Hooray for Huaraz

Just hours after returning from our exciting yet exhausting trip to eastern Peru, it was time to start classes at the La Universidad Catolica. I auditioned several classes and finally arrived at my final four classes. The UVA in Peru program requires that I take Peruvian Social Reality in English, but the remaining three classes are Universidad Catolica classes that are taught in Spanish. My Catolica classes include: Andean Arqueology, Introduction to the Ecologocal Problems of Peru, and Ecotourism. So far, these courses seem to be a good vehicle for learning for about Peru (and, of course, it's environment).

The start of school brought life back to a more normal pace-- but not for long! Last Thursday and Friday were national holidays, so once again I packed my backpack and headed for the bus station. This time, the destination was Huaraz, which is a small city north of Lima. Huaraz is a hub for outdoor adventure because it rests at the foot of the Cordillera Blanca, the snow-capped White Mountains of the Andes. You'll find Huascaran (Peru's tallest mountain) and Siula Grande (from Touching the Void) in this mountain range. Of course, I couldn't wait to go! I was lucky to meet Oliver, a Canadian exchange student, who also wanted to go, so we set off on Wednesday night.

When you add Meghan to mountains, the trip is guaranteed to be great, but this trip exceeded my expectations. The city of Hauraz is charming and offers a welcome relief from the cold, cloudy, exhaust-emitting atmosphere in Lima. The air was fresh, and the sun came out every day (in contrast to Lima, where I have seen the sun for only 2 hours total) and it was so warm that I could wear sandals!

Huaraz is a high-altitude city at 3000 m, so Oliver and I spent our first day walking around and acclimatizing. We found a modest but cute hostal for about $3.80 US dollars a night. We did take a short walk up the to a mirador, or lookout point, where we could see the entire city from above. On our second day, we hiked to el Lago Churup, which is a lake that lies at the base of some snow-capped mountains. The views were breathtaking, but my favorite part about this hike was the walk through the nearby town of Pitec. At 8 am, we passed a traditionally dressed Andean woman who was washing clothes by hand in a stream in front of her house. When we returned at 2 pm, she was still kneeling by the stream, but this time she was rinsing food for dinner. It was clear to me as we walked by for a second time that, even though we were just feet from each other, this woman and I were worlds apart.

Our third day in Huaraz featured one of the most spectacular hikes that I have ever been on. It took three hours on a bumpy road to arrive at the trial head of El Lago 69, but it was well worth it when we got to the lake. The pictures don't do justice to how phenomenal it was to see snowy mountains and the sapphire lake in the same frame.

We spent the first 4 hours of Sunday at Cafe Andino, a trendy yet touristy cafe with a balcony that looks out to the mountains. Between cups of coffee, Oliver and I read the newspaper, solved sodokus, and chatted the morning away. By the time we got motivated to leave our relaxation station (my hands were jittery from so much coffee) it was early afternoon. We headed north to visit the hot springs in the nearby town of Chancos, but to our disappointment the springs were framed by dirty cement pools rather than natural water holes, so we decided to skip the swimming. Nevertheless, we took a nice stroll by the river that made our afternoon excursion worthwhile.

I could have stayed in Huaraz for months, and I hope to return someday. But, like all good things, the weekend came to an end and we headed back to Lima for some academic action. More to come!