Blogs from Cordillera Blanca, Ancash, Peru, South America - page 2

I was going to name this post ‘The day I had to dig deep and put my big girl panties on!’, but James didn’t think that was suitable for a post that also includes him! We did the popular Laguna 69 hike on the 4th day in Haurez, which meant that we were both pretty much acclimatized (or so we thought), and were ready for some leg stretching. It is hard to say or write Laguna 69 without inserting a winking emoticon but apparently the 69 had nothing to do with what you think – but more of a lets-just-give-it-a-number and we’ll name it later, kind of situation. We had an early pick up from our hostel and together with a bus full of other travelers, made the 3 hour trip up to the national park. ... read more

La Cordillère Blanche est un massif montagneux des Andes péruviennes qui s'étend sur 180 kilomètres de longueur et comprend 35 sommets d'une altitude supérieure à 6 000 mètres. Son qualificatif de « blanche » vient de sa neige éternelle et de la couleur de la roche qui la compose, le quartz et le feldspath. Le Huascarán, avec 6’768 mètres d'altitude, est le point culminant de la cordillère et du Pérou. Il fait également partie d’un parc national du même nom, inscrit au patrimoine mondial de l’Unesco en 1985. Certains décrivent la Cordillère Blanche comme la plus belle cordillère du monde. Pour nous, néophytes, difficile à juger. Cependant, du peu qu’on en a vu, tout de même une semaine passée dans la région, cela pourrait bien paraître justifié ! Les montagnes sont grandioses, les couleurs des lacs ... read more

Today was one of the best day hikes ever. Changed to do Laguna 69 as there were some hikers headed there. You have to travel 3 hours by transport first and then are dropped off at about 10,000 feet. You have to hike it from there about 6-7 miles one way but the reward is incredible. This is a clear blue green lake nestled at about 15,000 feet +. There are a few (very few) level places on the trail and the rest is zigzagging up some steep terrain. It takes about 4 hours up, two back and then the return ride which of course does not leave when you get there. Finally back in Huaraz and beat. Will post more tomorrow as I am doing a short trek just to keep working towards climatization. Today ... read more

On our way up north we were unsure of our next stop but heard many good things about Huaraz so we decided to stop there. We arrived at six in the morning and were greeted by a tour guide/hostel worker. He provided us with a cheap hostel and on our way tried to get us to sign up for a four day trek tour that goes through the huge mountain pass of Cordillera Blanca. We were tired and ready for bed and not thinking very clearly we decided, why not. Turns outs it was a great desicion. We spent that day walking around Huaraz then relaxing in the thermal baths, getting ready for the big trek. Day 1- The first day we drove a couple hours until we reached the mountain range, then we started hiking ... read more

Dneska jsme byli vzhuru asi v 6, protoze jsme nemohli spat kvuli desti. Mame tady v Peru obdobi destu - az do brezna, a to v horach znamena, ze prsi dost casto. Moc jsme toho nenaspali, ale snidane nam spravilachut - fazole z konzervy s chlebam, pro Kacku lemsip proti nachlazeni a cajdu. Sbalili jsme se a vyrazil kolem 7 na trek. Cekalo nas zdolat prevyseni skoro 1 kilometru- Paria byla asi 3.800 a nejvyssi bod Punta Union 4760. To je stoupani a pak po prekonani prusmyku jen dolu. Vcera jsme sli pred dalsi skupinou turistu, ti uz byli brzy rano na ceste a tak jsme byli zvedavi kam dneska dojdou oni a kam my. My sli solo, oni s pruvodcem a oslikami, kteri jim nesli veskerou vybavu - jo, lenivci... Zacatek byl jeste v pohode, ... read more