Huaraz has really stunning views surrounding the city. When the weather is clear you can see several snow capped mountains and some also beautiful regular ones. On Monday the guys wanted us all to go to Laguna 69 for a day trek, that left at 6 am. We decided against that since the bus just got in and we hadn't acclimatized yet. We ended up going to the ruins of Willcahuain, which ended up being these two structures built out of massive stones that were used by the Wari as enclosures for dead of the elite. They were interesting but there wasn't much there so we decided to just go wander around the mountainside. The sky was clear, the air was fresh an the views were amazing. We came across many small agricultural patches, many of which were eucalyptus of various ages. Walking around for an hour was surprisingly tiring, the altitude really does get to you! We got back in the collectivo back to the city and were so exhausted and found a panaderia (bakery) to regain some energy. We though we got apple pasties but it was actually banana an it tasted amazing. We got a bunch of other things to take with us on our day hike the next day. Feeling refreshed, we wandered around city a little more before we met the guys for dinner.
Tuesday morning we were up at 6 am to try to go on our own to Laguna 69. To my surprise, the sun was rising over the snowy mountains creating a glorious pink glow in the cloudless sky. Something I likely won't see again. Everyone said we were crazy for trying to get to Laguna 69 on our own and that we had left too late, super encouraging start to the day... We were determined, so we left the hostel around 630, got some sandwiches and a hot quinoa beverage for breakfast and found the collectivo that went to Yungay, about an hour away. As usual, we were the only non-Peruvians in the van. There was supposed to be more collectivos that would go to Cebollas Pampas, but apparently they all left early that day because of a festival. We had to take a taxi that would cost 80 soles, but luckily there was a Spanish couple in the same situation, so we could split the cost. Into the taxi we went and started the almost 2 hour journey up the bumpiest, windiest, slowest dirt road with the most stunning views of the countryside and the mountains. The ride itself was just amazing. We saw the tallest mountain in Peru and the mountain that the Paramount pictures logo was designed from, and some others. Along the way we stopped at Llaganuco, a stunningly blue lake.
On the drive we came across another lake, though I´m not sure what the name of it is:
Once we arrived at the starting point our taxi driver tried to get us to have him come back for us and pay the full 80 soles between the 2 of us. We managed to get one of the other private tour companies to take us back down for 25 soles. It´s hard to get down if you don´t prearrange it. I heard one story of a guy getting stuck there and having to walk back which takes about 7 hours and then when you get to Yungay there generally isn´t any collectivos to get back to Huaraz.
The hike itself was supposed to take us 3 hours. All the drivers said we were leaving too late, but that didn´t phase us. Off we set not really knowing where we were going or what we would really see. The beginning was fairly simple, though difficult in the altitude. We walked for about 50 minutes then stopped for a break at a waterfall. I felt like my heart was going to pump out through my neck at this point. Stopping for less than a minute allowed us to quickly regain our breathing abilities and rest our achy legs.
We saw a giant waterfall across from where we were walking and thought maybe the lake was just over that ridge. As we got closer we had convinced ourselves it was there beacuse our legs are aching and it felt like we´d been walking for a while. Of course though, once we got to the top of that valley, there was an even larger and steeper climb ahead of us. Around that point we overcame some other hikers and we knew we were making good time. The second portion was much harder to walk. Already really tired and feeling the alitude, I had to take a break about every five or six steps, stop for two seconds, then repeat. It was really steep and zig-zaged up the mountainside. The views all around were stunning as the clouds came and went. The last portion we got snowed on. It was a bit refreshing. Hannah managed to get to the top 5 to 10 minutes before me, and we made it all the way up in about 2 hours 45 mins. At the top we enjoyed the beautiful blue lake, had a picnic of apple pie and cheese sandwiches we had brought. Hannah went knee deep into the water, which was probably near freezing cold. Yesterday the boys had gone all the way into the water in their underwear. Too cold for me! The walk down was really easy and we did it in about 1h30 mins. We went fairly quickly and the sun was out the whole way down. The driver was pretty shocked to see us back so soon. I thought I had felt fine until we sat in the van waiting for the others to return. I felt like I had all the flu symptoms, strong fever and headache. The ride down was absolutely horrible. Every bump we went over felt like someone was taking a sledge hammer to my head, and bumps were about every half a second. Once we got back to Yungay on the smooth highway to Huaraz, I fell asleep and only the speed bumps woke me up. We got back to the hostal around 7pm and I had started to feel much better now that I had slept and we were lower down in altitude. Overall, it was worth it. Would I do it again knowing I´d feel so horrible after? Absolutely.
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