Huaraz - Day 98

Trip Start Jan 31, 2008
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Trip End Ongoing

Flag of Peru  ,
Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Arrived in Huaraz at 6am and was approached by several guys offering hostels and treks. At this point I just wanted to get my head down for a proper sleep after being completely frozen on the bus for most of the 9 hour journey. Must be close to freezing here in the Andes, not use to these chilly temperatures after spending so much time in the hot and humid Amazon. At least they'll be no mosquito's!!

One of the local touts took me to the Gyula hostel in the centre of town, it's cheap and cheerful and I have the privacy of my own room. Will be a good base to organise some trips over the coming days. After a few hours sleep I had a stroll around town. The city was flattened by an earthquake in the 70's so it's now a bit of a concrete jungle. The chaotic traffic, the hustle and bustle, the traditionally dressed women and the snow capped peaks of the Andes as the back drop, I've finally arrived in the real Peru!! This is exactly how I imagined the Andes to be, and I like it!!

This afternoon I organised a couple of day trips, one to ancient archelogical site of Chavin, the other to some sacred lakes high in the Andes. This should give me enough time to acclimatise to the altitude before climbing higher to possiblely do some trekking. In general I feel pretty good, i'm having no problems with the altitude so far even though I've come straight up from sea level. This evening I went out for some chicken and chips which I hope doesn't poison me and retired back to the hostel for an early night.
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