The border crossing at La Balsa is very chill and couldn't be smaller. I only have seen two cops on each side of the bridge. I had no problems and as if they didn't care how long will I stay. 90 days is max and that's what I got.
I'm in Peru! New adventures here I come!
From the start it was a race to get to Chachapoyas at a reasonable time. First I took a taxi collectivo which is nothing other then a 5 passenger car that fits 6. It took 2h to get to San Ignacio (12 PEN) where I quickly was transferred to another car bound for Jaen (16 PEN - 2h). From there I had to hop onto a motoryksha (1.5 PEN) to get to another taxi collectivo stop bound for Baghua Grande (9 PEN - 1h). At a dusty corner I was transferred yet again to yet another car this time directly to Chachas (22 PEN - 3h). I got to Chachas after 7pm after traveling for almost two days and one night.
Just as a side note, some of these cars were in a graveyard state. I was amazed they still rolled around and didn't just disintegrate into the thin air. On my last leg the driver either couldn't see at night or was checking for something. Periodically, he would turn off his headlights and stick his head outside the window. When I asked what's wrong he said nothing was wrong LOL. I didn't ask again and hoped we'll get there in one piece.
Dead tired, dirty and prolly a bit smelly I stepped into one of the few tour agencies to get some info. Nacho (the owner) of Travel Tours agency was very helpful and arranged everything for me. I just wanted to get some sleep so I bought a tour for tomorrow to Kuelap ruins (45 PEN for transportation and guide + 12 PEN for Kuelap entrance), he took me to a hostel, told me where to eat and everything. If I would want to go to Kuelap by myself I could have saved about 15 PEN but it could have been tricky with transportation. After such a long travel it wasn't justified and this way I could sleep in. Sleeping in means till 7am D'OH!
Wednesday, 13 X 2010
Kuelap ruins were south from Chachapoyas and it takes about 1:30-2h to get there. It is located at 3000m (9800ft) on top of the mountain. It was a citadel city of Chachapoyas people “People of the Clouds”. I really enjoyed this visit. High walls with many rings which were once houses. Trees and other vegetation overgrew the place giving it an untouched and mysterious feeling. I wish I could spend the night there. Actually, excavation is still taking place as you read this. The views are forever and unanswered questions remain.
This tour took a whole day with a pit stop for lunch. At 7:30pm I boarded a bus to Chiclayo (45 PEN - 9h).
Thursday, 14 X 2010
I have arrived in Chiclayo before 6am. Not planning to stay the night I bought a ticket to Cajamarca (20 PEN - 6h) for 9:30pm. This way I could leave my backpack at the bus office and easily move around with a daypack.
My first field trip was to the tombs of Sr. Sipan (8 PEN). The ruins of the Moche settlement are located about 45 min outside of Cajamarca.
The tombs and the way the important people were buried was pretty impressive. They believed in an afterlife so they were buried with various pottery, beheaded llamas, dogs, wife (or not), and guardians. All the necessary things to lead a life in “other” place. I wonder if other people were alive at the moment. The museum near by portrayed the history of people in Peru and in the region with various excavations. Very neat and worth checking out.
In Peru there aren't many city buses. At least not yet. Little minibuses race along the streets to various locations. People are small so crap load of them can squish in these tiny cars. Don´t expect comfort or leg room.
My next destination was a Museo Arqueologico Nacional Bruning in Lambayeqe (8 PEN). It housed more archeological pieces and some dioramas. It wasn't anything special.
I spent the rest of the day wandering around the city and its parks. Not too much to see or do.
http://picasaweb.google.com/maurycy.sarosiek/PeruSrSipan?authkey=Gv1sRgCKewy-vQh5OiYw#
Friday, 15 X 2010
I got to Cajamarca at 3:40am, before schedule. Since it's not wise to wander around at night in a new place especially with a big backpack I stayed at the bus station till the daylight hours. Still pretty early, I was told that Ventanillas de Otuzco are already open so I hopped on a micro (0.80 PEN) and in 30min I was there. Just to kiss the lock on the door. Not wanting to wait for almost 2h I headed to los Baños del Inca. It took me 50min with the full backpack. Supposedly Inca kings would bathe in these natural hot springs. Being on the bus for the past two nights I decided to dip in (5 PEN). Nothing special as far as the setup but it was nice to sit in a warm water for a bit and get clean.
As I was about to heave breakfast two older Peruvian gentlemen approached me out of the blue curious where I was from and what I was up to. We had a nice chat about Peru, life and eventually it turned religious. They were really nice and ended up chanting a prayer for me over each other.
I returned to Cajamarca where again I was wandering around to get a feel of the city. I saw a very nice old cathedral in el Complejo de Belen (5 PEN) with lots of wooden carvings and paintings all around. It gave out really nice vibe of something sacred that've been around for a looooooong time. I stumbled upon a cheese carving competition, saw unimpressive museum and climbed the stairs to Cerro Santa Apolonia from where I had a view of the city.
I went yet again to Ventanillas de Otuzco (4 PEN) because it was very easy to get there. They were cubic holes in the side of the mountains that served as graves.
A bit outside of the city there in Cumbe Mayo. They are perfectly smooth aqueducts carved around 2000 years ago and zigzag at right angles for 9km. Only tour buses go there leaving in the morning. I did not want to stay there another day and opted out of visiting the place. Sounds interesting though.
I was toying with the idea to grow out my hair but they ended under the scissors. I was starting to look really shaggy and my hair is hard to control. No hair = no problem.
Traveling by night buses is convenient so you won't loose a whole day and you don't have to pay for hostels. Sometimes you get a nice bus and sometimes an archival piece. Either or you can't rest that well. I was pretty beat after two nights traveling rapidly from place to place so I went to bed early. I was promised hot shower but the owner forgot to tell me that the city shuts off the water because there haven't been much rain lately. Great, at least I took a bath in the morning.
Seriously, I don't even know why I went to Cajamarca.
http://picasaweb.google.com/maurycy.sarosiek/PeruCajamarca?authkey=Gv1sRgCLKXs67LstGL-gE#
Saturday, 16 X 2010
I was ready to take the hot shower in the morning and that's exactly what I got. The problem was that afterwards I would have to be treated for burns. It was one of these electric shower heads so I couldn't adjust the temperature. Pretty pissed I left to the bus terminal.
I went straight to Trujillo (20 PEN). It took 8h instead of 6:30h. Abraham (CouchSurfing host) was waiting for me at the terminal. Almost directly we went to a dance competition in which his friend was taking part of. It was a choreographic competition between 7 departments of a local university. It was very peculiar as they would mix every possible type of music and dance into one piece. I have to say it was very chaotic and somewhat interesting.
Sunday, 17 X 2010
First I went to visit Huaca de la Luna (11 PEN). It was a temple of Moche people from around AD 600. There were some carvings and paintings around on the ruin walls but nothing spectacular. Constantly they are doing more excavations. Also, once somebody will sponsor them they will excavate Huaca del Sol near by.
From there I went to see Chan Chan (11 PEN). Built around AD 1300 and covering 36 sq km it is the largest pre-Columbian city in Americas and the largest adobe city in the world. It is located in the desert – that had to be fun... With almost nothing to offer I just walked around the ruins and left quickly with a sense of wasted time.
As a last thing I went with Abraham to the beach in Huanchaco. There you can try your skills at swimming in Caballito de Totora. It is similar to a kayak but made of grases or similar bound together and as a paddle you have a bamboo split in half. I didn't have any spare clothing with me so I will have to try it some other day.
The coast is deserty hence not too impressive.
At 9:15pm I caught a bus to Huaraz (45 PEN - 10h) where I was hoping to do some multi-day trekking.
http://picasaweb.google.com/maurycy.sarosiek/PeruTrujillo?authkey=Gv1sRgCNbY5ZLkuOLJCQ#
Monday, 18 X 2010
I could not get a hold of my CouchSurfing host so I walked around town and went to a mirador from which I could see the town from above. It also had a giant blue cross right next to abandoned/destroyed/grafitied building. I went hiking higher into the hills but was forced back by the forming of black and scary clouds. Sure enough as I got back to town it started raining. In the evening, I finally talked to my host but it sounded like too much trouble all of a sudden to stay with him. I quickly called another host, Ivan, who welcomed me without any problems. At the same time he was hosting 4 other people! A couple from Argentina (Martin and Florencia) and two guys from Nova Scotia (Liam and Scott). Everybody was like a one big family living in one room. The atmosphere was very pleasant, friendly and I was glad to have met them.
Martin and Florencia are traveling around by motorcycles and you can check out their blog at: www.xlapatriagrande.com.ar
Liam on the other hand travels with his bag pipes and can give a very interesting concert :)
http://picasaweb.google.com/maurycy.sarosiek/PeruHuaraz?authkey=Gv1sRgCOqnvaqCucKbeA#
Tuesday, 19 X 2010
Ivan had a day off so with few of his friends, Martin and Florencia we decided to go for a hike into quebrada Cojup. Wakeup was before 6am!!! Murder hour. It was less than an hour away but we managed to get a flat tire in one of the motorcycles and the rear leaf spring broke on the car.
To people short that went back to take care of the car we started hiking. It was a nice canyon guarded with steep and tall walls and a snowy mountain looming at the end of it. Ivan confidently skipper the little bridge and we continued on the right side of the river. As it turned out we should have crossed the little bridge and now we had to cross the river barefoot. The icy water felt like a million poking needles.
Right after lunch it started raining. Nothing new around here that it rains in the afternoons. It was a cold rain and I do not own a waterproof pair of pants (big mistake). I had to keep moving to stay somewhat warm. High elevation would start to show its face as well. I felt short on breath and I my heart was pounding strong in my head. I had to take it slow.
The target was a laguna Palcacocha located at 4,566m (15,000ft). We finally got there after 4h. We got really lucky because as soon as we arrived the clouds cleared out showing us the majestic view of Nevado Pucaranra. As soon as we left the clouds quickly formed covering it all once again. Soon after it started raining again and did not stop till the end. My pants got soaked, hence my socks and soon after my boots. I was cold and on top of that I got an elevation headache which creates a very sharp pain. Not fun anymore going quickly to get back and to stay warm.
The views of the laguna and the sourounding mountains were superb and it was worth being miserable and freezing.
http://picasaweb.google.com/maurycy.sarosiek/PeruQuebradaDeCojupYLagunaPalcacocha?authkey=Gv1sRgCOHZs5rUqufNTQ#
Wednesday, 20 X 2010
Not much in plans for today. Drying the boots, blog writing, pictures upload and celebrating Scott's 23rd b-day.
Make sure you DON'T visit Café Andino. Quote: "Enjoy our gift of free wifi with minimum purchase of 10 soles." It would have been fine if the witch wouldn't be turning off the router trying to blame it on power outages that weren't happening.
Thursday, 21 X 2010
Time to do some trekking in these giant mountains. I will start with the visit to Laguna 69 which is on the way to Santa Cruz trek.
From Huaraz I had to go first to Yungay (1h - 4 PEN). From there transfer to a minibus heading to Vaqueria and get off early at the trailhead (1:30h - 10 PEN). This area belongs to Parque Nacional Huascaran (5 PEN - 1 day, 65 PEN - month).
After hiding my big backpack in some bushes near the beginning I started hiking at 10:30am. The weather was good but of course it changed very rapidly as I was near the laguna 69. The views were amazing but at the laguna I couldn't see towering snowy Nevado Chacraraju (6112m – 20,050ft) :( It even started raining so I headed down. 30min into my descent all of a sudden it started to clear up! Damn! I got a bit pissed off. Why was I hiking so fast (1.45h up)?!!! Oh well, what can I do? I just hope I won't miss too many views in the next three days. The views were still superb from farther away.
I got back to the road before 3pm. My plan was to catch a micro to Vaqueria (2h - 10 PEN) and camp somewhere at the beginning of Santa Cruz trail. This plan was failing with every minute a micro wouldn't show up from around the corner. I was flagging every vehicle but all were filled and couldn't take me. Finally a supply truck driven by Alex and accompanied by Alfonso willingly took me aboard around 5pm. Que suerte that I didn't have to camp here. Otherwise I would have a late start on my trek.
Since the weather cleared up the views were out of this world. The road snaked and kept climbing to the high sky with hairpin turns, width only for one vehicle and of course without any barriers. I was looking all around with my mouth wide open lol trying to take it in. There is no way to take it all in. There was just too much everywhere I looked. I had a nice chat with my saviors and made them stop periodically to take pictures which couldn't capture it of course. We arrived in Vaqueria right after dark. Being a dark and cold night I took hospedaje (10 PEN) in town or should I say five or six houses by the road. What I got is a bed and a candle hehe, nothing else. Cool, I didn't really need anything else. Tomorrow I will finally find myself away from the civilization and all other distractions. After chowing down the wonderful ramen zzzzzzzzzzzz...
http://picasaweb.google.com/maurycy.sarosiek/PeruLaguna69?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSBg5S0p_mfqgE#
Friday, 22 X 2010
I headed out before 7am. First, I had to dip down into the canyon to come up the other side. I was passing small villages as I moved deeper and deeper between the steep giants.
The weather couldn't be better with sun shining high and no cloud in sight. These clouds just want to cover everything, hide it from you. Bad clouds! Good for that or else I wouldn't have the strength and motivation to hike about 1,500m (5,000ft) of elevation change peaking at Punta Union pass (4,750m - 15,600ft). I almost camped before the pass. The views of Nevado Taulliraju were just too much too handle. I was mesmerized by its slabs of steel rock shining in the sun...
After about an hour of looking at the same rock LOL I decided to keep moving and cross the pass. The weather was too good not to use it and see the other side. This stupid weather can change in a heartbeat and then I won't see shit.
It was a good choice but turned out a long day when I finally set up camp around 5pm. Also, on this side I was able to see the mountain which is an icon of Paramount Pictures. It didn't look like it was the right side though. It's called Artesonraju.
Spectacular sunsets only come with lots of clouds. This one wouldn't win awards but turned white peaks into all kinds of red and I could go to sleep with a smile on my face...
Saturday, 23 X 2010
Wake up was at five to beat the usual afternoon rain. I still do not have waterproof pants so it was important to me if I wanted to be a happy camper. The sky was kinda hazy which obviously wasn't a good sign. Not wasting time on breakfast I stepped out before 6am. I had a side trail in mind to get closer to Alpamayo. It takes you about 12km (7.5mi) of trail to a laguna Arhuaycocha. Breakfast right there surrounded by the giants was the right choice.
Clouds were moving in and not knowing what were they planning I started moving down into the valley. It was a huge one. As you walked it appeared as you're not gaining any ground.
At this point I was convinced that I'm not done with this cordillera. One pass wasn't enough. I wanted MORE!!! With this in mind I decided to pull another long, hard day and finish Santa Cruz in 2 days instead of 3-4. I did about 31km (20mi) a day with huge change of elevation at high elevation. It was a good accomplishment and I felt like I was ready for something bigger. Luckily I wouldn't get the elevation migraine headaches anymore. Maybe it was the coca leaves I've been chewing. Who knows and who cares as long as I felt good.
Finally about 3pm I got to Cashapampa from where I took a colectivo (1h - 6 PEN) to Caraz and a micro from there to Huaraz (1:30h - 5 PEN).
http://picasaweb.google.com/maurycy.sarosiek/PeruSantaCruzTrek?authkey=Gv1sRgCNKD5cPoxabaRQ#
Sunday, 24 X 2010
Another one of the organizational/relaxing days. Time to dry the tent, call family, answer some e-mails, and of course resupply the food stash.
My next trek, starting tomorrow, will be Los Cedros Alpamayo. It will take me a ridge over from Santa Cruz trail. It should take 6-7 days but I think I can do it in less.
I was trying to find some waterproof pants but being Sunday I didn't have any luck. Cross my fingers I wont need them too much.
When I was printing up a map for my trek (THANX Monica and Mike) in some shop they infected my thumb drive with some virus. I had to format it in DOS to get rid of it. Luckily I keep more then one copy of my precious pictures or else... I'm also leaving copies on computers of people I meet just in case hehe. The best pictures will be in my head forever but the digital ones will help to jolt these memories sometime in my old future hehe.
Monday, 25 X 2010
What a day, what a day...
You work for the countless hours until you just can't anymore. Huffing and puffing step after step to gain that precious and oxygen free elevation. All this just to catch a glimpse of what's ahead... and only then it's all worth it!!!
Let's start from the beginning though.
At 6am I boarded a minibus bound for Caraz (5 PEN - 1:30h). From there another 1:30h to Huancarhuas (15 PEN) in a colectivo. I'm still not at the trailhead which starts in Hualcayan but the road didn´t go there. There are only two "buses" that go directly to Hualcayan via different route but only on Sundays and Wednesdays. So the trail remained as an only option. It started more or less leveled passing farmlands without an easy access and cut out from civilization. Of course it had to shoot up a steep and barren slopes. It took me 1:30h to finally get to the trailhead. It wasn't the end of my climb, oh no. In front of me there was this giant of a vertical mountain and the local was pointing somewhere at the top but you couldn't even see that far. It looked like I'm never gonna climb it. It's the worst when you can see how much and how hard is it gonna be. Oh well, there is no turning back. Quitting is not an option. But first lunch. What's in my brown bag? Hot dog!!! with few substitutions: bun = pita looking bread, sausage = banana, ketchup = chunky peanut butter!!! LOL this should do the trick and give me some energy hehe.
Ok, my murderous and never-ending climb begun. Looking down, step by step I'm moving forward. Motivation = 0!!! There are no cool views, just rectangular fields on a plateau.
Bored and tired I'm making my way up and there he is! Slacks, white collared shirt, sweater vest and all. Am I seeing things? No, it's a local hiker on a stroll dressed like he's going to church. He got a bit lost (no map), got hungry and decided to head back. He wanted to see Alpamayo for which you need at least two days to get there. A bit odd but what do I know.
I started hiking at 9am and said enough around 4pm after climbing about 5000 vertical feet (1,500m)!!! I set up camp at 4,400m (14,400ft). I didn't get to the planned laguna Cullicocha but at least as I climbed the last hill jagged mountains appeared. I started to feel like my hard work will be rewarded. The view is amazing and I can't wait to dive into it tomorrow!
The fiery sky as far as you can see over a ridge of a thousand peaks all around... In the presence of such unlimited and breath taking beauty I'm speechless... I can't take my eyes off of the horizon where the inferno is taking place!!!
Behind me is a different story. One snowy peak amongst the jagged black cliffs. Charcoal clouds are hanging around for the sun to set so they can play. Tension is in the air... The light is off but the contours and shadows remain...
I feel honored to be in the presence and weary what's coming next... I'm at the mercy of nature that I adore. I am fine with that...
Tuesday, 26 X 2010
I woke up past midnight to a sound of rain hitting my tent. It was awfully bright for some reason and the walls of my tent were leaning inwards. Weird?! and then I realized it wasn't rain at all, it was SNOW!!! Overnight, about half an inch or so of this white powder accumulated hehe. As I looked outside the ground was covered with this whiteness making it look very clean and pristine.
The clouds were hanging around dormant and hopefully will stay like that. For breakfast I will try this chocolate oatmeal I picked up. Looks good on the packaging so it was an easy choice. I took a spoonful and WOW!!! This thing looks and tastes like SHIT!!! I could barely swallow it. I was under impression it had sugar in it since it was a chocolate flavor but boy was I wrong. Not having sugar and not wanting to waste breakfast (unfortunately I have another one and two apple flavor ones of the same brand). I looked into my food bag. All I could find that would remotely work was chunky peanut butter. So first I would take some peanut butter on the spoon and then some of this black goo. Not tasty was lightly said. I had few spoonfuls and decided to let the animals have a try.
I started hiking around 8am. More climbing right from the start = nothing new. It took me about 1:30h to get to Laguna Cullicocha. If the clouds wouldn't be in the way I would have a bitchin' view of Nevado Santa Cruz Northe. Sux!!! At least a friendly dam guard Victor was nice enough to give me some sugar. Round two with the mysterious oatmeal will take place.
From the laguna there was another climb to the highest Paso Osoruri on the trail at 4,850m (15,900ft) where I decided to have an early lunch. Of course it had to started snowing!!! Damn, I had to eat quickly and couldn´t enjoy it fully. Eat what you ask? Sandwich composed of some chicken deli meat, some yellow cheese and apricots. Apricots??? Yep, you read it right. It shouldn't have surprised you after a banana hot dog LOL.
The light snow wasn't so bad because most of it would bounce of off my NOT waterproof pants. I had to clear one more pass (Paso los Cedros) and then it was downhill into the Quebrada de los Cedros. My fears were justified as at one point snow turned into rain as I descended lower. That can become a problem real fast as my boots fill up with water passed first through the pants and then through the socks. It wasn't that bad as long as I was moving. As the snow started around 10:30am it turned into rain and didn't stop till 4pm!
This day was a crap day. My motivation for hiking and climbing all this crazy steep and tall mountains are views. Today they were almost non existent and the desire to stop and do nothing almost won. The snow/rain made it soooooooo much worse.
Not wanting to set my tent in the rain I just kept on going cold and wet. I wanted to get to the laguna Jankarurish but it was far. Finally I got there. I had to climb super steep and tall bank to finally see it. It was already 6pm (yes, I've been hiking for the past 10 hours!!!) and no place to put my tent. Darkness was upon me. The rim was very narrow and luckily after few minutes of walking there was just enough room for my small one person tent. Not the safest of places but it will have to do. Very tired I quickly set up before it got completely dark and ate dinner (ramen with potato pure...).
To end this shity day on a good note I've noticed the sky started to clear up a bit. High hopes for tomorrow to see Alpamayo and other snowy giants.
Wednesday, 27 X 2010
My tent was covered with a layer of ice. Overnight rain was to blame a bit. The sky was clear though and the views breathtaking. As I had breakfast I was waiting for the sun to peak out and melt the ice. Otherwise, I could probably break my tent into hundred of little pieces. Apple flavor oatmeal (with sugar this time) was edible.
My curiosity won and I hiked up to the campo base to get closer to Nevado Santa Cruz Grande (6,259m – 20,500ft). It was about an hour detour later found pointless as you can see it all from the opposite mandatory climb just a bit farther. The climb to the Paso Cara Cara (4,830m - 15,850ft) was grueling! If you're lucky you'll have some switchbacks but more likely the trail will take you almost vertically up. Every few steps or so you have to stop and slow your breath and heart down. One positive is that you see yourself gaining elevation but with humongous effort. Some clouds formed but did not cover the views that were fueling me. Without them you just want to stop and not go any farther.
It is always exciting to come up to a pass. What's on the other side? Is the scenery better then on the current side? It is also a sense of accomplishment and the knowledge that it will be downhill from there hehe.
The other side did not offer much of the snowy peaks. It housed a huge valley with rocky, steep sides. It was nice to scale that vast open space. I felt like the tiniest of things. Peace and quiet with occasional and sporadic raindrops accompanied me in this 2:20h journey to the next pass. Huillca pass opened up a view with snow capped peaks and blue lagunas. Not to mention the twisted formations of multicolored jagged rocks surrounding it all.
Since it was almost 3pm I decided to go no further. I could have walked down into the valley but then I would compromise the views. Given that most mountains had their peaks stuck in the black/evil clouds it still looked very impressive. Maybe it'll clear out by morning. Who knows?!
There was barely enough room for my tent few meters below the pass YEAH!!! Later I found a whole meadow to the left a bit higher but opened to more wind then my current spot. The one important problem is that there is no water nowhere near. I was low on H2O but estimated it'll do for tonight. I will have to have breakfast once I descent.
The black cloud concentration grew higher and light rain was falling. Doesn't look good for tomorrow but one can hope...
Thursday, 28 X 2010
The beautiful snowy peaks were still hidden in the grayish layer of clouds. My hopes to see them upon wakeup were crushed. Was it cold? YES!!! It takes me on average 30min to even unzip my sleeping bag and start moving around. Generally the weather is better in the morning and I should be hiking at 6am but I couldn't make myself do that and usually stepped out around 8am.
This morning I didn't have water for my wonderful oatmeal (blah) so I headed down from the pass at 7:15am. To my surprise the clouds were burning out. Not completely but I could see on and off los Nevados that kept me looking at them in complete hypnosis. I just can't get enough of them!!! I have tons of pics but non of them will portray their ........ I don't have words in any of the languages I know to describe it. One just have to see it to understand and appreciate it...
New wave of clouds, dark ones, were peaking over another ridge. Teasing and making me wonder how much time do I have before getting completely soaked. My worry was crossing over the final pass. It can get quite dangerous in bad weather. For now nothing was happening so I just crossed my fingers and kept moving.
Around 10:30am I was finally standing before the last push for the Paso Yanajanca (4,600m – 15,100ft). Damn! It's almost vertical! You almost have to crawl on all fours. You loose trail and then find it again but it is clear where you have to go. The last probably 100m (300ft) or so looked impossible. There was just a ruble of small rocks and dirt. One slip on this almost cliff face and kiss your ass goodbye. Digging my toes into the mountain I made my way up and was relieved that I have made it. New wonderful views opened up recharging my never-ending lust for nature.
This descent took me from one high mountain valley to another. This vast open space hidden and locked away by cliffs and other natural barriers give out this special and mysterious vibe. I just can't wipe a huge grin of my face hehe. Not paying attention while crossing one of them I totally lost the trail. I had to make my way through a series of hills and bushes navigating by terrain features. The only problem was that my trail on the map (1:75,000) was only for reference but not to worry I made it :)
I finally made it to the humongous valley occupied by people. This valley did not have any roads leading to it. Only a small trail. It's kind of cool how people live cut off from modern noise at the base of these giants. This whole valley was a one big grassy swampy region. Only the locals knew how to walk across. It took me about an hour to scale it and I had to be looking for ever so subtle color change to find the trail and not to burry my shoes.
I kept walking and looking for a place for my tent. I couldn't find any. Almost no piece of ground is flat or taken by the fields that even take up hills at 60% slope or more.
Walking like that I arrived at Pomabamba along with the darkness (6:30pm). I was walking with few small brakes for more then 11 hours!!! I was beat and ready to just lay down where I was standing and go to sleep. The first hostel looked like a bathroom and rooms were in the shower stalls. Maybe wouldn't be so bad if it was clean and nice smelling. I settled for the second one which wasn't probably even a one star but it will do (10 PEN). It had A shower. It's a combo with exercises. As you step in and the water hits you all your muscles spasmatically convulse and you furiously rub your skin. If you haven't figured it out yet the water is freezing. I do this dance every time unfortunately. I've been in Peru for about three weeks (I think) and I only had one not freezing shower and one hot bath from natural hot springs. If this continues I'll be really ripped hehe...
This trail is rated for 6-7 days and I did it in 4. Maybe if the weather was nicer I would stick around longer. For sure I have to come back here and explore these few cordilleras some more (Huayhuash is next). For now the time is to move on as there is abundance of places to visit and things to see.
Did I mention that all of these mountains are owned by cows and bulls? Horses get second and sheep third. Everywhere you go there they are or their evidence on the ground. I think the people just let them loose out there and come back once they're grown and ready to eat.
http://picasaweb.google.com/maurycy.sarosiek/PeruLosCedrosAlpamayoTrek?authkey=Gv1sRgCPHRo9j3vt-WuAE#
Friday, 29 X 2010
I already had a ticket back to Huaraz for today at 11am (8h - 25 PEN). Not having much time I walked around Pomabamba. It is a very tranquil and small town. People seem to relax and enjoy themselves. Ones different then others. As I was wandering around I got invited for a glass of beer on one of the squares. There is always 5pm somewhere LOL.
There are also some hot springs around but I didn't have time to enjoy them. I did enjoy the town though.
Crammed into a small bus we headed out onto death defying ride. Super narrow snaky roads without any barriers and blind corners at every corner. The bus would almost fall over making these hairpin turns but somehow we kept going and going. The views were amazing hairy with mountains and lagoons.
It took us more then 9h and the bus did not stop shaking!!! This was only a dirt/gravel road with many pot holes and other imperfections. I truly had enough of it! I think people with car sickness would literally puke their guts out.
This was a very tiring ride. All I had a will to do is eat something and hit the hay.
I went for some chicken with fries because it was the closest place. Chicken = good, fries = ok, ketchup = with extras. As I was squeezing some more of it onto my plate a fly popped out of the bottle hmmmmmm... I just put the unfortunate one on the side and kept eating that ketchup. Don't be so surprised. This is probably the least I have to worry about. I'd rather not look into the kitchen or I might go on a strict water diet jeje.
Saturday, 30 X 2010
Time to wash my clothes, dry my tent, use i-net, eat lots of ice creams and all those other things to regroup after a hike.
Sunday, 31 X 2010
In the morning I took a 3h ride (10 PEN) to the Chavín de Huantar (11 PEN). It is a ceremonial center of Chavín culture dating back between 1200 to 800 BC. There is a temple and ceremonial plazas above ground and a system of tunnels and chambers underground. Complex drainage and ventilation system required some smart engineering.
The new museum (opened in summer of 2008) is locater about a kilometer away on the other side of town. It houses the artifacts from the archeological site.
Both places are very neat and worth checking out.
I don't want to but it's time to leave these magnificent mountain ranges :((( I will come back here!!!
My bus to Lima takes off at 10:30pm (8h - 60PEN).
Thanx sooooooooo much Ivan for hosting me for so long! Come and visit me whenever you want.
http://picasaweb.google.com/maurycy.sarosiek/PeruChavinDeHuantar?authkey=Gv1sRgCJjOiOG86c-ErQE#
