OVERLAND JOURNAL FALL 2019
Perhapsthiswasit?Wepassedthroughrugged-
lycarved rockytunnelsand undertowering rock
faces,andsoonfoundourselvesina narrowcan-
yonwithonlya fewmetersgapbetweensheercliffs.
Therewas nomistaking it.This was thefamous
canyonroad,andwecouldseewhyit hadsucha
reputation.It seemedmoresolidlybuiltandwell-
traveledthantheotherroadswehadbeendriving.
Thesheeraudacityofbuildinga waythroughsuch
unforgivingcountryimpressedusmost.
TheCañóndelPatois atthenorthernendof
thefamous Callejón de las Huaylas,and passes
betweentheCordilleraBlancaandtheCordillera
Negra,with towering 6,000-meter peaks above.
Dozens of hand-cut, rough-hewn tunnels link
sectionscarvedintothenarrowcliffs,andsignsre -
mindyouto honkyourhornto preventcollisionsin
thepitchblack,one-lanetunnels.
Bythetimewehadshakentheroaddustoutof
ourbelongingsandcaughtuponworkinCaraz,
notimeremainedto explorethefamousHuascarán
NationalPark.Backonmainhighwaysagain,the
goingwasrapid.WefollowedtheCallejóndelas
HuaylassouthtoLakeConocochaandbeganour
finaldescentbacktothecoast.Here,Highway 16
dropssteadilyfrom4,000meterstosealevelover
approximately 120 kilometersandis popularwith
cyclistswhoenjoyuphillsuffering,andoverlanders
wholovesavinggasonthedownhilljourney.
Crystal,brightblueskiesaboveandcropslaid
outtodrycoloredthearidlandscape.Thecanary
yellowofdryingmaize andvibrantredofchilies
carpetedtheroadsides.Caughtupinthemagicof
theroadtrip,wefeltexcitedattheideaofsharing
thisjourneywithfamily.
Severalyearsearlierwehadtakena triptothe
southofPeruandBolivia.It wasduringthispre-
viousescapadethatwefirst discussedtheideaof
drivingfromAlaskatoArgentina.Limahadbeen
ourfirststop,andwewerelookingforwardtore -
turningasa homecomingofsorts.Wewereabout
toarriveat ourfirstfamiliarplacein overtwoyears,
andBen’sfamilywouldbearrivingsoon,sothere
wouldbefamiliarfacestoo.
Thesundippedbelowthehorizon,thelastrays
strangleda dusty,mutedpurplebythethickseafog
mixedwithdesertdust.Throughthishazyglow,we
caughtourfirstglimpseofthescragglyouter“sub-
urbs”ofLima;thesemakeshiftpueblosjóvenesgrow
almostorganically,thenewestneighborhoodsina
cityofmillions.Asilencefellinthefrontseatsas
wetookit allin.Thebroadhighwaysweptuspast
these dusty outer barrios into the early evening
chaos of Lima proper.The TablachacaRiverCanyonroadcontinuedto
impressus at everyturn.One of the manytunnels
of the Cañondel Pato.Opposite:We followedthe
road back inland through to the Cañon del Pato.