It has been a great start to the trip. I should have prepared myself a bit more by studying more Spanish, but here we are. I just find it hard sometimes to get the motivation until it is a must. Now it is a must. I'm learning new things about the language everyday. I spend a lot of time saying "Lo siento, mi Español es muy malo. Habla mas dispacio por favor." My Spanish is not very good. Talk
slower please. Roberta has been quite impressive though. She has been doing most/all of the talking, but I guess that doesn't differ from the norm. Haha.
We grabbed a bus from Lima to Huaraz. The buses here are a thousand times better than the ones in SE Asia. The drive between the two places was really cool. There are a lot of microclimates in Peru. You can go from complete desert to alpine conditions to jungle. We were able to get seats at the front of the bus which made the views that much better.
Going through the desert.
Ocean meets desert.
There were many towns like this with a small stream they used for irrigation.
Flood irrigation
Greenery in the river valley.
It got dark outside about 2 hours before we got to Huaraz, so we didn't know how it looked until the morning. We hailed a taxi to get to our guesthouse. When we got there, we didn't know if it was open. We hadn't booked before we got there and it's the down season in Huaraz. Someone came to the door though and we got a room. We "talked" with this nice Peruvian guy staying there. He didn't speak much English but was very patient with our Spanish and helped us out with pronunciation of words. He told us of some places to check out. It is the down season in this area right now because it rains most afternoons, so the tourist things to do aren't very busy.
We woke up and had a look around from our guesthouse. Huaraz is located in the Andes and nearby is the second largest mountain range in the world. It was a great view even though the largest mountain peaks were blocked by clouds.
After speaking some broken Spanish, we headed up to the Nevado glacier with a Peruvian family in a taxi. The views along the way we're great. The father tried talking to me a bit but realized that was a lost cause and started to talk with Roberta.
Some stands where indigenous women were selling clothes they made. Roberta was jealous how fast they could knit.
Roberta by a puya plant. The one she is standing by is flowering which only happens every 40-100 years depending on the conditions. They are only seen a few places in the world.
The prototypical Peruvian tourist photo.
Roberta in our ride for the day which cost us around $40 total.
Crystal clear spring coming out of the ground.
Many puyas.
It was supposed to be around a 20 min walk up to the glacier, but we were feeling the affects of the altitude. It was the first time either one of us had experienced that. We got pins and needles at random times in our feet, hands, and faces. We ran out of breath walking uphill quite quickly and I had quite the headache, so the short walk turned into a bit longer of one. Just so you are aware the glacier that you walk up to is at 5200 meters. We had even taken our altitude meds, so it would have been much worse if we had not.
Like most glaciers in the world, this one has receded a lot to what it once was. If you don't believe in climate change then you should visit some glaciers around the world. The amount they have receded is staggering.
Starting to feel a bit better in this photo from the altitude sickness.
We ended up walking through sleet on the way back but we were prepared for all types of weather.
As time went on, we became more acclimated to the elevation. This was good because we were booked to do a 14 km hike the next day with quite a bit of elevation gain.
We had to get up bright and early to jump on a bus that took us to the trailhead. The bus ride ended up being around 3 hours. It wasn't that far of a distance but half the way was up a less than stellar gravel road into the mountains. The views were once again spectacular.
Our van stopped for some people to have breakfast.
Part 1 of a many part series named Roberta Drinking Tea Like a Champ
Me in front of the tallest mountain in Peru. Mount Huascaràn -6768 meters
A lake on the way to the trailhead.
There were some people fishing for trout up there which made me a wee bit jealous.
Near the start of the trail. There were many cows along the way. There was even cow dung right beside the lake at the top which I though was pretty impressive. They must be half goat.
One of the many waterfalls along the way.
A couple of the many hanging glaciers.
Alpine meadow
Flower pics for my mom and aunts.
We made it. Laguna 69
I realized today that I hadn't taken any pictures of the people. Peru has one of the highest percentages of indigenous people in the world at around 46%. Many are in the towns selling their goods.
Alright that's all I have for you now. We kind of messed up today as we thought our bus left this morning, but it leaves tonight. It gave me time to write this though. Next stop is for a little surfing in Trujillo.
P.S. If you look at the blog on a computer, you can sign up for an email that tells you when we have blogged.
Hasta luego!
Location:Julián de Morales,Huaraz,Peru
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