Santa Cruz Trek




Trail Head at Cashipampa

 

After spending a few days in the hills above Huaraz with our friends Eli and Katy, we decided to do the ever so popular Santa Cruz Trek located in the Cordillera Blanc 1.5 hours north of Huaraz.  After loading up on supplies (food, tent, sleeping bags) we catch a jam packed collectivo (shared ride van) with locals and ride out the uncomforatable ride to Caraz where we catch a taxi to take us another 2.5 hours to the trail head at Cashipampa.  Jam packed really.. Every possible square foot of these vans are taken up, elbow to elbow, knee to knee thats how they do it.  A cultural experience.    

We spent four nights on the trail, with rain occuring every night.  I did worry a little too much about our leaky tent causing troubles but a little bit of plastic tarp and rain ponchos purchased for 9 soles ($3) went a long way.  The real trouble we ran into with water occured on the second day.  The start of the second day was amazing.  Weather perfect with sunshine and peaks over 6000 meters came into view.  We passed beautiful alpine lakes and the famous Alpamayo (Paramount pictures mountain).  Half way through the day we lost the trail by mistaking it for a cattle trail (we were told you cant lose the trail).  Soon our party of four was split by the river Eli going up the right side of the river while the rest of us went up the left side where the trail was non-existent (little did we know).  After figuring out that we were on the wrong side of the river and Eli was on the trail we needed to find a river crossing.  Crossing the fast moving steep river would not be easy and claimed a victim.  So... we became a little desperate to cross the river and we were forced to bush wack our way along the river to find a suitable crossing.  In times like this bad decision making can come easy as I said before trying to cross a section of river that moved to fast and deep.  Desperatly trying to cross this section and with lifeguard Eli on the other side in sandles and swim shorts to give a helping hand, I lost.  My body was thrown towards the water, my feet were were taken out and I lean into the river to catch myself.  The weight of my pack pushes me down as I try to balance myself and get out of the water. Eli yells "get out of there", I look down only to see our Camera (prized possesion for the trip) soaking wet with water dripping out the neoprene case.  Should have put it into the dry bag.  Meirda!  Thinking the worst for the camera we still try to revive it, taking serious measures to dry it out and bring it back to life Julia babies it from the time it got out of the river till when we get to camp.

Sin camera for the next day still trying to revive it (at this point we haven`t yet attempted to power it on) we cross the pass of the trail, Punta Union at 4760 meters and see the most picturesque views I`ve viewed.  The next night we camp on the other side of the pass at an alpine lake, the camera has lost the condensation in the LCD screen and appears dry.  We attempt to power it on and Success.  The camera DOES work.  We hike the rest of the trail downhill throught the valley and meet some interesting villagers along the way.  All in all a great trip with a few forgetable road blocks along the way.  The next day we rest and hangout in town and make a big descion for adventure the next day.

At camp one, Llamacoral

Climbing the 700meters the first day

Day two, the large peaks come into view

Alpine lake lunch, gazing at the amazing view

The camera works, morning of forth day

 View from the alpine lake camp

All downhill to Vaqueria

Some local village ninos at the refugio camp, forth and last night

Villages along the trail on the last day

Almost to Vaqueria, where we wait 6 hours for the ride to huaraz (patience!)

                                                           

Bad-To-The-Bone Ice climbing in the Andes

Ice climbing we did. New to both of us, it was SO much fun and surprisingly different than rock climbing. Chris, Eli, our new friend Patrick and I went cruising up these crazy mountain roads deep into a canyon in the Cordillera Blanca with our guide, Willie. From the trailhead, we had an insanely beautiful hike into Lago Llaca. We saw waterfalls, glaciers, glacial lakes and huge snowy mountains surrounding us. There is this certain color light blue in the glacial streams and lakes that I have only caught glimpses of in Alaska, it is absolutely breathtaking. I think we walked extremely slow because we were dragging our jaws along the trail... it was unreal!!

The ice wall we were to climb was a little muddy, but it was the most stable piece of ice around so we weren´t complaining. Equiped with snow pants and boots, crampons, helmets, gloves and two ice axes, we were ready to climb high. It was pretty rough on your hands swinging those ice axes deep enough into the ice that you could trust your weight on them - totally new rush. The view from the top was spectacular, we´re talking crazy insane mountains all around you! whoooooooo! Such a feeling of accomplishment.

An Andean Dream

Oh my goodness...we have spent the last three amazing days in the Andes Mountains along the Cordillera Blanca. We are in the city of Huaraz, and stayed in a mountain cottage at about 12,000 feet called ¨The Way Inn¨. They served us amazing three-course meals and were some of the nicest people we have met. Our dormitory was built around a huge boulder and we slept in wooden bunk beds with pillowy down blankets. It was a dream. We met up with our good friends Katie and Eli from back home, and have already had so many adventures! We arrived Monday morning, straight off an all night bus from Lima, and joined them on a hike to Lago Shallap. Little did we know this was a 20 mile hike. It was amazing! We have found ourselves so humbled by these enormous mountains, and the traditional Quechua people that live here. We were concerned for Chris´ health, but he is feeling great and eager to do more treking. It is a little difficult to breathe (especially while hiking uphill) and your heart beats insanely fast, but other than that the altitude has been treating us very well.

We have been on so many hikes, bouldering, and even tried out ice-climbing! We are rushed at the moment because we are headed out in the morning to do a 5 day trek in the Cordillera Blanca called ¨Santa Cruz¨. Chris and I, Eli and Katie will be carrying all of our things and probably hiking about 5-9 hours a day. We are taking a little side path as well to take us to the base-camp of Alpamayo (the Paramount mountain we have all seen so many times!). We spent the day running around Huaraz getting supplies and I am afraid I wont sleep tonight because I am so giddy with excitement! We have so many more things planned for next week, the Andes are absolutely incredible.

Jungle Life

After our romp around the Belen Market yesterday, I felt so sorry for all of those poor animals hacked open and slapped onto a piece a wood to be sold for a few ¨soles¨. I had dreams about it all night! Those poor turtles lying upside down, hiding in their shells waiting to be scooped out and made into soup! AWFUL. I was very pleased that our friend Marlon from yesterday suggested that we go to an animal preserve today to see some LIVE animals. We took a boat down the Nanay River to a shelter where they care for injured animals and those that are near extinction. Things are a little different here, and you can just walk into any of the enclosures and pick up pretty much any animal you like! First, our guide passes us a huge sloth! He was very friendly (and slow) but we didn´t really know what to do with him once he was dangling from our arms! We got to hold these old prehistoric turtles (150 years old!) that looked like dinosoars, parrots perched on our arms, GIANT guinea pigs ran around our feet, and a huge snake wrapped itself around my neck...a little bit scary. We decided not to go into the jungle cat enclosure, and we hoovered near the door of the anaconda and crocodile cages. It made me happy to see that not ALL the animals are being eaten.

Then we went to visit the Bora tribe a little further down the river and they were very welcoming. They make a lot of money from tourists so they put on a real show. First, we met the chief and then all the little girls dressed Chris and I up in tribal jewelry and headresses! They did 5 different dances for us, and asked us to join in on a few. I couldn´t help but laugh as Chris was being pulled around by a throng of topless Bora women as they tied all kinds of jewelry, belts and feathers to him. It was great! I left with an new anaconda skin bracelet, Chris with a porcupine quill bracelet, and I have already been adorned with guayuru and snake bone earings, a tropical bird feather hairwrap, and a jaguar tooth necklace for protection... will those be legal in the States? So much for saving the animals....yikes!

Oh yes....
For the record: I know Hollywood stars look oh so sexy in those movies trompsing through the Amazon, and I understand that some strange people have the ability to look ¨sexy¨while sweaty. However, there is NO WAY that they smelled good! Oh my goodness, all of our ¨jungle clothes¨smell the same. I think it´s a combination of the extreme heat, crazy humidity, and general filth. Our clothes smell like a mixture of mildew, BO, and the inside of a cast. ugggggghhhhhhhhh. JUNGLE.

Belen Market, Iquitos Peru

The largest and most exotic market we have visited, located just outside of Iquitos along a tributary river of the Amazon.  First of all, we couldn´t believe just how big this market was. Pictures could never show the extent and amount of goods in this place.  The smells were very powerful and we both decided to breath out of our mouths for the time spent here, I seriously tried to hold out but just couldn´t.  I think it was a combination of the chicken gizzards, fish and other exotic meat such as wild boar that caused the stench.  Some exotic goods that we came across were, crocodile, turtle (to eat), tiny monkeys for sale, monkey skulls, armadillo meat, medicinal herbs and tinctures, BBQ grub worms, and many more.  Perhaps we just couldn´t identify the other types of animal parts, fresh, cut up, and ready for consumption.

We had heard that Belen was a floating market but were told otherwise.  It turns out that there are two sections of the market.  The larger one, further away from the river is more permanent and is not effected by seasonal changes in the river water level.  The lower market, which we saw only because we hired a guide to take us on a canoe tour had a much different feel; sketchy and dirty.  It turns out that the entire lower part of the market is under water for about three months out of the year.  The residents (about 7,000) have adapted their minimal living quarters to work with the rise in the river level (about 15-20ft).  The structures further away from the water are on stilts while the ones on the river have logs underneath that allow them to rise with the water to float.

We met our guide, Marlon randomly in the market.  He was 23 years old and trying to make some money. He described all of the different goods as we walked through the market down to the water to get on  a canoe and see more of the town on the water.  Marlon was an nice guy who has been guiding tours for three years earning practically no money.  He was missing teeth and had some large chips that we didn´t ask about.  He showed us his living quarters on stilts about 10 feet off the ground and it really gave me a feeling of just how good we have it at home.






Just a few chickens. Gizzards, guts, feet and heads are in a different pile.

Turtle










Monkey skulls

The water level line can be seen above the man´s head, obviously only the second story is used during the wet season.

Little Monkey

Ok.. On with the trip

I´m alive!

I´m recovering now from my recent bout with Dengue Fever and have been out of the hospital for a few days now.  My experience in the hospital wasn´t as bad as it may sound but you have to have patience in Latin America, which is kind of hard when your waiting for important test results.  Oh yeah, and it was the first time I ´ve had an IV, not the biggest fan.  It has been nice to have a room with air conditioning, an absolute luxury where we´re at.  Regaining my strength may be a little longer than I had anticipated, but I´m on my way.  I met a lady randomly at our new food spot who said she found me by my energy.  She is a healer and gave me some natural medicine to take to help with Dengue recovery.  She was an interesting woman with feathers in her hair and only one arm.  She works here saving crocodiles from being eaten by people but the crazy part is that she lost her arm to one years ago.  She goes around to villages helping people recover from Dengue and Malaria with herbal medicines.

Today we went to the largest and most exotic market in Peru called Belen.  A more lengthy post is to come with some pictures.  We have a flight out of here on Sunday to Lima, where we hope to catch a bus when we arrive to Huaraz in the heart of the Andes mountains. We will continue to rest for a few days when we get there to regain my strength and acclimate to the altitude.

Man Down!!!!!!

Duuuuuuuuude, Chris has Dengue! LAME. He´s feeling better now, but what a week! We left Leticia, Colombia after only two days because Chris developed a pretty high fever and there was not very good access to medical attention in the middle of the jungle...ok we´re still in the middle of the jungle, but in a big city! We caught a jet-boat out of Tabatinga, Brazil on January 2nd and came directly to Iquitos, Peru. It´s pretty crazy here, Iquitos is the biggest jungle metropolis IN THE WORLD that is not connected by any roads! There are very few cars, so the streets are filled with motor-trikes with back benches that you just hop on and off for a few Peruvian ¨Soles¨.

Iquitos has very good medical care (for Peruvian standards) and we went straight to the hospital when we got here to make sure Chris´fever was normal. Well, apparently Dengue IS pretty normal here and everyone and their mother has had it. They suspected it right away considering his flu-like symptoms, and after a blood test they found that his ¨plateletes¨ were pretty low. This means that his blood is thin and having a hard time clotting. We decided it would be best to keep him there a few nights to monitor him and make sure he is getting enough fluids. There is no antibiotic for Dengue Fever, but it does have a very predictable course. It is very much like the flu and it wont leave any permanent damage or stay in his system once he is better. His platelets and white blood cell count aren´t low enough to be too concerned, we just have to make sure they don´t keep going down because the risk of internal bleeding gets worse. We got a private room so that I could stay as well and translate. A simple room with no electronic equipment, just an IV drip and two beds. A nurse came in every few hours to take his temperature in his armpit, I spent hours watching the ant trails on the walls... We were able to return to the hotel last night, and he has been feeling much better and has had no fever in the past 2 days! We are going back in tomorrow to do another blood test to see where he´s at with his numbers... I think we may be here a little while.

Chris will have to rest a lot in the next few days and can´t do any rigorous activities, which I know kills him! He is ready to get on with the trip and hike the Cordillera Blanca in Huaraz, but we´ll postpone that a little. We found a lovely hotel with air conditioning and a TV so Chris can have a peaceful environment to heal in. It is off the main road on a pedestrian walkway so it is quiet and calm, decorated with tribal masks and weaving. We have a balcony that overlooks the Amazon River and vendors are scattered around selling tribal jewelry. Necklaces, earings and bracelets made of fish gils, exotic bird feathers, snake bones, bull horns, crocodile teeth, raw gems, seeds and other things I can´t even identify! I want to buy so much jewelry and ship it home but gees, how many of these animals are on the endangered species lists!? In a few days I am going to go to a floating market on the river in a little town called Belen. It is supposed to be the most ¨exotic¨ market in all of Peru and you cruise around by canoe!

I probably should have started this on a more positive note... we had an amazing New Year! We stayed on a protected reserve in the Amazon Jungle outside of Leticia, Colombia called ¨Tabatinga¨. We stayed high in a tree (about a 10 minute hike through pure JUNGLE) in the most amazing tree-house! There were no nails used as to not damage the trees, and we even had our own little toilet, sink, and shower up there! The sounds of the jungle were insane, I tried to separate them and mimmick the different sounds but it was impossible. So many different noises, it was like a orchestre lulling you to sleep. My favorite were the nocturnal monkeys that we could hear swinging above our tree-house, laughing all night long! It was such a happy noise! We would wake up in the morning and see a rainbow through the canopy, and electric blue butterflies larger than my hand flutter by! An indigenous family lived on the reserve and a 4 year old girl and her puppy were our guides out to the tree-house. The family was nice, none of them could read or write. They had a handfull of kids that would run around the reserve using the young springy trees as their jungle-gyms (of course I got TONS of pictures).

Crossing borders proved to be interesting. I had to swindle emmigration to let me get both mine AND Chris´(he was sick back at the tree-house) exit and entry stamps. Where we were in the jungle is called the tri-border and you can hop between Colombia, Brazil and Peru within a matter of minutes... I did this quite a few times trying to get our arrangements out of there settled. Oh nothing is ever easy in South America, there´s always SOMETHING. The taxi runs out of gas, the road is shut down, it´s a holiday, nobody is in the emmigration office (perhaps a long lunch break?), there was an accident, the restaurant is out of food, no ATM´s work, the internet is broken, etc.... You just have to go with it! I think our week is finally calming down, I feel so much better now that Chris´fever has gone! STRESSFULL, but now we rest, slow-down, and enjoy the magic of the Peruvian Amazon!