16/11/2022 Huaraz
The longest bus ride yet
I’m glad we didn’t know beforehand that this would turn into a 17-hour-bus-ride. The 12-hour-bus-ride to Chimbote went over quickly as it was during the night (from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.). Sadly, on those bus rides I often have to realize that I’m not in my twenties anymore and my whole body is aching after the drive and screaming for a massage (which usually never happens).
Furthermore, the AC on the bus was way too cold and since we were sitting on the upper floor of the bus right in the front, we could see that the bus driver was driving like a maniac. Thank God we fell asleep quickly.
The air is getting thinner
In Chimbote we had half an hour time to buy some snacks for the next five hours on a mini bus. This ride was definitely more windy and finished in 3000m height, where the air was quite thin. Welcome to Huaraz!
What to expect
Huaraz
Interesting town
We checked into our hostel “Krusty Hostel B&B” and walked around town. With 24 000 inhabitants the town seemed much bigger than what we’d pictured would be a small sleepy mountain town. The city was filled with people selling streetfood and tuk tuks driving around. It was so interesting!
We held off with the local Peruvian food for tonight and instead went for Thai and Indian curries – it tasted amazing!
17/11/2022 Huaraz
Slow acclimatization
In order to slowly acclimate, we were “only” going to do a hike at 4200m today. After our free breakfast in the hostel (omelette and buns with jam and tea with coca leaves for the altitude), we got picked up at 8.15 a.m. to start our day trip.
Paron Lake – get ready for us!
Do a day trip to Paron Lake
The three-hour-drive was very scenic with lots of huge snowy mountains around us and people in traditional clothing on the side roads.
“Breath-taking” views
At Lake Paron we had about two hours time. First we hiked up to the viewpoint, which under normal circumstances wouldn’t have been hard. At 4200m, however, the air was thin, which made the breathing harder, the head dizzy and the heart beat faster. We took a few breaks on the hike up, also to take photos of the stunning views around us.
Just like in Canada
Once we arrived at the top, we had the magical turquoise Paron Lake below us and the majestic white glacier mountains all around us.
We loved it! It actually reminded both of us of Peyto Lake in Canada, where Blake had proposed to me only four months ago 😉.
Worth the long bus ride
We then walked down to the lake to enjoy the spectacular views from there, before we hopped on the bus back to Huaraz again.
In Germany you probably wouldn’t sit on a bus for a total of six hours for two hours at some lake. But here you don’t think twice about it and just do it. And in the end the way is (part of) the aim anyways, isn’t it 😉?!
Change of plans
When we went out to the same restaurant again, we spontaneously decided not to do the next hike the following day (mainly because we didn’t want to get up at 4 a.m. the next morning).
18/11/2022 Huaraz
An early morning after all
Well, we might not have to get up at 4 a.m., but we still woke up before 7 a.m. – fun! At least this way we had enough time for the free breakfast (buns and pancakes) on the rooftop terrace.
Try streetfood (and drinks)
We walked around town and stopped at a streetfood stand to enjoy freshly squeezed orange juice from an old Peruvian couple.
Visit the markets
Afterwards we discovered a local market near the park “Plaza de Armas Huaraz”, where the backpacker in me was very happy about all the free samples. (We also bought a lot of goodies.)
Book exchange in a café
Blake and I relaxed in “California Cafe” and I used their free book exchange to get a new book for the road. (Usually I make use of the book exchange in hostels where you can swap your finished book for another one for free – so handy.)
Alpaka for dinner?
In the evening we went to a restaurant named “Creperie Patrick”, where I enjoyed a veggie crêpe with cheese and Blake tried alpaca steak for the first time. When I pictured those cute alpakas from Quilotoa in Ecuador, I knew I’ve become a vegetarian/ pescetarian for a reason 😉.
Local festivities
In the evening we watched a kids’ parade on the street with lots of self-made figures, which was pretty interesting to watch.
Pig heads and chicken legs
Before going back to the hostel, we walked into a side street, where we saw many people selling fruits and other goods.
Pig heads and full chickens were hanging down in the front of the shops and it was all very very authentic! We loved it! We bought 1/2 kg of blueberries and two bananas off some streetfood lady for $1 (!) and were just amazed by the organized chaos.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t fall asleep until after midnight, which made getting up at 4 a.m. not any easier…
19/11/2022 Huaraz
When the alarm went off at 4 a.m., it felt like I had just fallen asleep. Let’s go hiking!
Hike to Laguna 69
Way too early!
We got picked up at 5 a.m. by our tour guide. At 7 a.m. we were already in the mountains where we stopped for breakfast. The hot coffee was much needed and so was the coca tea, which should help with altitude sickness. (Spoiler alert: it did not!)
On a tight time schedule
We started the hike at 3900m. Laguna 69 – our main goal after hiking for three hours uphill – lies at 4600m! Since there was only one way up, we didn’t have to walk in a group. However, Blake and I definitely felt rushed as the tour guide made it pretty clear that the bus wouldn’t wait for anyone who hasn’t returned after six hours of hiking. No pressure at all!
Struggling with the altitude
The hike was so so beautiful! Unfortunately, the altitude really got to me which gave me a massive headache and a very fast pounding heart throughout most of the hike. Even the coca candy didn’t help that we kept sucking on.
Throughout the hike we were constantly surrounded by huge glacier mountains and massive waterfalls. The scenery was stunning!
Finally made it – in time!
After three hours and many stops (and maybe some swearing on my part), we made it to Laguna 69 at the top of the mountains at 4600m – and it did not disappoint!
The lake was turquoise and it was surrounded by waterfalls and glacier mountains. We had an hour to soak in the beautiful view, before we were given another two hours to hike down.
Not the last ones
Usually, Blake and I are the last ones on hikes (just like on the Lost City hike in Colombia). But not this time! Unfortunately, this also meant we had to wait for one other couple for almost 1.5 hours! The tour guide had clearly been bluffing with leaving without any late hikers! With my pounding headache and my sweaty clothes I loved the wait in the humid van 😜.
No comfy beds waiting for us
Back at the hostel two hours later, the shower and the comfy warm bed had to hold off a little longer as we were going to catch a night bus to Lima at 10 p.m.. We clearly hadn’t thought this through…😉
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