Advertisement
So we last left you at the coast just north of Trujillo. Its been a little odd since then as much and nothing has happened. We took the night bus from Trujillo to Huaraz 8.5 hours, 3200m up and amazingly beautiful in comparison. The town itself is nestled in the valleys of the High Andes surrounded on all sides by peaks of between 6-7000 meters, which are obviously snowcapped year round.
With the town being so high and arriving from weeks by the coast you notice the difference as soon as you step off the bus into the brisk, clean and oxygen empty air. Making it to the hostal without a minor coronary episode is the first task. As advised when comming here the first day is spent acclimatizing, we made use of this researching the local trekking agencies looking for the best deals from the safest opperators (your concerns duely noted vicky´s friends, mine obviously expect nothing less).
The next day we take our first tour, just a day trip to high altitude returning down at night to reduce the chances of A.M.S. and further ready ourselves for an extended treck at altitude. The treck chosen takes
us south to Catac, one of the only places wordwide where the Puya Raimondii plant grows (a 30ft decendant of the pinapple). Then on up the valley to 5200 meters to the Nevado Pastoruri glaciers and ice caves. The journey itself takes in some amazing scenery but for the best views its a further hour treck upto the edge of the glacier where exposed crevases form ice caves. You can enter, however being a glacier and constantly moving its not without some danger of collapse. After a very brief dart in and out (just for the photos you understand) we both collapsed exausted and feeling somewhat peculiar. Time to descend me thinks.
Day three in Huaraz was to see the start of a four day high mtn treck in the Cordillera Blanca around Santa Cruz. However being that this was the first time we had had to pay upfront, it was the first time i got sick........ Coming down with a crazy fever, freezing but sweating, sick the full works. As you can imagine Vicky being the perfect nurse declined going alone (with a Japanese couple) and opted to take care of me, by which time I was so
sick I had no idea what was going on.
That day (by all accounts) Vicky found us a new hostal, with a private bathroom that was greatly needed! Moved us. Got me drugs from the pharmacy etc etc. Unfortunately as you might imagine the trek went ahead without us and being such a small group to start with there would be no refund any time this millenia ...... poo! On the bright side it was only $100 each so it could have been a lot worse and the agency let vicky travel on a day tour for free, but more of that next. As for me the next few days were spent being weak and struggling to be a useful human.
So after being a nurse for a day or so i decided to be productive and had another Spanish lesson to try and improve on wht I have picked up. It certainly gave me a bit more confidence to speak Spanglish but Im not sure I can speak any better actual Spanish! The next day as Lee was a little better and ok to be left alone I tried to salvage some of the money by persuading the
tour company to let me go on a one day tour and not pay anymore. They obliged and off I trotted as the only white person on this tour of the north part of the Santa Cruz valley. We made a meaningless stop at a tiny town called Carhuaz where we literally just stopped so that everyone could buy ice cream off of the drivers mate! Then we headed up the mountain road to Laguna Llanganuco that sits some 5000m plus above and to the east of Yungay, a town that was whiped out on May 30th 1970 by an earthquake that loosened the glacier from the Huascaran mountain and consequently dropped down 3km onto the town burying almost all of the inhabitants. The water was crystal clear but bloody freezing and surrounded by the amazing giant mountains that stand out at upto 6768m (Huascaran) above. Awesome views and there is a trail that leads around the lake. Unfortunately being the mountains there are bears, pumas and foxes and you are not allowed to walk the trail on your own. So I waited patiently for one of the 30 plus group I was in to head that way so I
could tag along but none of the boring sods did it! I couldnt believe it. So the conductor came over and engaged me in conversation which was quite cool to practice my Spanish. By the end of the day though I was exhausted as everyone just assumed I spoke reasonable Spanish and proceeded to yap at me all day, I was knackered from having to concentrate so hard on what was being said. Brainache! Back down the mountain and we stopped for lunch where one of the families invited me to join them. I couldnt say no so another hour of intense conversation with me struggling to catch what the 6 year old with a mouthful of food is saying to me. They were lovely though and insisted on paying for my meal - eeek I felt so awful! After lunch which wasnt until 4pm we carried on to a factory in Caraz that sells this stuff (cant remember the name) that is a mix of cows milk and honey - looked like lemon curd but was very nice - however just another stop for one of his mates I think! Back to Yungay and we stopped at the site
of the old town that was wiped out and had a little tour - it looked like the queens garden in Alice of Wonderland where they play croquet because of all the roses they have planted to commemorate those lost. Got back to Huaraz quite late to get back on another bus to Lima overnight, but not before we stopped at Chilli Heaven for a curry for a much better Lee!
We were advised by Limenos (people who live in Lima) not to bother with Lima and as there is nothing to do apart from museums and churches (we are a bit churced out) or apparently get robbed we decided to give it a miss and carry straight on to Pisco further down on the south-west coast. We checked into a really nice hostal with a gorgeous pool and kitchen so we could cook for ourselves. The only reason we came here was to see Islas Ballestas (another poor mans Galapagos) and the National Park of Paracus which you can do in one day so we got that booked and after eggy bread whipped up by my personal chef settled down for a day to sleep by the pool. We
met some other brits and cooked for them too that night. Buying chicken breast was very amusing as the names for cuts of meat is something thats very complicated to learn but rubbing my chest in the butchers got us enough meat to feed 4 - the butcher was obviously impressed!!!!!!!
Early the next day we joined all the other gringoes (more than we have seen altogether in weeks) and hopped in the speed boat. On the coast etched into the hills is this weird geoglyph called the Candelabra (as it looks like an ornate candle stick). No-one knows when it was done, by whom or what it signifies but at 150m high and 50m wide its pretty impressive. The Islas Ballestas are a mix of little rocks and and larger inhabitibal islands where National Reserve security guards live, unfortunately that one does look a bit like Alcatraz! However the wildlife was great. Penguins hidden in little crevices in the rockas and frigate and boobies galore. Some of the crabs and urchins clinging to the rocks were the size of footballs and we spotted a Dolphin or two on the way out. By far the best bit was the Sea Lions - they were massive and some were playing in the surf whilst others were fighting on the beach making the most horrendous noises. Back on dry land we got on a bus and headed out into the desert to a look out point where you can see flamingoes but they were too far away so wasnt that great. Next we headed back round towards the sea edge where there is a famous cutting into the rock formation called "The Cathedral" because of its shape. Really weird to stand on a cliff edge overlooking miles of ocean but then behind you is just miles of open desert. After a late lunch the tour was over and we grabbed our stuff from the hostal and got straight back on another bus for Ica 2 hours away. Once there we had been told to stay in Huacachina which is another 4k out of town but well worth the trip. The hostal we wanted was full so we checked into the more expensive party one and proceeded to get very drunk as that was the only way to get some sleep. Met some great people who we have kept hooking up with over the last few weeks.
Huacachina is an Oasis in the middle of the desert, sunk deep down amid towering sand dunes. The lake itself is pretty rank being stagnant and best avoided but the rest of the town is really pretty and the place to go to chill. Thats unless you take a ride on a dune buggie! We booked up with the hostal to go on the 4pm dune buggie/sand boarding trip and were reccomended to get in Alfredo´s buggie as he was the best. The best is not the right description, he is what they say in spanish 'muy loco', very crazy! As we were driving out of town for the dunes we had to sign a disclaimer which was scary enough but when locals started shouting at us to get out he is 'f***ing crazy' I got very worried. And they were right! I was expecting a tranquil ride over the dunes, a bit of boarding and then watching the sunset over the landscape. I had no idea that dune buggy riding was like being in a rollercoaster except 10 times more scary and you know how I hate rollercoasters. Basically at about 100kph we would approach the lip of a dune and just go straight off the top without being able to see the other side. To put things in perspective a Canadian girl in the back seat (oh did I forget to mention we were in the front as well) started crying after 15 minutes, got out and said she was walking back - your in the middle of the desert love, good luck! Needless to say she had a point and I really wanted to join her but I wasnt allowed and was held down in my seat. She got into a diffeent buggy. After half an hour of deafening Lee with my screams (my throat hasnt been the same since) we got out to sand board but my thighs were shaking so much I had to sit down for 5 minutes. Boarding wasnt all its cracked up to be even though I didnt try the larger slopes. Lee was of course a pro but still found it not as fun as the real thing on snow. The ride back was even worse (or better if you ask Lee) as Alfredo and another buggy driver decided to have a competition on one of the dunes to see who could get the most 'air'! Being with the crazy guy we of course won - we have never taken off in a car before and I never want to again!
Back on solid ground I had a few drinks to stop the shakes in a really chilled out place that we had been told about weeks ago but had forgotten. The next day the drinking continued as we took a 'Bodega' (wine and pisco factory tour). Although very interesting sampling 40% pisco at 11am wasnt the best idea ever and Peruvian wine is clasically very sweet as they do not drink it with dinner so personally I cant wait to get to Chile!
That afternoon we scored the best bargain of our trip so far with travel, accomodation and our plane flight over the Nasca Lines all for $50 (some flights alone cost $65) so we were put on a bus to Nasca and into a really nice hostal. Not much to do in Nasca so we just went out for some food and experienced the after shock of an earthquake! Yes thats right, earlier that day Nasca had a 5.2 quake on the richter scale and that evening the plates settled back into place whilst I had a mouthful of pasta. It was so funny, the whole place shook for about 3 seconds with Lee and I crapping our pants until the waitress (laughing uncontrollably at us) explained what had happened earlier. You can check it out on google 29th June, Nasca, Peru!
So early the next morning I skipped breakfast and we were escorted into a 4 seater plane for our 30 minute flight over these crazy lines. Once again no one knows what they are, why they are there or who did them and they were only discovered by accident less than 100 years ago when an explorer decided to fly over Nasca. Its facinating but very strange at the same time. For instance there is a monkey and a condor that do resemble what they are called but figures like the parrot and astronaut look nothing like that! The flight itself was so smooth (even you would of liked it Alan) and nothing like my previous experience of small aircraft! A bit casual that your pilot is your taxi driver too though???
Like we said nothing else to do in Nasca so took the night bus down to Arequipa down on the south border of Peru. This is called canon country as it is home to the two deepst Canon´s in the world. Once again we checked into the party hostal and after sleeping in 3 beds they finally nade up their minds of what room they wanted us in and we got some much needed sleep. That day we spent wandering Arequipa which is very pretty and since we have moved further south it is obvious that there is more money in this part of the country. We visited the museum which holds Juanita, a mummy found 12 years ago by an exploer by accident. She is 500 years old and has been preserved in ice on the top of the peak of Ampato until the neighbouring volcano melted the ice and she toppled out. It is believed she was 11 - 13 years old when she was sacrificed to the mountain gods but she knew this was her fate from the day she was born and was entombed with her umbilical cord - yuk!
We found a much cheaper hostal and booked ourselves onto our first trekking tour (we made it this time) for a 3 day/2 night trip into the Colca Canyon. That night I was poorly and took sleeping pills to pass out whilst Lee went and partied til dawn in Arequipa with some of the boys from the hostal - he didnt appreciate having to get up to change hostals the next day!
We switched hostals but had met a good bunch at the perty one so headed back there to go to our first bull fight!
This was not like the Spanish way and there is no blood shed (not with the bulls anyway???!!) and took place on a football pitch in a stadium. The atmosphere was great and we made the mistake of sitting in the upper class seats reserved for the bull owners and their families. This turned out to work to our advantage as they were so friendly and fed us beer and pisco all afternoon! It is a rich mans sport as everyone there was clearly the creme de la creme of Arequipa high society. So this is how it works: 2 bulls fight over a female which is kept in the corner of the ring. They fight with their horns like stags would and is won by one of the bulls just giving up and running away from the other. The fights are done in weight categories with the biggest being 2 tonnes! We saw 11 fights that day and the prize money can be anything up to $3000 so its big business. Which probably explains the bloodshed between the owners! Emotions run high and when the refs make a bad decision its worse than a saturday afternoon at a london derby! We couldnt believe ours eyes when this little bloke, literally bruce lee style, took a flying kick at this guy and split his head open - we had wondered what the ambulance was for. The police presence is huge but even they couldnt stop the wife´s retaliation with rocks at the perpertrator - time to leave! It was a great day but an early night was needed for our 6am start the next day.
Up at the crack of dawn to bus it to the Canon. We had a great group of 10 consisitng of 3 english boys, a Canadian couple, an american couple and a aussie girl. We had some food and then began the 4 hour descent from Cabana Conde into the Canon del Colca. The views were amazing and our Guide Jaime (pronounced Imey) was great at reeling off the history. It was scorching and watching the sun go down over the valley was gorgeous. The peaks of Ampato (where Juanita was found) and Nevado Hualca Hualca stands at 6025m above the Canon. We reached base camp at 5pmish and settled in for the night. The next morning came the real deal. Up at 7am, by 8am we were on our way to an Oasis for lunch. It was a 3.5 hour hike through the bottom of the Canon where we passed through villages where people still live although most of the houses have been abandoned. After a refreshing dip in the pool and really not enough food for what lie ahead we started our ascent back up the vertical 1200m. The average time for this hike is 3.5 hours and the record is 1 hour 10 but Lee stormed it in a whopping 2 hrs and I was close behind at 2 hours 20 - not bad considering the we set out at 2pm in the midday heat, though I do think I had a mild stroke half way up. Some of the group got donkeys the lazy b***ards! Needless to say after half a bottle of wine I was sparko!
The next day was truly the best of all. We caught a bus to Cruz del Condor and stepped off to at least 10 massive Condors circling above. They stay in one spot until the sun moves round and then follow it so are only there for 20 minutes or so. They were amazingly impressive and although we got some photos, others in our group had better ones so will post them when they have emailed us. Back on the bus we made for a thermal springs, just the ticket with sore limbs from yesterdays hike! A few hours soak and back to Arequipa where the obligatory drinking session with the boys who were also staying at our hostal ensued. We hooked up with some of the crowd from our old hostal and it turned into quite a night - or so they tell me! The next day was chores of laundry and much needed sleep but ended up with giant Jenga and too much Pisco! Sorry about the mammoth blog, we have been busy as you can see and a bit slack with jotting it down. Heading to Cusco tonight so will catch up again after Machu Pichu - Ciao ciao xxxxxxx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.07s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 7; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0422s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
james
non-member comment
good to hear from you both
look time no news. i am glad you are both having a sweet time and are finding many adventures. the first mention of pisco brought back vague and hazy memories of the wedding from a Chilean friend of mine and pisco sour drinking! life in the mountains is much the same, boating, chilling etc. we will be in england for the last 2weeks in october i think when do you get back? stay safe and enjoy the world ciao James