Snow Capped Goodness

It is times like these when I wish I would have read my camera manual. I am Huaraz, which is in the cordillera blanca in the Andes, roughly translated snow capped mountains everywhere you look. Every time I blink I am witnessing a postcard of beauty. Hence, I wish I read the camera manual so I could do justice and share with you all what I taking in here.

From Top to Bottom 1.Lagoon Llaganucos, 2.Nora and Jen taking a breather at nearly 5,000 meters above sea level, 3.Me resting at Laguna 69

Jen(my friend from Peace Corps)and Meche (my friend from Cajamarca) and I hit the trails the past couple of days. I think you could probably stay in Huaraz for months and still not venture out into all the beautiful mountain trails. We are just getting a little taste of what we can this week. We did some glacier climbing at 5,000 meters above sea level the first day. Why we choose the highest peak to visit on Day 1 I do not know, but the exhausting hike definitely reminded us we need to acclimatize and take it easy so not to do any damage. Oh, and as a side note, during our glacier trip we were accompanied by a school group of teenagers which made the whole experience...well, how do I say...unique. We went on a gorgeous smaller hike the following day to a male lagoon, Llaganuco, which was breathtaking. The altitude was not as high, so we enjoyed every minute of our rainy walk. I felt like I was in an enchanted forest with the foliage, hanging trees, and constant waterfalls surrounding us. The following day we passed by the same lagoon and his female counterpart to venture deep into the mountains and visit yet another amazing emerald lagoon. This hike was a three and half hours climb up and up and more up than I imagined we would go (we were told it was a 2 hour hike, yea right). Every turn was a different postcard. The altitude of Lagoon 69, our final and absolutely amazing destination, was 4,600 meters above sea level. We were breathing hard and maybe even doubted if we would make it, but seeing the lagoon nestled below the tip of the snow capped mountains made it all worth it. Thanks to climate change we witnessed an endless display of waterfalls throughout our climb. We have heard that the glaciers and the snow on the mountains is melting so fast that in a matter of decades there will hardly be a trace of this beauty left. At least the mountains are protected within the walls of the national forest, but still...it is a devastating and awful thought to think these majestic mountains have little time left to shine.

We arrived back to our homey hostal just dead. I have come down with a throat infection of something or other, so I am out of commission to hike or do anything today. The girls went on a tour to Chavin to see some pre Incan ruins or something cool like that. I am going to chill in town and look at the mountains all day. Those of you considering a trip to Peru next year, put Huaraz on your list of places to visit. You will not be disappointed if you love to hike and see snow capped mountains and emerald colored lagoons.

I am leaving the computer now, I have mountains to look at.