October 7, 2005
Day 9
Today was the same routine as the last few days: Wake up at sunrise, eat a small breakfast, pack up my stuff, and start hiking. It only took two hours to get to Cashapampa, our final destination at an altitude of 2973 meters (9754 feet). The trek was downhill almost the whole way.
At Cashapampa, Gregorio, Carolina, and I took a taxi down the mountain to Caraz. At first, we were the only ones in the taxi, but more and more people kept getting in. Just when I thought it was full, a guy squeezed into the hatchback behind all of our luggage. That must have been a fun ride.
In Caraz, we loaded our gear onto another bus and took off for Huaraz. The hour-long bus ride was rather inconsequential, but I had mixed feelings about being back in society with the honking horns and belching car exhaust.
Morad wasn't able to get a room in the guest house we were staying in previously, so he went to another hostel and I got my own room for the night. It was fifty percent more expensive than the double room, but still not a bad price at $5.
Most of my afternoon was spent putting together notes and looking at photos from my Santa Cruz trip. I also got a ticket to the nearby Chavin ruins for tomorrow. The rest of my evening was spent doing things that I couldn't do for the last four days like showering and washing clothes.
The complete photo album for this entry is here.
Wow! That's some pretty scenery Danno! I bet it just about knocked the wind out of you the first few times before you started getting used to it eh?
Questions...
do you know how far you walked? And do you know how heavy your pack was?
I only ask because I've never walked more than 30 K in a day and that at normal elevation. Carrying between 40 and 60 lbs at the time. I had blisters all over both feet from that and I was wondering if you have any to speak of?
Anyways, glad you made the trek safe and sound. This week I learned about some of the "soldier ants" that live in south america on the discovery channel and I would hate for you to get eaten by bugs. I think they're more of a rain forest thing anyways though so don't get too freaked out.
GOD sorry I mentioned it.
Mike
ps did your donkey have a name?
Hi Mike. I think the total horizontal distance was about 30 K, spread out over 4 days. I only had to carry about 10 pounds because the donkeys carried the rest of our stuff. No problems with blisters. I think my socks and shoes are really great like that. The donkey guy said one of his donkey's names was "Blanco," but I think he just said that to shut us up.