Base camp Huaraz

"No city should be too large for a man to walk out of in a morning."
~Cyril Connolly

Sunday, August 31st 2008

The afternoon bus from Lima got me to Huaraz at around 19:00.
It was already dark and cold and I directed my weary fit to an Hostel called "El Tambo" which was highly recommended on the net. The place seem nice enough but the only available bed was in a shared room near the entrance.
It was not a good night.
People came in and out all through the night, the ceiling creaked horribly and worst of all the bed had a big dent in the middle which made a well needed good night sleep impossible.

Monday, September 1st 2008

The morning Finally came and the first order of the day was to find another place to stay and find my way around the city.
Fortunately the first mission was easy enough - just 2 blocks from away I found a cosy room with private bathroom at another recommended hostel called "Casa Jaimes" which is run by a nice local family. So I put my backpack down and went outside to explore the city. While nestled in the middle of the Peruvian Andes, Huaraz was nothing like the quiet red roof Swiss town I imagined it to be. It hit you hard as soon as you leave the comfort of your hotel. The narrow streets surrounded with 2-3 stories grey building look like an endless maze of people, activities and insane traffic. The streets are full with store fronts with all kind of shapes and the narrow sidewalks are partly obscured by merchandise and street paddlers.
The first impression is of a dirty disorienting unfriendly place.

But after a deeper look there are some order in the madness, the people are nice and welcoming, the food and lodging are cheep and every thing you need is a short walking distance away in one of the colorful stores. But the real attraction of Huaraz is not the city itself but the surrounding mountains and travel agencies who offer endless activities for passing adventurer. I choose a local agency call "Andes explora", found a few new friends (two of which I already met in my stay in Lima) and together we decided to get our hiking boots tested on the famous Santa Cruz trail. The trek was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, so I decided to try rock climbing and get organized for my first trek...