I am very behind with my blog, for many reasons. We have been in some remote places where electricity and internet have not been forthcoming. It took my two days to catch up on my diary, so I am sure that the blog will take longer but I will perservere. I may just blog my favourites but we will see. Photos will have to wait. DVD´s can´t be read from the computers here and there are no USB ports.
I am starting backwards as it will be fresher in my mind and I am killing time waiting for photos to be made onto a DVD.
I am in Huaraz at the moment. An andean town in Peru. We arrived from Trujillo four days ago. Another overnight bus, but the Peruvian busses are very comfortable. The only problem I had was a large peruvian man snoring on the seat next to me. I keep forgetting my earplugs. The bus journey was about 8 hours and I slept a little.
We had arranged for a hostel pick up in Huaraz to Albergue Chirrup which is now my favourite hostel on this trip so far. It is like a hotel and the terrace is great in the mornings. Something must have gotten lost in translation and we eventually took a taxi to the hostel. We were back at higher altitude so walking up stairs had Rose and I gasping. Ants is like a mountain lion and barely felt the altitude. Rose headed to bed for a few hours, Ants and I opted for food. We booked two treks for that afternoon and the next day. We woke up Sleeping Beauty, showered and headed off in a taxi to Lake Lllaca. Ants bonded with the driver again, I am going to miss the entertaining taxi conversations now that he has gone home. The scenery was beautiful, the stream was a light shade of turquoise and surrounded by the snow capped mountains, it was good for a few pics.
The walk was easy but was at an elevation of 4600m. I haven´t quite figured out how altitude affects me, I was fine on this day, springing along, though Ants will say it was because there wasn´t much uphill. He is probably right.....again. I did manage to slip my way down towards the lake at one point and saved myself but smashed my knee into a rock. I added to the list of bruises.
We walked passed beautiful pastel coloured lakes to Lake Llaca to where there was a glacier. It has to be my favourite spot in Peru so far. The sky was blue, the glacier a light shade of blue, ice in the water, really lovely. Rosie struggled with the walk at the altitude and to be fair, her lips were a little blue. We lost her at one point, I went back to find her and pretty much walked three quarters of the way back. She had gone off the trail and was sleeping, I would have been angry, but for the blue lips, she was not loving it.
Ants and I celebrated his last night with a couple of beers in front of the fireplace at the hostel with the other backpackers.
Next morning, another early start as we were walking to Lake 69. This was again at altitude and Rose decided to have a quiet day at the hostel. It took three hours to get there by taxi and we had a guide for this walk as Ants was leaving that night for Lima and we couldn´t take the chance of getting lost with the different unmarked trails.
The walk started off quite pleasantly. A slight manageable climb, but all things that are worth it require hard work and the uphills came later. I went slow and steady while Ants and the guide bolted up the mountains. They had to wait for me, but at altitude, you can only go as fast as you can. As per our usual luck, it started to rain while we walked and eventually the ponchos came out. AS we climbed higher, the rain became ice and even this didn´t inspire faster walking like it had at Cotopaxi. It stopped when we were near the Lake and what a beautiful sight as we came around the corner. We tried to decide which we preferred, the day before or this lake but they were both so different that you cannot compare. The mountain was a grey, snow capped, the sky was blue and the lake was a blue contrast againt the rocks. I need to load the photos.
We made it down the mountain in rapid time of 2 hours against the 4 hrs up. No experience complete without me injuring myself, I was contemplating the pretty stream I was walking in and wondering where to get the best photo, not multi-tasking well at all and fell. True to form, out came the camera and that is as much concern as I got from my travel buddy. I have given him plenty of opportunities. The walk was lovely though, through valleys, past waterfalls and I was very pleased that we had done it.
Ants left that night for Lima to fly back to London. I was heartsore to see him go. I really enjoyed travelling with him and we have some wonderful memories.
The last couple of days have been easier. We have spent some time acclimatising, I caught up on my diary and now starting on the blog. We did catch a collectivo taxi into a town called Carhauz yesterday. It has a large Sunday market and you can buy just about anything you want from the stalls on the side of the road. Fishing nets, ropes, TV´s, food, shoes.... it was the biggest market I have seen in Peru to date. More fascinating was the array of colours that the locals wear. For those who know me well, I have been in seventh heaven with the colours and have bought some of the brightest souvineurs I could find.
Today has been quiet again. I am looking at a small town in the Andes for an overnight stop but need to find the bus times with my bitty spanish. Every day an adventure. This afternoon will hopefully include a trip to the nearby hot springs.
