Blame it on the Altitude (Huaraz, Perú)

A few weekends ago some of my housemates and I went to Huaraz, Perú. It's eight hours north of Lima and there's a lot of hiking to be done in the mountains. However, we were a bit caught off guard by how strongly the high altitude affected us. My friend Mari and I made a song to help explain the serious effects of altitude sickness... Altitude sickness is no joke! Well, here goes...

Blame it on the trail that got you looking pale,
blame it on the height that's givin' you a freight
blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-altitude.

Blame it on the hill that got you filling ill,
blame it on the view that makes you wanna spew,
blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-altitude.

That's all I can remember right now, but it was pretty shocking how much more challenging hiking is in such a high altitude. The tough hiking was well worth it, because the scenery was so spectacular.  We were in Huaraz for a total of three days and the highest altitude we reached was around 15,000 feet! Our first day consisted of a lot of sleeping, trying to acclimate to the altitude, planning our hikes for the next two days, and relaxing in a nearby hot spring. Mari and I watched some half of the Peru vs. Paraguay soccer game in our hostel and then went to bed. The next morning we woke up bright and early to go to Pastoruri.

We left Huaraz and drove for almost two hours until we reached our first stop. The ride flew by as we gawked at the lovely scenery.

Our first stop was at a bubbling fountain of youth! We all drank from the fizzy, iron colored spring which apparently is full of minerals... It mostly just tasted like iron to me.

Our next stop was where we encountered giant flowers called "Puyas Raimondi". Apparently they only flower once every 10 years or so and are HUGE! Here's a picture of my friends Kati, Mari and I doing our signature "Kati(e) Sandwich" pose with the monstrous flowers.

We continued our bus ride to where we began our hiking to the glaciers of Pastoruri in Cordilleras Blancas, otherwise known as the while mountain range for the snow that dusts the top.

So this slight incline may not look very challenging, but put it at 15,000 feet in altitude and you'd be surprised how fast you'll be out of breath.   

Closer....

WE DID IT!!! 

Our hike uphill was complete and we started to go back the mountain, 

but the altitude sickness was far from gone.

What was a pleasant two hour ride to Pastoruri became a two hour battle with my body if I was going to throw up or not. Not fun. Luckily, by the time we had gotten back to our hostel in Huaraz we were in a lower altitude and the sickness wasn't as strong. I still felt horrible though and spent the rest of the day contemplating if I could put myself through that again. In the end I decided to suck it up and go on the tour to Lake 69 the next day with my friends. I was told it would be higher, harder, and longer than the first trek. All of that was true, but it was totally worth it.

A few minutes in and feeling good!

Whomping Willow we encounter!

Friends we made along the way.

Which mountain are we going up??!

Final destination: Lago 69.

Getting there may have been one of the most challenging three hour hikes of my life, but all the way I was surrounded with some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen! I'd even go so far to say that hiking to Lago 69 was my favorite trip so far in Perú!... However, I'm going to Machu Picchu this weekend so we'll see how long Lago 69 can hold its title!

El lago= lake

Hasta Luego,

Katie :)

Lomas de Lúcumo

As promised I told you I would tell you more about the new finds I have discovered in Lima. First, we'll start with Lomas de Lúcumo.

I think the best way to start describing Lomas de Lúcumo is with a picture...

Does anyone else feel like singing songs from the Sound of Music after seeing this sight? Well, we did! The hills were definitely alive with the sound of music whether the other hikers liked it or not!

Here's a picture of some of the lovely ladies I went hiking with!

We spent all day at Lomas de Lúcumo soaking up some sun, chilling on big rocks we climbed up on to, and hiking of course. It was definitely worth the slightly tricky two combi and one taxi ride to get there! I'd go back in a heartbeat, but there are so many other places I want to explore as well!

So I'm sure you're all wondering how such beautiful green hills are located within the desert region of Lima... Or not, but it's actually very simple so I'll tell you anyways! As I experienced during my first month here, winter in Lima is simultaneous with a constant light mist and depending on how close you are to the ocean, a sea mist too. Lomas de Lúcumo are kept in this luscious green state from both of these factors, despite their desert status! 

In fact, for being in a desert Lima does a surprisingly good job at maintaining green space... which in my opinion brightens any city. One of my favorite additions of green space can be found in areas that double as yards and parking lots. Having alternating stripes of grass and concrete seemed unnecessary to me at first (and probably very time consuming to pour concrete for), but now I have grown to love it! Isn't this so much nicer than just having a slab of solid concrete?....

Try not to be distracted by my SWEET future car and peruvian sweater... 

Below both of those you can see the half grass/half concrete yards I'm talking about. Nifty looking, huh?

Anyways, as I mentioned in my last blog I want to tell you more about random things I've discovered in Lima that have made me feel more connected to such a big city... It's just like finding your own place within any city and I've started to do just that within Lima!

One of my new favorite things to do is go to Parque Kennedy in the Miraflores district of Lima. There is always something going on there whether it's an art exhibit, a small market, or my most recent find... Every Friday night a bunch of people gather to watch sassy "viejos", or older peruvian men and woman, shake it to tradition peruvian dances. It makes me so happy to not only experience part of their culture through dance, but also see how much energy they all still have! If this doesn't make you smile I don't know what will...

Another great find is el Peruanito in Miraflores. This sandwich shop is a bit off the beaten path, but well worth it. The constant crowd speaks for itself. The sandwiches, fresh fruit juice, and deserts are out of this world! I'll definitely be going back...

This final activity isn't something I discovered in Lima, but it sure helped pass time the other day when I didn't have much to do and no one to travel with... I decided to get creative and try a nail painting technique I found online the other day. If you look very closely you'll be able to see little letters on my pink nails. Don't try to read the words too hard because not only are they in spanish, but they are also backwards. The technique I used entailed dipping my already painted and dried nails into hydrogen peroxide and holding a newspaper cutting (in my case, a clipping from a recent Perú soccer game) on the drying nail for 30 seconds. When all was done I not only had nifty looking nails, but also could remember stats from the game! :P

That's all for now, but I just got back from a weekend trip with some friends so you can expect a blog all about Huaraz soon! In the meantime, here's some spanish vocab just for fun...

Las lomas= hills

Hasta Luego,

Katie :)