Mountain Time

Peru. I came to this country with almost no expectations. All that I had heard was that it was easy to get giardia and that the people were friendly. After more than a week here I can say that it is all of that and much more. I am currently in Huaraz, a northern town at the foot of the Cordillera Blanca, a mountain range in the Peruvian Andes.

It is a small and pretty town of about 100,000 people. Women in tall hats and mountains at every angle. Huaraz is clean and well organized, and even though the locals don´t use turning signals in the streets, they are more or less kind and gentle to travelers.

view from my hotel

street in Huaraz

I was able to take a four day trek through the Cordillera Blanca on the Santa Cruz trail. It is a stunning trek through mountains and valleys. Our second camp was at 4278 meters, which I think is the highest I have ever camped. I had the help of a guide, a burro (donkey) tender and a daily ration of coca leaf tea. Plus the good company of two Italians, a Frenchman, a Brazilian fellow and Carla. Many people do this trek without the help of a guide, but I have become a lazy man. And it was helpful to garner information from someone who was raised in the area.

The highest mountain in Peru, Huascarán (6,768 m), is located here in Huascarán National Park.

Proud Warrior at Vaqueria, the start of our trek

girl on her way to school

working my way down to the trail, you can see it in white, snaking through the valley

valley floor, after our descent from 4750 meters

The cows are basically wild. The local villages take one or two for food as needed, but for the most part they live and die naturally. I saw one dead in the river, just upstream from where we gathered water for the night.

local man walking across a bridge

turquoise lake

our burro tender and his stallions

wild goats, roaming the countryside, drinking the same water as me

Tomorrow evening I will board a bus and move south to Lima and then, on to Machu Picchu. I have a good book (Riding the Iron Rooster), a bottle of wine and some terrific scenery to look forward to.