View from the terrace at my hostel Ezama. The hostel´s owner is the friendliest & most helpful. Upon my arrival, the owner greeted me & sat down with me and a photo album of local sites. He not only explained all of the most popular attractions, but he also explained how to visit the places with a tour group or how to take combis and go solo. When I took a tour, he even took a taxi with me to the Centro to wait for the bus! That kind of service is unheard of at the majority of hostels, let alone any other place.
This is near Huaraz, as I went exploring a small fraction of the Cordillera Blanca. Huaraz comes from the Quechua word for estrella de amanecer, or star of dawn.
The plaza in the small town Caraz:
These are from another small town, Yungay:
In 1970 there was an earthquake and resulting avalanche which blanketed the town in 3 minutes. It happened just after school was let out, but luckily there was just enough time for the students to get to a place on higher ground. Some people thought they'd be safe in the church and ran inside, but it wasn't enough to save them. In total, 18,000 of the town´s inhabitants were burried alive. The town was later rebuilt outside of the avalanche path.
More steps to climb in high altitude. They say once you start the stairs up to this statue you have to keep going, otherwise you are a sort of dishonest person.
I was glad to discover that I wasn't negatively affected by the altitude here. Looks like my previous weeks hanging out in the Andes are still keeping me acclimatized :)
Parts of what's left of the old town, including the church which has been pushed into the earth.
4 of the original palm trees remain - the ones in white.
Parque Nacional Huascarán, where things get chilly & beautiful.
Mate de muña & the ubiquitous cookies throughout Latin America, lakeside.
So much silence & peace in nature after busy Lima is ...
Polylepsis tree
At the end of the tour we also hit up a dulce de leche factory & a pottery store. The former had samples, the latter had a demonstration a la Ghost by way of pottery wheel. That´s the annoying part about tours - they usually take you to an overpriced place for lunch, followed by factories shopping for souvenirs. Still, sometimes a tour is the most convenient way to see the most in a short time.
Scenes from around the Centro in Huaraz:
Chickens, ducks, & guinea pigs for sale in the street:
I never get tired of visiting & photographing colourful markets and the people going about their business within them.
Who knew you could get Princess ice cream...
This river was between my hostel & the Centro.
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