Hello Huaraz

Hey all. I got to Huaraz, Peru yesterday evening. This is a city at the base of the Peruvian Andes. It is apparently the climbing/trekking/hiking meca of Peru. I did some hiking around town today to get my legs under me and shake the jet lag. Great fun.

But, why am I here, of all places. How did I get here? let me start from the beginning:

About a month ago the VP of my division at work gave us this week off as a reward for finishing our product. That means 9 days off in row... travel time! I explored several options: Inca trail, Galapagos Islands, etc. My old travel buddy Bart Kunowski pointed me to the "Cordillera Blanca" range of the Andes in Peru. "Cordillera Blanca" means "the white range" in Spanish. Apparently this range has some of the best hiking/trekking/climbing in South America. I checked it out on the web (if you are bored, you should too) and was sold.

So, on Saturday I flew Seattle to Atlanta. I was supposed to get to Lima, Peru that night, but the flight was delayed for 5 hours for mechanical problems. Nice. So, that flight turned into a red-eye (no problem, I am expert at these) and I arrived in Lima Sunday morning. A couple hours later I had found bus station and was shortly on a bus to Huaraz.

This city is at an elevation of 3,000m (about 10,000 feet for those who prefer that unit). The road getting up here was really something, switch-backing like crazy up into the moutains. i could not see 20 feet outside my window because the fog was so thick. I am impressed the bus driver kept it on the road :)

My hostel in Huaraz is awesome. It has a roof-top patio from which you can see the BIG Cordillera Blanca mountains. Today I did a short hike about 4h out of town, through some villages. I love these little villages -- chickens, pigs, cows and donkeys are all over the small, unpaved road. Little kids stare at me like some kind of foreign creature. they say "hello" and run away giggling.

Tomorrow I am going on a 4-day trek, called the Santa Cruz Trek. I will be in the thick of some of the Andes´ biggest mountains. I have a guide. Apparently he will be able to speak english, which is good because my Spanish is limited to "Two beers, please" and "You are very beautiful" :) Anyway, for those of you keeping track at home, i will be offline until friday night