6-25
Today I took a tour to Pastoruri Glacier. We drove up to 5000m (16,400ft) where the glaciers used to be located 10 years ago. Now it is a 45 minute walk (for me) up to the foot of the glacier at 5220m (17,122ft). It was a nice view with a huge glacial face that dropped straight into a frozen lake. Behind us there were also very nice views of some glaciated peaks. Next weekend there will be an ice festival up here complete with ski and snowboard races. I really wish I could be there for that! Maybe I would join with my old junky rental skis... I had a lot of time to explore up at the glacier as it took most people a long time to make it up to the foot of the glacier at that altitude and several were holding their heads in pain.
On the way back down we made a couple of stops. The first stop was at an overhanging wall that had some ancient wall paintings. We then stopped at a soda spring where water was bubbling up and the water in the lake it fed was water with gas. Our last stop was to check out some Puya Raimondi plants. They were incredibly cool! They look like a giant yucca and have a flower that grows straight up over 30 feet!! in the air. It is apparently the largest non-tree plant according to our guide. They are endangered and only found in a couple places in Peru and a couple places in Bolivia. They live at a range of 3200m to 4800m..
Back in Huaraz I went to the market to load up on cheap food as soon I will not have that option as I will be in the US before I know it. On the streets the locals had set up volleyball nets and were playing. Volleyball is pretty big here and you often see people playing it, even in the small villages.
There has been a sort of festival thing happening in Huaraz the last couple of days. A few days ago there was a fashion show, then a parade. Tonight there was some good live music at the Plaza de Armas, so I went to my favorite burger joint and also got a couple of churros and went to listen to the lively music.
In the night I made this tasty cinammon chocolate where you melt a big Inca bar in a liter of milk and watched a movie with my everlasting hot drink
6-26
I got up early to take a collective to Campo Santo. Elisha and I had visited this place before. It is the memorial for the 20,000 people that died when an avalanche from Huascaran (Peru's highest peak) came rushing down to the town of Yungay. When we had visited before, Huascuran was obscured by clouds, so that is why I visited today. Today I had a very clear view of Huascaran as well as a cool view of the nearly full moon rising over the giant statue of Jesus that is looking over the area where the avalanche ocurred.
From the memorial, I could see a little mountain that I knew would have awesome views of Huascaran and Huandoy. I could see agricultural fields up there, so I figured there was a road going up and thus likely collectivos. I asked around and found out that the little village on top was called Atma and that indeed they had some collectivo cars that would go up. So I piled into a car: we had 9 people and goods in the car the size of my subaru. It was all local women besides me and the driver. I am pretty sure tourists don't really ever go up to Atma bc it is not on any map nor advertised. The women certainly got a kick out of me there and were laughing and chattering away. They all speak Quechua (the Incan language) amongst themselves; however, the word Gringo is used both in Quechua and Castellano (what they call spanish here), and they were saying it a lot and laughing.
Myself and a young girl were squeezed into the front seat and she started talking to me in Spanish. At the top at Atma (which indeed had great views of giant Huascuran and crazy looking pointed Huandoy) she wanted to show me her house. It was perched on the edge of the mountain and had amazing views of the mountains and down a valley. Sorry mom and dad, but I think her view beats yours. She then showed me all her fat and healthy pigs, her burros, her cuys (guinea pigs), and her fields of kiwicha and maiz, and then she asked if I would marry her!! All of her farm animals and her views and her sweetness were very tempting, but I had to tell her that I had a very nice novia (girlfriend) back home and it wouldn't be right to marry her. But I told her that I have a very handsome single brother who also loves the mountains. I didn't think of it then, but since Peru is so big in volleyball, maybe her and Elisha should have had a volleyball-off.
After checking out the views, I took another crowded car full of laughing, gringo intrigued women, back down to Yungay. Yungay was happening as Wednesday is market day in Yungay when the villagers living way up high in the mountains come down to buy and sell their wares.
I had to be back to Huaraz by noon to check out from my hostel. After packing and checking out, I headed out to the main square where the festivities were still happening. There was a demonstration type parade stopping all traffic on the main street and in the main square they were having some sort of agricultural expo highlighting foods and products from the Ancash Region, of which Huaraz is a part. It was a whole lot of Quinua, Kiwicha, Maiz, Miel (honey), and Potato products. It is amazing all the different ways they use Quinua: chinese rice type things, quinua balls, quinua soups, quinua icecream, quinua drinks, etc. One of the funniest parts of the day was when I bought a potato dish with a nice spicy sauce, the lady dropped my change into the sauce bowl. It didn't phase her,she gave me new change and then just kept dishing out sauce from the bowl.
The best part of the expo was the cuy area. There were cuys from all over the country. Different breeds and different sizes. Some even with long and curly hair. Of course people were eating cuy all over just like fried chicken. And the best part was that they had a cuy fashion show. I saw the best dressed cuy in a cute costume with a gold medal around its neck.
I also stopped by the public library where they had an exhibit on the deglaciation of the glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca. It was pretty shocking to see the extent of it and the before and current pictures. Even to see how much it has changed since photos in 1995 and 2000. I have heard that glaciers in the tropics are receeding the fastest of all.
Tonight I will go have my last meal in Peru (likely chifa) and then I have a night bus to Lima. I will arrive around 5:30 am and then I have a 8:45 flight to Toronto. A bit of a layover there and then a flight on to Seattle where I will get to hang out with the Jovial Bison and company as well as my aunt Dianne for 4 or 5 days before my flight to Spokane so that I can be back in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho and then more or less officially kind of home.
6-28 I arrived into Seattle last night after a couple long flights. Was picked up by the Jovial Bison at the airport! Great to see him. Looking forward to hanging out with him and his family for the next couple of days.
Today I took a tour to Pastoruri Glacier. We drove up to 5000m (16,400ft) where the glaciers used to be located 10 years ago. Now it is a 45 minute walk (for me) up to the foot of the glacier at 5220m (17,122ft). It was a nice view with a huge glacial face that dropped straight into a frozen lake. Behind us there were also very nice views of some glaciated peaks. Next weekend there will be an ice festival up here complete with ski and snowboard races. I really wish I could be there for that! Maybe I would join with my old junky rental skis... I had a lot of time to explore up at the glacier as it took most people a long time to make it up to the foot of the glacier at that altitude and several were holding their heads in pain.
On the way back down we made a couple of stops. The first stop was at an overhanging wall that had some ancient wall paintings. We then stopped at a soda spring where water was bubbling up and the water in the lake it fed was water with gas. Our last stop was to check out some Puya Raimondi plants. They were incredibly cool! They look like a giant yucca and have a flower that grows straight up over 30 feet!! in the air. It is apparently the largest non-tree plant according to our guide. They are endangered and only found in a couple places in Peru and a couple places in Bolivia. They live at a range of 3200m to 4800m..
Back in Huaraz I went to the market to load up on cheap food as soon I will not have that option as I will be in the US before I know it. On the streets the locals had set up volleyball nets and were playing. Volleyball is pretty big here and you often see people playing it, even in the small villages.
There has been a sort of festival thing happening in Huaraz the last couple of days. A few days ago there was a fashion show, then a parade. Tonight there was some good live music at the Plaza de Armas, so I went to my favorite burger joint and also got a couple of churros and went to listen to the lively music.
In the night I made this tasty cinammon chocolate where you melt a big Inca bar in a liter of milk and watched a movie with my everlasting hot drink
6-26
I got up early to take a collective to Campo Santo. Elisha and I had visited this place before. It is the memorial for the 20,000 people that died when an avalanche from Huascaran (Peru's highest peak) came rushing down to the town of Yungay. When we had visited before, Huascuran was obscured by clouds, so that is why I visited today. Today I had a very clear view of Huascaran as well as a cool view of the nearly full moon rising over the giant statue of Jesus that is looking over the area where the avalanche ocurred.
From the memorial, I could see a little mountain that I knew would have awesome views of Huascaran and Huandoy. I could see agricultural fields up there, so I figured there was a road going up and thus likely collectivos. I asked around and found out that the little village on top was called Atma and that indeed they had some collectivo cars that would go up. So I piled into a car: we had 9 people and goods in the car the size of my subaru. It was all local women besides me and the driver. I am pretty sure tourists don't really ever go up to Atma bc it is not on any map nor advertised. The women certainly got a kick out of me there and were laughing and chattering away. They all speak Quechua (the Incan language) amongst themselves; however, the word Gringo is used both in Quechua and Castellano (what they call spanish here), and they were saying it a lot and laughing.
Myself and a young girl were squeezed into the front seat and she started talking to me in Spanish. At the top at Atma (which indeed had great views of giant Huascuran and crazy looking pointed Huandoy) she wanted to show me her house. It was perched on the edge of the mountain and had amazing views of the mountains and down a valley. Sorry mom and dad, but I think her view beats yours. She then showed me all her fat and healthy pigs, her burros, her cuys (guinea pigs), and her fields of kiwicha and maiz, and then she asked if I would marry her!! All of her farm animals and her views and her sweetness were very tempting, but I had to tell her that I had a very nice novia (girlfriend) back home and it wouldn't be right to marry her. But I told her that I have a very handsome single brother who also loves the mountains. I didn't think of it then, but since Peru is so big in volleyball, maybe her and Elisha should have had a volleyball-off.
After checking out the views, I took another crowded car full of laughing, gringo intrigued women, back down to Yungay. Yungay was happening as Wednesday is market day in Yungay when the villagers living way up high in the mountains come down to buy and sell their wares.
I had to be back to Huaraz by noon to check out from my hostel. After packing and checking out, I headed out to the main square where the festivities were still happening. There was a demonstration type parade stopping all traffic on the main street and in the main square they were having some sort of agricultural expo highlighting foods and products from the Ancash Region, of which Huaraz is a part. It was a whole lot of Quinua, Kiwicha, Maiz, Miel (honey), and Potato products. It is amazing all the different ways they use Quinua: chinese rice type things, quinua balls, quinua soups, quinua icecream, quinua drinks, etc. One of the funniest parts of the day was when I bought a potato dish with a nice spicy sauce, the lady dropped my change into the sauce bowl. It didn't phase her,she gave me new change and then just kept dishing out sauce from the bowl.
The best part of the expo was the cuy area. There were cuys from all over the country. Different breeds and different sizes. Some even with long and curly hair. Of course people were eating cuy all over just like fried chicken. And the best part was that they had a cuy fashion show. I saw the best dressed cuy in a cute costume with a gold medal around its neck.
I also stopped by the public library where they had an exhibit on the deglaciation of the glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca. It was pretty shocking to see the extent of it and the before and current pictures. Even to see how much it has changed since photos in 1995 and 2000. I have heard that glaciers in the tropics are receeding the fastest of all.
Tonight I will go have my last meal in Peru (likely chifa) and then I have a night bus to Lima. I will arrive around 5:30 am and then I have a 8:45 flight to Toronto. A bit of a layover there and then a flight on to Seattle where I will get to hang out with the Jovial Bison and company as well as my aunt Dianne for 4 or 5 days before my flight to Spokane so that I can be back in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho and then more or less officially kind of home.
6-28 I arrived into Seattle last night after a couple long flights. Was picked up by the Jovial Bison at the airport! Great to see him. Looking forward to hanging out with him and his family for the next couple of days.
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