After more than 26 hours of travelling we arrived at Lima airport around midnight. Immigration went smooth and even our luggage had made it through New York and Fort Lauderdale to here: what a promising start! A taxi took us from the airport into the neighborhood of Miraflores, where our hotel was situated. During the ride of approximately one hour through the megacity (Lima has around 10 million inhabitants) the taxi driver gave us a comprehensive summary about Peru's history and all sights worth seeing. He was kind enough to do so by slowly speaking Spanish, so that we could understand. The following four days we acted as the tourists we are and discovered the sights of Lima. Unfortunately, now in the transition season from winter to summer, the city is usually wrapped into dense fog (called "la garúa"), which made everything appear grey. Otherwise we for once enjoyed being in a city that is completely different to what we had experienced during the last months in North America. We walked within the masses of people in central, colonial Lima, rode on the public traffic and enjoyed the delicious, fresh food. All small restaurants offer a daily menu during lunchtime, which is limited in choice but includes two to three courses for not more than 10 Soles (approximately 3 CHF). We love this fantastic offer and used it daily. It is usually safe to eat in these restaurants... In some establishments it can be a bit of a gamble; we suspect this is also the reason why we had to take a down-day and can now write this blog post ;-). After Lima, we decided to head north into the Andes and travelled by overland bus to Huaraz. Huaraz is situated on 3050 m and the base for many hikes in Cordillera Blanca. The town itself - being the capital of the Ancash region - is quite big, counting 120'000 inhabitants, and has a pleasant but busy feeling. Our hotel was located directly in the market neighbourhood and it was fantastic to see all indigenous women in their traditional clothes selling their goods in the streets. We perceived the daily life in Huaraz more authentic than what we had seen in Lima and we enjoyed it a lot. The Peruvians were extremely friendly and hospitable towards us and showed great patience, when we tried to explain ourselves in Spanish. We were also very impressed by the natural pride the indigenous people show, even when the means are very basic. Some scenes - especially concerning traffic - did remind us vividly of India, however poverty is shown much less and a certain level of privacy is maintained under all circumstances. From Huaraz we undertook two day hikes in order to acclimatise to the high altitude. The first hike led us to a viewpoint, called Rataquenua, overlooking the town and the most prominent mountain Huascarán and led us back through a Canyon, called Puca Ventana. It was perfect for a first hike, as even when we were only climbing 600 m our hearts were heavily pounding and our bodies still needed to adapt. The next day we trekked to Laguna Churup on 4450 m. In order to get to the trailhead, we had to take a colectivo (a van that serves as shared taxi) from central Huaraz, taking us through small peasant villages to the portals of the Huascarán National Park in Pitek. The trek to Laguna Churup was very impressive. At first it ascended fairly on a very well laid path, then we had to climb with the help of ropes before reaching the lake. The lagoon itself was marvelous and the water crystal clear! After eating our lunch we soon descended as the weather turned and we even got some hail and rain on the last part of the descent. Nothing could spoil this nice day hike, though, even if we felt very tired afterwards back at the hotel; probably because of the altitude difference. Now we felt ready to undertake the Santa Cruz Trek in the coming days. After studying various guided offers and reading blogs from fellow travellers, we decided to trek it independently in four days and trying to add the Laguna 69 hike on the last day. We therefore went to do our shopping for four days' food in Huaraz; not a very easy undertaking to find all your necessary - and not too heavy - staple food! We managed and excitedly took a colectivo (there is no bus connection) to the town of Caraz further north. This colectivo ride was full of adrenaline shots :-). We were the only "gringos" in the van but made friends quickly by handing out a round of "caramelitos" to all passengers. Once more we thought it is amazing, how many people fit into the van! The ride was a fast one - our driver constantly tried to overtake the colectivo in front of us in order to be the first at the stops and collect even more passengers - and a few times we had to close our eyes and confide when he rode on the opposite lane... However, we made it safe and sound to Caraz! In Caraz we visited the town and the nearby archeological site Tumshukayko, feeling as about the only tourists around. We actually planned to start the Santa Cruz Trek from Cashapampa early today, but unfortunately Fabienne didn’t feel well. Therefore we took a day of rest and will start tomorrow. Mañana, mañana,...
1 Comment
Roger
30/9/2016 07:15:42
Yep, the Inka Cola... that name is slightly confusing unless you assume "cola" generally stands for some barely drinkable liquid. I tried it twice at the same time (first/last) :-)
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