Hi everyone, During my third weekend in Peru, it was Easter. The volunteers had a 4 day weekend, so I and most of the other volunteers had the opportunity to take a long vacation. I initially was going to go to Machu Picchu, but Marissa and Skylar got angry with me when I wanted to do my own thing, so I decided to nix Machu Picchu for that weekend and do it later (why I extended my trip a week) because I didn’t want to see one of the 7 wonders of the world being annoyed by 2 girls because I wanted to do my own thing.
So, bright and early Thursday morning I boarded the 8-hour bus up to Huaraz Peru. During that bus ride, I saw so many animals, from pigs to cows, to llamas. Not to mention the views were spectacular. As you soon as you leave Lima, the tall buildings and the hustle and bustle of the city turns to rolling plains, lush forests, and exotic birds. I stared out the window for almost the entire ride.
When I arrived in Huaraz, It was pretty late, so I took a taxi to my hostel, made arrangements for the rest of the weekend, and then passed out in bed.
The following morning I had to be up and ready at 7 because I was going on a bus tour of Huaraz and its surrounding area. I got into the bus we would be taking only to be told that I had to exit because there wasn’t enough room. I patiently waited for the next one to come, and then was told once again that I would have to get onto the next bus that was available because yet again, there still wasn’t enough room. At around 10 am, a man from a different tour company told my tour company that he had 8 open spaces. I, a couple, and a group of 5 jumped at that opportunity and finally were able to start our bus tour.
I was seated next to one of the people from the group of 5, whom I later learned his name was Che. He only spoke Spanish, but we were still able to communicate, with a few barriers, but we could still have a conversation or a few, which was nice.
We made a few stops during the day, the first being at a view point of a luscious mountain range. I was being a bit awkward as I didn’t know anyone yet, so I just took a few photos, walked around, and then hopped back on the bus.
Our bus next docked at a Plaza de Armas in Ancash where we enjoyed fresh sorbet, warm weather, and magnificent views. I sat in the plaza for a few minutes before hearing “AMERICAN TOURS” which was our groups signal for returning to the bus.
After a few more hours on the bus, we arrived at our final destination, Huascaran National Park. There we stopped for a little over an hour to look at the lakes, Llanganuco and Chinacocha, and snap a few pictures of the water, the animals, the foliage, and the waterfalls.
Once I’d taken my fair share of photos and touched an alpaca, I faintly heard “American TOURSS” from our tour guide, signifying the end of our time in Huascaran for the day. I trudged back to the tour bus, snapping a few photos as I exited. As I sat down in my unassigned assigned seat, Che took a seat next to me, and we discussed our time at the park.
Our guide, Bruce, asked if we wanted to make another stop to check out some ruins from a terremoto (earthquake) in 1970, and of course, we all obliged. Once there, Che paid my 10 sol entrance fee for me (how sweet) and we walked along all of the ruins, sharing stories of our times in school, home, and what we liked to do. I met his friends and we all talked as well until it was finally time to get back to Huaraz.
With sore feet, and droopy eyes, not a word was spoken on our way back to Huaraz that night.
The following morning, I was awake bright and early at 4 am, where I was picked up from my hostel, boarded another bus and made our way back to Huascaran National Park, but instead of stopping at the lakes where we’d stopped the day prior, we continued on for another hour, until we got to the start of the trek to Lagona 69.
From there, I, and my three gallons of water started trekking the mountain to Lagona 69. I met some nice girls from China, who took pictures and videos with me, and just shot the breeze until I marched a little bit ahead (I ended up meeting back with them towards the end).
Tired, and sweaty, I reached a lake. This lake was much less than I had expected, but it was still nice and had some snowy mountains in the background to spice it up a little bit. After taking pictures with it, and taking pictures of other people with the lake, I found out that this was not Lagona 69 and that we had another hour or 2 of hiking before reaching it. Disappointed and exhausted, I trudged on awaiting my final destination.
After another 90 or so minutes of hiking, I saw it. A lake of the bluest blue I had ever seen. A sight that made the long hike, the sunburn, and the frequent uses of my rescue inhaler worth it. I plopped down on the ground, gazed at the too good to be true lake, hydrated, fed myself, and just enjoyed my peaceful few minutes that I had.
I decided that even though the view and the rest were amazing, I should start making my way back down the mountain to avoid being late. I don’t remember much of the walk back down, just that I tripped a few times, and made far too many water stops, but I finally made it back to the bus, where I sat down, drank the rest of my water, and waited for the rest of my group members to pile in.
The bus ride back to Huaraz is about 3 hours from the bottom of the mountain. However, 30 or so minutes after departing, the bus broke down so the driver got out of the bus, messed with something under the bus, and we were off again. We broke down again at a small store where everyone restocked on water, Gatorade, and crackers and spoke of how our feet hurt and how we just wanted to goto bed until the bus had been fixed and we were on our way back to Huaraz.
The following morning was Pasqua (Easter). I witnessed part of a parade in Huaraz before driving back to Lima, where I watched Bridget Jones’ baby in Spanish (twice) and saw my very first bone sticking out of someone’s body (6 or 7-car car crash). All I wanted to do was return to Lima, meet all of the new people, and hit the sack.
Alicia
Living off Leesh 