Chacas, PE

Our successful traversal of one high pass in the Peruvian Andes did a lot to quell my fears about our ability to ride through this challenging country. But up next would be something even more-challenging: an ascent to (and descent from) another high pass, but this time on a terrible gravel road, rather than smooth asphalt. Rett has done an unbelievable job of rebuilding her confidence following her crash less than a month ago, but at the moment she is still (understandably!) hopping off her bike to walk at even the smallest bits of gravel. So I’m essentially preparing for the possibility we’ll need to say “nope” and turn around (which definitely wouldn’t be all bad!) At an absolute minimum, we’ll require a day off to rest and prepare, and we could either do that here in Chacas, or in San Luis, the next (and last) town before the gravel begins.

Initially Rett surprised me with her willingness to continue straight on to San Luis, after several incredible but tiring days of cycling and camping, but once we saw Chacas, and our hotel room, we quickly decided that we’d do our off-day here. Also, while all Peruvians have been very friendly, the citizens of Chacas take it to the next level. Even as we were struggling up the hills on our ride into town, girls walking home from school were greeting us with “buenas tardes”es, and during our stay, nearly every person we passed on the street would give a “buenos dias/tardes/noches”.

This was actually yesterday’s lunch, the very good Restaurante Miski Whuaji, on the square across from our hotel (I don’t know why the restaurants here have these strange non-Spanish names that sound more like Chinese random-letter brands on Amazon.

Then this was yesterday’s (and tonight’s!) dinner. Pizza not as good as Albaca in Carhuaz, though here it was wood-fired and obviously good enough for us to return!

Our hotel was one of the more-expensive options in town, but at S/80 (US$27), “expensive” is extremely relative. For all that profligacy, we got a 2nd-floor room with a great balcony facing right out onto the Plaza de Armas (park/square), bikes stored in the basement garage, and literally the first hot water sink faucet that we’ve encountered in all of Peru! (everywhere else only runs/generates hot water to the shower, though there’s a chance we might eventually end up somewhere that doesn’t even do that).

Hospedaje Restaurante Chacas. Our balcony is the one on the lower left. The big doors on the right lead down to the lower-level garage where our bikes are stored. I only realize now that the car that was parked down there was pretty much stuck until the construction work in the street is completed!

Chacas is notable for its hand-carved wooden balconies, an old-world Italian style that actually appeared only in the last 50 years in this 500-year-old town, when Italian priest Ugo de Censi established a wood-carving school for disadvantaged children. With nearly every building in town now adorned with wood-carvings, the Artesanos Don Bosco have now apparently started exporting their work to churches in the United States and Europe. All of that has contributed to the UN World Tourism Organization declaring Chacas one of its “Best Tourism Villages” in 2023.

The Shrine of Our Lady of the Assumption of Chacas, remodeled and rebuilt over centuries, is now nearly a citadel, dominating one end of the Plaza de Armas.

A wood-carved scene on one panel of one of the main doors of the shrine. Thousands of such panels must exist in Chacas.

The altarpiece inside the Chacas church.

Plaza de Armas, Chacas, seen from our balcony.

The plaza was well-used, with Peruvians again absorbing the warm daytime sun to work against their always-cool houses.

The bag slung across the back is a staple of a certain class of Peruvian woman. I wonder if such a setup would be good for bike touring!

In preparation for our multi-day trek over the next pass, we did a load of laundry (Rett washing in our bathroom sink, me hanging a line on our balcony to dry), and I set up our stove on the same balcony to pre-cook some meals (quinoa, boiled eggs). But the most-fun part of our chores was wandering around town and popping into various small shops to acquire groceries. At the poorly-stocked central market, Rett was excited to find spinach, and when I paid an amount that rounded up the total, the vendor gave me a couple of mandarin oranges, either as change, or simply because she liked the couple of dumb gringos? At the little panderia, where the smell revealed that they were were clearly still baking bread in the space out back, we got some of the Peruvian round flat buns, and some dessert, for less than US$1. Then another place for chips, and finally the largest grocery store, on the north end of the plaza, completed our supply run. In the meantime, we saw most of the streets of the town.

Our laundry drying, under the eyes of God.

From ground level I never would have guessed that this truck was filled with donkeys and sheep!

Before the donkey truck departed the plaza, the three hombres sitting in the cab each acquired a double-scoop ice cream cone from the vendor on the corner. For a place where it’s cold for most of the day, and drinks are seldom refrigerated (much less iced!), Peruvians have a surprising love for ice cream.