Mountain town

First--Huaraz, Peru is BEAUTIFUL. The glaciated peaks make amazing views from our rooftop kitchen in the morning. The mountains surrounding us are the second highest range in the world. The actual city of Huaraz is filled with tour agencies, trekkers and some tasty restaurants that offer 4 soles dinners (a little over a dollar). Everyone is super nice and it makes me not want to leave here...or at least return one day.

Yesterday (3-10) we went on a day trek in Quebrada Llaca. Ever since we arrived in Huaraz, Peru we have been wanting to hike into the mountains. However, it is the rainy season so we opted for the day trek. We heard about this particular trek from a Canadian woman named Diana who runs a nice lodge called Lazy Dog Inn. She advised that we get out of the city on Tuesday because there was going to be a strike (which are common here) and everything would be closed. Heather, Katie, Benoit (our French Canadian friend) and I (Hallye) left our hostal about seven that morning and began the walk to Diana´s inn where she drew us out a quick map.

The first two hours of the trek was a somewhat steep and very rocky trail. We then had to follow a dirt road into Parque Nacional Huascaran. It got a little colder as we entered the Quebrada and we could see the glaciers in the distance when the fog was not covering them. We crossed several streams and waterfalls running off rock-face mountain side and saw some of a native animal (and I can´t remember its name now) that has the head of a rabbit (long ears) and the back end of a squirrel. It was very strange looking and I wish we had them back home! We cut through the little valley that was covered with boulders of all shapes and sizes. Actually the entire area around Huaraz has these massive rocks. There was a major earthquake here in 1970 that nearly destroyed the city but we blocked this from our minds as we hiked past the big rocks.

We made it to the Laguna Llaca where we hung out for a few minutes and rested our tired bodies before we turned back. We were able to make the journey back much quicker than the uphill hike there. When we reached the main road several hours later, (close to the Inn where we got the map) we happened upon a taxi. We were all shocked to see it because the road in this area was very rocky and muddy. Since we were exhuasted and the rain was quickly approaching, we thought a cab would be perfect. The driver looked a little confused so we asked him if he could take us down the city. He told us that he had been ´practicing.´We were all a little confused about this comment, but he said we would take us so we jumped in. After a couple minutes of driving he told that we were his first passengers. This is was also about the time that we realized how nervous he seemed. He then told us that he has only been driving about a week. He got his license to drive five years ago but has not driven at all except for the past week. He had to stop and run across a field and tell his Dad that he was going down to Huaraz. And we did make it back to the city eventhough there were some times where we thought he was taking curves and huge, muddy potholes a little too fast.

We have much more to tell about Huaraz, but I must get going for now. We will post some more later. Hallye