The three crazy adventurous womyn crossing the 8 skies of Huayhuash… 
The title, if you are wondering, was thought of in an unforgettable trekking trip through the snowy mountains of Peru , known as the CordiIIera Blanca (the White Mountain range) in a region known as Huayhuash, in the province of Ancash . This journey, which started off as a crazy idea (crazy is a theme here) became an eight day exciting reality for three adventure seeking womyn, one full of run-away donkeys, an almost explosion, much laughter in the quiet of the tent, and long hours of walking amongst breathtaking natural scenery. How did we end up in the middle of Peru´s enchanting beauty?
We entered Peru on the 18th of July through an endless desert road to Piura , the queen city of the desert
. That was where we slept off the long trip and tried (with much anticipation) our first Peruvian Ceviche and Rice with mariscos (sea food). Despite the good food, there was a general sense of something strange in the air of this city…then we realized that Piura suffers from a general condition that all of Peru ’s big cities have in common: a bad pipe system! Unfortunately this condition is a chronic one and our senses had to adjust, with some wrinkling of the nose and a sardonic smile. We only stayed in Piura enough time to interview a local womyn who belonged to a missionary community, and learned of her love and dedication to the work that she does. From dusty Piura we made our way to an oasis in the desert: the beach town of Huanchaco , where we rested by the Pacific Ocean, visited the ancient mud city of ChanChan (which eerily resembles a HUGE human-size sand castle) and crossed paths with two amazing womyn and their herstories. First, Violeta, a senior citizen who had almost completely lost her sight, a womyn who’s declared love for Mexican food and Ranchera music warmed our hearts. She welcomed us into her home with hugs and affectionate words, and her obvious dedication and love for her family radiated off her in waves. We felt truly blessed to have met her. Our other exceptional womyn, Theolinda, told us of her natural connection with animals and insects with a tone of voice that radiates a true connection to our mother earth.
. That was where we slept off the long trip and tried (with much anticipation) our first Peruvian Ceviche and Rice with mariscos (sea food). Despite the good food, there was a general sense of something strange in the air of this city…then we realized that Piura suffers from a general condition that all of Peru ’s big cities have in common: a bad pipe system! Unfortunately this condition is a chronic one and our senses had to adjust, with some wrinkling of the nose and a sardonic smile. We only stayed in Piura enough time to interview a local womyn who belonged to a missionary community, and learned of her love and dedication to the work that she does. From dusty Piura we made our way to an oasis in the desert: the beach town of Huanchaco , where we rested by the Pacific Ocean, visited the ancient mud city of ChanChan (which eerily resembles a HUGE human-size sand castle) and crossed paths with two amazing womyn and their herstories. First, Violeta, a senior citizen who had almost completely lost her sight, a womyn who’s declared love for Mexican food and Ranchera music warmed our hearts. She welcomed us into her home with hugs and affectionate words, and her obvious dedication and love for her family radiated off her in waves. We felt truly blessed to have met her. Our other exceptional womyn, Theolinda, told us of her natural connection with animals and insects with a tone of voice that radiates a true connection to our mother earth. Our desire to get to know Peru better and to explore its many fascinating attractions and beauties drove us to make an adventurous decision: Do we go to the Northern highlands, to the city ruins of Kualep or do we opt for the vast national park of Huascaran , located near the capital of Andean adventure? We picked the Natioanl Park in Huaraz and made our way there with the excitement of things to come (not before stopping in the bustling dark city of Chimbote, where it seemed we had to watch our every step; a womyn in our hostel came back to find that her valuables were robbed from her allegedly safe room while the owners coldly told her that it was not their problem as they shrugged away any kind of attributed responsibility).
Huaraz looked like a glistening jewel in the bright morning light; a small city surrounded by glacier 
capped majestic mountains, with an abundance of trekking and tourist agencies and an eclectic mix of tourists, indigenous people, and other locals all coming and going busily about their day. With the help of the booking agent in our hostel (and our hearts pounding a little faster- here we go!) we opted for the popular backpacking circuit of Santa Cruz, a four day trek into the Huascaran National Park. Our first trekking experience was one we were not prepared for because of repeated misinformation by the touring agency of MounTrek, we were miserably cold in below freezing temperatures and our guide was, to say the least, not trained enough. Despite the challenges, we truly enjoyed the incredible scenery and the company (12 f us from around the world) and we passed the cold time drinking coca tea, solving riddles, laughing and sharing our stories. In this same trip, we met our destiny, or so to say, a young local girl, our guide assistant Fanny. Her warm smile and easy demeanor and her knowledge of local plants, her herstory, full of courage and adventure and her down to earth strength and wisdom captured us and we became fast friends.
capped majestic mountains, with an abundance of trekking and tourist agencies and an eclectic mix of tourists, indigenous people, and other locals all coming and going busily about their day. With the help of the booking agent in our hostel (and our hearts pounding a little faster- here we go!) we opted for the popular backpacking circuit of Santa Cruz, a four day trek into the Huascaran National Park. Our first trekking experience was one we were not prepared for because of repeated misinformation by the touring agency of MounTrek, we were miserably cold in below freezing temperatures and our guide was, to say the least, not trained enough. Despite the challenges, we truly enjoyed the incredible scenery and the company (12 f us from around the world) and we passed the cold time drinking coca tea, solving riddles, laughing and sharing our stories. In this same trip, we met our destiny, or so to say, a young local girl, our guide assistant Fanny. Her warm smile and easy demeanor and her knowledge of local plants, her herstory, full of courage and adventure and her down to earth strength and wisdom captured us and we became fast friends.
We returned from Santa Cruz tired and ready to voice our disappointment with the agency’s misinformation, but were further disappointed with their indifferent attitude towards us. We vowed to spread the word to other travelers of MounTrek’s incompetence and reminded ourselves that the beauty we witnessed in the heart of Parque Nacional Huascaran is a gift we will not forget. A day and a half later, right before we were about to get on the bus to Lima , we stopped at fanny’s place to interview her for the MUCOV Proyect. We were a bit sad at a mystery that plagued us the day before: Our dear memory stick with the 900 pictures Mayra diligently took from the Santa Cruz Trek was lost! This is where the road of our destiny curved in another direction; Our desire to take new pictures of this colorful world we recently had access to, Fanny’s obvious knowledge of the famous trekking journey of Huayhuash, which we have only heard about from other travelers and herself (her father is one of the pioneers who have opened this road to be explored by tourists) and her willingness and excitement to take us to explore this terrain newly sparked our sense of adventure. From one moment to the next, in a whirlwind of action, we were canceling our tickets to Lima , making calls to to hire donkeys (for eight days they are a necessary addition) getting wool hats and making a grocery list for the journey! We felt very excited and a bit nervous as well: for the physical challenges to come (rough terrain and long walks), for daring to do it on our own without a bigger group and for Fanny’s first time as the main guide and donkey porter. But we had our strong will to enjoy ourselves and Fanny’s knowledge and determination to skillfully guide us along the way. Day 1
The next day, with little sleep and a lot of baggage, we made our way to the tiny village of LIamac , Fanny’s hometown, to get our donkeys and start our trek. With some help from her family, Fanny loaded the 3 donkeys, (with comments which repeated themselves along the journey from man porters who said they have never seen a womyn be a donkey porter before). The three donkes were marked with a bright orange spray so that we would recognize them along our trek. We left off at 1:40 pm. with smiles and clean shoes.
After 5 hours of curvy canyon road and two overpasses we got to the camp site of Matachanca, and with the help of jovial Jiovanna, Fanny’s sheep herding sister, we set-up the tent in the dark. We constructed a little kitchen under the tarp connected to our tent and felt warm and cozy under its cover. Our first night was full of pasta, silly laughter and cold night air but we felt fresh and happy.
After 5 hours of curvy canyon road and two overpasses we got to the camp site of Matachanca, and with the help of jovial Jiovanna, Fanny’s sheep herding sister, we set-up the tent in the dark. We constructed a little kitchen under the tarp connected to our tent and felt warm and cozy under its cover. Our first night was full of pasta, silly laughter and cold night air but we felt fresh and happy. DAY 2
On the second day we got up to Fanny’s (later on infamous and the source of many jokes) exclamation: “and my donkeys??” The donkeys pulled a disappearing act (one of multiple to come) and while we were preparing our first breakfast Fanny and Jiovanna went to search for them. We left off with the chastised donkeys at 9:30 am and with our tummies pleasantly full of banana pancakes. We passed through two camps that day (one of them is in the Pampa or flat land of Mitucocha ) and after a long uphill climb we reached our first turquoise and jade glistening Laguna of Carhuacocha at 6pm. We made friends with a little local boy who with his gentle child hands grabbed a pretty bird for us to examine and appreciate, and gave a local mother and child with a toothache an ibuprofen from our medicine bag.
DAY 3 
At dawn, we woke up to the golden sun on the snowy mountains reflecting like a prism on the clear Laguna; a vision of fire on ice. We left off at 9 am and walked up to the windy overpass of Siula, a snow covered mountain at 
4,800 meters of altitude (Siu meaning the wind is blowing and whistling). On this day we met a nice young backpacking couple from Ecuador and the Czech Republic who continued to accompany us for the rest of the trip. Fanny sent the stubborn donkeys along with her uncle, also a porter, and joined us on the way down towards Huayhuash camp. On the way we stopped at what looked like a huge human size Japanese garden, the Champas, where we played and jumped around with child like exuberance, excited for the green haven in the middle of rocky mountain paths. We passed two turquoise sister Lagoons, enjoyed the fresh vision and reached the campsite at 4:30, tired and satisfied with the day. We cooked early, with our freezing hands dipping into the cold water for the purpose of drinking or washing dishes (the sound of water- Rivers, streams and creeks, has accompanied both our sleeping and waking hours like a constant pleasant melody in the background). Like in other nights, we arranged ourselves and our belongings in the tent so that we were as comfortable as we could possibly get and as close to each other for warmth as space could allow.
4,800 meters of altitude (Siu meaning the wind is blowing and whistling). On this day we met a nice young backpacking couple from Ecuador and the Czech Republic who continued to accompany us for the rest of the trip. Fanny sent the stubborn donkeys along with her uncle, also a porter, and joined us on the way down towards Huayhuash camp. On the way we stopped at what looked like a huge human size Japanese garden, the Champas, where we played and jumped around with child like exuberance, excited for the green haven in the middle of rocky mountain paths. We passed two turquoise sister Lagoons, enjoyed the fresh vision and reached the campsite at 4:30, tired and satisfied with the day. We cooked early, with our freezing hands dipping into the cold water for the purpose of drinking or washing dishes (the sound of water- Rivers, streams and creeks, has accompanied both our sleeping and waking hours like a constant pleasant melody in the background). Like in other nights, we arranged ourselves and our belongings in the tent so that we were as comfortable as we could possibly get and as close to each other for warmth as space could allow. 
DAY No.4
Our forth day was full of anticipation: we were on route for the camp of Viconga, where hot spring water was waiting for our sore and dirty muscles to submerge themselves willingly. Before leaving, an older womyn with mesmerizing green eyes, who came to collect the trash, stopped along our tent for a few minutes. Our friend asked if she could take a picture of her and she agreed. Mayra then approached her and asked if she could do the same. The lady smiled and posed like a model in the middle of her best moment. Mayra got close to her and noticed that her eyes has a special glow to them behind the light green color that contrasted with her dark skin. The lady then told Mayra , “Nothing bad would happen to you, you have looked into my eyes.” A strange statement that would later surprise us with its meaning. We walked alongside an enormous green lagoon named Viconga whose middle resembled a bird resting upon its wings. Close to the camp, we passed through dreamy white gashing waterfalls strong and steady and wild all at once. We arrived at the camp, built our tent and ran to the water, dipping our bodies into the hot pleasure, ridding ourselves of days of dirt, soreness and stress. We came out red faced and new. At night, Fanny prepared for us and our couple friends the drink known locally as Caliche, with alcohol and herbs she picked up along the way. We sat outside, sipping deliciously, warming our bodies and our minds, watching the moon, laughing, joking and feeling on top of the world. The 5th Day
Our fifth day was a strenuous one and we were happy to have had the hot springs to cleanse our bodies the day before. We woke up to ice on our tents and our bathing suits hard and frozen from being wet! We were to pass two high altitude overpasses that day. We left at 8 am to Guanacpatay and climbed up to the point of Cuyoc at 5,000 meters , a long and windy climb. On the way down, the path was so slippery that we had to slide on our buts a third of the way, getting dirt and rocks all over our clothes and bodies.
After going down, tired and sweaty, another 2.5 hour climb waited for us to the Observation point of San Antonio: a walk up steep high grass hill, than through rocks and river bed and last, through pure dirt that seems to sink our feet deep into the earth! But the incredible glaciers and blue lagoons and 360 views from the top returned all of our energy to us and we were awed by the vast beauty of this picturesque land. We walked back down and started towards our camp, but the further we went, we could still not find our camp! 
The full moon came out to light our way and comfort us until we could distinguish with her light in the distant darkness, the tops of tents. That night, as Mayra was about to open the gas to start our dinner, the gas cylinder went berserk and released almost all of its content! Not able to turn it off, we started running away from it and towards the darkness, and Mayra, with her mind and voice clear yelled (impressively, in the moment, in English and Spanish) to everyone to get out of their tents and put out all fires and gas! It seemed like an explosion could occur at any moment! Each of us, at the face of this danger, responded differently: Carly felt like crying, Fanny was laughing and Mayra, cool headed, took control of the situation. What a scene! Luckily, other campers and porters in the area helped us turn it off and things calmed down. Later on, lying in the tent, we could not stop laughing at the suddenness of it all and at our reactions. We also remembered the words of the womyn with the green eyes to Mayra, since it was Mayra who opened the gas handle but also her who warned everyone. We felt fortunate to be there, despite and because of it all and felt closer to each other and connected to the land that surrounded us.
After going down, tired and sweaty, another 2.5 hour climb waited for us to the Observation point of San Antonio: a walk up steep high grass hill, than through rocks and river bed and last, through pure dirt that seems to sink our feet deep into the earth! But the incredible glaciers and blue lagoons and 360 views from the top returned all of our energy to us and we were awed by the vast beauty of this picturesque land. We walked back down and started towards our camp, but the further we went, we could still not find our camp! 
The full moon came out to light our way and comfort us until we could distinguish with her light in the distant darkness, the tops of tents. That night, as Mayra was about to open the gas to start our dinner, the gas cylinder went berserk and released almost all of its content! Not able to turn it off, we started running away from it and towards the darkness, and Mayra, with her mind and voice clear yelled (impressively, in the moment, in English and Spanish) to everyone to get out of their tents and put out all fires and gas! It seemed like an explosion could occur at any moment! Each of us, at the face of this danger, responded differently: Carly felt like crying, Fanny was laughing and Mayra, cool headed, took control of the situation. What a scene! Luckily, other campers and porters in the area helped us turn it off and things calmed down. Later on, lying in the tent, we could not stop laughing at the suddenness of it all and at our reactions. We also remembered the words of the womyn with the green eyes to Mayra, since it was Mayra who opened the gas handle but also her who warned everyone. We felt fortunate to be there, despite and because of it all and felt closer to each other and connected to the land that surrounded us. Day 6
On the sixth day we left at 9 am and ventured through a long 
downhill slippery slope, passing through one of the many controls run by local villagers along the way charging tourists to pass through their lands. After a 3 arduous uphill walk, in which Carly came out looking as dirty as a chimney sweeper, we reached the camp of Huatiac. Sitting and resting, happy to arrive early and eating canned tuna and bread, we were startled by a strange man walking towards us from the other side of the Pampa . He kept glancing at us behind his back as he advance uphill and we were left feeling unsettled and suspicious. We were looking forward to our couple friends to arrive, because for the first time on that trip, we felt unsafe. That night, we slept with a knife and two rocks near our reach. Our sleep was interrupted by what we thought were strange noises and by our own visions of the possibility of getting robbed or violated in any way. We did not rest well that night.
downhill slippery slope, passing through one of the many controls run by local villagers along the way charging tourists to pass through their lands. After a 3 arduous uphill walk, in which Carly came out looking as dirty as a chimney sweeper, we reached the camp of Huatiac. Sitting and resting, happy to arrive early and eating canned tuna and bread, we were startled by a strange man walking towards us from the other side of the Pampa . He kept glancing at us behind his back as he advance uphill and we were left feeling unsettled and suspicious. We were looking forward to our couple friends to arrive, because for the first time on that trip, we felt unsafe. That night, we slept with a knife and two rocks near our reach. Our sleep was interrupted by what we thought were strange noises and by our own visions of the possibility of getting robbed or violated in any way. We did not rest well that night. Day 7 and 8
In the morning, accustomed to Fanny’s usual call for the donkeys, we 
were surprised to find out that they were completely gone. Immediately we thought that they have been stolen by the strange man from the day before and were upset at the injustice of it all: We spread out to search for them but for three hours found nothing. We were frustrated, tired and concerned: there was no way we could hire other donkeys and we could also not leave without them, since they were loaned to us with full confidence. Finally, after much walking, Fanny and Mayra brought the unfettered animals back from high above the camp, where they run away to, and we started our walk at 11, much later than usual, to the next camp.
We had a long walk waiting for us and two overpasses: Tapush (at 4,800 meters ) and Yauche (also 4,800 meters ). We fell a dozen times going down their dirt paths and arrived at Jahuachocha, our last camp, at 5:30 pm, exhausted and with our stomachs bothered and irritated (throughout the trip the three of us have taken unintentional turns in experiencing stomach pains and muscle tensions, given that we were all carrying a medium sized bag with equipment or food, and that the altitude was partially playing havoc on our bodies). That night, after some warm Caliche, we were ready for our last trekking day. 
In the morning, we decided to stick around a bit more and walked to the nearby Laguna Solteracocha (soltera meaning being single and when fanny jokingly explained to us that traveling to this Laguna means we will now always be single, we immediately wanted to part! ) . We than walked to the nearest glacier, a marvelous view of cavernous ice surrounded by a diversity of colorful rocks. That was the first time we had seen an Avalanche, a sight too magnificent to believe: a huge mass cloud of ice sliding down the mountain accompanied by the sound of a falling giant! The sight and sound made our hearts beat faster and louder as well. After that we made our way back to the camp, packed and started a long climb towards the village of LIamac , our starting and ending point. 
The climb seemed to take forever, and so did the decent, which we tried to do at almost light speed, and in which clouds of dust penetrated our clothes and left us nice and dusty. We arrived to LIamac tired, our feet swollen, beyond dirty, hungry and completely satisfied with our 8 day experience. That night, as we slept soundly, our ears were still ringing with the sound of avalanches and our dreams were full of snow capped mountains, champas, uphill climbs and camp food. In conclusion? All worth it.
were surprised to find out that they were completely gone. Immediately we thought that they have been stolen by the strange man from the day before and were upset at the injustice of it all: We spread out to search for them but for three hours found nothing. We were frustrated, tired and concerned: there was no way we could hire other donkeys and we could also not leave without them, since they were loaned to us with full confidence. Finally, after much walking, Fanny and Mayra brought the unfettered animals back from high above the camp, where they run away to, and we started our walk at 11, much later than usual, to the next camp.
We had a long walk waiting for us and two overpasses: Tapush (at 4,800 meters ) and Yauche (also 4,800 meters ). We fell a dozen times going down their dirt paths and arrived at Jahuachocha, our last camp, at 5:30 pm, exhausted and with our stomachs bothered and irritated (throughout the trip the three of us have taken unintentional turns in experiencing stomach pains and muscle tensions, given that we were all carrying a medium sized bag with equipment or food, and that the altitude was partially playing havoc on our bodies). That night, after some warm Caliche, we were ready for our last trekking day. 
In the morning, we decided to stick around a bit more and walked to the nearby Laguna Solteracocha (soltera meaning being single and when fanny jokingly explained to us that traveling to this Laguna means we will now always be single, we immediately wanted to part! ) . We than walked to the nearest glacier, a marvelous view of cavernous ice surrounded by a diversity of colorful rocks. That was the first time we had seen an Avalanche, a sight too magnificent to believe: a huge mass cloud of ice sliding down the mountain accompanied by the sound of a falling giant! The sight and sound made our hearts beat faster and louder as well. After that we made our way back to the camp, packed and started a long climb towards the village of LIamac , our starting and ending point. The climb seemed to take forever, and so did the decent, which we tried to do at almost light speed, and in which clouds of dust penetrated our clothes and left us nice and dusty. We arrived to LIamac tired, our feet swollen, beyond dirty, hungry and completely satisfied with our 8 day experience. That night, as we slept soundly, our ears were still ringing with the sound of avalanches and our dreams were full of snow capped mountains, champas, uphill climbs and camp food. In conclusion? All worth it.
Signed,
Crazy Adventurous Womyn who crossed the 8 skies of Huayhuash…and loved it.
P.S. If you want to join Fanny on her adventures visit:
huayhuashadventures.com
.JPG)
wow...I am both in admiration and envy of your travels but most importantly the variety of experiences you have encountered. I will contiue to live vicariously through your writing and will look forward to your blogs...love you both and will keep you both in my prayers!!! And Fanny too!!!
ReplyDelete