The Peruvian Andes Take Our Breath Away...Literally
Only two weeks left in South America. Time is a funny thing - it feels as though we just left the States and here we are about to return to California. We will live and work in Sonoma County for a couple of months before departing internationally once again. Traveling has become an ideal lifestyle, indeed.
Our days continue to be one adventure after the next, a perfect petrie dish for life in the present moment. Right now we are in the Andes mountains on the doorstep of the Cordilerra Blanca, the highest mountain range in the world next to the Himalayas. Our adobe-made bed and breakfast is located at the foot of a 23,000 foot snow-covered peak named Huascaran. It's run by a couple of Canadian expats who have a passion for sustainable and eco-friendly living, from reusing waste, organic gardening, natural home building ingredients and employing the local indigenous men and women to help around the property.
Yesterday we took a hike to Laguna 69 with Stuart and Lynva from Scotland/Britian who are also enjoying the lifestlye of travel. Little did we know it would take four hours to get there navigating around (sometimes over) bucket-sized potholes, mudslides and barking dogs. These meanies ran 20km per hour alongside our taxi, snarling and yapping, darting in front of us so we had to break and swerve. Not that fun of a drive, but practicing my Spanish with our driver, Jose, made me forget about my mounting headache and sloshing stomach during random intervals.
The warm equatorial sun followed us directly overhead for 8km as we traversed a meadow covered in bright yellow, blue and purple wildflowers. The jagged, snow-covered peaks of the Andes showed off for us in the quebrada (valley created by a glacier) while we passed saw-mouthed cows. We made the climb upwards on granite cliffsides to reach the next plateau, our pace slowing and our chests constricting from the high altitude of 16,000 feet. I poured us some coca tea made from fresh leaves. Yes, cocaine is made from the same plant, but the stem, not the leaves, and is highly processed to become the illicit drug. Pure coca, much like hemp, is the natural derivative, legal, and has been used in the highlands for hundreds of years to help altitude sickness, curb hunger and give a boost of natural energy. Admittedly, Andy and I are in pretty good shape but it doesn't matter - we had pounding headaches moving to the point of absolute exhaustion. We drank two liters of water each and still had thirst. Here, even when I take the stairs two at a time up to our room I am out of breath. It's a novel and odd feeling...we are now taking it easy for a couple days. (Bootleg DVDs...yeah!)
Finally, we could see a sliver of bright turquoise that morphed into a giant, pristine glacial lake. Two loud waterfalls poured down from Mt. Chacraraju (about 19,000 feet) staring at us from directly above, doused in perfectly white snow. The contrast of the yellow and purple wildflowers and green grasses on the shoreline to the topaz-hued lake, the grey granite rock wall, angelic mountain peaks and sapphire blue sky was absolute magic. We simply crashed down on a rock and stared in awe at this unimaginable piece of nature.
Though quite a bit colder, the highlands are my favorite place in Peru. One of my best memories while hiking in this remote area is watching the indiginous women as sheep herders, traversing the rocky landscape with stick in hand. As we draw nearer, we can see the details on their hats, each with a specific color, shape and design depending on the community they are from. Most speak a tongue of their native language of Quichoa and Spanish. Each also wear a unique set of clothing, for example a white collared blouse and red sweater with a wide purple knee-length skirt, white socks and black loafers. It's so interesting and different than anything I have seen in the US - a primitive perseverence tightly knitted by community and tradition. Here at the B&B, I am enjoying talking with a few girls from the local community who are new to work here and admittedly having some difficulty learning the "western way" of serving guests. I can't help myself smiling widely right back at them when we make eye contact. They have such a peaceful and simple existence that warms my heart. I feel millions of miles away from California.
Our days continue to be one adventure after the next, a perfect petrie dish for life in the present moment. Right now we are in the Andes mountains on the doorstep of the Cordilerra Blanca, the highest mountain range in the world next to the Himalayas. Our adobe-made bed and breakfast is located at the foot of a 23,000 foot snow-covered peak named Huascaran. It's run by a couple of Canadian expats who have a passion for sustainable and eco-friendly living, from reusing waste, organic gardening, natural home building ingredients and employing the local indigenous men and women to help around the property.
Yesterday we took a hike to Laguna 69 with Stuart and Lynva from Scotland/Britian who are also enjoying the lifestlye of travel. Little did we know it would take four hours to get there navigating around (sometimes over) bucket-sized potholes, mudslides and barking dogs. These meanies ran 20km per hour alongside our taxi, snarling and yapping, darting in front of us so we had to break and swerve. Not that fun of a drive, but practicing my Spanish with our driver, Jose, made me forget about my mounting headache and sloshing stomach during random intervals.
The warm equatorial sun followed us directly overhead for 8km as we traversed a meadow covered in bright yellow, blue and purple wildflowers. The jagged, snow-covered peaks of the Andes showed off for us in the quebrada (valley created by a glacier) while we passed saw-mouthed cows. We made the climb upwards on granite cliffsides to reach the next plateau, our pace slowing and our chests constricting from the high altitude of 16,000 feet. I poured us some coca tea made from fresh leaves. Yes, cocaine is made from the same plant, but the stem, not the leaves, and is highly processed to become the illicit drug. Pure coca, much like hemp, is the natural derivative, legal, and has been used in the highlands for hundreds of years to help altitude sickness, curb hunger and give a boost of natural energy. Admittedly, Andy and I are in pretty good shape but it doesn't matter - we had pounding headaches moving to the point of absolute exhaustion. We drank two liters of water each and still had thirst. Here, even when I take the stairs two at a time up to our room I am out of breath. It's a novel and odd feeling...we are now taking it easy for a couple days. (Bootleg DVDs...yeah!)
Finally, we could see a sliver of bright turquoise that morphed into a giant, pristine glacial lake. Two loud waterfalls poured down from Mt. Chacraraju (about 19,000 feet) staring at us from directly above, doused in perfectly white snow. The contrast of the yellow and purple wildflowers and green grasses on the shoreline to the topaz-hued lake, the grey granite rock wall, angelic mountain peaks and sapphire blue sky was absolute magic. We simply crashed down on a rock and stared in awe at this unimaginable piece of nature.
Though quite a bit colder, the highlands are my favorite place in Peru. One of my best memories while hiking in this remote area is watching the indiginous women as sheep herders, traversing the rocky landscape with stick in hand. As we draw nearer, we can see the details on their hats, each with a specific color, shape and design depending on the community they are from. Most speak a tongue of their native language of Quichoa and Spanish. Each also wear a unique set of clothing, for example a white collared blouse and red sweater with a wide purple knee-length skirt, white socks and black loafers. It's so interesting and different than anything I have seen in the US - a primitive perseverence tightly knitted by community and tradition. Here at the B&B, I am enjoying talking with a few girls from the local community who are new to work here and admittedly having some difficulty learning the "western way" of serving guests. I can't help myself smiling widely right back at them when we make eye contact. They have such a peaceful and simple existence that warms my heart. I feel millions of miles away from California.
posted by Stacy @TheZenGirl at
9:51 AM
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