Trekking around the Alpamayo - Part V

After my encounter with the bull another valley opened up below with another hanging glacier and peaks, Nevada Taulliraju (5830 meters). We heard a crack and rumble as a landslide occurred high up. For the next several hours we hiked downhill through pastures of flowers and flowering trees. We're glad to be here in May
to see this as it mostly dries up by the end of the month. The less attractive aspects of this time of year however are the hail, up to 1/4" balls, which now fell, and the mud & donkey shit combination which made the path a quagmire. Happily the flowers, butterflys and birds kept us from becoming fixated with our footing.

Unhappily for me, I slipped and fell in the mud - wet but not hurt.
For one of the first times we hiked through a forest, in this case of Quenual trees, which grow at a higher elevation than any other trees - up to 4800 meters. The trees are gnarled and covered with moss. They reminded me of Fanghorn in MiddleEarth (see picture above right).
Eventually we reached the river and looked for a bridge. It had been destroyed so we took turns on the horse with poor Roger leading him in bare feet. From there it was another steep climb to our campsite by Lake Huecrucacha. It was 4PM when we arrived and tea was waiting - after 8 1/2 hours of hiking we were sure ready to stop.
My hands and wrists were swelling badly each day - on this one you couldn't see my knuckles and luckily had taken my watch off earlier. In the mornings I'm back to normal. I'm trying to hold them up or hook them on my shoulder straps.
It poured during the night but happily the sun was out the next morning. We had a rest day! Honoree and I washed our hair and laundry. Roger left early to pick up our lamb, ordered from a nearby farm earlier.

When he returned empty handed it appeared the lamb wasn't healthy looking. So there went our last chickens! Myoume trimmed a lot of artichokes for the bottoms and then poached them, serving them in a salad with mushrooms, sweet potatoes and a lot of lemon. Scott, Honoree and Geoff went with Eli up to a nearby lake in the afternoon but Walt and I were glad to take the whole day off.
That charming little tent out on it's own is our toilet tent. It encloses a deep round hole and a roll of toilet paper. If you are planning a trek and want to get in shape, don't forget to practice your squats!

Trekking around the Alpamayo - Part VI

We're off this morning again at 7:30 and it's straight up hill for the four hours, with occasional breaks on a series of terraces. Waterfalls surround us, falling down the center of the valley and the surrounding cliffs. On the last terraced plain before our last push up to the pass there is a herd of horses and foals.

It's hard to imagine how we're going to exit from this valley! Double click on the two pictures here. In the first one above left you can see our tent site far below near the lake and in the second the horses. Switchbacks magically appear and zigzag up the very steep slope. Geoff is in the red jacket here and if you inlarge this picture you'll see others hiking far below.

It rained and hailed off and on most of the last hour so it was a huge relief to reach the pass (4700 meters). After a brief rest stop and snack we tackled the steep descent. We slipped and slid down the loose rockslides. It was exhausting and everyone's legs are wobbley. Far below we can see Myoume setting up for lunch and after five hours hiking, we are starved!

But all is well as the sun comes out and as always the lunch is great. Some finish lunch quickly and take a quick nap! All too soon we're off again. The trail is very muddy and slippery and I take another fall. My camera falls out of my pocket and is further dented, but still works.
Two more hours and we're at a beautiful new valley shown here below - you can see the tents if you double click. We had originally planned to spend the night at our lunch spot but tomorrow is our longest day so Eli felt this would split up the two days better. Plus we all agree it's a prettier spot (below right).

This is the Paria valley with yet another hanging glacier. We wolf down a dinner of wheat soup and chicken stew over rice. The night is clear and the moon is close to full. The mountains gleam in the moonlight above us. Avalanches fall high up on the mountain. It's actually a pleasure to get up in the middle of the night to visit the toilet tent!

Trekking around the Alpamayo - Part VII

There are only three days left to our trek. It's another early start but with a good send off as breakfast includes fried eggs with veggies. It's a beautiful morning and a lovely trail slowly descending the valley. More and more houses appear along with lots of children, all looking for a little present. We have brought pens and small pads of pencils. For some of the smaller children we have candies.

Everyone is excited and for hours we have some company. This was a long day but very interesting as we passed through several small villages. Finally we came to the end of the road and for the first time, walked where cars could drive. We only saw a few small buses in fact and they were packed, both inside

and out. This last but one campsite was near a large stream that now and in the past had been used for power generation.
The next day was all uphill to the Glacier Camp and it's our most amazing tent site. We can look directly across to a series of glaciers above two steel blue lakes.

Avalanches are constantly falling from one to the other and all night long we can hear the rumbling and crashing!
This is our highest camp and in the morning the tents are covered with frost and snow. It is only an hour and a half to the top of the Punta Yanayacu pass (4900 meters), but

it's a challenging trip. At one point the trail is cut into the rock with only a narrow ledge between cliffs up and down. A heavy mist shrouds the view and maybe it's just as well. The top of the pass is a knife edge and it's all snow on the other side. We go down very carefully as it's a steep drop off. The views are

fabulous as always and here we see the highest peaks in this region, Nevado Huascaran - Norte (6664) and Sur (6768), more than 6,000 feet above us. It's three hours downhill further to lunch and we collapse gratefully for our last meal on the trek.

Afterwards we have only an hour walk through what looks like a garden. That this occurs naturally is amazing. Lupine makes a carpet of purple and Chocolata tree hang over it cascading yellow flowers. Waterfalls tumble down the cliffs and up above them white peaks. It's a terrific last day on the trail and the sight

of the van is a mixed blessing. Showers, toilets with seats and soft beds beckon but the thought of saying goodbye to Eli and the rest of the crew is hard. Scott and I really hope to return one day and revisit the Cordilla Blanca with Peruvian Andes Adventures.

Train trip to Huancayo

The bus trip from Huaraz to Lima was 8 hours. We were meeting two new friends there who would be joining us for the rest of our trip. Brenda and John are cruiser friends on ¨Willow¨, now in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela. It was a great reunion at our pretty Posada del Parque in Lima. More on our stay in Lima later.

Two days after their arrival we took the train to Huancayo - until 2005 the highest train in the world (now surpassed by the Chinese train to Tibet). Twelve hours crossing a pass of 15,500 ft on a train and track finished in 1906. The Huancayo area contains some interesting pre Inca Wari ruins, artisan villages specializing in
weaving, carving gourds, and jewelry, and beautiful little villages with early Colonial churches. This is a rich agriculural area growing a huge variety of crops. We spent three days touring this beautiful area with Lucho Hurtado. He is the owner of Incas del Peru and ¨The Cabana¨, a charming restaurant where we have a fun dinner with entertainment one night. We really lucked out again having such a knowledgable and fascinating guide.
One of the largest pre Inca civilizations was the Wari. We visited Wari Wilca, a sacred place of the Wari in Huari behind a Colonial Church (they tried to bury the temple). The courtyard still remains with two lovely huge very old molle trees next to the holy spring. The local people still leave offerings here and in the church. Most practice both the old religion and the (comparatively) new.
Our next stop was unexpected. We came upon a christening party in a small village square and were invited to join them. We all had badges with the picture of the young celebrant pinned on and ate soda and cookies. A band played and it was joyous occasion.
Food in Peru is great. We have had some meals in restaurants worthy
of rave reviews in NYC! Of course we have also eaten on the trail and in very rustic
environments, but still the food has been excellent. Two different ends of the food scale are shown here: a pastry shop and a cuyo (guinea pig) ready for the grill. We stopped for lunch at an outdoor BBQ place near a lake. .
Scott and Walt had the cuyo and the rest of us trout. We sat outside at picnic tables under a thatched roof. That is Lucho here helping to distribute our meals.
We visited a number of artisans in their homes. Our first was our favorite. Two women specialized in woven belt, worn by both men
and women both working in the fields as support for their backs and in their everyday dress. Scott, Honoree and Brenda all bought one. This picture shows Lucho and both weavers along with Scott wearing his belt far right. Another interesting stop was blanket and tapestry weavers. Here we saw men doing the work and boys learning the trade. I would have loved to bring back one of these beautiful wool and/or alpaca blankets but they were too heavy to carry with us. The colors were really beautiful and were from natural dyes. Another stop was a village of silver smiths. They specialize in filigree work and it is very lovely for sure.
Scott and I stayed an extra night and took the bus back the next morning to Lima. The others took the overnight train back and regreted it. It was really hard to sleep and it arrived at 5AM in Lima - not much to do at that time of the morning.

Arequipa

That's the one of the volcanoes around Arequipa on the left, two shots of the main Plaza and the Cathedral from a roof top restaurant, and Scott with Pooh Bear.


After a night in Lima we flew to Arequipa, Peru´s second largest city. This is called the White City because it is built of silla, white volcanic stone. This stone is very easy to carve but soft. This has led to several meters thick walls and elaborate facades and interiors. It´s stunning. The Monasterio de Santa Catalina alone is worth the trip. That´s Walt & Honoree, Brenda & John and ourselves on the right. It has made me yearn for some big canvases and lots of oil paint. This 450


year old convent contains 100 homes, 60 streets, 3 cloisters, church, cemetery and gallery - all inside high walls that once held 175 nuns. These were mostly daughters of the richest families and they brought a lot of their possessions and servants with them. Around 1870 the Pope had enough of this, with pressure from the reformation, and abolished their life of privilege.
They had to live communally and no more servants! This must have been a huge shock. In 1970 with much fewer nuns left and not enough money to maintain the huge facility, they opened most of it to the public and moved into one section. The admissions and the cafe and souvenir shop they run now pay for upkeep. And it is beautifully maintained. We spend hours with a charming young woman guide exploring this ¨city¨.


Arequipa is surrounded by volcanoes, several of which are still very active. The tallest are over 20,000 feet but due to global warming snow is disappearing from the tops of even the highest. We stayed in one of the old mansions, now converted into the Hostel El Conquistador built of the old sillar thick walls. One of our other favorite destinations here was the Museo Santuarios Andinos which exhibits the bodies of several sacrificed young people found on the tops of neighboring mountains.

The most famous is "Juanita", the Ice Princess, found by a local guide Miguel Zarate and Johan Reinhard of Chicago´s Field Museum in 1964. Johan had spent two decades searching the local mountains. Her frozen body was found inside the crater of Ampato after a neighboring mountain had began showering ash onto the top of the mountain and melted the snow there. Her body was flown to the Johns Hopkins and studied there before being returned to this museum. She is in a remarkable state of preservation and her DNA has led to many discoveries about her and her people.