Peru 2001 - Trip Report

General

This page is the summary of my Peru 2001 trip: A 6-week trip packed tightly with outdoors- and cultural events.
There are 2 parts of the trip that different kinds of people may find interesting:

1. A 3 week mountaineering part, climbing 3 mountains in the Cordillera Blanca near Huaraz. (see here)
2. A 3 week round trip of sightseeing and visiting many of the major cultural sites of Peru. (log starts here)
   (Sorry - Part 2 is not completed yet, I still have to scan the slides to add pictures and add more text.)

Let me say first, that 3 weeks for either of these parts is the absolute minimum one could recommend. Our guidebook recommends at least 4-5 weeks without the side-trip to the jungle. (Btw: Why did you have 6 weeks of holidays ? Click)  We managed to pack it into 3 weeks, but we didn't encounter any waiting times for buses, no flat tires, got around 2 strikes well and had no longer illness that stopped us,
each of which hit many of the people we met one time or another. Also we didn't have a lot of rest-days, and many people would consider this more as hectic than holidays. We enjoyed it anyway, and sure saw a lot.

How this page is organized:

• Below you can find the Daily Log, where you can easily find each city by name. 
• This is followed by a Tips section that I refer to when there are longer texts involved.
• Pictures are on separate pages, that you can access by clicking on the Thumbnail 
  next to each day or going to the  separate Gallery listing page.
• At the bottom you can find Links that bring you to up-to-date info or friends sites.
• Here is a Height-Profile of the first part in the mountains.
                   
• BTW: This page is best viewed when expanded rather wide <--->

 Overview / Maps:
Here are some Maps so you can get an overview of the country and the places described below:

All of Peru	Cordillera Blanca Overview	Cordillera Blanca  Detail	Alpamayo &  Artesonraju

Feedback / Questions:
I am happy about any comments on the trip or this page you have. I will also try to help if you have a special question related to things mentioned on my page or to any of the climbing conditions. Please understand that my time is also limited and I cannot answer every standard question that is already answered by reading your guidebook, or doing a simple search on the web or news. See the More Info in the Links section where to find such answers.

Daily Log

1	Stuttgart ->	Leaving from Stuttgart, Germany.  I looked for a cheap airline, and Lan Chile offered the best deals from Germany. Their planes were OK, the service sometimes a bit rough (but who cares). At least we were lucky to get a huge weight allowance (see Tips) The flight took a tiring 22+ hours, it stopped in Madrid and Santiago de Chile. Large
(30.July.01)
2	-> Lima	Gallery Arrival in Lima (Altitude 15m) Lukas picked me up at the Airport, and we took a taxi  (see Tip: Taxis) to the Hostal Marfil which served as a great "Base Camp" in Lima. The people there Yma and Cosy will also take good care of you and make your start in Peru a pleasant one.  In the evening we took the over-night bus to Huaraz, eager no to loose any time for the mountains ;-)  (see the second part of the trip for the sights of Lima.)
(31.July.01)
3	Huaraz	Relaxing in Huaraz. (Huaraz: 3000m) Huaraz is a nice little town, but has neither historic nor pretty buildings. Instead you can find a lot of Restaurants, Equipment rentals, shops and Tour operators. It is ideal as a base-camp for all tours in the Cordillera Blanca. Gallery
(1.Aug.01)
4	Arhuac	Gallery First Acclimatization Tour. (Arhuac: 5077m) For our first acclimatization tour we chose a rocky ridge near to Huaraz, that runs westwards from Willcawain and ends in a 5077m peak (even with a little bit of snow at the top ;-) It was quite a challenge and we pumped air in and out like crazy. On the way we met a Shepard with his sheep, and it was funny to talk to him, and use his native slingshot for some trial shots (everybody duck now ! ;-)  we even helped him bring his sheep back home later, after his dog ran off. On the way back, make sure you take the way past the Laguna Arhuac, which is real beautiful.
(2.Aug.01)
5	Vallunaraju, Base Camp	An odyssey to the base camp. (BC: 4300m) The night before we had hired a guy to bring us to the base camp for our first (acclimatization) peak. He came - and had a surprise: he had 'organized' 7 people more to join us that we didn't know yet. Well, as we are always willing to get to know nice people, we agreed and his overloaded collectivo-minibus scrambled up the dusty, rocky road past Willcawain. After half the distance he stopped and was not willing to continue as he was feared to wreck his minibus. After some arguing we were lucky to find a pickup the rest of the way, only to find out that he didn't have enough gas in the tank. So we had to walk the rest ourselves, and what should have been a short drive ended as an all day tour.  The base camp site is nice: there is water and great views to Ocshapalca and Ranrapalca. Large
(3.Aug.01)
6	Vallunaraju, Peak	Gallery The first peak ! (Peak: 5780m) We left in the middle of the night and crawled up through grass and later loose rock to reach the snowline at dawn. The snowy part is quite scenic, the route is non-technical and everyone who has used crampons before can get up. Still the thin air slowed us down considerably, despite Kristian running away from everybody as if it was nothing. On the way down we all had a little bit of headache but it wasn't too bad.
(4.Aug.01)
7	Return -> Huaraz	No car ? Lets walk ! (BC: 4300m) As no driver had agreed to pick us up again, we decided to just walk down with our packs again. -> Lesson learned: Don't take extra stuff, just because you think: "We'll sit in the car anyway" ... Large
(5.Aug.01)
8	Huaraz	Gallery Just another day in the 'big city' ;-) (Huaraz: 3000m) The usual ritual: Have clothes washed, buy food, organize equipment for the next tour, and enjoy a great dinner at a nice restaurant. (Tips: Logistics in Huaraz) During the day Eva and Marie France (see People)
(6.Aug.01)
9	Artesonraju, Mid Camp	With "Turbo" to the Base camp ! (Mid Camp: 4300m) We took the collectivo to Caraz (1$US/pers) and then hired a taxi to bring us to the Laguna ??? where the trail to the Base camp leaves. We were lucky to find a young but very capable driver. When we left the paved road, he jumped out and fiddled around at the motor, and smiled when he got back in: "Now we go Turbo !" which he then did. He still avoided all bumps as if his car was the magic carpet - bravo !  The valley is beautiful and has very steep walls on each side. There is even a nice big-wall visible: Esfinge. From here we had to shoulder our ~35kg packs (crazy!) and walk. The trail to the Mid-Camp (Tree-camp) is quite pleasant along the laguna and then up but not too far. It is also possible to camp lower (Base-Camp, 1h before) or higher (Moraine Camp 1h after)
(7.Aug.01)
10	Artesonraju, Moraine Camp	Large Rest for Tomorrow (Moraine Camp: 4600m) This was a day for relaxation. We got up late and only walked the rest up to the next camp, which took an hour. Then we went to bed early as we would start in the middle of the night for the peak.
(8.Aug.01)
11	Artesonraju, Peak	Glory and Tragedy - so close together ... (Peak: 6025m) We started in the middle of the night at about 1 am. First we crossed a flat glacier that has no crevasses, but instead some knee-deep holes filled with water, as Lukas and Marie-France found out soon. With their wet feet the tour ended before it had begun. Kristian, Eva and myself continued walking up the snowy slopes (with crevasses!) to reach the wall itself. The bergschrund is easy, and the climbing is technically not very demanding. Still it is very strenuous to climb at this altitude and it was quite cold. I had to stop in the middle of the wall to put on my down jacket I had with me for emergencies. Kristian froze two of his toes a bit, despite the warm plastic boots. We reached the top after ~7 hours and had a wonderful view on the surrounding mountains, including Alpamayo which was our next destination - so close but still so far away.  On the way down we joined forces with 3 Basque climbers and rappelled with 4 ropes to save time. When we left the top, we saw two climbers starting at the very bottom of the wall. We thought that this was a crazy idea because they were almost certainly going to end up in the night. On the way up like we did it, this is no problem, but for the way down you need to find the snow-stakes that people left in the wall so you can rappel down. This is very hard in the dark, as often all you can see from the stakes is a small piece of string. Rappelling down 16 full lengths cost us more time than going up and much of our energy. After 15 hours we were sitting on the glacier again, completely exhausted but happy.  Although we were a bit worried about the two last climbers who had just started their return from the top, everybody stumbled back to camp except for Kristian, who wanted to enjoy the last rays of sun for some more minutes. A few minutes later Kristian witnessed a tragedy: He heard a scream from above and saw one of the climbers fall down the complete face hitting the glacier in a place that he couldn't see exactly. He was sure that this was his death, but it was too far to get there easily and Kristian was all on his own. Back in the camp many climbers including Lukas volunteered to go back up and look if they could bring help. They left when it got dark. Gallery
(9.Aug.01)
12	Return -> Huaraz	Large Waiting for news - depressed Return. (MC: 4600m) At 3 in the morning, the official Peruvian rescue team appeared with 6 guys, all equipped with the latest North Face gear. The even carried a gamow bag up, which was of no use of course. Four of the guys stayed in the base camp and never even went on the glacier. Two of them helped the others search, stating that they will check the 'usual' crevasses. (obviously most people survive this fall and they can be collected from some standard- crevasses). At 2PM everybody returned, bringing back the Japanese climber, but unfortunately they did not find the Peruvian guide and gave up any hope for him. We decided that we couldn't do anything up there any more and returned to Huaraz quite depressed. The taxi driver told us, that the had 5  children :-(
(10.Aug.01)
13	Huaraz	See the 'real' Peru ! (Huaraz: 3000m) One thing I enjoyed much in Peru was to explore its markets: This is the place where the 'real' Peruvian people are. There is so much to see: People selling vegetables and fruit, butchers that chop complete pigs or large fish in smaller pieces, people eating at the indoor market or just stop for a quick fresh fruit drink. A funny sight was a guy that had a cart with little chicken on the bottom that laid eggs, in the middle he stored the eggs and at the top he cooked and sold them: A mobile egg-company and restaurant. Huaraz has a boring indoor market but an exciting open-air market west of the bus-station to Caraz (near the river). That evening fellow climbers asked us to join them in the 'El Tambo' Discothèque. We didn't really feel like it, after that tragic event, but as everybody went there, we went too. I usually never go to Discos at home, but this one was different: we met almost every climber we had seen in the mountain and it was nice to exchange news and enjoy the music till late. Gallery
(11.Aug.01)
14	Alpamayo Trek Day1	Large A slow start... (Day 1 Camp: 3800 m) When the clock woke us up early in the morning, it saw two very tired climbers not willing to get up. We did anyway as my time was running short. Lukas and I had planned to do Alpamayo despite the short time which left no extra days if sth. didn't went wrong. (Kristian didn't want to go as he had been to Alpamayo before). The way to Caraz and Cashapampa passed by half sleeping. Then we organized 2 donkeys to carry up the packs to the base camp in 2 days. It was the first time for me to use such a service, and although I usually always carry my gear myself wherever I go, it was a good idea here. First the donkey driver earned a little money and second we both didn't feel well. I had obviously eaten sth. wrong the day before and had stomach problems. We walked through a short canyon and then up a beautiful valley and enjoyed the views until we came to a great camp-spot.
(12.Aug.01)
15	Alpamayo Base Camp	A pleasant hike. (Base Camp 4300m) Today we had a late start again and got up only after the sun hit the tent, and our donkey driver got nervous. The hike was again through the beautiful valley past lakes, waterfalls, trees and flowers. We reached the base-camp at 2PM and the donkeys went back to Cashapamapa right away. We thought about going up higher, but the thought of carrying the 30+Kg  packs ourselves now and knowing that we couldn't change the time plan we just stayed there and relaxed for the rest of the day. Gallery
(13.Aug.01)
16	Alpamayo Col Camp	Large The real challenge... (Col Camp: 5400m) This day was the 'real' challenge on Alpamayo: Shoulder your huge pack and crawl up a rocky trail, stumble over a loose moraine, and then climb up a steep snow-face (45+ degrees) with your ice-tools. We were passed by a group of 12 Germans that were part of an expedition. They had daypacks and were a 'bit' faster for that reason. Soon after them their group of porters carried up their stuff including a cooking tent. When I reached the col-camp I couldn't believe the number of tents that were already pitched there. I thought I was in the wrong movie. The clouds around Alpamayo went up shortly, so Lukas and I could discuss which route to take. The 'French direct' looked good, Ferrari was reportedly not possible this year for reasons nobody knew, instead the trade-route was the so called 'French-Basque' left of Ferrari. I would have liked the French Direct, but we would decide in the morning.
(14.Aug.01)
17	Alpamayo Peak	My most ugly mountain (Peak: 5947m) We started early as we had heard before that Alpamayo is a mess if there are climbers above you that throw a lot of ice. The decision which route to take was easy: Fog and clouds limited the visibility so much that it was even hard to follow the trail in the snow from the last climbers. We would simply follow their steps, which led us to the French-Basque route. We were followed closely by the expedition with the 12 climbers and 3 guides. When we reached the Bergschrund, we found that they had put fixed lines from there all the way to the top. We ignored that and climbed normally on the ice with belays. Then the group (being pulled by a second rope tied into everybody and the 3 guides) started to speed up and pass us. This was OK with us as they all used jumars to pull themselves up, so I figured there would not be much ice falling. Unfortunately I had overestimated these so called 'climbers': They were complete idiots, all inexperienced in ice, equipped with huge (walking-)ice-axes and busy bashing the wall with them despite their jumars. This caused loads of ice-blocks to fall down and crash into us, which I didn't enjoy with 10-20m of loose rope to the last screw beneath me. There was no chance in arguing, there were just to many of these cretins. Blocks hit me on the chest hard, Lukas on the head and the other groups following climbers in the face, some had bleeding noses and alike ...   I was very angry at first, that someone would allow such people to be on this mountain, when they obviously shouldn't be there looking at their capabilities. I asked myself (and them) what the use of this exercise should be: How can someone who pulled himself up a fixed line with jumars say that he 'climbed' the mountain ? Finally I came to the conclusion, that it all was my own mistake: Why did I choose to go on a mountain where paid expeditions with clients go ? Next time, just go where they can't go with their limited abilities and enjoy being alone. Adding the fact, that we were stuck in snowfall and clouds the whole time, for me this was my most ugly climb I ever did, on what many people call 'the worlds most beautiful mountain' ...   Gallery
(15.Aug.01)
18	Return -> Huaraz	Large Another long walk back home (Camp: 4000m) After the climb yesterday we had walked down with our packs to the base camp and decided there that we would walk back without donkeys. The weight of the food was gone and we felt enough pride now to want to feel different than those 'expedition climbers'. So we just continued all the way down to the laguna. This morning we got up very early and left shortly after 6AM. Five hard hours later we were in Cashapampa.
(16.Aug.01)
19	Huaraz -> Lima	Leaving the mountains ( Lima: 15m) On the one hand it felt bad to leave, because I had enjoyed the time in mountains a lot. On the other hand, our last experience on Alpamayo wasn't so pleasant, and the weather in the eastern part of the cordillera looked very unstable. And last but not least I was also very anxious to see the rest of the country that so many people in Huaraz had told me about. As I wanted to see the countryside I chose to day-bus. The views were nice but nothing staggering: First you see the Cordillera pass by on your left, then you seem to drive down a dusty wide canyon, and then all of a sudden the typical coastal fog drops in. Huge sugar-cane plantations and an unspectacular coast are the only sights on the way to Lima now. Large
(17.Aug.01)
20	Lima	Gallery Part 2 of the Trip I spent the morning in downtown Lima wandering around the cities center without any specific target. Then I picked up Heike from the Airport, which was the beginning of the second part of my tour. I hate to travel alone, and it was really nice that I could travel with Heike as a charming companion for the next 3 weeks. We spent the evening in Miraflores, which is the wealthy part of Lima, so Heike would have less of a culture-shock on her first encounter with the country. But then actually I was the one who was shocked and just stumbling around the fancy shops and restaurants of Larcomar, a shopping mall that looks like one of those very expensive malls in the USA (ever paid an entrance fee to get into a mall ? ;-) All in all a completely different world within Peru.
(18.Aug.01)
21	Lima	Lima Downtown Tour: Church of San Francisco: This beautiful church and monastery with the catacombs were certainly the highlight of the day, and maybe also for all of Lima. It is a nice and quiet place and you can feel the colonial times coming back to life again here. Although the monastery in Arequipa is even more impressive, you shouldn't miss this one either.  Changing of the Guards: By accident we were able to be witness to this event that is due every day at noon. Funny to see, but not worth changing your time plans for the day if it doesn't fit in. Museo Nacional de Antropologia y Arquelogia. The reason we went there was the location: it is in Pueblo Libre, close to our Hostal Marfil. Although it was quite nice and had enough to see for an afternoon, you might prefer the bigger 'Museo de la Nacion', if you are staying downtown. Gallery
(19.Aug.01)
22	L. ->  Huancayo	Sorry, pictures come  later ! Leaving the fog ! Unfortunately the train from Lima does not run any more, and no matter what your Guidebook may say, I would presume it won't run again. The Train station in Lima seems permanently shut down. So you are bound to take one of the many bus companies that all leave in the same area, south of downtown, near the university. Just go there and see which one leaves next. The most important event of that day is the escape of Limas endless winter fog. Possible that one gets adjusted to it if you (have to) live there long enough. I simply get depressed by the gray skies after a while. But as soon as you leave the low altitude at the coast, the sun peeks through the fog, and life looks brighter again. The bus winds itself higher and higher to the highest point passenger train in the world (if it only would run ;-) At 4800m you are at the altitude of the Mt. Blanc, so the air is quite thin if you are unacclimatized. From there on the road follows the river to Hunancayo.
(20.Aug.01)
23	H. ->  Ayacucho	Sorry,  pictures come  later !
(21.Aug.01)
24	Ayacucho
(22.Aug.01)
25	A. ->  Andahuaylas
(23.Aug.01)
26	Cusco
(24.Aug.01)
27	Cusco
(25.Aug.01)
28	Inka Trail
(26.Aug.01)
29	Machu Picchu
(27.Aug.01)
30	C. -> Puerto Maldonado	Monkey Island
(28.Aug.01)
31	Tambo Lodge,  Fitzcarrald	Fitzcarrald Boat and Villa
(29.Aug.01)
32	Tambo Lodge,  Lago Sandoval	Sea Otters, Turtles, Birds, ... and swimming among Piranhas
(30.Aug.01)
33	T.L. -> Cusco	Farmers Tour
(31.Aug.01)
34	Cusco	City Sights
(1.Sept.01)
35	Puno	Floating islands, Yavari
(2.Sept.01)
36	Arequipa	Monasterio de Santa Catalina, Juanita
(3.Sept.01)
37	Colca Canyon	Thermal Bath
(4.Sept.01)
38	CC -> Arequipa	Cruz del Condor
(5.Sept.01)
39	Nasca	C.
(6.Sept.01)
40	Lima	Gallery  Paragliding in the city ? Because I felt pretty weak, we didn't do much. We wanted to do another walk through the city, and decided we would go wherever the next bus went: Downtown or Miraflores ? It was Miraflores and the walk along the coastal rim was very nice. Then all of a sudden a paraglider soared above us - in the middle of the city ! The explanation for that was the strong wind from the west, that pushed up the wall from the shore. We thought it looked quite spectacular and talked to the guys that do this regularly there. You can find some pictures in the gallery to the left. They also had a clubs website which now somehow seems broken : http://www.perufly.com
(7.Sept.01)
41	Lima-> Stuttgart	A looooong flight ... For some reason the flight took even longer this way and other than some nice views to the Chilean Andes there was not much fun to it. Large
(8.Sept.01)
42	Stuttgart	Large Finally Back Home ! Good old Germany welcomes us back with a big splash of rain after 6 dry weeks. Anyway, the positive side is: everything is sooo clean and sooo green ! Unbelievable how you can miss the slush green (here: "Filderkraut";-) after all these dusty, gray countryside views of Peru.
(9.Sept.01)

Tips

• Guidebooks:
  • "Reise Know-How" : I made the mistake of choosing the "Reise Know-How"  series edition on Peru & Bolivia. The reason for this was that we are  German-native speakers and I had gotten used to the great (German) "Stefan Loose" guidebooks that beat any other book for the countries they are available for. Therefore I had hoped for similar quality in the Reise Know-How. I spent an hour at the bookshop comparing it to the others and it looked promising. After the real-life test in Peru, I would recommend: use it only if you also carry the Lonely Planet with you, too !
    Most of all it hurt, that the presumably precise data was very outdated. In some cities 4 out of 4 Restaurants we tried to find didn't exist any more, for Huaraz, the whole section on restaurants etc. was pretty useless. Many maps are drawn hopelessly wrong.
    One good point that other books do not feature is the suggestion of 'Round Trips' that also describe the area between the tourist spots that you come through, or the listing of complete 6 day hiking tours that make separate Hiking guides unnecessary for some people. Also the detailed Machu Picchu Section beats the 'short intro' of the LP.
    
  • "Lonely Planet": Every English-speaking tourist carried it around, and there is reason for that: It is precise, has many details, interesting background stories and the style is fun to read. (Some comments made me laugh my ass off ;-) There is not much I miss, except the concept of describing the country only town by town, which makes you wonder which might be a good way to travel though this country, or what lies between the cities.
    This is a bit like learning a language by reading a dictionary, word by word ...
    
  • "Footprint" : I didn't take a detailed look at this one, but  I did not like the few things I've read. We didn't see a single person use it on the trip, although I saw it in the bookshops in Cusco often.
    

• Climbing Guidebooks:

  • John Biggar : This Book contains the standard routes to the most well-know and well-traveled mountains. It is a bit limited to technically easier peaks, more of an "Advanced Trekking" Guide.
  • "Climbing in the Cordillera Blanca" (David Sharman): This is the book that Biggar refers to on several occasions when he mentions more demanding routes. Not every Mountain has a topo, and those available are not of the best quality, but mostly sufficient, as the mountain-faces often have a very limited number of routes. If in doubt, ask at the 'Casa de Guia' in Huaraz, as they often have pictures or drawings available.
  • There was also a spanish guidebook which I have heared about several times now, but I couldn't find out more details anywhere.

• Safety
  Your guidebooks will tell you many things: Some say that Peru is quite safe, other will warn you about all kinds of things. 
  Fact is, that my wallet was gone on the first day in Peru and I still don't know when and how it happened. Another fact is, that we met several people that were personally robbed or even choke-mugged. We also heard many stories second-hand of people being robbed on the street in front of our hostel etc. 
  So undeniably there are incidents. Luckily they seem to be limited to the few big tourist cities: Lima, Cusco, Arequipa. 
  Your best bet  is to follow the tips in the Guidebooks which are often updated and even talk about streets that are notorious for robberies.
  My personal tip is what is explained in the LP: If you look awake and fit and not like an easy target, you are likely to get away without any problems. If you are smaller & or travel alone, take extra care. 

• Money
  The way to go in Peru is credit cards and ATMs. Traveler cheques are not a good idea as you will get a 5-10% lower exchange rate. So you pay double: when you buy them at home and when you sell them there. Luckily ATM's are available in most medium to large towns and many of them accept a number of credit cards. Visa and Master are probably the more well accepted. 
  Paying your hotel and the restaurant with a credit card is only possible if you choose more luxury ones.

• Route Planning 
  We followed a recommendation of our Reise-Know which describes the overland bus route via Ayacucho to Cusco, Puno, Arequipa, 

• Long Bus Trips
  Anyone traveling in Peru will eventually have to do some of these long bus trips. Here are some personal tips how to survive:
  1.  

• Jungle Trips
  When planning a Jungle trip in Peru, most people think of  Iquitos first. Think again, as the tip in "Reise Know-How" to go to Puerto Maldonado instead might be the best tip the book contains. Near  Pt. Maldonado, the rainforest areas of Tambopata and Manu Reserve are easier to reach than around Iquitos, the area is less crowded by tourists, the Lodges cheaper, and the flights from Cusco are sometimes quite inexpensive (if not in the main season).
  I haven't seen Iquitos, so I don't speak more on this, but give it a thought, and investigate yourself.
  

• Logistics in Huaraz
  I have collected some of the locations I can really recommend that will cover your basic needs: (click links for picture) (all Pictures)
  • Accommodation: Hostal Soledad (look in your book, it is 5+ blocks east of Placa de Armas) Very safe, friendly and quiet.
    Another good one is the more lively, hippy-style " Hostal el Tambo" (harder to find, across the stadium in a tiny, dead-end side street ask around there, not in any guide books) a good place to meet other climbers if you are solo.
  • Bus: Movil Tours Cheaper than Cruz del Sur, and they also have nice Ejecutivo buses with stewardesses ;-)
  • Equipment: Lobo Adventure Shop (mid of Luzuriaga) Had best selection and was fair but there are many others.
  • Clean clothes: Lavanderia BB (Av. Jose de la Mar 674)
  • Restaurants: The "Brasa Roja" on Luzuriaga is where you will meet most climbers in the evening. Smaller but serving by far the best steaks (for cheap!) is El Buen Sabor (on Av. Jose de la Mar, (west of Luzi))
  • Cafe: Fuente de Salud  (Av. Jose de la Mar 562) After the steak, treat yourself to a carrot-cake at this nice cafe next door !
  • Disco: El Tambo If you don't go to discos at home, think again: I don't do that either, but I loved the 'Tambo' ! On Fridays and Saturdays the place is packed with Peruvians and all the climbers you met in the camps of your last mountains ! Drink a beer, talk, dance and enjoy the music ! 

• Baggage Weight Limit
  If you plan to go climbing, there will always be a problem with the standard 20kg weight limit of almost any airline. There is at least 4 ways to handle this:
  1. Take a flight that stops in the USA! Any flights using the US as an intermediate stop are allowed 2 * 32kg (=130+ pounds) of baggage which is more than you could possible need. Unfortunately flights over the US are usually done by more expensive airlines (KLM, ...)
  2. Ask your Travel Agent to book your flight with a baggage allowance that follows the 'Piece-Concept'. This is the default for all US-Flights.
  3. If you must live with the 20kg limit, move as much weight as possible to your body and carry-on-luggage. Wear your plastic boots and gore-tex pants if necessary, but don't forget to put your Tevas in the carry-on-bag then so you can switch while seated. (Don't be silly and try to take your ['heavy'] ice-tools aboard, they might be confiscated before you know it ...) (Usually there is also a 8kg limit for the carry-on, but this is rarely checked)
  4. Rent equipment in Huaraz if there is no other way. There are tons of shops where you can rent anything from plastic-boots to ice-tools. It should be possible to find whatever you desire in one of the shops, look around.

• Climbing and Equipment
  • Equipment:
    A new experience for me was certainly the fact that you have to get down a mountain the same way you went up. In the Alps, you usually climb up a steep north-ice-wall and then walk or ski down a face that is not to steep. If there are steep sections you can usually down climb that part. 
    In Peru you often have to go down the way you came up, as the geography of the mountain dictates that. Also in the Alps you often use a hut as an overnight stay, so you don't have to return to your tent like it is in Peru.
    The conditions of the snow are also different: In the Alps you can be sure that every real steep section will be hard pure ice, so ice-screws are your protection for these sections, while no belaying is needed when the snow is soft enough on the parts that are not so steep.
    In Peru, you will often only find packed snow even in the steep section, so belaying is possible only with large aluminum profiles called 'snow-stakes'. If you have to go down such a face of hard snow, you have to leave these stakes. Sometimes some are in the wall from the last party, sometimes fresh snow covered them, so you don't find a single one. Make sure to look on the way up if you are not sure ! 
    Plan ahead by talking to groups that just returned from the mountain: For Arteson for example, we should have just left all ice-screws in Huaraz: There is not  single piece of hard ice visible on the complete route.
    
  • Food
    There is not much to say about that: You can find all of your favorite tour-food in the supermarket: Spaghetti, instant dinners and soups etc. What you should try though is to buy some veggies and cook fresh stuff, at least on the first day in the mountains, when the weight is not that bad, or the donkey carries it. For example we liked a stew from carrots, onions, potatoes and tuna: easy to cook and much tastier than the fourth day of 'Travellunch'.
    
  • Drink:
    At this altitude you have to drink a lot because you sweat and the evaporation is higher even if you wouldn't move. The good thing is, that on most tours you can walk up to the snowline, where the last camp has still fresh water and then do the peak in one day, so you don't have to melt snow often. I have read a nice tip on drinking somewhere on the net. (Whoever had the idea for this: Thanks for it ! ) To mix your personal "power-drink" for high mountains, put 1 Aspirin, 1 No-Doze (=Caffeine tablet) and some 'cool-aid' (=flavor-)  powder in your bottle and drink it on the way up. If necessary add a bit more of each. The Aspirin stops the head-aches coming from the altitude, the Caffeine wakes you up, when you start in the middle of the night, and gives you a bit of extra strength on a continuous basis. Be reasonable and don't overdo it !

• Taxis
  Generally taxis are cheap and convenient in Peru compared to European taxi prices. There are a few things to keep in mind:
  • Almost anyone who owns a car and is not in a hurry seems to stick a taxi-sign on his windshield. There is nothing bad about this, I never heard of any problem with such an 'unofficial' taxi.  (Here is a nice example ->)
  • The only problem in Lima might be that you have to tell the driver how he can find your destination. Bring some detailed description with you, e.g. print out the map of the Marfil so you can hand it to the driver.
  • The price is not calculated by time or by a distance-counter in the taxi. When you stop one, the driver will simply offer you a price for your destination. Usually this is subject to some bartering (except for Arequipa, where everyone takes 2.50S fixed (within city))
  • Taxis from the Lima-Airport (e.g. to Downtown / Pueblo Libre): You can save a lot of money by doing this simple thing:
    • Leave the airport-building and ignore anybody trying to talk you into sth. 
    • Walk straight through the gate in the fence around the airport. 
    • Raise your hand when you reach the street and you'll find a taxi stopping any time day or night.
    • Offer him sth. like 2.5-3 $US (in Soles) to downtown
      
• Collectivos
  In most smaller towns like Huaraz the collectivo minibus system is cheap, convenient and easy to understand: You walk to the street that leaves the town in the direction you want to go, when a collectivo comes by, a guy will shout the destination at you and you can board or step back. (Funny: In Peru I've often seen buses with guests filling up the gas tank -> )
  Using collectivos in Lima is more challenging  as the countless destinations listed on the sides of the bus can be a bit confusing if you are used to a well-regulated system at home. Relax and try to figure out where these streets are on your map. Usually they are quite large, like Brazil or Bolivar. If the side of the bus states: "Tdo. Brazil" the bus will drive up the Brazil street, which for example comes close to the Marfil.

Links

Link Collections:

• Lonely PlanetsPage
• Summitpost.com Summits in Peru and Worldwide - Alpamayo - Artesonraju

Guidebooks:

• Lonely Planet         
• Reise Know-How   
• David Sharman  (I couldn't find an official site, so I just mirrored the page from a bookseller)
• John Biggar - The Andes - A Guide for climbers

Maps:

• Paper Map: There is only one choice: the brand new Austrian "Alpenvereinskarte". 
  (click on Picture to see it larger) You can find it in most shops in Huaraz.
• Link: Travellerclub: Detailed Map of C. Blanca

More Info / Searches:

• News Search:
  •  Example: Search for "Machu Picchu": http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Machu+Picchu&btnG=Search&meta=
  • Group rec.travel.latin-america : http://groups.google.com/group/rec.travel.latin-america?hl=en

People

• Kristian Rath
  • The 'senior' of our team ;-) (Papa will take care of it ...)
  • Strong and enduring mountaineer, always friendly and an admirer of  the female side of Peru ;-)
  •  Hasn't got a "home on the web" yet, but instead a home in the mountains (would you switch ? ;-)
• Lukas Burget
  • The team doctor ! The walking Spanish dictionary ! The "Dance-Machine"  ;-)
  • Has always got a joke on his lips (below 5500m ;-)
  • "Peel it boil it or forget it, Ulli !"   [or stay on the restroom for a couple of days ... :-(  ] 
• Marie-France and Eva
  • Two great girls we met on the Vallunaraju tour. Marie is from France ;-) Eva from Spain
  • They joined us on Arteson and showed us that female mountaineers can be just strong as male ones.
• Cosy and Yma of  Hostal Marfil
  • They make the Marfil your "Home away from Home" ! 
  • Can give you any tip on Lima and life in Peru that you can possibly need.
  • So friendly it is hard to leave again ...
• Beatriz Sosa  
  • A real nice person living in Lima. She could be your to Peru and organize a complete trip though the country for you. 
  • Her German language knowledge  is great, her English still  needs a little help 
     (// I guess speaking is the best training, so send her an eMail and meet her in Lima in the Hostal Marfil ;-). 

Other Reports on the Web

• Mark Robbins: Peru Trip Report: Cordillera Blanca and Inca Trail
  His sensitive Map with the campsites is superb !

Misc

• What is the Current Time in Peru ? -> find out at this neat site.

Side Notes

My holidays
 I was amazed how many (mostly US-) people on the trip were amazed that I had 6 weeks of holidays from a regular job, so I'll answer their question here again: First,  European holidays are a 'bit' ;-) longer than the average holidays in the US. Additionally I am lucky to have a work-contract that allows me to save up holidays as long as I want, and take them when I want  to.

Pictures

• The pictures from the first Part (Huaraz to Lima) were taken with the first Edition 2MP Canon Digital Ixus
• The pictures in the second part are scans from slides taken with a tradtional Minolta 35mm SLR(28-200mm)