This weekend, I went to the Huaraz area with a couple of my friends to do some hiking and check out some archaeological ruins. It was breathtaking up there, though I'm not sure if it was because of the scenery or the altitude. We took a bus in that left Lima at 9pm and arrived in Huaraz at around 6am. From there, we slept for a couple of hours and then started sight seeing.
We took a painfully long bus tour to the Chavin ruins. Along the way, we also stopped at one of the lagoons, had lunch, and checked out the Chavin museum. The Chavin civilization is from about 2000 years BC and one of the most influential pre-Incan civilizations in terms of architecture and stone masonry. Like I said though, the tour was painfully long and we were very rushed at every site. Our tour guide also talked very strangely. He would pause as if he was expecting us to finish his sentences, but no one ever did. "Ahora vamaos a viajar a las ruinas de Chavin de? (LONG PAUSE) de Huantar. Cierto" "Ahora vamos a regresar a la ciudad de? (LONG PAUSE) de Huaraz. Cierto" After a while, it became hilarious and a continuing joke for the rest of the weekend.
On Friday we did at 16 kilometer trek to Lago 69. It's a stunning mountain lake with the bluest water I've ever seen with a snow covered mountain just above it. The altitude was 4,600 meters above sea level. The trek in was also gorgeous. We kept ourselves well stocked with coca leaves to help the altitude sickness, and it really did help. It was amazing how we could feel our bodies reacting to the altitude change going up and then coming back down as well.
Sunday, we took it easy and went to market in Huaraz. I got a new purse and textile as well as sampled some local cuisine. We took a 1pm bus back to Lima and got in around 8:30. It was nice to see the drive back since we missed it going in. We went from being in the sierras, to farm land, to desert, to huge city.
Oh and an FYI, just click on the pictures so see them full sized and then go back to get right back to my blog. Sorry this post is so picture heavy, but it was just so beautiful I couldn't control myself!
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