Aug 28, 2006 - A return to the Andes

I arrived in Huaraz at some obscene hour in the morning and got utterly ripped off my a taxi driver (well, a guy who was offering a lift from the bus station whose car bore no taxi markings and was a bit of a wreck) on the way to the hostel, but was too tired to care - going straight back up to 3000m from sea level meant I didn't sleep that well on the bus, and when I collapsed in to bed I still couldn't really sleep, something not helped by the fact that a girl in my dorm was properly talking in her sleep! On Monday I went on a walk and...

Jul 2, 2006 - Huaraz and The Cordillera Blanca

In the main square of Huaraz they built a giant statue of Jesus with arms outstretched to the dramatic surrounding mountains. Not long after, one of Jesus's fingers snapped off and toppled to the ground. Not even divine intervention could save Jesus from Peruvian construction skills and one by one his fingers broke off and bit the dust. There stood the fingerless Jesus, clutching on to all dignity until one day his whole arm torpedoed into the bustling square. Funnily enough the main square in Huaraz no longer has a towering statue of...

May 23, 2006 - Huaraz

Having said goodbye to my two dutch mates Daan and Pete I headed up to Huaraz and spent two wicked days here. Huaraz is situated in the valley between Cordillera Negro and Cordillera Blanca, with Cordillera Blanca being the climbing and treking capital of Peru. While I was here I did two bus trips one to see a flower with the tallest flower spike in the world (Puya raimondii) and takes 100 years to grow and is over 10m tall. On the same trip I also got to walk to a glacier at 5300m which provided awesome views of the mountain range. And...

May 18, 2006 - Arrivee a Huaraz et un peu de repos

Huaraz est une ville pas tres belle en elle-meme, mais superbement situee au milieu des montagnes : d'un cote, la Cordillera Blanca, de l'autre la Cordillera Huayhuash. Nous avons pris le bus de nuit depuis Trujillo, et cette fois c'est Felix qui est malade... Donc en arrivant nous commencons par prendre deux jours de repos avant d'entamer le prochain trek !

May 9, 2006 - Huruaz

Arrived here after taking night bus from Trujillio, absolutely nightmare, no sleep as the guy behind us snored the whole way, there should be rules against the kinda thing! our hostal is caroline lodge, friendly, cheap and great views over the city and mountains but full of israelis who are so loud when they are all together! spent day chilling as knackered, wandered about town and booked a hiking tour for 2mw, update when done it! ... Hiking in Cordeillia blanca was gorgeous, really brilliant views, we hiked up from the top of the "man and...

Apr 21, 2006 - HUARAZ - Peru

Eigentlich hatte ich die Schnauze ja langsam voll von unzaehlbaren Hoehenmetern, schneebedeckten Berggipfeln, Kaelte und Wanderangeboten. Ich waere mit der Voraussicht dass mich in Huaraz eine Woche Strand und suesses Nichtstun erwarten wuerde viel entspannter dort angekommen. Stattdessen erwarteten mich weitere 3 Tage Action, Spass und Spannung im Disneyland der Berge, wo von Roessli reiten ueber Eisklettern bis zu 21-taegige Sauerstofftreks alles moegliche an Freizeitbeschaeftigung angeboten wurde. Davon hab ich dann einen Nachmittag lang...

Apr 16, 2006 - PERU: Huaraz

Huaraz is a lovely little town located high in the Andes on the edge of the Cordillera Blanca, which is a beautiful mountain range where many people come to do treks. The highest mountain in Peru, Huascaran can be seen from Huaraz on a clear day, and the area is gorgeous. I caught up with my American friend Adam who I met in Montañita and we decided to go on a trek for the day. After visiting the very helpful tourist office, we set off on a recommended hike to Laguna Churup. Only 3 hours up and a few down, and it's very tranquil we were...

Apr 10, 2006 - Huaraz

Arrived in Huaraz in the middle of a rain storm and we were immediately bugged by touts trying to sell their hostel - it was more aggressive than we've had before and it took some firm words to get them to leave us alone. Eventually flagged down a taxi to take us to a hostel recommended in the lonely planet. When we reached it we were more than pleasantly surprised, it was just like a Swiss hotel you imagine in the Alps, each floor has its own sitting area, downstairs was a TV lounge and the top floor was an open plan lounge kitchen area...

Mar 27, 2006 - From the beach to the Mountains

It was hard to leave from Huancahco, It's amazing how comfortable I got there, made quite a few local friends, before I left I went around town saying addios to my amigos and they all asked me when will I return, and I thought probably never, but did not want to accept that. Anyways I said my goodbyes and exchanged email addresses, hopefully some day I will go there again. When I was leaving Huaraz I heard a familiar song playing at a music stall, check out the video to hear it. The bus ride from Huancahco to Huaraz was a breeze, slept...

Mar 15, 2006 - Huaraz

Well, we arrived in Huarez (right near Cordelerro Blanco National Reserve) in the evening and Christine was not feeling well. We were sad that we might not get to enjoy our day in the national park, but in the end she was ok. Unfortunately the weather was not great and the spectacular views that we expected were moderate at best. As I mentioned in the last post, the people here are all out to gouge you and it's starting to make us grumpy. Our bus driver on our tour of the national park kept stopping everywhere (where he gets a commission)...

Jan 29, 2006 - Huaraz - Peru

Crystal - We decided we had time to briefly head North. Destination, Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca in the Peruvian Andes. The bus journey takes us from the Coast of Lima over the 4080 metre Conococha pass before heading back down 1000m into the town of Huaraz. The altitude hits us pretty quickly, walking and talking can no longer be done together and the lovely feeling that your brain may explode takes over. So as you do when ajusting to the altitude, we book ourselves in for a Mountain bike the next day up in the Cordillera Negra....

Nov 14, 2005 - Huaraz, Peru

Today was really nothing more than a business day, a chance to get my nasty laundry done from the trek, and see some of this beautiful mountain town, all while killing time and relaxing before my first overnight bus ride of the trip. In addition to Matt, Andy and I, the girls that are each travelling solo whom we met up on Punta Union Pass were also staying in the same hostel, small world. Huaraz is set at an altitude over 3,000m (maybe 10,000ft), and is the prinicpal town in this region of the Andes known as the Cordillera Blanca. It gets...