Huaraz y las Cordilleras Blancas!

Ver Huaraz en un mapa más grande

We arrived in Peru after a long flight from Guyana that took us through Trinidad and Panama, finally ending in Lima. We took a bus through the mountains up to the city of Huaraz, located at the base of the Cordilleras Blancas. Huaraz is known to trekkers for its superb mountain ranges with many options for day and overnight hikes that are not for the faint of heart. Even the easier hikes can become challenging because of the high altitude. Huaraz itself sits at approximately 3,100m above sea level, and Patricia experienced a headache from the overnight bus ascending to this altitude from sea level. Thanks to some coca tea and lots of hydration, this quickly settled and we were able to enjoy the picturesque city that is surrounded by the second highest mountain chain after the Himalayas. To give some perspective, the top elevation of Whistler mountain is only 2182m!!

The friendly locals make beautifully knitted Alpaca wool pieces. We took advantage and bought some warm socks in anticipation of a four day trek along the famous Santa Cruz Trail.

The food is diverse. Here Ben is eating Chocho, a local bean dish, with a passionfruit juice called Maracuya and some ceviche. The prices are incredibly cheap as you can buy a full meal with soup, entree, desert and drink for five soles, which is about 2 CAD!