Peru has offered up all kinds of outdoor adventures, but is way more touristy than expected--tons of tour agencies, touts, inflated prices, and French people everywhere. Neighboring Bolivia was just the opposite: so few places are well traveled that it was tough to visit some of the areas we wanted to see (though the French still managed to be there). We think Ecuador will be just right.
From Huaraz we're off to the beach for a few well-deserved days of lounging in Huanchaco, then across the border for our last entry stamp in Ecuador. We'll spend a bit of time in the highlands, do some apartment hunting in Quito, then fly to California for a whirlwind summer tour. Hope to see you during the USA portion of this fantastic adventure!
Who knew the Incas drank antifreeze-colored, bubble gum-flavored soda??
Arequipa Plaza, Peru
¡DandO! were ecstatic about the culinary offerings in Arequipa: Mexican, Turkish, Middle Eastern delights! Thank you, Elizabeth Fowle for dinner out in this beautiful colonial city.
The Colca Canyon is second in depth only to its neighbor, Cotohuasi Canyon. We enjoyed comfy camping and home-cooked meals after a long 1300m (4265 ft) descent to the pueblo of San Juan de Cuccho.
Taking a break from the midday sun, Tapay, Colca Canyon
Blanquita looks nice, but she's a spitter
Looking up at Cerro Bomboya, Tapay, Colca Canyon
D surveys the effects of irrigation in the Colca Canyon
The natural spring water at Sangalle was a welcome break from the tropical desert sun, Cañon del Colca
O brings another cold one for the better half of the DandO crew, Sangalle, Colca Canyon
Full moon over the Colca Canyon
Thank you, Diane and Gene Bullard, for putting us up in style! Our hotel was even named after your region of the world! Los Angeles B&B, Cusco, Peru
The Golden Courtyard at Qorikancha, Cusco. It was literally covered in gold until the greedy Spanish showed up in 1537.
The rainy season continues, Cusco
O's horse was a serious gas machine, outside Cusco
Cuy!! The cutest meal you'll ever eat, Mollepata, Peru
Nevados Salkantay and Tucarhuay, on the trail to Machu Picchu
At the foot of Nevado Salkantay, Peru
Thank you, Werne-Kendall-Hoey family for sending us out on the trail! We enjoyed a fantastic 4-day hike through the mountains on our way to Machu Picchu.
The famous Inka 12-sided stone is only impressive the first 157 times you see it
Machu Picchu offers the visitor a chance to marvel at the industriousness of the Inkas in stonemasonry and imperial conquest. Unfortunately, in order to get here, one must also experience the industriousness of their Peruvian descendants in developing the tourist racket: US$50 admission, $5 Coke.
Temple of the...?
The royal Inkas and their Quechua subjects were muy perfectionistas in building their empire of stone
Puente del Inca drawbridge of death, Machu Picchu, Peru
(Not pictured: Lima, Peru)
Would you bother shutterbugging in a city with a 9-month foggy season, open drains, and a half-constructed, half-deteriorated skyline??
Day 1 of the Quebrada Quilcayhuanca-Paso Huapi-Quebrada Cojup trek. A spectacular and seldom traveled route in the Cordillera Blanca. ¡DandO! keep their spirits up under gloomy skies outside Huaraz, Peru.
Teatime in the cave, shelter from the storm
Camp 2, 4800m. Sunset after our Half Dome tent's first snowstorm
Day 3: Bluebird skies!!! (and frozen toes)
The boulder field approach to Paso Huapi
Unreal alpine scenery, and no one around to spoil it but the territorial bovine/equine contingent (a good story to tell during our stay on your couch this summer). No humans in sight for 4 days!
5100 m (16,732 ft) really satisfies. Nevado Ishinca from the Huapi Pass.
The best picnic spot ever, Quebrada Cojup
Neon pond near Laguna Palacocha
O strikes a pose with Nevado Palcaraju and Laguna Palacocha, Cordillera Blanca
Day 4: Looking back on our trail through Quebrada Cojup, outside Huaraz, Peru
Thank you, Abe & Moné! The hot springs never worked out for one reason or another (earthquake in Chile, vandalism in Bolivia, floods in Peru), but we enjoyed a sauna at our hippie mountain retreat in Huaraz. After 30 minutes in the human pizza oven, Devin takes the cold plunge in the trout pond.
Doble arco iris, The Way Inn, Pitec, Peru
The Sex Burger!! Dos huevos and a chorizo sausage...Hmmm
Lago Llanganuco, on our way to the Nevado Pisco trailhead, Cordillera Blanca, Peru
O hikes to Nevado Pisco base camp
1am departure time at -10 degrees C. Sweet Everest boots!
Dawn light on Nevado Huandoy
Working on the chain gang, Nevado Pisco glacier
A balmy -12 degrees Celsius (10 F) at sunrise
Blue morning light
View from Nevado Pisco summit, 5752 meters (18,871 feet). All that work and the clouds rolled in!
We made it!
Just below the cloud line
fyi: 14 hours is too long in rental boots that don't quite fit right
Bit of a drop off towards the Cordillera Blanca
Shedding clothes as the clouds disperse
Looking down on the descent towards base camp
Oh sure, clear skies the day after our climb! Pisco base camp, Peru
