Blogs from Huaraz, Ancash, Peru, South America
April 16th 2012
Well, Mike, I think you were right. Before we came to South America you mentioned Huaraz as one of your favorite, or perhaps your favorite, town on your trip. Huaraz looks to be my favorite place as well. We have spent a full 8 days here, significantly more than anywhere else, and it has been fantastic. Huaraz is a town of about 120,000 people, sitting at about 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) in elevation. It is bordered on the east side by the Cordillera Blanca, which has a plethora of 5,000+ meter tall mountains that are snow covered and glaciated year round. On the west are the Cordillera Negra which are not as high, but still impressive mountains. The Cordillera Blanca are encompassed by Huascaran National Park, which we explored quite a bit on our visit...although we ... read more
November 14th 2011
Yes dear readers, your correspondent is back with more tales of derring-do and adventure without any embellishment or sophistry. There have being rumblings that perhaps I – in the past – possibly exaggerated a few areas of my reports, a charge I could not possibly answer without the aid of a damn fine solicitor. Anyway after I fought off the tigers all was well !! We arrived in Huaraz by bus and still a bit tired after the trials of Macchu Pichuu ( your correspondent had to spend 2 days in bed with a badly sprained ankle – thankfully his own) so a day or two relaxation was called for. Sadly, as is usually the case in such matters, this was not to be the case. Our hostal had information concerning trips to local areas of ... read more
November 6th 2011
After flying into Lima I jumped straight onto a 9hr long night bus which kindly dropped me off in Huaraz at 6.30am. Huaraz is a small town situated near to the Cordillera Blanca mountain range in the Andes, Peru and sits at just over 3000m above sea level. I checked into my hostel (Churup Auberge) which I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to stay in Huaraz. It has great friendly staff, lovely rooms, a fire place in the lounge on the top floor which has views of the mountain range and a great set up for taking treks into the mountains. I had planned to meet Isabel, Siobhan and Liz here (who I had met in Ecuador) but unfortunately they were delayed by 2 days due to illness and buses, so until they arrived ... read more
September 25th 2011
This is going to be a short entry like the last, once again I am desperately trying to catch up and get this blog up to date - I am currently writing whilst on board a cargo ship heading to the Amazon from Pucallpa, still in Peru, albeit over a month later, that of course will be written about later (hopefully not too far in the distant future... The most important thing about this entry once is the photos of the beautiful Cordillera mountains. I spent a few days in the capital, Lima, which were underwhelming and uninteresting and so I haven´t written about them. I returned later though and began to appreciate the city a little more and so I will write abou that time somewhere down the line. I arrived in Huaraz with a ... read more
August 28th 2011
One of the best things about studying abroad is the opportunity to travel. When you're staying in hostels and paying guides, it's much cheaper to travel in a group. So, some gringo friends and I decided to go to Huaraz. Huaraz, being situated right between the Cordillera Blanca (white mountain range, named for its snowy peaks) and the Cordillera Negra (black mountain range, comparatively lower altitude, less snow), has become a mecca for hikers. Breathtaking mountain trails, and lots of hostels to choose from. Jo's place is a good one: cheap lodging, though it has hard beds, also the option of just camping in the yard, which I assume costs less? Hiking info available, and plenty of space to hang laundry to dry. We found a nice restaurant, too, café andino. They have a library/book exchange. ... read more
August 22nd 2011
Minus 15 sleeping bags worked a treat and we slept well, waking before dawn to see if we could see any of the meteorites, It was bloody freezing and the tent was covered in ice, JD stayed out for a while looking at the sky whilst I scampered back to my downy sleeping bag like a scalded cat and had another hours kip. Dawn emerged from behind the mountains throwing orange hues in streaks across the valley as the sun peaked through the saddles of the surrounding slopes. Hot noodles were in order, forgoing coffee as water was running short (I had looked for water purification tabs everywhere the day before we left to no avail) It wouldn’t have mattered we had yet to find any water that would be in any way drinkable. With water ... read more
Quirks of Huaraz and a breathtaking trek
Published: August 18th 2011South America » Peru » Ancash » Huaraz
August 18th 2011
The traffic lights here are a bit of a laugh. When red man is standing stoic arms and legs apart reminding you to move no further, has had his turn, little green man appears, he is in profile and above him another round light indicates the seconds remaining in which one has time to cross. When green man first appears he takes of like a sprinter on hearing a starting gun, only in slow motion, as the seconds count down his pace picks up and he starts to jog, 23, 22, 21, he is keeping good time 15,14 13…… the jog turns into a vigorous sprint, 9,8,7…….he is running like the devil himself is chasing him 3,2………its like Carl Lewis on steroids after drinking a gallon of expresso. Bang! gentle unwavering red man appears again just ... read more
Huaraz, It only took us a year and a half to get here
Published: August 18th 2011South America » Peru » Ancash » Huaraz
August 17th 2011
Our departure from Huanchaco was bittersweet. The saying of goodbyes and the anticipation of arriving to a place we had waited a year and a half to see. We missed out last year due to missing the season, The wet season is said to be pretty miserable so we gave it a miss.........until now. The journey was uneventful as we took a night bus electing to no longer arrive in any town after dark after hearing too many stories of unfortunate souls running into trouble. Taking the night bus meant we would miss the oncoming views (as dawn was still a ways off) as we entered the Cordillera Blanca y Negra mountain range as we speed forth to the city of Huaraz. Emerging bleary eyed from the bus the first thing that hit me was the ... read more
July 6th 2011
About to leave Huaraz. Stayed at Olaza's Guesthouse and could not have been more pleased. The owner Tito is very helpful and the staff are all wonderful. The view from the top floor where you have breakfast are amazing and have to be among the best in Huaraz. The rooms are very clean, hot water available and the breakfast every morning is great. Eggs, fruit, bread, coffee or tea and served on the deck. Very reasonable prices and just a few blocks from the main plaza. Had a great time and can't say enough about the way they treat their guests. All the pic's can show you more as these were taken right before leaving. On to Huanchaco......... read more
