I sat patiently in the waiting room, my fingers purposefully sifting through the pages of my passport. As they turned a familiar smell wafted through the air. I smiled slightly as my mind and spirit found momentary refuge in far away lands. It was that distinct musty smell of old leather, foreign ports, and weeks on end of traveling. I love that smell. Got it! Tucked in the very last page was my shot record. "Walters" I heard the nurse calling. I was up. Now having been poked and proded more than any human being should ever have to be throughout the course of my life, shots never phase me. Well, at least not the initial prick. I do have immense issues about being injected with foreign substances, but you have to do what you have to do. The needle penetrated deep into my tissue and instantaneously a stream of crimson blood flowed gracefully down my bicep. "You're done for life" the nurse cheerfully announced. I had just finished the last installment of my Hep A/B immunization and was on my way. Not even two weeks had passed from returning from South America and I was already planning my next sabbatical. Now I am not quite sure if it was the mystique, exquisite beauty, or the sense of absolute freedom that kept attracting me to the continent, or perhaps it was a certain Latin man....
Earlier in the year I had traveled to Peru with both of my sisters and unexpectedly met someone. Those of you who know me, know that this occurrence was a complete miracle in itself. I am probably one of the most anti-social people living on this planet. I do not trust people, I do not like 99% of all people, and I sure as hell was not looking for anyone special. I had a horrific track record with men and would not even let anyone get close enough to get to know me at all. To say I had walls up would have been the understatement of the century. If I was ever approached my first reaction was to tell the unsuspecting admirer to "Fuck Off." As my oldest sister puts it - I wasn't over my last disaster to start a new one! However, for some reason I was attracted to him. His name is Daniel and he had been our Amazon guide on our previous trip. I still haven't figured it out; maybe it was because he knew the name of every bird in the Amazon, wanted to save the rainforest, carried me across the river when my boot had a hole in it, showed me my very first wild scarlet macaw, or the fact that he liked me after I hadn't had a hot shower or shaved my legs in weeks. Clearly, there is mass confusion when trying to analyze the turn of events, and then just maybe it was a higher power that connected us together. After four days of knowing each other we knew that we had to see one another again.
2009 was just an awful year in general, in fact, the most negative year I have ever experienced in all of my 26 years of living. My personal and professional lives were both in shambles and as soon as I had returned from vacation, I was already plotting my next escape from reality. When things are bad everyone's first reaction is to go home....and so I did. I absolutely love living in Hawai'i, however, sometimes you just need your family. Off to D.C. I went. I needed to be around my parents to become reenergized in order to overcome the obstacles that had been thrown at me in regards to my career. Coincidentally, I just happened to stumble upon an extremely good deal on a plane ticket from D.C. to Lima...fate perhaps?!
Before I knew it my parents were wishing me a bon voyage from Dulles International Airport. I was about to board a plane bound for El Salvador en route to Peru. What the fuck was I doing? Until the very moment that my Taca Airlines flight was airborne it had never occurred to me once that what I was doing was verifiably insane. I had met a man for four days and three and half months later I was on a plane by MYSELF bound for South America. At least on my flight I had ample time for some serious personal introspection.
Daniel and I met in Lima and roadtripped to the mountain town of Huaraz, which is located high in the Andes of the Ancash region. Snow capped peaks kissed the blue skies above and the town blanketed the surrounding Andean Highlands. The air was clean and crisp. From the roof of our bed & breakfast we could see Huascaran, Peru's tallest peak, standing at 22,205 feet. I had read that travelers who had been to this area often compared it to the Himalayas and now I could see why. The mountains dwarfed all human activity that was taking place below their watchful presence.
Less than 24 hours after being at extremely high altitudes we decided to hike to Lago 69 within the Huascaran National Park. The drive there was absolutely amazing. Peak after peak towered over the rental car as it made its way along the dirt road. Shear cliff faces were on either side of us and as I bent down to take in the full view, the scenery made me marvel at my own insignficance. It was such a humbling experience. The mountains were truly giants. Eventually there was an opening and before us lied the most beautiful glacier lakes I had ever seen. The water was a deep greenish-blue that actually reminded me of the tropical waters off of Kailua. Prior to finding the trailhead we drove past several of these lakes as well as a one lane road that directly sliced one of the lakes in two. How on earth it was not submerged still remains a mystery! Oh, and we also had to wait for a cow that was randomly blocking our way. I was so shocked to see cows at that elevation! I should mention that driving in Peru is NOT like driving anywhere else. Often times there are massive quantities of animals just hanging out in the middle of the road for no particular reason, cows, llamas, donkeys, pigs, you have to be extremely careful where you drive in order to avoid unsuspecting livestock.
At this point in my story I would love to write what a wonderful experience I had hiking up to one of the most aesthetically beautiful places I have ever been, but it was horrific! Having not been properly acclimatized the altitude had finally hit me. We were at nearly 15,000 feet and climbing higher by the step. The trail began in a cow pasture with a slight incline. I couldn't do it. I would take a few steps and literally be gasping for breath. At first I tried to play it off. I was taking a lot of pictures and looking at the glaciers that were peering down upon us, but I had to show my weakness or there was no way in hell we were ever going to make it. Daniel handled the situation extremely well and was overly concerned with my condition. He tried his hardest to convince me to turn around, but I am as stubborn as an ox and simply would not hear it. I had been planning this hike for months and I had to see the lake. The sensation of not having enough oxygen in your lungs is nearly indescribable. First, it felt as if invisible hands were tightly bound around both of my lungs enabling the inhaling and exhaling process to occur. For awhile I thought I had a terrible stomach ache, but later realized that my lungs were actually aching. It was nothing like I had ever felt - lung cramp?! Seriously?! We would walk a few steps and I would have to stop and catch my breath, but then I would be fine. Stop and go, stop and go. This was our routine the entire way up. Waterfalls streamed carelessly down the slopes on either side of us. As we climbed even higher the air became thinner and thinner.
Time was not on our side and Daniel kept saying that we had to turn around or we would be stuck in the dark, but if you think I let him you would be very WRONG! I have been marched around mountain ranges all over the world since I was a small child. My whole life I was practically preparing for this moment and I was not going to just blow it on the slight oxygen problem! Towards the end I was even beginning to get skeptical we were not going to make it. After much persuasion I convinced Daniel to run ahead and see if we were almost there. Off he went - running - unfuckingbelievable! I mean he IS from Cusco, but still?! Awhile had past and I did not see or hear him returning and was starting to become a little bit concerned. I kept trudging along until I came to a familiar gatorade bottle meticulously placed on a rock next to the trail. He wasn't dead! I knew at this point that he must have made it and I tried to pick up the pace without exacerbating my lung situation. Suddenly I heard familiar footsteps and of course it was him. He was smiling from ear to ear. Together we climbed up the last incline and at first glance our eyes feasted upon a glacier waterfall careening into the turquoise lake below. The vivid colors bursted with life. The green foliage on the few trees that were surrounding the lake and the richness of the blue water against the grayish background created an incredible contrast of colors. Euphoria. That is the only word that would appropriately describe the feeling of being at such an incredibly amazing place. There we were, just the two of us, not a soul for miles, gazing into this natural creation of beauty.
Still high from our Lago 69 trek, we decided to venture to yet another glacier lake - Lago Churup. From our ascent we could clearly see the Cordillera Negro on one side and the Cordillera Blanca on the other. Our elevation was almost exactly the same as the previous day and I was still having trouble breathing. During one of the frequent stops an Andean condor soared over the highlands before us. This hike was by far one of the funnest I have ever been on. At one point we scurried along the side of a waterfall for about a quarter mile and had to partake in some pretty sketchy rock climbing. A hail storm struck and we sought refuge behind an outcropping of rocks. I had not seen hail in well over a decade and it was quite an experience!
The cold air consumed me, even through my SIX layers and TWO pairs of pants. I was well prepared, but my tropically spoiled body will never be used to the cold. Even though I was clearly out of my element the mountains gave me a spiritual energy that urged me to keep going. Up, up, up we climbed and then she revealed herself. The water was an emerald green and the peaks above it were splotched with snow. And yet again, it was just the two of us with our mother earth.
