When we first move into an apartment a month always seems like such a long time. Well, here we are more than halfway through our stay here. We’ll be moving out and moving on to Arequipa a week from Friday!
One thing the limited time does, though, is to force us to get out and see the local sights – because who knows when or if we’ll be back? So on that note, here’s what we’ve been up to.
This is the city of Huaraz seen from the mountains East of town.
I went for a hike to laguna Apuac which is just outside of town. The taxi dropped me off at about 12,000 feet and the lake is at 15,000 feet. I felt the lack of air!
On the way down I summoned the energy to explore the Wilcahuain ruins before getting a collectivo back to town.
One sunny Sunday we took a taxi up to a lookout for the view.
Putting the finishing touches on another yummy blueberry crisp.
Last Friday we took a guided tour to the ruins of Chavín on the other side of the mountains. We stopped to see this alpine lake on the way.
The ruins themselves were pretty impressive. Construction started around 1200 BC making them some of the oldest ruins in Peru.
There were lots of cool tunnels to explore.
The town of Chavín
The next day our landlords invited us to a party at their house. We had a good time chatting with some of the local expats. There were lots of kids for Quinn to play with too.
We saw a sign advertising kids workshops at the local community center, and Q decided that he wanted to try Karate.
Last night, in a fit of 80s nostalgia, Jen and I watched the original Karate Kid. I thought it would seem campy and dated (like most 80s movies) but it was just as good as I remember it.
On Sunday I went on a guided mountain bike ride. It being the low season, it was just me and the guide. He’s been riding here for 20 years and knows lots of great trails. The altitude is tough, but it was a great day.
Beautiful! Loved your pics!
You are getting closer to Huacachina which is just outside the centre of Ica. Awesome little oasis town with amazing dunes all around. There used to be a simple camp site (very small!) in town and there are plenty of dune adventures on offer including the do it yourself hard work sandboarding option. The convent in Arequipa was pretty special too.
If you go out and see the condors, the tourists leave quite early and you may then have the place to yourselves so plan a few hours.
Stay well.
🙂
Hi Rupert and Kelly,
Thank you for the suggestions! We are definitely headed that direction with many planned stops along the way, so we will definitely check those sites out!