Karen Obrist Photography

Part II of Katherine and my trip to South America- the region of Ancash, Peru- mountains, glaciers, sierran women, llamas, sketchy bus rides, sunburns, bright colored markets, literally the GREATEST HIKE OF MY LIFE…. yeah this was one of my favorite places!

We started our first day in Huaraz exploring the tiny colorful town full of Sierran woman who speak the native Quechua language and carry around their babies and goods on their back with big wool blankets, long braided black hair to their knees, and big hats. So much culture and life in this small town. I really felt like I was in a different world when I was there. Katherine really wanted to take me here because it is known for it’s scenic hikes in the Andes Mountain Range.

Day 2 we took a bus up to Huasacaran National Park to hike into Lago 69 - literally the most insanely gorgeous hike of my life. Waterfalls, terrifying bulls that chased us off the trail, open pastures, creeks, and of course, the giant natural crystal blue glacier of Lago 69. We gained about 2,000 ft elevation in our hike and ended up at almost 15,000 ft when we reached the glacier. No wonder I was out of breath! It was so challenging but my god was it worth it. Things I learned- don’t forget to put sunscreen on your legs when the bus breaks down and then starts back up when you are in the middle of applying sunscreen so you miss an area and get ridiculously burnt, you can NEVER have ENOUGH water supply- Katherine and I learned this the hard way and made sure to stay hydrated the rest of the trip, oh and definitely pee before you have a 3hr bus right back into town that’s literally bouncing up and down in and out of potholes down a sketchy mountain road. If it wasn’t for Katherine forcing me to watch episodes of Parks and Rec on her phone instead of watching the road- I might have keeled over from how scared I was of that bus ride. Not to mention that it LITERALLY BROKE DOWN OVER 20 TIMES ON THE WAY HOME. I am not exaggerating. It was the most memorable experience in Peru I think- well there’s one that might top that, but that’s another story for another post.

I ate my favorite dish of Aji de gallina in Huarez, as well as some epic pizza at a local place in town. We ate there twice. The most painful part of my trip was the ridiculous sunburn that I got on my legs- Katherine literally helped wrap them with cold towels as I was crying and cringing from some of the worst sunburn pain I’ve ever had. If I ever had any doubts about her loyalty as a friend- she proved in those few days in Huarez how great of a friend she really is. Thanks for laughing with me and crying with me and helping me get through that pain- as well as finish the hike into Lago 69- which I was convinced I was going to turn around on because I didn’t physically think I could push through- but I did and the photos as you see in this post- made every step worth it.

This is a place I would enjoy to visit again- and do even more hikes in. I can’t even believe it was real life. This place. Go here.

OH MY GOD WE GOT PHOTOS WITH A REAL PERUVIAN LLAMA

ok, but seriously- look at his face!!! ahhhhh

our hostel:

found out later that these bulls aren’t very friendly and will charge at you- I can’t believe we made it through the rest of that hike.

Harry Potter Tree:

LAGO 69:

but really- would you look at this scenery?!

this bull wanted to murder us

Made it out alive. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

Make sure to check out Part I of our trip to the JUNGLE HERE!