major

the Santa Cruz trek

Every once in a while when you're travelling around, you happen across a town that you just don't want to leave. Huaraz, Peru was definitely one of those places.

For those of you who know Liz and Kylene, I had been planning for some time to meet them here to do some trekking. For those of you who know Ben and Sarah, I had also been keeping in touch with them for the last month with the intention of meeting up as well. It just so happened that all of us ended up together in Huaraz at the same time, so suddenly it seemed half the hostel was full of people I knew.

Speaking of the hostel, it was amazing. 6 bucks a night gets you a dorm bed with an excellent matress, a hostel with a rooftop patio surrounded by glorious views of plus-20,000' Andean peaks, a TV room with a selection of about a hundred movies, an in-hostel bar and a rooftop sauna and steamroom - probably the best hostel I've ever seen.

The first couple days in Huaraz were unfortunately spent in bed recovering from my bout of food poisoning. However Liz was kind enough to get sick at the same time, so at least I had some company.

After recovering, I headed out on a 4-day trek through the Cordillera Blanca called the Santa Cruz trek. It was pretty awesome, camping out at 4250 metres and hiking through a pass at 4750m - about 15 580 ft - the highest altitude I've ever been at. You definitely get pretty short of breath. I probably noticed it most when I was sleeping though - I kept waking up gasping for breath. The only negatives of the trip were it was cloudy when heading through the pass, so we probably missed the most spectacular views, and the fact that Liz was still sick and wasn't able to make it. So much for our plans.

This morning me, Alex, Liz and Kylene caught a bus out to Lima. The girls are heading back to Vancouver later tonight. I'm staying in Lima tonight, and tomorrow I head south down the coast, first to Pisco, then Ica and Nazca. Honestly, I don't want to spend any more time in Lima than I have to. I'm sure it has lots to offer, but it's a big, dirty city, and that's not what I'm here to see.

Posted by major at June 27, 2004 10:16 PM