Santa Cruz Trek

The Santa Cruz trek is one of the longer treks you can do in the Cordillera Blanca Mountains and consists of three to four days of trekking. Wyatt had all the camping equipment with him to be able to do it and asked if I wanted to join him on it. The Thursday of last week before Thanksgiving was used to buy all the food and provisions we would need. On the Friday we ventured to the bus station at 7am with backpacks filled with everything we needed for four days. The bus journey was a 4 hour trip which took us from Huaraz and in to the mountainous starting location of Vaqueria, about 3,300m above sea level.

Like a lot of foreign countries road safety does not exist as a term in Peru. Speed on Peruvian roads (at least out of Huaraz) is limited by the number of potholes you have to drive your way around and the aggressiveness of the driver. Our driver happened to be of a very aggressive disposition and wasted no time in overtaking anything in the face of oncoming traffic or on the narrow road which wound its way across the mountains. We did get there quickly though!
We arrived in Vaqueria around11.30 and the first part of the trek involved trekking in to the national park and getting to the first campsite. The walking was mainly through the flat mainly open land between the mountains. We reached the campsite just as the heavens began to open and a deluge of hail and rain came down. After sheltering in the toilet shack we set up tent and packed for the night. We had a small camping stove and cooked spaghetti and chilli con carne. It gets dark quickly in the mountains and by about 7pm there was no light.

Walking towards the light

We woke up on the Saturday around 7am although we were not fed, packed up and ready for part two until 9am. Ahead of us was the hardest part of the trek, the climb up to and over the Punta Union pass to reach the next campsite. The weather was cloudy but not cold as we started off. The climb up to the pass took about 4 hours and was one of the hardest physical challenges I have done. The closer the mountain pass became the steeper the climb was. Although I was acclimatized by now, climbing up to 4,750m with a 14kg bag on your back is not easy. This did not matter though as reaching the top of the pass made it all worth it. Sadly not all of the cloud had lifted but we had a great view over the mountains and the land ahead and behind us. Further down the pass was a big greeny blue lake which looked great. We stayed at the top as long as we could and had lunch before heading down the other side. We reached Taullipampa campsite (still 4,250m high) around 3pm and decided to start earlier the next day to complete the rest of the trek in one day.

Emotions high at the top

The view down to the lake

On the Sunday we started trekking at 7.30am with about 19km to do, however, now that we were the other side of the passit was all downhill to Cashapampa (2,900m). The weather the best of the three days and the landscape was very pretty in the sun. We walked across large open plains as the mountains opened up and around lakes that formed from the waterfalls cascading down the mountain sides. Then the mountains would close in again and we would be following a narrow fast flowing river downstream. We reached Cashapampa around 2pm and were greeted with a taxi, which we took to Caraz before getting on a bus to Huaraz. We arrived back at the house exhausted at about 6pm. It was a great trip and an excellent experience to have had.

Following the river

Wyatt and I

Where we have come from

Thanksgiving – an honorary American

The fourth Thursday of November is apparently Thanksgiving Day in America. Wyatt (the only American) suggested celebrating the day and everyone got behind the idea. Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in October but the Canadians thought it would be good to celebrate it again. On the Wednesday Wyatt came home with a 10kg turkey and we knew that it was on. Me and the other two girls contributed the rest of the food. On the Thursday Haydee added the spices and flavourings to the turkey and it was then cooked in a giant brick kiln oven which the neighbours have next door. Along with the turkey came mashed potato, stuffing and green beans. For dessert Dakota made a pumpkin oat and cinnamon pudding with ice cream to add. Along with the family the guests to the meal included David and his girlfriend Marie. Never in my life have I had a juicier, tasty and delicious turkey than the one that came out of that oven and the mash and stuffing were excellent contributors. It was quite a special meal and each person around the table had to say one thing they were thankful for. We were suitably full by the end of the meal and Wyatt and I were ready for the Santa Cruz trek the next day.


Going in


From left to right, Me, Luis, Wyatt, Haydee,
Essy, Marie, David, Dakota, Marly, Cindy

First Weekend

Alright, there’s a little bit to catch up on now as I have not posted for a week. The weekend before last was my first proper weekend in Huaraz and it was good fun. The Saturday started with going Bouldering, which is climbing large boulders. Wyatt, Dakota and I went along with a group of people Wyatt made friends with from a trekking organization. Equipped with boots we ventured in to the hills to find them boulders. I neither had the strength or flexibility to be any good at this activity but Wyatt and Dakota who are both athletic were very good (Wyatt’s a climber and Dakota does yoga). It was a fun day to spend the start of the weekend and the sun was shining. We got back about 2pm and had a good meal for 5 Soles in town (£1.50).


A boulder!

In the evening we ventured out in to town for the first time. We bought some drinks to drink before and this included a Peruvian spirit called Piscu. Cocktail skills then came in to play as we made Piscu Sours before heading to ‘Extreme Bar’ to meet with David and Junior who we went climbing with. It was a fun night which ended with dancing in a club called ‘Tombo’. None of us could then resist the temptation of a Sex Burger before heading home! Sunday was then a chilled out affair and Wyatt and I found this Chinese run restaurant with rooms upstairs where you can rent and watch films. We watched Adventureland which was pretty funny and I had a chicken curry which gave me food poisoning (not so funny). I didn’t feel quite right until Friday of next week.

Will it be the Sex or Orgasmo burger?

First Trek

On Thursdays there are no school lessons so I have the day to do whatever I please with. On the Wednesday morning I had gone into Huaraz and booked a day trek to Churuc Mountain. I did not think about it enough to realize that this was a 5,500 m high mountain I was to climb and was 17km there and back! The trek started at 7.30am with a bumpy bus ride to a village called Pitec, a small rural farming community and still speak the native Peruvian language Quechua. From there we started the trek to the mountain. Unfortunately the weather was not so good that day and the mountains were dressed in cloud.

The trek to the mountain began with a gradually inclining path in between farming land and the surrounding hills. Then the real strain began. The mountain had a steep incline and clambering up the rocky path took my breath away, literally. I needed to take breathers now and then to deal with the effects of the high altitude. The further we climbed the steeper and more rugged it became. With the altitude came a slight nausea and light headedness which did not improve until we were back down the bottom of the mountain. 4,500m high is Churup Laguna (lake) which is the first stopping point. To make it there, the final part of the climb consisted of climbing the very steep slope with the aid of steel ropes attached to the mountain side. The climb to the laguna really took its toll, but it was worth it upon reaching it. The laguna had crystal clear blue water with the white peak of Churuc set in the background. The tranquility of the place with just the dim raw of the waterfall down the mountain made it pretty special. The stayed there a while and had lunch and a bit of recuperation time. I was however unable to climb any further to reach the mountain summit, which, was still a 1000m above. With that as well as the time we began our descent.

Still a long way to go!

Lake Churup

My guide, Iban

Me

I made it back to the house at 2pm having walked 15 hard kilometers. It was satisfying to have done it. Next Friday Wyatt (my American housemate) and I will be doing a 4 day trek across The Cordillera Blanca Mountains, which includes a crossing at 4,700m high. I have some more training to do this week!

School & Celebrity Status

I had the funniest day at school on Wednesday, which, I shall come on to. I am helping to teach students at a school who are in the second grade. They are young and at a guess are between the ages of 10 – 14 (I need to find out!). The school is very basic to our standards with a concrete playing area where they also have their assemblies. The rooms are basic concrete shells with windows and there is no central heating anywhere so it can get quite cold. As they are young they are covering quite basic subjects such as learning some verbs and adjectives and putting them in to small sentences. The teacher I work with is called Nancy and she has been very welcoming and friendly. I am helping her with her english and she is helping me with my Spansih. I currently teach from 1pm-6pm Mon – Fri with Thursdays off.

Last week was my first week so it involved meeting each class for the first time. Each class is excited to see a gringo (a white skinned person). At the start of each lesson the teacher introduced me and asked me to do a bit of a talk about myself, where I live, how old I am etc. The kids usually have some questions for you. It is the girls that give the biggest reaction and the question is always “do I have a girlfriend?”When the answer is no they tend to either giggle or scream! The final class I had on Wednesday consisted of about 5 boys and 15 girls. The action from when I entered to when I gave my talk was lots of high pitched screaming! I was then interrogated for most of the lesson on what kind of girls I like, how old should she be and which country she should come from. It was very funny and at the end of the lesson I was asked to give out my email address. I have not checked my messages yet!

Blog 1 Peru arrival

Okay first blog. Well I can tell you I made it to Huaraz. Apart from the fact I did not know I had to complete a Visa waiver form on-line before I could check myself in for the flight to Miami the 17 hours of travel went fine. Luckily I was able to complete the form at the internet café in Heathrow and get on the flight. I arrived in Lima at 10pm at night (3am Brit time) to be met by Haydee, the wife of the family I am staying with and was taken to their flat in Lima to sleep for the night. Then at 8am I was put on the bus for an 8 hour journey to Huaraz (where I am teaching and staying until after Christmas). From the start you immediately see how different a country Peru is to the UK. Everything is so much more basic in its form. Houses are mainly basic single brick shells with the steel supports sticking out of the tops of them so that buildings can be built on. The bus trip wound its way up the coast from Lima and in to the rocky hills and mountains that make up the landscape and surround Huaraz. Along the sides of the road there are small wooden and brick shacks where people live and some small settlements.

A bit about Huaraz. It is a city of 100,000 people and is 3000m above sea level. It is also the gateway to the Andes, the range of mountains which run down the west coast of South America. It has the best trekking opportunities in Peru and you can get to the second highest mountain in South America from here, which is called Huascaran and is 6,768 m above sea level!

Into the centre of Huaraz

The central Plaza in Huaraz

Huaraz's other Plaza and main church

The family I am staying with are called the Delgado’s and they are really great hosts and have made me feel completely at home. Luis is the father and organises the volunteer work. He and Haydee have a son called Essy who is 11 and speaks excellent English and a daughter Cindy who is an English teacher. I have my own bedroom with bathroom and am treated to three great meals a day by Haydee apart from weekends when it’s time to fend for yourself. I am staying here with 3 other volunteers, two girls from Canada and a guy from the US. They are all really friendly and we get on well. On the Sunday after my arrival we went for lunch at a restaurant and I had my first taste of the Peruvian delicacy Cuy (guinea pig). It’s a bit like chicken with a crispy outer layer and I will be having it again!

The Cuy!

For those wondering about the weather, I have come at a time when winter mixes in to summer. In the winter there is sun all day and there is no rain. The summer is a mix of sun and rain, which tends to come down in the afternoon from 1pm and will go sometimes in to the evening. It is the low season for trekking but all the treks are still available.

That’s it for my first blog, you find me safe, well, and enjoying myself.
P.s did you know that Corn first originated from Peru?