Fletcher in Peru: Ancash - Huaraz, Vaqueria, Cashapampa, Santa Cruz

Gua, can’t believe it is already almost 2010. What a weird year number right? Its not almost that year, but time seems to have flown although so much has happened. That doesn’t make sense. How could that seem fast? Maybe time has passed more slowly. In 42 days, I will be one year in el Peru. It seems a bit like one year and eight months. The first year being training, with so much to do and everything completely new. Spanish for four hours, watsan for another four. Getting to know people, living in a strange place with practical strangers, working for a new organization, well, volunteering or whatever. There was a lot of stuff, getting used to customs, food, sickness, expectations, etc. Well then getting to site and going through all that new stuff again, family, living situation, expectations, support groups, lonliness, well that doesn’t quite gow away completely, anxiety. So maybe it was the first 6 months seemed like one year, and now the last five months have seemed like 8 months, making it still seem like one year and eight months.

I Went to the department of Ancash for Fiestas Patrias (Independence Day más o menos) and a town called Huaraz was the starting point of our vacation. This town was abs gorgeous! Mountains all around, white capped nevados, many reaching up over 5,700 meters (18,700.7ft). Mostly I was excited about doing the Santa Cruz Trek. It is a 50 km, 3-4 day trek starting in Vaquería and going to Cashapampa. The first day was getting there, arriving at around 1pm and hiking for about 4 hours. We set up camp after a TECHNICAL CROSSING: STREAM CROSSING, built a fire, cooked a delicious bean, rice, tomatoe sauce, tuna and spice concoction that was smothered in fresh cheese and tortillas. I was quite worried about being cold with my old Slumberjack sleepin bag because at camp eating dinner I had on five layers and was still cold, but I turned out okay. Day two, Tuesday, July 27 2009, on the trail by 10:30am and off track before lunch, bushwacking for about four hours until we found trail. Bushwacking takes up a lot of energy, we hiked uphill traversing looking for a high trail then thought the trail was down so hiked downhill traversing and finally found the trail realizing we had hiked down unnecessarily and are now at the base of the steepest part. We hit the summit of the pass, 4,750 meters above sea level (15,584ft) at around 5:30pm, a bit late to be getting to the summit, but we decended hastily and purified some water at dusk, finishing our hike with headlamps and flashlights at around 7:30pm. We cooked a spinach cream soup with peas and carrots and cheese and little pasta shells and lentils. It was also good but I liked the power bean and rice burritos the night before. We set up camp in the dark, and went to sleep, exhausted. The next day we got out of camp by 9am and hit the trail, hard, mostly descending, and this turned out to be much farther than expected, just like the previous day. We finally finished at 5pm in Cashapampa and got back to Huaraz with enough time to shower, repack, eat some zza, pie that is, and get on a much more comfortable bus than the one I came in on. Hung out in Lima for a day and a half and am now back in site, fixin for organizing some In Service Training in my caserio Dos Palmas and my town in a few days which involves sand water filters, disinfecting water systems, repairing water lines and waste management.

Check out mis fotos...

Yummy pigs head in the market of Huaraz!

MMMmmmm!!! cuy (guinea pig)

This burro has his work cut out for him

a cow chillin toward the end of the Santa Cruz trek.

awesome water color of the lagunas throughout the trek

Yay!! we made it to the trail summit, 4,750 m (15,584 ft), exhuasted and with the sun setting and no campgrounds in site we cannot celebrate for long.