July 24 Walk out to Llamac and drive to Huaraz ​

My trekking mates helped me pack my stuff. My left arm was pretty useless. We ate breakfast and Ricardo sent me out first. He probably thought that I would be walking fairly slow. I guessI was walking at a good clip because I wasn’t not supposed to take the trail marked Llamac. I didn’t think that I was walking that fast. In fact I had stopped a couple of times due to pain.

Irene was running to catch me. We turned around. Then Ricardo caught up with us and we turned around again. We walked to a trail that cut down to the trail that all the others were walking on.

I walked four or five hours to Llamac. The others looked out for me in the rough spots. I was uncomfortable and in pain at times. Sometimes I didn’t feel that bad. I was sad to say good bye to the beautiful mountains

When we got to the van in Llamac for some reason I thought things would be better. However the first hour or so of the ride was in unpaved winding road. I held my arm to keep it from bumping anything

We had a stop in a small town and then went on to Huaraz. We arrived there around 5pm
Ricardo and I went to the San Pablo clinic.

I paid 35 Soles initially. I saw a very nice doctor who knew English. She ordered x rays and a trauma doc consult. I went out front and paid two more fees. I had my X-rays. (Painful) The X-ray tech told me that my elbow was still dislocated. Then the trauma doc came in and manipulated my elbow to put it back in place. He then ordered more x rays. So I went back out front to pay for those. Then I went into x Ray. He reviews them and did a prescription order and told me to go to the pharmacy to buy some things. I was a little confused so the nurse went with me. Turns out the pharmacy didn’t have a sling. I paid for all of the supplies there.  The nurse told me to go down the street and buy the missing sling. So I left the hospital and went to four pharmacies. None of whom had what the doctor ordered. On has a sling in a smaller size. I took a chance and got that one.

When I returned to the hospital I explained what happened and asked if that was okay. I never really got an answer. Sometime later they wheeled me around in a wheelchair to the doctors office. I found this ludicrous because they had sent me outside the hospital on my own with a messed up arm. Also the person wheeling me around couldn’t seem to get the chair into the doctors office. In the end I got out of it and walked into the office.

The doctor then took all of the other supplies and made a cast type thing that covers the bottom part of my arm. He wrapped the whole thing with elastic. He told me to keep it on and in sling for two weeks The bad wheel chair driver ( who was very nice) gave me some paperwork and helped me get a taxi.

I returned to my guesthouse. The owner told me that the clinic had been calling. They then called again. They wanted 400 more Soles. They were insistent and eventually I told them that I would come back to the clinic the next day.

I had some dinner at the guesthouse and went to bed.  What a day.

The next day I organized to return home to the US early to see my orthopedic doctor.   To my happiness he got rid of the cast thing.  I couldn't shower with it very well and I think that my skin was allergic to it.  The MRI showed damage but surgery was not required.
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July 23 Hike to Minapata ​Mirador

We set out on what we thought was an easy day hike. First walking up through the plypeps trees. These trees have reddish peeling bark. They grow very slowly due to the high altitude and challenging conditions.

The terrain got steeper and soon we were clinging to tall grass and using it to pull ourselves up. Occasionally we crossed steep scree. It was hard work but we were rewarded with amazing views.
The walk back to camp was along the lake and pretty in its own way.

Back at camp we had an amazing lunch. It was called Coulda. It is kind of a sandwich but instead of bread a potato mixture is used. Aurelio,our chef, made it into hearts. Mine had a vegetable filling. It was really tasty

Birds played in the lake shallows. I walked back afterwards with my camera to take photos only to find that it was broken

At camp brave Irene went for a quick dip to clean up. Then we had a beer to celebrate our trip. A football / soccer game sprang up until it began to rain. A rainbow over the valley was lovely

Later we had dinner. I gave the kitchen my water bottles to fill and went to pee. Then it happened. I tripped liver the kitchen tent line. When I fell, I felt I felt my elbow dislocate.

Everyone tried to help but my arm was still in a lot of pain I tried to do my best with it. I debated if I should push the SOS button on my spot. With my arm wrapped, in a sling and anti inflammatories in my system I went to bed.

Sleep was not easy. Adrenaline, anxiety, pain and barking dogs were sleeps enemy. I think I got a little sleep.
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July 22 Jahuacocha Lake ​

July 22 Jahuacocha Lake

The day dawned very cold with everything covered in frost. We packed up and then headed to a plateau and Tagush pass. It seemed to take forever because I was not feeling too great. I had a bit of reflux. The cure? Coke a cola for sale at the campsite.

The pass gave us amazing views of Mt Diablo Mudo. A group that we saw yesterday was schedule to started climbing at 2 in the morning. We couldn’t see them as we passed the mountain.

From there we descended and climbed up another valley to a pass. I have to say that my legs felt like lead. The valley was beautiful with a number of colors. From the pass we walked a bit and our chef met us with a vegetarian extravaganza. The non vegetarians also had a bit of chicken. Almost 30 condors flew over our heads. They were amazing. We figured they were in their way to a dead cow to feast

One of our group picked up a set of poles that he thought that either I or another group member left behind. They actually belonged to another group. While trying to get them back to the correct group the owner came by and was really rude. It was not a good display of how hikers should behave. In such a beautiful place I don't understand the negativity.

From there we had a fantastic walk along a ridge where we were able to see the highest mountains in the Huayhuash range.

Below is an image of the ridge.

As we walked in the ridge two beautiful blue lakes became visible- Lake Jahuacocha and Turquoise Lake.

Next we descended a steep trail to our camp on the edge of the lake. There were more tents than normal but this place is the traditional last night of the trek. It is also the starting point for shorter treks.
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Sunset over camp

July 21 Huatiac ​

July 21 Huatiac
Today was different because we started the day with a walk down hill. We walked by potatoes sitting on the ground. They will be used to create Tocosh, also called Moraya. The potatoes are left on the ground until a frost. They are then buried in a hole with water for one month. The resulting food product apparently smells horrible but has antibiotic properties. All local folks eat this food.

We walked down the Callinca Valley to the smal village of Huayllapa. We passed some pretty waterfalls along the way.  The valley was lined with farming terraces. Many of them date back to pre-Incan times. The farmers grow alfalfa to feed the cows to produce milk and cheese. Also potatoes and the tuber that we ate the previous evening -Olluco - are grown.  See image of terraces below.

We met and spoke to a couple of local women in Huayllapa.  The woman below had been gathering wood for cooking.  Each area of Peru has it's own special hat that all of the women wear.

The we got ready for a hot and hard climb up to our campsite. About a half hour into the climb our chef met us in the trail with pasta for lunch. He was taking a nap and one group almost hiked by without seeing him.  His ride and our emergency mule, La Sora, are in the image below.

While we were taking a rest we saw a trekker who must have been in bad shape because he was riding a horse up. We later heard that he was going to be evacuated by helicopter.

We then climbed the rest of the way to the campsite. Part of the time we were walking on pre-Inca trail. I didn’t time it but I think it took a little over an hour.
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July 20 Cerro Gran Vista ​

July 20 Cerro Gran Vista

We awoke to snow in the morning delaying our trip to see sites from Touching the Void and to head up to Cerro Gran Vista. The snow abated but returned on and off during the day (lightly).

We walked up the Sarapococha valley under a number of gigantic mountains including Carnicero, Suila, Tropecio, Rasac. We stopped at the base camp from Touching the Void (as seen in the image below)

We then started our highest ascent of the trip up to Cerro Grande Vista. I have to say that is was super challenging. It was only slightly higher than the prior day but we seemed to climb for ages in an environment that lacked oxygen.

We made several stops in which we would see three beautiful lakes. We also had views of amazing glaciers. One of the glaciers was the one that Joe Simpson from Touching the Void crawled out of. We could also we the valley of boulders he negotiated to return to his base camp- an incredible feat.
The hike up was tough but the entire group made it. I was the third to the top.

Although there were clouds we had views of many of the mountains in the Huayhuash range. It was stunning. A condor soared above us. The elevation of Cerro Gran Vista is 16767ft.
We could also see the steep descent we made from the Santa Rosa Pass the precious day.

Eventually we had to walk down again. Two incidents happened on the way down. In on of the steepest sections on hikers decided to alter their clothing then run down the steep part. At the bottom the guide asked him where his camera was. Much to his dismay he had left it at the top of the steep part. Up he went to get it. Boy was that tough. We also saw two avalanches on one of the glaciers creating a snow water fall as it cascaded below the glacier.

Eventually we made it back to camp tired but accomplished

For dinner we had a soup made of a Peruvian tuber called Olluco. It was very good
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July 19 Cutatambo ​

July 19 Cutatambo

As we hiked out of the valley we saw vicuña on the ridge far above us in the distance.
We hiked up, up ,up. Today is one of higher days and the highest pass that we cross. We arrived at the basin below the pass and heard a noise like a hawk. Turns out it was a vicuña.

The Santa Rosa pass was snow covered and a bit hair raising to climb. I was making two steps for each one as I tried to kick in good steps so I wouldn’t slip and slide to the bottom. I probably wouldn’t have died if I slipped but I would definitely have been wet, bruised and maybe broken. Then I would have to climb it all again. I was definitely wishing for my microspikes the last two days. (Note: I was told that these were not necessary)

The views from the pass (16500ft) were amazing. (The image above is of our amazing guide, Ricardo, and I at the pass).  There was a massive glacier and two turquoise blue lakes. The biggest of which was Lake Jurau. It started snowing on us in the way down so I was unable to take photos of the glacier that really show how impressive it was


We met an English guy and two Canadians who are backing it in their own. I am having a hard enough time dragging my body up these high passes much less also dragging all my equipment in my pack and equipment.

We arrived at the campsite early and helped set up camp. We had lunch which was a soy meat and rice dish with veggies.

Irene and I went to investigate a water fall and ended taking a trail which led to a view of Jurau lake from a different angle and a clearer view of the glacier. We also hiked over to a nearby waterfall to check it out.

When we returned we heard stories of local history. Cars were introduced here in 1970. That seems crazy to me. Prior to that people walked on the old trails including the Inca trails. We also heard about the communist Shining Path movement and how it helped communities by rounding up bandits and executing them. That was kind of odd with three Chinese Taiwanese. in our group.
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July 18 Pampa Cuyac ​

July 18 Pampa Cuyac

What a day! I woke to snow on the ground, a wet sleeping bag and wet shoes. I had gotten up in the middle of the night and had not properly zipped the rain fly letting moisture into the tent eating my bag. At the same time I left my shoes put in the open. Oh well I am pretty sure that I learned my lesson.

We walked in snow and fog (or rather we were part of the cloud itself I think). We scared a couple of Andean Geese in the way. Ricardo told us because it was cold and the insects didn’t come out, the geese forage through frozen plants to find them. We also saw another viscocho (rabbit squirrel animal).

The going was discouraging because there were no views. Towards the top the cloud thinned and we had views of the Tropecio glacier and the surrounding mountains.

We then made our final push up to the pass. It was cold, windy and the trail was sometimes icy. Tropecio Pass was howling with wind and there were no views. The altitude was 16300 ft. The descent was slippery. I was beginning to question my sanity when an array of beautiful lakes opened up in front of me. They have no names because they are new due to glacial melting. They were all different colors of blue. Some of the lakes were surrounded by jagged red mountains.

We took air of photos but the windy was still pretty intense. We walked down and saw one more lake before descending the valley to our campsite. We are camped in a wide valley below a mountain with a hanging glacier.

It was sunny when we arrive but an intermittent storm blew in later. We saw vicuña (a relative of the llama and alpaca in the far distance )
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July 17 Huayhuash ​

July 17 Huayhuash

We rose early to catch the sunrise reflected in the mountains and the lake. Much to everyone’s disappointment it was a cloudy morning and no sunrise happened.

We left camp and hiked individually or in pairs along the lake. While walking I heard and saw a avalanche on Suila Grande. I also saw two viscacha
which are like a rabbit and squirrel cross.

We hiked up the edge of a lateral moraine to view the a beautiful called Lake Suila with chucks os ice floating in it. It came an avalanche like the one that I saw - maybe the one that I saw.
From there we started our hike up the pass. It was grueling but we had some great views of glaciers and beautiful lakes. We stopped at a vista point and took some amazing photos. We saw an amazing avalanche that made a waterfall of ice down the steep mountain.

I thought we were almost there but we had another hour to the pass. It was a slog. I was the fourth in our group to arrive and I passed someone not from our group on the way up. Not too bad ! The pass was 15700ft.

Our chef hiked with us carrying our lunch and metal dishes and utensils and a thermos of coca tea. Even weighed down he hike fast and made the pass look easy. We had fried rice for lunch. It was good.

We descended the pass and went by lakes and glaciers to arrive at our camp in a place called Huayhuash. We are sleeping even higher tonight above 14000ft.
At this point you may be wondering about cleanliness. We get a bucket of hot water to wash each day. It is a bit tricky because we are sharing a tent and you don’t want to get water in your tent anyway. I am doing my best
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July 16 Carhuacocha Lake ​

July 16 Carhuacocha Lake
Woke up to a beautiful sunrise. The sun lit up the face of the mountain. Tomorrow we will have sunrise and mountain and lake = magnificent. I surprised everyone and ate all my breakfast and most of my lunch. In fact instead of giving food away I took someone’s extra chocolate covered raisins.
Today we climbed up to a pas that was 15500 ft. It was off the traditional route but offerred amazing views of several peaks including Suila Grande (featured in Touching the Void) and Yerupaja (Peru’s second highest peak). We laughed so hard as we took panoramic photos with iPhones with ourselves at the start and then running and getting in the part of the photo as well.

We then went over a scree field and up and over another saddle giving us amazing views of three turquoise lakes. Grangrajanca, Suila and Quesillococha. We will be going by these lakes and tomorrow.

The views were amazing and the hiking group is amazing. They are all super fit. It is an adjustment for me to not be one of the strongest. I am in the middle. One of the women is struggling a bit with altitude sickness but making it. She was feeling discouraged but I said pat yourself on the back. How many people do you know back home that can climb to over 15000 ft?
Today I learned that diarrhea can be caused by altitude sickness. I had a bought before we left and it struck again today. Luckily I made it to a toilet (squat toilet). When we got back to camp our amazing guide gave me his secret remedy -coke. We will see if that works. I have Imodium if not
There are some interesting birds around the lake. I tried to get some photos of the ibis.
A fellow trekker and I did a little walk around before dinner. We met a couple of local women. They asked us if we wanted to buy a beer. We learned later that their husbands are donkey drivers.

Dinner was quinoa soup and spaghetti. It was yummy and I had no bathroom issues afterwards so I guess that is a good use for coke
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July 15 Mitucacha

We woke at 6 am and drank Coca tea. As I don’t really like any hot drinks I didn’t really care for it but tried to drink a little to help with the acclimatization.  We packed our stuff and at breakfast (granola, yogurt and bread). 

Then we set off towards the Cacanan Pass. It was a grind. The pass is at 4700m. According to the gps on my phone we were at 15300 ft. That is pretty darn high. One the way up we saw an animal that is a member of the rodent family that looks like a cross between a rabbit and a tree squirrel. 

As we descended the guide took us off the main route and over a couple of saddles to get some amazing views of Ninashanca and Jirishanca (the humming bird mountains) and Lake Mitucacha. The views were amazing and apparently it’s just the start. 

We saw several condors flying overhead.  We also saw small raptors called Cara Cara. At the same I saw an ibis like bird. Apparently it has been not seen in this area for a long time but a couple have returned this year. Later in the day I did see a Puna Ibis and an Andean Goose. 

I have a headache from the altitude. I think it will improve as we are lower now. 

I took ibuprofen and took a nap and things improved. Our amazing guide, Ricardo, fixed my sleeping bag zipper by swapping the none working top zipper with working bottom zipper. 

At dinner I swapped out a lot of my food. It has become a bit of a joke.  It turns out that they brought a whole bunch of avocados for me which I don’t like but my hiking mates are thrilled. 

July 14 Cuartelwain Camp

July 14 Cuartelwain Camp
Today we drove six hours to the base camp. The Cordillera Blanca come verse by glaciers was the first amazing view of our journey. It contains the largest peak in Peru -Huascan. This was followed by our first views of the Corderilla Huayhuash. It has the second largest peak in Peru. 

The crew contains two folks from Taiwan, one from Taiwan who lives in Chicago, one from France, one from the Netherlands, one from Spain and on from Singapore. 

We made camp in a pretty area and won’t begin hiking until tomorrow. It is very cold here. I am glad that I brought lots of clothes. 

We heard a horrible story about a group that got here and their donkey porters didn’t show up. Their trip will probably be canceled. It sounds like the agency screwed the last trek the opposite way and too many donkeys and their wranglers showed up. It can be a 14 Walk to get to the camp. Half of them were sent home probably with no money. This could be their way of striking. Too bad for the unwitting trekkers. 

Dinner was pumpkin soup and a veggie omelette. It was really nice.   

We all went to bed right after dinner. I put a bottle of hot water on my sleeping bag and it was quite warm.  My sleeping bag did have a small problem the zipper wasn’t working. The guide waxed it for me and it worked slightly better.

I had a good nights sleep

July 13 Lake Chirup

I had another early morning. I walked to the north end of town to meet Irene,another Huayhuash trekker. We took a collectivo to Pitek to hike up to Lake Chirup. It turned out to be a bus of hikers and it waited for us to hike and then brought us back to town. That was great. 

The hike was super steep and included a few cables reminiscent of my Europe adventures over the last couple of summers.  There was a bit of slippery snow and ice on the trail but is was generally ok

We met a few people on the trail and then had lunch with a fun group of people at the lake. We discussed hiking in Europe. (They were Swiss, Austrian, and Dutch). We also discussed food allergies and being a vegetarian. One thing that Inlive about Europe is that they label their menus as to vegetarian items and food allergy items. The Austrian cook did not like this at all. He told us a funny story about an ex who was allergic to everything and how he would put those items in her food to see. She never said anything until she ate the food made by the head chef that had no extras that she claimed allergies too. Then she said that she had a reaction.  

The views all day were amazing and it was a fun day. It was a shorter hike which was good because I am heading back to the hostel to pack. 

Tomorrow I head off to the Huayhuash trek and I don’t think I will have WiFi or cell service in my tent. Catch you again on July 24 

July 12 Lake 69

The day started super early. I was up at 4am. Things ran smoothly. Humberto, the guest house owner, walked me to the bus stop and I was picked up by a small bus and then transferred to a large bus. We drove around and picked up people and then headed out. There was a breakfast stop which was good to be able to use the bathroom. 

We then went up to Llanganuco which has the most beautiful turquoise color. It was a photo stop only. Then a bit more driving up to the trailhead past another pretty lake (no stop)

At the trailhead we got a talk about not pooping on the trail. It is illegal. The guide said he would post a YouTube video of offenders. 

The hike started out very mellow and then geared up to switchbacks. There were huge waterfalls that could be viewed when panting for breath due to the thin air. Next we walked through a high valley with a couple of small tarns. Next came some killer steep switchbacks. I had to stop to catch my breath many many times.   That was no surprise because the lake was at 15000 feet. Oh my

Lake 69 was also a beautiful color of blue.  As fate would have it I met up with Fabian and Jimmy there. I took a bunch of photos and hung out for a bit.  I met a German guy and we talked about hiking in Germany and the Dream Way Hike that I did last year. 

I took it easy on the down hill. My head hurt a bit - probably a touch of altitude sickness. 

We left late because some people got back late but but still arrived in Huaraz before I expected. I tried to find the vegetarian place that I went to the other day but I think it was closed. I randomly walked into a restaurant that posts its menu daily. In my poor Spanish I explained that I needed a vegetarian meal. They made me a veggie dish from eggs. It was quite good. I  going back tomorrow. 

My hands were cold today despite the fact that I had gloves. I love those gloves because I can still use my phone while wearing them. Back in town I bought some ALPACA gloves for about $3. Awesome 

Tomorrow a fellow Huayhuash hiker and I are going to hike Lake Chirup 

Lake Rajulcolta

July 10 Lake Rajulcolta

Today Fabian, his new friend Jimmy and I took a 4WD truck to the trailhead for our hike. 

The scenery was really lovely as we drove up through an ancient glacial valley. It was lined with small farms. The road was very sketchy so I was glad that we were in the 4WD.   I had to cover my eyes as dogs ran in front of the truck. I was sure we would hit one but it didn’t appear to occur. We also saw horses, sheep, chickens and cows along the way. 

The driver let us off at the gate.  We walked up a mellow trail to the lake. That might seem easy but the lake was at 13800 ft so there were times that I felt a little out of breath. The hike was about 10 miles. 

Jimmy found the hike to be pretty challenging. Later I found out that his bus only arrived that morning at 6am. Also he was carrying his laptop in his backpack. Since he didnt have a chance to get food Fabian and I shared with him. 

The lake overlooked by Glacier was so pretty. It was a really great hike.  We only saw one mountaineering camp and four day hikers. 

Tomorrow I head to Laguna 69 which promises to be a challenge. The agency could arrange it because there was some problem with the early morning pickup. (They have the same problem the day of the Huayhuash but I am going to walk to their office) 

I haven’t gotten a meal today but I am hoping to find something without much hassle. 

I bought my bus ticket to Lima for the flight home and got seat #1

Laguna Wilcacocha

Peru July 9 Acclimatization hike to Laguna Wilcacocha

A fellow Huayhuash trekker names Fabian and I decided to hike together to Lake Wilcacocha. We met at 9am at the central market and took a collectivo to the hike trailhead.  It was a steep hike up a wide track. It wasn’t marked but you could always hike up the road if you didn’t know how to go. I downloaded the map on Gaia and we were able to navigate up with no problem. 

Along the way we saw example is mud brick homes and small agricultural plots. There were expansive views to the valley and the snow capped mountains peaked out from time to time 

The lake was rather small but very pretty. I got some amazing reflection shots of the lake and the clouds. We walked around the lake and saw some rather startling things. The first was when loud music played at one of the jutting rock view points and people appeared to be dancing. Turns out they were filming a music video. 

We walked around the lake viewing the bird life. There were coots there and another long beaked bird that I didn’t recognize. Then the strangest thing we saw folks carrying a large inflatable boat up the path. They launched it and went i the lake which wasn’t bigger than a pond.  

Fabian and I walked down and caught a collectivo back to Huaraz.  From there we found a vegetarian place to eat. I got a cheese omelette.  Fabian got a three course meal for the same price but it was chicken. 

From there we went to the tour agency and I paid my balance.  We also booked a tour for tomorrow to Lake Rajucolta. The road there is very bad so we need to go in some type of four wheel drive. When we called it was booked but found another. However this guy wanted to charge more so the agency said we could go in a taxi but we might need to get out and push it at some places.   We decided to go for that but then the 4 wheel guy said there is  a spot that is impassable because we need to go straight up so we paid the higher price. It wasn’t that much. We got the driver for the day for 220 soles. That is about $70 of which I paid half. 

We went our separate ways after that. I was feeling kinda of headachy. Maybe from the altitude so I took a nap and some ibuprofen. I felt better when I woke up. I found a great piece of pie but no vegetarian food so I ate French fries for dinner. On the way back to the hostel I found a likely place for tomorrow. 

I also need to get my bus ticket to go back to Lima. I want to be sure to get one of those front seats. I will do that tomorrow when we get back 

Travel to Huaraz

Peru July 9 Travel to Huaraz

After several hours of sleep and a shower I catch a taxi to the bus station to take a luxury bus to Huaraz. The seats are supposed to be like first class airline capsules. I hope to catch up on any lost sleep there. It is a 7-8 hour trip to Huaraz. 

Adventures at the bus station 

1. I went to the ticket booth instead of the departure area 
2. I tried to enter the arrival area instead of the departure area
3. I didn’t realize they wanted more money to enter the departure area. 
4. I couldn’t find the departure platform because it was a VIP lounge 
5. I think I was supposed to check my large bag but they checked it at the gate 

However there was a soda machine that sold some form of Diet Coke in the VIP lounge.  I needed to show my passport when boarding and that went right over my head. A few notes about the bus are below

1. My day pack didn’t fit well but I can use the other little one that I brought next time
2. The bus had working usb charging ports (the plane did not)
3. The bus had a working touch screen with movies and books. Unfortunately all in Spanish but impressive none the less
4. I think there is supposed to be working WiFi but that doesn’t seem to be working. However I have cell service so I can do some things on my phone. 
5. Blanket (very nice) pillow and headphones provided

One funny thing that happened was that I couldn’t get to the bathroom. I couldn’t open the door out of our “cabin”. I had push the call button for the attendant who was on the second floor of the bus. He then showed me where the bathroom was. I am not sure if others had had the same problem but three our four people went right after me.  

For myself and everyone else who may take a VIP bus if you are long legged the front seats would be the best. I am going for that on the way back 

My guesthouse  was waiting for me at the bus stop which was great. They had a sign with my name. The place is on the edge of town but the people are super nice and it’s very clean. 

I met up with someone else on my trek for dinner and we organized a shirt acclimatization hike for tomorrow. 

The town is at 10000 ft and I could feel it tonight or I might just be tired from travel  

Sorry but images just don’t seem to be working from my phone

Peru Travel

I have packed far more than the last few summers. The main pack isn’t too heavy just very bulky. I also have my day pack and included a lightwieght pack for around town use.  I tried to take a selfie carrying all the gear but failed. I need practice with the  selfie stick. 

Security was so odd. A crazy man giving instruction regarding a sniffer dog. STOP GO DON’T STOP. Later he was yelling about something but I was through. 

I wait here at SFO  for my flight. I got here three hours early as the ticket said to but it is overkill. This is ubdoubtedly because I have a domestic flight first. 

Oh my just realized  that I still need to pay for the rest of my trip and I doubt they take credit cards since they didnt for my deposit.  I asked the flight attendebt where the ATM was and she sent me to another terminal. (On the way back I noticed one right by the gate LOL). It is a Wells Fargo. I decide to use a debit catd that I rarely use because it doesnt charge fees for using other bank atms. It is declined. Oops I fgure out I chose the wrong account type. Then it works but I get a call from the fraud dept. I called the bank to investigate. A phone call in Peru would be costly.  It was because I chose the wrong account but  I found out that my travel notice wasnt in the system. I had put in but I must have missed a step so all of this was a blessing in disguise. I put in my travel notice over the phone and now I am good to go 

I upgraded to premium economy for this first section of my trip. (My other choice was a middle seat). Maybe I will splurge and upgrade on other sections but I have aisle seats for all of those towards the front of the plane so maybe not

I wonder if there is anything else that I have forgotten????

The flight was late but the food wasn’t bad and I had a good seat with tons of legroom 

The hotel I am at may not be fancy but the guy picked me up at the airport, it was a ten minute drive and he is taking me to the bus station in the morning allowing me to get a little sleep. 

Venice

Mike and Vanessa, my Canadian trail friends, and I met again in Venice. Together we wandered to streets of Venice. Then we took a water bus out to Murano Island where I mistakenly thought the colorful fishing homes were. Murano is an island with a tradition of blowing glass. We watched a very interesting free demonstration. There were three men involved in the process. They each had jobs along the way. The glass was heated in a super hot furnace. Then it was worked a bit to shape it and it was blown. Next it was put in colored glass and silver. It was reheated and the shaping contines. At some point another piece of glass can be added to give it as a handle. We saw two or three pieces worked. By the time we left that room, sweat was running out of every pore in our bodies.

From there we went over to the cemetary island. We walked around and looked how death is handled in Venice. There isn't alot of ground so the bodies placed in tall stone structures above ground. This probably also helps in times of flooding. Multiple bodies are in each structure - sort of stacked up and side by side.

From there we took two more water buses to Burano. Finally our tickets were checked so we could be glad we did the right thing and bought the multi-day pass. The houses on Burano were so pretty. They are all painted in different bright colors. There were lots of people and the sun was high so my photos did not turn out as well as I would have liked. We walked around and then walked to the next island over by crossing a bridge. There we walkwd through a vegetable/ sculpture garden with a michlen star restaurant and a vineyard. The prices were out of our budget.

From there we returned to Venice and went to look for the climate change scilpture of two arms reaching up out of the grand canal. We found it and took a few photos under it. Then we went up the canal and got on a water bus sonwe could take a photo going past it. We got off on the other side of the canal and saw the remnants of the Rialto Mercado (it is a morning market). We also took a few more sculpture photographs.

After that I headed back to the hostel. As I had made two different reservations I had to check out in the AM and put my luggage in the luggage room. I wasn't allowed to check back in until after 2. It was about 4 so I would be able to get my new bed.

I met Mike and Vanessa for dinner. We wandered around the Rialto area and eventually decided on a pizza place for dinner. Then we all rode a water bus to San Marco together. It was very pretty with the lights on the water. We said our goodbyes there. I hope I see them again. We had lots of fun together.

Then I took a water bus back to the hostel. That ride was also pretty. I am really glad that I had the chance to do that at night.

Day 29 No matter what it takes I will get to Venice

After alot of road walking yesterday, I noticed that the map showed a slighly different route than the book and GPX. I asked the hotel manager about it and he siad that he preferres to walk on the West side of the like the map showed. In the morninf that is the way that I went. (FYI The Daaldo hotel is NOT air conditioned. I wouldn't recommend it if you value a good night's sleep)

The walk was pretty. I saw muskrats ( or maybe rats) swimminf in the river I saw a couple of huge herons. All seemed to be going well. Then I met a gentleman who asked me where I was headed. I told him Venice and gave him the name of the ferry terminal that I was headed for to get ti Venice. He seemed worried about this and told me the trail terminated in 3 km. He pointed to a busy road and seemed to want me to go that way. It was very unclear what he was telling me and he didnt want to tupe into Google Translate. Since he was local I made a decision to get to the other side of the river. Now you may have just jumped to the conclusion that I swam across the river but no. The busy road had an overpass above the trail and the river. I scrambled up the side of it on all fours, hopped the fence, walked on the road and then scrambled down the otherside.

I walked on the levee for a ways and then on the road and back to the levee. After a ways I came to some Vietnamese type fiahing nets. Some were of modest size but some were enormous. It's a wonder there are any fish left in that river.

Eventually I came to a busy road and a bridge. I crossed the bridge on the road and then dis another road walk to a campground on the Adriatic Sea. It was kind of neat to put my feet in. From there it was a ten minute walk across the sand ( well maybe longer as I had back tracked and gone down a deas end road before I realized that I needes the sandy walk). Then up through a deluxe campground with pristine pools.

From there to the ferry terminal it was a walk on a paves bicycle trail right next to the road to the ferry terminal. The streets were lines with shops selling flip flops, hats, floats and all things beachy. I would have to say that this was probably the low point of the trip for me. I walked to the end on sheer will and determination (and sore feet as well as an aching collarbone - my pack had made two ugly marks on it).

Thats the end of the whine. The good news is that as soon as I bought my ferry ticket the boat loaded and I was off to Venice. I got there in the middle of the day with hoards of others. I walked to Piazza San Marco. Then I walked back to the pier and bought a vaporetto (water bus) ticket for unlimited trips for three days. Then I took a vaporetto to my hostel on Giudecca. It was just as hot there but hardly any people.

I arrived around 1 but was told that I couldn't check until 2. I left my bag and walked down to the supermarket. I was not in great shape (overheated, sore feet, rash) and it seemed like an eternity to get there but it was just a five minute walk.

I checked in and took a shower and felt much better. After a nap I went out and explores the Rialto Bridge area.

Distance: 16 miles

Overall Distance: 569km(352 miles)
Elevation up: 30290 m (almost 100,000ft)

I will post the complete spot gps track when I get home.


Photos at https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0q532ODWVPkrI

This is is my track for the last seven days
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0ZqguMWq0nIVvMudyEDQOcLFQgoN7hGXc

Day 28 A Long Hot Walk to Jesolo

Leaving the hotel at 5:30 the temperature was fairly comfortable. I applied insect replellent before I left so I thought that I would have few hold ups. However, after about 10 minutes I had to stop. The Spot had a red GPS light. I did a bit if research and realized that I had finally run low on batteries. I had expected this to happen after two weeks and I thought it would be completely dead. I had another set if batteries so it was just a matter of digging them out of my backpack (there were towards to bottom).

The sunrise was very beautiful as I walked.
I walked on levees most of the morning. Unfortunately, I was kind of in the zone and missed turnoffs two separate times. This didn't cause me to be lost but I did put in some extra miles. That was not needed on a 19 mile day. Along the way I passed an area that Hemmingway spent part of his war days on the frontline. He fell in love with a nurse during this time and wrote a novel about it.

Most if the firat part of the day was pretty non-descript. Eventually I did walk past some pretty intersting sights.

There was a bridge that opens to let ships through. I believe it was there during the war but I couldn't read the sign

There was also a poontoon bridge. It was placed over a number of boats to support it. For vehicles there was a 1€ toll but pedestrians didn't nees to pay.

Finally there was also a Roman or Middle Age building that was used to control canal traffic. Legend has it that San Romauldo lived there in the 10th century. A farmer created the relief on the side if the building with the initials SR and two sheep and a shepard to commemorate that. The building was also to collect a toll from rafts and barges that navigated the wayerway.

Along the river I saw egrets, cormorants, ducks and swans. I also saw a big praying mantis.

The days was exceedingly hot. It was above 90 when I finally arrived in Jesolo. The hike today was probably 20 miles with the navigational errors along the way.

I will be glad to arrive in Venice tomorrow. My feet are shot and I have some kind of a rash (perhapa a reaction to the insect repellent or heat rash).

Photos at https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0q532ODWVPkrI

This is is my track for the last seven days
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0ZqguMWq0nIVvMudyEDQOcLFQgoN7hGXc