Chavín to La Union – Monday, October 10, 2016

We are in another small hotel without Internet tonight so again this won’t be posted until later. 

After talking to the lady at the tourist office in Chavín this morning we decided that the best way to get to our next stop would be to go back to Huaraz and get a bus to La Union from there. La Union is on our itinerary because Duke remembers being particularly impressed by the beauty of the ruins outside of town. 

So we back tracked to Huaraz. Huaraz is a climbing center so it has a lot of foreigners. We had a 90 minute layover which we spent at a very nice restaurant where we had hamburgers, fries and beer! My first hamburger in over a month. 



The bus ride from Huaraz to La Union was another stunning ride. I’m sure you are getting really sick of my quoting our altitudes. I can’t help it I am addicted! Today the bus went over a 15,320 ft (4,670 m) pass. 

We arrived in La Union without any idea where we would stay. I sat on a street corner surrounded by our bags while Duke checked out accommodations. I had a nice conversation with the lady who owned the shop I was sitting in front of. Duke returned to lead me to the place we were staying. We have a very basic, clean room, my primary complaint is that there is no toilet seat!

Huaraz to Chavín – Sunday, October 9, 2016

This morning we caught an 8:30 bus to Chavín. The chickens in the picture were loaded into the luggage compartment of the bus. 

The road went up over a 14,500 pass and the trip took about two and a half hours. We are staying in a small hotel called Chavín Turístico. It is quite pleasant but we have no internet so this post won’t be posted until we have Internet again. 

This afternoon we toured the Chavín de Huántar ruins. The site is huge. It has underground passages, platforms and a big main square. It was all built by the Chavín, one of Peru’s first civilizations. The ruins date back to 1500 BC. At one point on the tour we went down into a big chamber that contains the Lanzón de Chavín. It is a 14 foot high verticals carving that looks like a big knife. 


Llanganuco Mountain Lodge to Huaraz – Saturday, October 8, 2016

This morning we had our last breakfast at Llanganuco Mountain Lodge. It was another beautiful sunny morning. After packing we sat and read on the terrace until our taxi picked us up at 11. The taxi took us back down to Yungay where we caught a collectivo to the town of Huaraz where we are staying tonight. 

Way back in Cajamarca we met a couple from Quincy, California and had a great time sharing drinks and stories with them. Today not ten minutes after we arrived in Huaraz who should we run into in the square but Kim and Pete from Quincy! It was great fun catching up. 

We are staying at the Hotel Churup here in Huaraz. It is very, nice, bright and relaxing. They only had one room left when we got here so we were lucky to get it. 

While I caught up on blog posts this afternoon Duke bought our bus tickets for 8 am tomorrow to Chavín to see the ruins there. 

For dinner we had really delicious curry from a restaurant called Chili Heaven



Walking to dinner we saw a German man that Duke sat next to on the bus to Kuélap. We’ve seen him in a couple of different towns singing for money. Tonight he was singing right next to several indigenous woman who had their hand knit woolens laid out on the sidewalk to sell. All the women were knitting while they minded their wares. 

Duke said that if we run short of money he doesn’t plan to sing in the street. Instead he says he will just set me to knitting!!

Llanganuco Mountain Lodge Day 3 – Friday, October 7, 2016

We woke up Friday morning to clear skies and stunning views of the two gorgeous mountains behind the lodge. It is amazing to think that we are sitting at  3,503 m (11,490ft) and the top of the tallest of those two mountains is still another 3,265 m ( 10,711 ft) above us!



I think this may be the first sunny day we have had in the mountains of Peru. It was a perfect day to have sun because we went with a guide and another couple to Llanganuco Lakes.  A taxi picked us all up at the lodge and took us to the lakes and then we hiked back to the lodge. 


The upper lake where we started our hike is at 3,900 m (11,492 ft). Because of the altitude and the blue sky the lakes are an amazing shade of blue. 





The first night at Llanganuco Mountain Lodge we were the only couple there. Our last night, Friday there were three other couples. When we walked back to our room after sharing a great dinner with the other guests the snow covered peaks were absolutely glowing in the moon light. 

Llanganuco Mountain Lodge day 2 – Thursday, October 6, 2016

As I think I mentioned in yesterday’s post our stay here at Llanganuco Mountain Lodge includes 3 meals a day. This morning we had a really yummy breakfast out on the lawn. While we were eating the clouds cleared and we got spectacular views of Huandoy Peak and Huascarán Peak. 



After breakfast we did about a five mile loop  hike through the countryside to a lookout point west of the lodge. The great chef at the lodge packed lunches for us and we had a picnic before returning. 




That is the lodge in the distance. 


We spent the early afternoon relaxing, reading and chatting with Charlie the owner. 

Before dinner we hiked around the little lake near the ruins we went to yesterday. It fills up in the rainy season which is just starting now so right now it is at its lowest.