We walked over to California Kitchens for breakfast. Eggs, toast, coffee and wifi. A great way to start any day. The sky was grey outside but not raining. We sent some emails, checked like 10 web pages for weather reports hoping we’d find a forecast for Huaraz we would like. Nothing good, but we did have options. Stay here, twiddle our thumbs, hike, and maybe check out the hot springs that were close by, go to Lima and catch a bus north to Ecuador where the weather was usually stable year round (the weather in Ecuador as we were trying to make a decision was dumping 200mm of rain a day for the next week), or go to lima and regroup. We had some contacts of some local climbers there and seeing how Lima is at sea level we figured the temperatures would be milder. We knew there were a few crags just outside of Lima which weren’t great but worth checking out. Seems like all signs point to Lima.
We finished breakfast, walked around, paid a bill we owed from Hatun Machay and did some shopping. Since the camera was stolen, each day passed with both of us saying “wow look at that, wish we had a camera to take a photo of it!” Luckily for us, Huaraz was full of tourists all coming to trek and climb peak and with that comes a hundred stores all selling the same digital cameras. We found a place selling a 14mp Sony Cyber-shot for $150 less then you get it in Canada for. On top of this, you also get a 4 GB SDcard free and a camera case. Sold! On our shopping spree we also checked out many places selling toques, sweaters, socks and anything else you could knit from wool and lama. We bought a toque each which turned out to be some of the best2 dollars we both spent. During the walk around town it started pissing rain and this was then final straw. We didn’t come all this way to be hanging in the rain no climbing so Lima here we come! We went to the bus terminal and seeing how it was now 5pm we had to take 2 seats that barely folded down right at the back of the bus. There’s one rule about taking a bus, no matter what bus, no matter what country. Never sit at the back. One, the bathrooms are usually at the back and it stinks, but more important is number two. The back quarter of the bus is bumpy as hell. Each little pot hole is amplified and you practically bounce out of your chair. Oh well, at least well be in Lima by 5 am the next morning...
Since being in Huaraz we had eaten a few times at a restaurant called El Hornos which has an adobe oven and AMAZING thin crust wood fire pizza. YUMMM. Being out last supper in this sweet little town we decided to order take out and chill in the room with dinner a movie. A travels date night! Dinner was amazing and we both were super sleepy as we watched the movie and waited for 10pm to roll around so we could go catch our night bus. Cati went and returned our key to Orlando and came back with some funny, but sad news. Orlando had tripped out on her and told her he wanted us to pay for this night in full. Cati discussed this with him (argued..?) and he got really mad. The same man who let us store our stuff for free while we were in Hatun and told us not to worry because it’s not a hostel and he wasn’t going to rent it out to anyone else, now was being super choked and demanding we pay for the night. Cati lost this battle, we paid, and I’m sad to say we left the House of Rolando on bad terms and no smiles. Poor guy, I think he’s just kind of senile...
We made it to the bus terminal on time and as we were waiting Cati mentioned her throat was feeling rough. She went to the little stand to buy something and came back with Orange soda and some chocolate. Such a Cati move. We ate the chocolate and I went and got two more... Two peas in a pod...
The bus left on time and as we bumped through Huaraz my prediction about our seats were right, bouncing out of our seats and slamming left to right as we rounded corners. Cati closed her eyes for an hour while I watched a movie and then suddenly woke up. “I feel like I have to puke...” Some things you just don’t want to hear from the person sitting next to you at the back of a double decker bus when the only washroom was downstairs and the isle was filed with sleeping heads and feet. I emptied out a small plastic bag I had to make a makeshift barfbag. I got her settled with both feet on the ground to calm the motion sickness and fed her 1.5 grovols. I was planning on eating two myself, but Cati was running a small fever and I figured it was better to stay awake in case she woke up again. The 7 hour night bus felt like 10. It was long, twisty, cold and bumpy. We went from 3000 meters down to sea level with like a million sharp hair pin switch backs in between. Saying I was relieved when we rolled into the dawn lit Lima bus terminal would be an understatement. It was 630am and I was grumpy and tired. Cati woke up feeling better which was a really good thing because we didn’t have a placed booked and needed to make some calls to hostels we found in the lonely planet. 5 calls later we had place booked and were in a taxi on route. We arrived to a nice big old heritage building and checked in. Only one problem though, our room needed cleaning before we would have it and we had to wait till 8am because the cleaning lady was sleeping... The defiantly failed to mention that on the phone... So, a short nap on a couch and we had our room. Two single small beds, dirty walls and a dingy bathroom. 32 dollars a night! What a rip off... We slept till 3pm and both of us woke up hungry. We wanted to go to all you can eat sushi but it didn’t start till 7pm so we opted to walk around the neighbourhood. The name of the neighbourhood is Barrack which is just east of the busy, touristy Miraflores. We could see the ocean from our window and there was a small town feel to it. We found a small little cafe owned by a Texan in his 20s and his Peruvian Cousins. Fries and a toasted tomatoe, mozza and basil sandwich went down easily and we decided to walk it off and check out some sights. We found a Plaza with an old school library on one side and a bunch of Stalls selling Drinks, sweet, clothing and lots more on the other, as well as speakers set up and a four piece band consisting of Old doods and a few instruments id never seen. The music started and some teens with one adult started to dance. It went on for 10 minutes and by the end of it we had figured out it was some sort of harvest dance. I got some really cool videos and ill post them as soon as I can.
We rounded out the day by making it to the all you can eat sushi and gorging ourselves. It was 20 bucks or so each and amazing! The only complaint I have about it is the use of cream cheese in a lot of the rolls. Cati said they do them same thing in Argentina and suggested maybe they use it to seal the rolls. Funny, but probably true...
The next day, the first priority was finding a new hostel. I don’t mind paying a little extra for place if it’s a little nicer. The problem with the place we spent the first night was it was more expensive for a worse room. So before check out we walked around the new hood and settled on a room in another old house. The lady was super nice, there was free wifi and the rooms were much cleaner. Best of all it was cheaper. After that we went walked to Miraflores where there is an underground mall to have lunch. We walked back to the hostel, watched entourage for a few hours then went to the grocery store for a snack style lunch. The grocery stores in the cities are the same in Canada. Big, busy and more expensive then the farmers market. An example would be the cheese we bought. A half kilo in Huaraz farmers market was 3 dollars. Here in Lima it was 14 dollars. Reading back over the last few paragraphs I suppose one sentence could sum up our second day in Lima. We did nothing but eat sleep and watch movies. This is what happens when you put climbers in a city. We both were going crazy and agreed we needed to climb the next day for sure!
Just before we were about to go to sleep, a climber named Mateis called. He knew a few climbers Cati did and she had sent him a facebook message earlier in the week. He tried to explain over the phone how to get to a crag that was just outside Lima but it was pretty complicated so we decided to meet at a McDonalds. So, rather than sleep we walked to the McDonalds in search of information of somewhere to climb. We met in front of the McDonalds, walked to a hostel his buddy owned and he showed us photos and gave us lots of information on the crag he had mentioned. To be honest, it didn’t look that great. Loose, ugly scenery, ugly rock. However, he did show us another place which we already knew we wanted to climb at. Huallay. A beautiful rocky landscape and we were told there was 3000 hectares of rocky spires and boulders. A small portion has been bolted and it looked epic in the photos. Later that night we both agreed the other climbing spot wasn’t worth the effort to go to, and even though it was possibly going to be raining we decided to risk it and go to Huallay. The next morning we woke up, and had a few errands to do. Buy bus ticket, try and find me glasses, and get groceries for Huallay. Huallay wasn’t a large town and we were told to stock up on supplies before we left Lima. We went to Miraflores and spent most of the day looking for glasses. I found a place that sold frames, lenses, and gave you a free eye exam. The best part of all? They would be ready before the day was over. Score! We also bought our bus tickets to Huallay and did a massive grocery/supply mission. For $50 dollars we bought enough food for a few weeks. Food in this country is super cheap!!
We made it to the bus terminal at 10pm, just before the bus left .The bus was a 2 level bus and because we had bought our seats so late we didn’t get the VIP ones. However, we were right in the front on the top story which meant more leg room and even better; we had our own windshield and could see perfectly out the front. The bus trip was easy and we arrived in a little town called Cerro De Pasco at 6am. Wow...where is we?
I forgot to mention the bus doesn’t go right from Lima to Huallay. Instead, we have to get off in Pasco, then take a “bus” to the rock forest we were headed. From what we were told, you could camp for free or you had the option to stay in the home of the family who owned most of the rocks.
We left Lima at 10pm the night before in a rush. We slept all night on the bus then awoke in Pasco. We looked out the windows at the terminal to see a super ghetto scene. Strays running around, vendors selling random stuff, garbage and dirt everywhere. Oh ya and everyone were wearing toques and coats. I looked over at Cati... Poor thing, she was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and sandals. At least I had a hoodie and pants on. Haha we forgot about how cold it gets when you drive up a mountain 4300 meters. A quick wardrobe change and Cati was ready to help find a taxi. We didn’t see a bus, and considering we had so much stuff we figured we’d hire a taxi. How much could it be? We talked to some young punk looking dude that approached us and asked how much. $56 Canadian dollars?!?! Thanks but no thanks. We had just paid $36 to take an 8 hour bus in comfy seats. His excuse for the inflated rate was that he was going to show us around and blah blah. What a dick head. Thanks for the help. We decided to grab our bags and hoof it.
We walked out of the terminal and the town wasn’t in any better shape. People cooking chicken feet on makeshift bbqs, garbage in the streets, greyness and smog with tons of abandoned little houses crowding the mountains around. Not an overly inspiring place or time in our travels. We asked a few cabbies and they all quoted $30 dollars. Still too high. A lady passing by overheard us and told us to walk a few meters down the road and there were buses going to where we wanted. We walked around the corner and saw more taxis but when we talked to the driver we finally figured out what was going on. Taxis will fill up their cars and then drive to other towns. So in my opinon “shared taxis” would be a better name but here they are called busses. And guess how much it cost. 2 dollars! It went from $56 to $30 to $2. Big Dave, eat your heart out!
We rolled up to the house of Alcibiades (I don’t actually know how to pronounce it still) and his wife. They have lived there since they were children and his parents lived there since they were. No matter what I say or how many photos I take I can’t do it justice. Rock everywhere! 6000 hectares which according to Google is over 14 000 acres. Wow. There is boulder, sport routes and even trade. Mostly everything is about 30 meters with a few exceptional UN bolted lines that have to be in the 50 meter range.
We had some coca tea while Alcibiades told us about the history of the place. Apparently, 25 years earlier, Wolfgang Gullich a famous sport climber, had come to this place and climbed some routes. He would be considered the founder of the area which is pretty cool. All the locals thought was, “crazy gringo...” While we sat and listened to the stories, a lamb walked in the open door. No one batted an eye except me and Cati. The little thing known as Patcho walked around, begged for food and then got chased out by the wife... Later, we learned that Patchos momma had been killed and Alcibiades had raised him his whole life. Now, Patcho thinks he’s a dog and doesn’t hang out with the other 160 sheep Alcibiades has. Instead, he follows his master around with the 2 dog who also live here.
While we were in Huallay we climbed every day during the morning hours and every night it rained. We stayed in a little building perched on a small hill that the family built especially for climbers and it only cost 15 soles a night. One morning we work up extra early and went down the hill to help Alcibiades get the llamas out of their pens. We were a little late coming down and he had waited for us and all the llamas had their ears back and were glaring at us... The same morning I got to feed Patcho a bottle of milk. All I can say is I now feel sorry for any momma sheep. He sucked and bit the nipple on the bottle so hard I thought he was going to rip it off!
We also did lots of hiking and at 4300 meters with a pack full of climbing gear this isn’t an easy task. We found a massive 30meter rock spire that had never been climbed and also I found my dream project. Its 50 meters of smooth rock. There are some pockets and a few ledges but I think its going to be 12d or harder. We tried to borrow a drill and get some bolts so I could start working on it but to no avail. I’m defiantly coming back to this particular project because this is the first route I’ve ever walked up to and was instantly inspired.
We didn’t do much else besides climb and hike and eat. One thing worth mentioning was the hot springs just up the road. For a few dollars you got you own private tub big enough for 5 people, and fresh 40 degree spring water filling to almost a meter high. After discovering this, I’ve decided that with another decade of bolting the 100s of untapped routes and sending the thousands of untouched boulders combined with cheap accommodation, good weather and hot springs just around the corner, Huallay will be the premier destination in South America for climbing. I honestly can’t wait to bring a crew of people, a few drills, bolts and lots of crash pads!!
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