Huaraz, Peru
Jess and I finished the Santa Cruz hike but we didn't have the strength to go on and do the extra day trip to Laguna 69. The hike was pretty amazing, but donkey ended up being a horse, which was a bit disappointing but what can you do. Anyways the horse, Miguel, ended up lugging most of our stuff, which was good because we weren´t in good enough shape to carry full gear above 4000m. We did end up splitting the donkey with our German friend Axel. He was a good guys and was a lot of fun to hike with. Anyways, the third day was the most interesting because when we woke up at 5:30 it was sleeting and was pretty cold (40´s). We ended up hanging around camp until we left at 9:30 to ascend the Pass. The Pass is at 4750 meters ( about 15,500 ft) and was ridiculously cold so we didnt hang out at the top too long. The other side of the pass was very nice with snow capped mountains all around. The last day was a quick hike out and a long bus ride back to civilization. This was probably the most intensive road we had been on and must have included about 30 switch backs to descend this mountain. There were also 21 passengers packed into a mini bus, aka a euro van, so there was barely room to breath let alone see outside. We did end up taking a few stops on our 3 hour ride and got to take some nice pictures.
Anyways were off to Lima tonight on an overnight bus. No one we have spoke to has said anything good about Lima. I guess its foggy all the time. Were actually going to try and catch a cheap flight from Lima to Cuzco to avoid a 30 hour bus ride. Cuzco seems to be another big trekking point but is a very touristy area since Machu Picchu is close by. We are hopping to take a bus up to the ruins instead of the expensive train but we´ll let you know how that all works out.
Best to everyone,
Justin
PS new pictures are under picts 1.
1 comment:
Jess/Justin,
So, remarkably at 85 degrees on Friday night in Sept, I've just read all blogs, and viewed all (six?) sets of photos. Tomorrow is the annual (and final!) Murphy blow-out party. Pero, mas importante de eso, estoy celoso y se envio su expedicion. I figured some congratulatory comments about visiting Cotopaxi, Galapagos, Cordillera Blanco, Chan Chan, Quito, etc., would be appropriate...but then I realize you've visited so many places, that they would only minimize the vast experiences you are living. So, continue to take photos of the flora (I loved the subalpine flowers, and that red "zit plant"), have another "Pilsner" (especially if it's cheaper than water), hike that next peak (or get into that next plenum above the church ceiling), and investigate the structural engineering of your abodes (which sometimes is pretty scary). So, enjoy the experience, enjoy the culture and the people, learn the history and the human values, and love each other.
Warm Regards,
Steve
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