and sat together like that for quite a while until all of us were yawning and decided it was time to go to bed.

distance cycled: 36.2 km
elevation gain: 214 m
Actual altitude: 3903 m
time cycled: 2 h 20 min