Huaraz, Peru, 17 - 18 October 2007
Cordillera Blanca Trek, 19 - 21 October 2007
We got into Huaraz about 6.30am and were immediately accosted by throngs of locals singing the praises of their particular hostel. Since we had nothing booked, and were pretty tired after the journey, we decided to avail and quickly checked into Ñaña at 20soles/night (5 euro)!! Our cheapest to date. Not only that but it was a top floor room, plenty of space, ensuite, hot running water....what more could you ask for?? Huaraz is located in the Cordillera Blanca and is the site of Peru´s second most popular hike: the Llanganuco to Santa Cruz loop. Like the Inca trail it is a 4 day trek & as the Inca trail was fast approaching we thought this would serve as good training. What we didn´t realise is that this trek is considerably harder, and higher, than the Inca trail. We booked to leave the following morning and quickly set about getting all necessary provisions. As we were due to leave Huaraz at 6.15am we were going to need an early night.... however, at 7.45pm there was a knock on our door. A representative from the company had come to tell us that our trip was cancelled but not to worry, they would be able to accommodate us the next day instead!! Needless to say we were not happy campers, in fact, it looked like we were not going to be campers at all!! We took our money back from them and booked with a different company but it was too late in the day to find a next day departure so we were required to spend an extra day in Huaraz. We used it to catch up on all the boring stuff, administration as we like to call it.
When we finally did get going there were 5 of us in the group: Claire & I, 2 Israelis (Avia and Tamara), and a South Korean called David. Our guide/cook was Erwin. It felt good to finally be on the move but shortly after we passed the beautiful Llanganuco lake our bus broke down. After about 40 minutes the driver gave up trying to get the rust bucket moving again. We were miles from civilisation and things couldn´t get any worse....then it started to rain. The realisation that, had the bus not broken down, we would be out walking in that same rain made us feel a little better. Finally a taxi, carrying passengers back in the direction we had come from, passed and our driver hopped in the boot and away he went. To cut a long story short after 4 hours we were rescued by our own taxi and brought to the trail head. It was too late to start any trekking so we just explored the immediate vicinity. We would need to make up the lost time over the remaining 3 days. Even though the sun came out, our tents were up (inside a sheltered building), and food was being prepared, Claire was more unhappy then I had seen her at any stage of our trip to date. She did not want to continue with the trek (or start the trek as the case may be). I was the bad guy because I was unwilling to hop on a bus back to Huaraz. Truth be told I was in good form and looking forward to what promised to be an incredible hike. Claire decided she would continue with the trek. 
Next morning, thankfully, the sun greeted us and we struck off, walking, down the valley. The first half of the day was relatively easy going but in the afternoon we started climbing into the hills. The views of the surrounding mountains were spectacular. Unfortunately Claire started to suffer from altitude sickness and found the going very tough indeed. After what can only be described as a monumental effort we reached the campsite. The tents were erected, we climbed inside, and the heavens opened. It was torrential!! I don´t know what would have happened had we been still walking. Again our mute guide prepared a mediocre meal and we were in our sleeping bags by about 7pm. I forgot to mention that our fully charged Ipod had crashed on the bus earlier. Disaster!! The next morning, following what seemed like 12 hours of continuous rain, we were again greeted with a dry clear day. Alleluia. Alas Claire´s altitude sickness was still very much present and again she found the going incredibly difficult.
The rest of our group were very nice. David, the Korean, gave Claire his walking stick & the Israelis had some medication that helped also. Our guide, if you could call him that, had told us it was about 5 hours to the pass. We reached it after 2 hours and, believe me, we were not walking fast. The pass, Punta Union, is at 4750m and thankfully we had clear views down the Santa Cruz valley. What hadn´t helped Claire´s condition was the fact that she thought that we were going to be climbing through the snow for 5 hours, so, when we reached the top and started to descend into the sunny valley, her condition, and, her humour improved immensely. 
For those of you who have been reading the blog and thinking "geez, does anything ever bad or uncomfortable happen to these guys" you will be relieved to read this entry. Anyway, the feeling of achievement was immense. I´m not sure if Claire will edit this section but some of the comments she made while climbing to Punta Union include: "if I could take a lethal injection right now I would do it", and, "there is no way in a million years that I am going to do the Inca Trail". Her confidence in her own hiking ability had been severely shaken. .
.
.
It was a long, but pleasant, walk to the campsite. The sun was shining and we were dropping down onto the valley floor. 
Once there, we dried our tents from the rain the night before and then erected them....and then the rain started again!! We couldn´t believe our luck really. We had not been caught out in any bad weather. It got even stranger. As we were all huddled around in the main tent "enjoying" our evening meal it suddenly felt like the tent was falling in on top of us. What we hadn´t realised is that heavy snow had started falling outside. Again, it didn´t really matter. We all retired to our tents and had an early night. Damn Ipod!!
Our final morning and the weather couldn´t have been better. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, and Claire was feeling much better. She was still trying to convince me that she wasn´t going to do the Inca Trail. I wasn´t buying it. I tried to bet her a pound to a penny that she would do it....apparently she is not a gambler. It was a long walk out of the valley but everyone was in good form. The views of cliffs, lakes, snow capped mountains, local children and the fast flowing river made it a very pleasant experience indeed. Remember we were having to make up time as we were unable to walk on day 1. Having completed the hike (yeah!!) we clambered onto a public minibus and had some more amazing views down into the surrounding valleys as we skirted along narrow cliff top roads. Try not to look straight down...try not to look straight down!!
No comments:
Post a Comment