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Today is Thursday, October 8th. I’m not sure when this will actually be posted on the blog, but I figured that I should get us caught up. I believe Erin last wrote on the 4th in Huanchaco, but I’m not exactly sure since we don’t have the internet right now. We’re at 3712m altitude, at the foot of the Cordillera Blanca mountains, just soaking in the traquil peace of The Way Inn.

On Monday the 5th, we had decided to head into Trujillo to check out Huaca de la Luna and Chan Chan. So we took the bus in, passed the bus station where we needed to buy tickets for the bus trip the next day. Well, they only ran a 9pm and they were totally sold out for the night. This got us thinking that maybe if it’s an overnight, we should just leave that night and get into Huaraz early on the 5th. So we walked all the way over to an unknown bus station and talked with them. We managed to pick up two of the last seats in the bus for that night. So… we went back to the hostel, packed up our stuff and checked out. The archaeological sights were never seen except through a bus window, flying by. But they looked pretty cool from what we could see.

So, another bus, another 10 hours, another town, another day.  We arrived in Huaraz around 6am or so, walked around till we found a place that was open for breakfast. Some coffee, some eggs, bread, and we were set to figure out what we were doing here. We had been in contact with a few outfitters before we arrived (an unusual display of planning ahead) so we found them and figured out the details. We decided to spend the night camping in Chancos so that we could have a couple of days of rock climbing. Initially, we were talking about going to Hatun Machay, but the Argentine owner apparently had some type of run in with the local student groups and they were mired in a weird legal battle, so that was out. Then we were going to head up to The Way Inn for a few days and do some trekking. This was all planned out by the morning of the 5th. We are very organized right now, it’s incredible. I’m not sure how I feel about everything being so planned, but it has been working well, so I see no reason not to continue the train.

After we left the office of Vladimir, our Peruvian outfitter, we walked around the town and for the first time realized how amazingly beautiful the surroundings were. As we walked around in tshirts, there were many 6000m peaks poking their snow-covered caps through the other ragged mountains in front of them. It’s an amazing setting for a city. Absolutely breathtaking, especially considering the altitude.

Knowing that we wouldn’t have a stove the next night,  we went to the store and picked up some rolls of bread, tuna, mayonnaise, hot sauce, some kraft singles and a box of cereal. That is truly the meal of champions right there. Oh, and some nuts, you know, for the protein. Stopping by the pharmacy, we managed to find some water purification tablets in case we were way out in the boonies. That night, we experienced the hospitality of Vladimir’s mom for $10/night with breakfast included. Not great, but not terrible either. Pretty average, I guess.

Next morning found us up early on the bus to Chancos. A quick breakfast on the go, consisting of beef pastries, a ham and cheese pastry, and a chicken pastry was followed close on the heels of a second breakfast of “Carne Picante” which is beef with potatoes and rice. Mmmmm. So much meat before noon. But it worked out well as we found our way up to the climbing spot. I guess we were thinking it was going to be some massive wall of rock, in a forest of climbing routes, but no, it was just a small, 10-12m wall with 8 routes on it.  We asked the driver, “You’re sure this is it? There’s nothing else? There’s nothing bigger? Farther up? Maybe?” Nope. That’s it. So we walked up to the town itself, checked it out, then decided that we should just go ahead and stick to the plan. It ended up being a pretty fun wall. Nothing huge, but just a good time climbing and hanging out. We got caught in the rain and pulled down all our ropes and gear, heading across the street to the place we were going to camp.

The best part about the town, Chancos, was that after climbing, we could go to some thermal baths. We didn’t really know what we were getting into, but we were excited to sit in some hot water and soak our tired bodies. We get up to the baths, pay our 5 soles entrance fee each, and try to figure out what’s going on. We bought tickets for the the caves. What did that mean? No idea. There were a row of about 10 rooms with different temperatures on them. 38C, 42C, 46C, 48C, 54C(!). We changed into our swim suits and waited by the door marked with 48C. We tried to enter, but it wouldn’t budge. No one was really helping us, they were just watching with interest. What will they do next? So, I just ask. How does this work? Okay, we wait here until it’s open, then we go in. Of course. So we wait for 20 minutes or so, in bathing suits, while everyone else is fully clothed waiting for their turn. We had no idea what was going on, but we were excited. Finally the door opens! There’s a small changing room, a aluminum door going into a real, live, natural cave. With water dripping down, smelling of sulfur and very, very hot.  It was a natural steam bath in sulfur water and it was awesome. 15 minutes and we were cooked, sweating straight through and through. Luckily there was an ice cold shower in the changing room to cool us off. Ice, steam, ice, steam, whew! It was enough to heal our hurt muscles. Back to camp, quick dinner of tuna fish and cheese sandwiches, then into the tent at 6pm, ready for bed around 8pm. Not so bad.

Next morning we climbed for a bit until around noon then headed back into town to return the gear to Vlady, pick up all the stuff we left at his mom’s house, then head up to the Way Inn. Oh, and we picked up some more tuna fish and bread before. That’ll be lunch in a bit. We literally had to ask 10 taxis if they knew where this place was until we found a driver who knew it. 40 minutes from town, going straight up into the mountains. The ride was amazing. You just felt like you were going past everything up to the very top.  Vistas at every turn, seeing for miles and miles, just gawking at the beauty of the place. We went to the end of the road, the last house. We didn’t even know if they were open, but by this time had made the decision that if they weren’t, we would just pop the tent and tell the taxi driver to come get us tomorrow because we weren’t leaving a place like this so quickly. We would not leave easily.

Luckily, they were open! They are one of the most amazing places I’ve ever stayed. The Zambezi river in Zambia, the hostel in the Drakensburg Mountains of South Africa, the mountain view over Bhutan, the canals of Venice, Gobi desert from a Mongolian ger, Istanbul laid out like a blanket of jewels, this is up there with all of them. It is the last house on the road up to the mountains. We looked out from their second story patio, drank a beer and just stared. Stared at the 360 degree views of everything.  Looked at each other and simply smiled one of those smiles that says more than words ever can. Just look at where we are. This is why we travel, in order to have this moment, to think of nothing else beyond the expanse of landscape rolled out in front of you, the greatest of gifts for your appreciation at that exact moment. That feeling is one of the best feelings I’ve ever had, and to be able to share this experience with Erin doubles the joy. Indescribable.