This post, I would like to talk about Ancash. And here's why.
It is freaking beautiful. Oh my goodness. So beautiful. Now do you understand why I am so apologetic for waiting so long to tell you about this gem of Peru? If you still don't get it, here's another one.
Ancash is a department of Peru. I liken Peru's departments to our own states. So think of it as our own beloved Illinois...only full of snowy mountains. It lies just north of the department of Lima and is home to the Parque Nacional HUascaran (Huascaran National Park). Huascaran is the highest mountain in Peru. And here it is.
Our reason for going was a training event where we got to meet up with our fellow volunteers whom we hadn't seen since May. Here they are.
And I had the luck of traveling with my friend from site, my socia, Isabel who is in the picture two images above. This trip we got to delve further into working with the national park service, SERNANP, eco-turism, medicinal plants and implementing eco-efficient schools. So, nothing entirely new, but still new ideas that make the trip worth it. Plus, of course, the reason to see more of Peru and more of each other. So highlights include...
1. Wading in the glacial lake, Llanganuco in a part of Huascaran National Park.
2. Doing a group P90X session with other volunteers and one Peruvian. The other Peruvians and less active volunteers were just peering at us through the windows but it was all OK. I found it to be a good bonding experience.
3. Hearing Quechua spoken conversationally for the first time. When I approached a woman to inform her about the recycle buy that would be happening that afternoon, she answered me in Quechua! Luckily, her daughter was there to translate for me. I hadn't had that experience in quite a while where a person could understand everything I was saying but I couldn't understand a word she was saying. Not even was I able to pick out key words. But I could tell that it was a beautiful language.
4. Hanging out at the base of the highest mountain in Peru.
5. Witnessing a volunteer naked lake jump in to the glacial lake, Llanganuco. Maybe if there had been another girl willing to jump and about 40 less people watching, I might have been on board. But for now, I'll just keep mentally preparing for when it's my turn. Don't worry though, I'll keep you posted.
6. Getting to know Huaraz. This capital city is one of the coolest ones I've seen yet. It has the vibe that a young adult adventuring, borderline hippie, backpacker would dig. And there are lots of those around. Lots of tourists from other countries ready to scale some mountains and check out the hot springs. There are quite a few ex-patriots from other countries that are now running restaurants too. We were able to find Indian food! Soooo good. We also got to do some shopping and eating at cafes and feeling like adults. It was all good.
7. Among the things we did in Huaraz was visit a bar called Trece Buhos (13 Owls). This bar is well-known among volunteers and after hearing so many good things about this place, I was very excited to see it. The bar is home to a man-size game of Jenga complete with helmet in the event that the tower grows to above head height. But the best thing about this bar is that it is home to a micro-brew of coca beer. And it is by far, the best beer I've had in Peru. Now, this isn't really saying much because the rest of the beers that we've tried here, just aren't impressive. But I would say that this could stand up against some of the better loved brews of the States.
8. Bonding with my socia, Isabel, in Lima. We went to visit a park, got some chinese food, and took in some theater in the park!
9. Going for a walk around, or I should say on top of, old Yungay. We stayed in the town of Yungay but this town has quite a history. In the 1970's, the old town of Yungay fell victim to a giant landslide and was completely covered by that land. Two Peace Corps volunteers serving in the area at that time died in the disaster and the entire town was buried. To walk over old Yungay now is to simply continue walking along the road onto the grass. But then you begin to notice the memorial stones scattered around the ground. Each stone marks the location of the house that is under all of the earth. It was eerie to think about and made the walk a lot more introspective than I had planned on it being.
10. Views like this.
So, this blog was a long time coming. And it probably would have been a lot better had I written it sooner after the trip. But at the very least, you have seen a little more of Peru and know that this area is for you if you want to see some mountains and do some hiking outside of the Incan Trail to Machu Picchu. And you have a few more stories. Stay tuned. I promise to be more attentive to posting more frequently. Coming up: volunteer reunions in site, vacation home, and some event that I can't even begin to predict.
Blessings.
