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| Coco, Aymara (the pup), me and Chris at the Refugio |
Giant rocks simply dropped from the sky and plopped onto this piece of sacred land outside of Huaraz. It is called Hatun Machay (meaning ¨Big Cave¨ in Quechua). The natives here believe that these huge mute giants are their protectors and the energy here is very powerful. You can find caves everywhere with ancient carvings and heiroglyphics. The earth below you feels hollow and there is believed to be an elaborate underground tunnel system with ancient tombs. There have been ongoing debates for years about a possible excavation of the site but the locals fight to leave it intact. Many also believe that the carvings came even before the Inca, and belong to nomadic tribes who used this place as a pilgrimage site so the different cultures from the region could congregate. So much unknown, I believe this rock forest has many secrets...
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| Cave carvings and a little meditation |
The locals do however have a deal with an Argentinian guy named Andres who runs a little Refuge near the rocks. Climbers are allowed to come for a small fee that goes to the community, and as long as we respect the site, we can continue climbing. The climbing is unbelievable! The mornings are perfection and you can see no other structures (besides the Refuge) for miles. The Refuge is very simple, made of wood and stone, no electricity. There are bunk rooms up top and a fireplace and kitchen below. Perfect opportunity for catching up on journaling, reading, and finding your peace. Without fail, around 1 or 2pm a thick blanket of fog rolls in over the hills. You can lose your way very easily, you can´t see much further than your hands in front of you! We always kept a dog with us because they never fail to find their way home.
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| Chris climbing hard |
Of course there is no telephone out there, so you can´t exactly call a cab. We walked over an hour and a half with all of our climbing gear and packs to get to the main road to catch a ride back to Huaraz. Talk about a desolate highway, I thought we would be there all day! Fortunately we accidentally hitchiked. In our defense, we thought the white van was a collectivo (a shared ride van taxi) so I was jumping up and down flagging it down. Turns out it was just a nice peruvian family who welcomed us into their already jam-packed car for smooth cruising and some good tunes back to town. Buena gente.
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| Chris at the top of a seashell! (5.10d) |
Man, it was so peaceful out there, it is hard to jump back into the city life. We finally left Huaraz last night and are currently in limbo in Lima for a few more hours. It´s so crazy and chaotic here! Taxi drivers are very aggressive and will follow you for blocks, you have to clutch your bags tight; a very different vibe than in the mountains. We hop on another bus to Cusco this afternoon and by the time we get there tomorrow afternoon, we will have spent almost 40 hours in transit... ayayay. Looking forward to Machu Picchu! May the journey continue...
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| Chris flew up this route! (5.10b) |
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| Coco climbing, Chris on the belay. (5.10b) |
There is a Refuge keeper that is always changing. A few months back it was our friend Xavi from Spain who we spent Christmas with in Colombia (that´s how we learned of this place). Now the keeper is a young climber named Coco who was so excited to have guests! He climbed with us everyday because it is the low season and he said if you stay out there long enough alone, you can go a little crazy. I believe it, there is seriously nothing for miles but the giant rocks that seem to adopt different forms with the light of the moon and the fog. HOWEVER, the owner told us that if we ever want to come back and take care of the Refuge, he would even pay us! Chris could do some guiding and chopping wood for the fire, and I would handle the cleaning and communication! When nobody is around we could just climb all day! There are so many sport routes and bouldering as well. Ahhhh the simple life. We told him we´d keep it in mind for a possibility down the road. There are no showers or even a refrigerator, but a crystal clear little creak that runs right by the Refuge!
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