Laguna Churup

On Monday we went up to Laguna Churup from The Way Inn. We gained about 750 m elevation making it awesome for acclimatization. We both have been doing very well on that count all week.
It was a beautiful hike with not a soul in sight. I mean, really we were the only people up there all day! Here are some pics from my camera. The thing to get used to here is the way in which we get directions: "when the dirt road starts zig zagging turn up the herd path, there is an unfinished house there. Just follow it till you get to the road then follow the road to the right to the guard house." Amazingly it gets us there!

Jan on one of the scrambling sections
on way to Laguna Churup

Jan navigating the cable section on way down



Jan overlooking Laguna Churup with Nevado Churup towering
 another  1,000 m above.



The Way Inn and Hail

We spent the last 3 days at this cool mountain lodge, called The Way Inn. We went up to further acclimatize by camping there and hiking. The lodge sits at 3,712 m (12,180 feet) and offers up some awesome day hiking up to 4,450 m (14,600 feet). Amazingly, the lodge has hot water 24/7 and if you are not roughing it the amenities are lovely.

Our tent getting pelted and staying dry.

One thing we learned is that it does not rain so much as it hails ice pellets in the mid afternoon at this altitude. The first couple of days it started about 2 pm. On the third day, we were out on a long hike and were lucky it only started at 3:30 pm, so we only got to test out our rain gear for the last 45 minutes or so.

The most exciting part was probably that, unlike on prior days, the thunder was accompanied by lightening. This made for quite a show and a rather speedy descent to the comforts of the main lodge.

Something I Never Wanted to Blog About

I cannot withhold this piece of travel info -- I have already experienced a dreaded "gastro." Yup, three days into our adventure, I found myself moaning in pain (but still smiling -- how could I not -- it is all part of the action). Do not worry, I will not go into any nasty details. Suffice it to say that my body rallied and the worst day of the three was filled with weather drama so I did not miss anything as I slept (and slept and slept) in our tent that Inga kindly put up on her own.

I now have more "food for thought" about what I need to be mindful about. The good side of the story is that you end up having "gastro" conversations with complete strangers -- it is quite the conversation starter : )

Laguna de Llaca - part 2

A few more pics from yesterday. (Click to enlarge)


Jan scrambling up the moraine with laguna
and glacier inbackground.
See the ice climbers at the top right?



The big cloud mid-mountain is the avalanche coming to rest.



A wide view of Laguna de Llaca and the mountains.



View across the Cordillera Negra with
Huaraz in the valley

Laguna de Llaca

We had an awesome day in the Cordillera Blanca today. Part of acclimatization means we go to high places, do some hiking and then come back down. Today,we got a drive along the local backcountry roads all the way into Parque Nacional de Huascaran with Theo, a lovely, knowledgeable driver. The distance is barely 30 km, but it is uphill for most of it and the roads are adventurous (rutted, narrow, rock covered, you get the drift), so it took about 2 hours to get there.

Inga looking kind of small in this
great landscape

What we found when we arrived were amazing vistas of two glacial lagunas and two of the high mountains, called Ranrapalca (6,162 m) and Ocshapalca (5,838 m). Much of the flora, fauna as well as mountains get their names from Quechua, which is the language of the Inca Empire of Peru.

Ocshapalca to the left and Ranrapalca
to the right. It served up the avalanche.

We hiked just over 2 hours up to 4,470 m (14,665 feet) (really, most of that was done by car), and enjoyed an amazingly active glacier, got treated to an avalanche high up on the mountain and watched a few ice climbers practice their skills on the glacier wall. All in all, we saw 9 other people while hiking at the Laguna.

Tomorrow we go camping. We will be at about 3,700 m and have access to high valleys, beautiful lagunas and amazing mountain views (oh, and no car assistance).
(Click on images to view them larger.)

Willcahuin archeological site hike

Jan on hike to Wilcahuin

Our second full day in Huaraz started with brilliant sunshine and a lovely breakfast at the top floor of the Albergue Churup again. That means we have a stunning 180 degree view of the mountains. Yesterday, we learned that that amazing morning sun is followed by increasing clouds and some rain mid-afternoon (early rainy season). Exploring in town we did not worry much about that.

But today, we were eager to apply our learning and brought our rain gear just in case. We planned a hike to Willcahuin (or Wilcawain) about 6 km from town. We got a hand-drawn map from our hosts, some brief instructions and off we went.

The hike took an unpaved road and led through many small villages along the way. Most people here are living in small spaces and off the land; a way of life that might be described as traditional. Certainly their dress was traditional. To me it looked like a hard way to live: from tilling a field with a single plow and cows to spinning wool by hand to doing laundry on rocks; it is a manual lifestyle that is slow and demanding.

Along the way, it was clear that hikers were not an unusual sight. Everyone greeted us and we them. Since arriving here we have quickly adapted to the polite and friendly ways of Peruvians where greetings are just part of being human. It's also a habit that seems to survive better in rural areas rather than cities anywhere.

It took us only 2 hours from El Pinar to get there. Pinar is a gated community that belongs to a mining company where they house their staff (foreign, usually) at the outskirts of Huaraz. And the rain held off until our return to Huaraz mid-afternoon. My altimeter (what a perfect gift for my 40th bday last year) pegged it at about 3,400 m, making it perfect for a first hike up.


La casa de nietos on the right,
the information centre on the left

Willcahuin is an archeological site dating to the Wari culture of about 600 to 800 AD, i.e. pre-incan. The site itself has some well preserved buildings, especially this large 3 story stone building called La casa de nietos. There's also an exhibit where we learned more about the period and saw some artifacts.

The good news is that the hiking felt easy, I only got sunburned where I mis-applied the sunscreen (the sun is powerful at this altitude) and we enjoyed the ride in the Collectivo on the way down from the front seat. Let's just say, we got to see every nook and cranny in this unpaved road as we seemingly flew downhill it.  All in all a fine day. And, importantly, I haven't had a headache since yesterday morning. (Jan never had one at all!)

We are in Huaraz!

After a day and a half of flying 6,400km, sleeping for a few hours and then bussing it about 300km, we have arrived in the gateway to the Cordillera Blanca in the Peruvian Andes. Albergue Churup will be our base for the next few days while we acclimatize. We are very pleased with our room and the ambience here.

The bus ride today took us from sea level in Lima to 3,000m (9,850 feet) along some amazingly arid desert right beside the Pacific ocean. Tomorrow we will explore Huaraz and plan our first hike in some mountains.

The vastness of 13 weeks

It's Monday. Shortly, we will leave home for the airport and a plane to Peru! Lima tonight and toward Huaraz the day after.

We've got an itinerary; it's kind of loose and kind of awesome. We've seen the Andes before, but spending 3 months along the spine of South America feels like a grand, crazy idea just now.

Life without deadlines is about to start.

House party wrap

Jan and I early on in the evening

What a great night! Jan got to celebrate her 50th in style with friends, family, colleagues and neighbours. 

We feel lucky to have such lovely and interesting people in our lives.

Tulips and maple-catered hors d'oeuvres, platters and desserts were fantastic.

...and there was dancing, too.

We are now 5 days from Peru: Busy with wrapping up work, my last Spanish class and getting the house ready for our friend who will be living here while we are travelling.

Then we'll do the final packing and make sure all is in place.

By the way, been loving getting to know the Iridium 9555 satellite phone. Easy to learn and easy to use. It's really amazing technology. Have started uploading some important phone numbers "in case of emergency."

House party

Tonight is house party time! It's Jan's 50th birthday and "we've-talked-about-it-long-enough-now-we-are-really-going-on-this-trip" going-away-party. The RSVPs are in, the house is set up, the catering is picked up, the DJ will be here at 7:30 pm, even have thought up a casual party game, and a couple of friends will help us with hosting. There's hoping it'll be a memorable evening.

And in 9 days we are on the plane to Lima! I'm stoked.

Happy birthday, Jan!