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Published: July 15th 2014
Travel Day
We hit the mountains on our way to HuarazSunday 6
th April (Odyssey Day 149)
Breakfast was set for 0700 and the whole of cook group was there early for a change! My new group is Group 4, consisting of myself, Mike, Hannah and Bartley this time. No complaints from me, it’s a good group. Packing our stuff back into the truck, Simon managed to get our bowls back from the Tucan cook tent and while there, stuck an Odyssey sticker on a pot. Hannah then put one under their trestle table and our group found it absolutely hilarious. Nothing quite like showing your maturity, hey?
We got going at 0800 and today we head for Huaraz. To get there we headed off down the coast for quite a way before turning inland. Then we headed away from the coastal plains and over some rather impressive mountains. We arrived in the city of Huaraz at 1630, just as it started to rain. Fortunately by the time Emma had our rooms sorted at the hostel, the rain had stopped again.
We are staying at Jo’s Place, a hostel within walking
Travel Day
Our first glimpse of Huaraz in the valley distance of the main parts of town. It’s not a bad place actually, and has a breakfast area where you can buy breakfast up on the top floor. It’s a bit of a chore walking up there due to the altitude, but the breakfast is good.
After settling in to our rooms (Ellie and I are on the second floor, having to climb a rickety old ladder to get there, something Ellie is not at all enamoured by), a few of us walked out to some markets and then I had dinner at a Chinese place with Ann, Kelly and Andrew. It was surprisingly good food actually.
Monday 7
th April (Odyssey Day 150)
While most of the group went to do a day hike to Laguna 69 today, Andrew & I were sensible and opted to remain in Huaraz. After a lovely English breakfast at the hostel, we walked around the city for a while, doing a little shopping and taking a couple of photos. It’s really a fairly small place and while busy, is
Huaraz
The town square and cathedral not particularly touristified. It was nice to see a normal working town, but there wasn’t much to do besides people watch, and eat. There was a local artisans market and while the clothes were cheaper than in Cusco, they were not of the same quality and I decided I would prefer to pay a bit more for better stuff.
After the others got back in the evening, I went out to a very local place down the street to eat with the girls. They were exhausted from their hike and I had had a rather late lunch, so we just had a light chicken dinner and then headed back to the hostel to use the internet. First though, a quick stop at the bakery across the road to pick up some snacks for tomorrow.
Tuesday 8
th April (Odyssey Day 151)
This morning, Ellie, Kelly, Andrew and myself had chosen to head off to the town of Chavín to see the ruins there. It was a three hour bus journey along rough and winding roads through
Huaraz
A colourful city the Cordillera Blanca to get there. Our guide called the road a ‘female road’ because it ‘has many curves’. Small holes in the mountain are mines that are worked by individuals. You wouldn’t want to be claustrophobic, as they are rather tiny.
Sections of the road are maintained by locals, who demand payment or ‘tips’ for fixing it. They fill in the pot holes and then place large stones in the road to force drivers to stop and tip them before allowing them to get through. We passed at least a couple dozen of these along the way today, and pretty much anyone can do this.
The scenery was stunning today as we drove both over and through the mountains to Chavín de Huantar. We made a quick stop at Lake Querococha, a beautiful spot that looks untouched and was perfect for taking a few photos. We also drove through a tunnel that went through the mountains at an altitude of 4500m. Before it was built the drive would have been much higher and more arduous.
The ruins we
Chavín
AJ standing with the Cordillera Blanca (White Ranges) behind visited today are from the Chavín civilization for which the town is named. They are very much pre-Inca, being about 3000 years old. Our guide was multi-lingual with a group that was mostly Spanish-speaking besides the four of us. He definitely spoke for much longer to the Spanish group than he did to us and it was hard not to feel as though we were missing something.
It rained a little while we were looking around and the ponchos we bought at the gate were interesting to use, being open at the sides and rather hard to hold on to with the wind. It wasn’t a very heavy rain at least, but was steady for about an hour. Part of the ruins were underground, and it was fun to explore these bits.
We stopped at a restaurant for lunch at 1430 and I finally got to try some guinea pig. I ordered a fried cuy, and it was not a very strong flavoured meat but nice enough. Not very meaty either, being quite a small animal. I have heard it compared to rabbit, but don’t agree,
Chavín
Lake Querococha it’s not as dark a meat and nowhere near as tasty as rabbit. It has been a part of the diet of these regions for thousands of years.
After a quick stop at a museum with exhibits from the ruins, we headed back to Huaraz at 1700 and it was a quicker trip back, mostly in the dark. We got to the hostel at 1930 and even though there was a group meal tonight we were too tired to join them. It was a very long day even if most was spent sitting on a little bus.
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