Travel scraps: November 2008

Living in Huaraz

Huaraz, nov 2008

Contrary to what many of my friends in Huaraz may think, I actually went to work at the office of the Mountain Institute almost every day, and after a while I got to be quite familiar with the neighbourhood, and it's inhabitants.

I would pass by the same old men on the street, who would greet me every day with a smile; "buenas dias gringa!"

The teenagers on the street , being well, as teenagers are everywhere,

and I would pass people in their gardens, filled with plants that would remind me of Cyprus; bourgainvillier, geraniums, roses.

In the middle of the day, I would walk back towards the center, 2 hours lunch break. It gets really hot..... siesta for everyone except the kids.

The parks in Huaraz are not very inspirational: they could do with a landscape architect or two!

Eating standards in Huaraz can vary,

and drinking too....

Shopping at the local grocers. This Inca Kola (national beverage of Peru) ad is my absolute favourite.

This guy is one of the regulars, not far from the office.....

More about life in Huaraz soon, I promise!

Trekking Santa Cruz

Huaraz, 28th - 31th oct.

I arrived about a week ago in Huaraz, the small mountain town in the Andes, that I am to call home for the next month. I am working at the Mountain Institute, an NGO that works with a number of project protecting the endagered ecosystems of the high Andes, currently trying to protect the Queñua woodlands - the Polylepis trees. But to really understand the landscape that I am working to protect, I had to leave town and go on one of the many treks that start out from the valleys around Huaraz. One of the most classic treks is Santa Cruz, 4 days in the Cordillera Blanca. Unfourtunately, not the best season to be treking in, but I set out together with another group of mad tourists - Isrealis, just out from the army service.

Optimists before starting out....

The first day we made our way through the canyon starting at the small village of Cashapampa. I soon realised that climbing up, I had to take it slowly but steady... We followed the river all the way out to the first campsite, rushing along in some impressive rapids.

View from the first campsite.

From all sides, throughout the trek, huge amounts of water plummet down from the snowcovered peaks, streaking white down the dark mountain.

The second day, we pass two small lakes and head out over the flat pastures, where the villagers keep their livestock.

View back down towards the valley.

A welldeserved break. Edwin, our guide, does not seem very affected, and grins at our weary faces.

We make our way to Alto Mayo Base camp to enjoy the views of the surrounding peaks. 2nd night we camp not far from the pass, which we tackle early tomorrow.

The pass looks grim, cloudy and full of snow...

Hurrah! Made it! Climbing up mountains in high altidude is bloody hard.... And yes, it is as cold as it looks!

The landscape on the other side changes completely, the golden Puna (highland) is spotted with small lakes, reflecting the snowcovered peaks. If we thought we had got over the worst we were wrong - the campsite turned out to be miles away.... A very long day, and the drenching we got towards the end did not make things any better.... A blister on one of the girls feet slowed us down considerably, but gave me plenty of time to take pictures!

We cross a couple of small patches of Queñua woods, and I experience the beauty of these mysterious trees. The Polylepis are extremely slowgrowing and dense, and therefore make very good firewood and building material. The pressure of human settlements has all but destroyed this habitat, only 1% of the Andean forest is of this type. This ecosystem contains many endangered birds and plant spieces that can only survive here, and as the woods help retain water and soil, it is of extreme importance for the whole region that they are protected. There, that ends todays lesson in global ecology......

The walk back up the next day takes us through a number of small villages, with a crowd of children begging for bon bons and chocolate.....

A lot less clean, and far more tired than when we started - but extremely happy to have seen such amazing landscapes....

Even on a rainy day the water from the glacier turns this lake an amazing colour.

Cusco, the sacred valley and Machu Picchu

12th oct - 16th oct

Back in Cusco, and after enjoying a few nights out on the town, desperately trying to learn salsa and cumbia dancing, I decided to do the grand tour of some of the many Inca ruins around Cusco, notably in the Sacred Valley and of course Machu Picchu. Cusco itself has many buildings built on Inca stonework as a foundation, and it is fascinating to see the immaculate way they made every stone fit. Some of the walls are over a meter deep. The ruins are often laid out in symbolic patterns, and the sacred places are positioned according to the sun, stars or even magnetic fields.

the twelvesided rock is a example of the precise way the walls are built.

The ruins at Pisac - agricultural terraces

Going to Machu Picchu is quite an adventure - at Ollantaytambo the road stops, and you either trek in or take the train. I took the train into the narrow valley in which lies Machu Picchu, the best preserved Inca city in the world. You then arrive in Aguas Calientes, where everything is tailored to welcome the hundreds of tourists that arrive every day. It is wildly expensive, and you should generally aim to stay there as little as possible. Now, the next goal is to get up to Machu Picchu as early as possible the next day, before the big rush. You can either walk up - about 3 hours, or take the first bus at 5.30 (stand in line at about 4.30) The site doesn’t open till 6.00 am anyway, so I took the first bus, buying all my tickets five minutes before the office closed the night before. I woke up at 4 am to the sound of pouring rain. This was definitely not the day for it to be raining, as the whole experience of the place is the amazing views of the towering mountains around the ruins.
Oh well - Machu Picchu looks very mystical and magic in the clouds, and after meeting Sylvie, a French girl on the bus, things looked better and better. Then, once you get in, you rush though the site to get to the ticket lodge for Hyanu Picchu - the mountain closest to the site, that you hike up by the ancient Inca trail the priests would take to make their sacrifices to the gods. They only let the first 400 people who get a ticket up every day. So, despite the rain - we were determined to conquer the mountain.