Reflections: South America

Both Peru and Brazil are similar to countries I have been to before. In many respects, much of Peru reminded me of some of the less developed Indian cities or for that matter the lesser developed South African towns, while Brazil reminded me a lot of South Africa. But they are still very different countries, and I really enjoyed my time.

They are very different countries - with very different attractions. While Peru is a lot less developed, it is the centre of civilisation in South America, and as such has a lot to offer in terms of things to see. Furthermore, with its varied geography, there is a lot of different things to do - from the jungle to the mountains to the beaches to the desert - it is all there. Brazil is a lot more developed (in many cases more than South Africa), and offers a simpler range of attractions - beaches and jungles; and interesting architecture highlights.

Brazil is a massive country, and traveling around is time consuming and expensive. To really explore Brazil, one requires a lot more time than what I had. That said, the fact that I went during Carnaval also contributed to my less time. There are a few places I would love to go in Brazil - the North-Eastern area from Salvador up to Belem, and to the South Western area - from Igazu Falls and the Pantanatal.

Cost wise, Brazil is a lot more expensive than Peru - especially in terms of accommodation and transport. And it is not that quality is better in Brazil for the higher price - I think Peru's buses were a lot better value for money, when compared to Brazilian buses for example. In total, my travels for two months cost me about R 45 000 (inclusive of airfares), or about 4 200 Euros. That is a full R 15 000 over my original budget; but my original budget had no provisions for Carnaval; which cost about R6 000. In all honesty, I had under budgeted for Brazil; and there are two problems that hit the costs simultaneously - the strengthening of the Real and the depreciation of the Rand. My expenditure was also impacted by two very expensive flights (of around R4 500 each): Sao Paulo - Lima and Manaus - Salvador; which together cost more than my return flight between Johannesburg and South Africa!

All said, I want to go back to South America - but for a lot longer period: at least 1 year, possibly longer. And instead of just Peru and Brazil, I would like to go to the other countries in South America; especially Argentina, Bolivia, Equador and Columbia. I estimate I will need about 2 000 US Dollars a month for such a trip (on average) so I better get saving!

Pevas to the Tri-Border, and plans forward

The 24 hour trip from Pevas to Santa Rosa, a small island on the river was more of the same in many respects. The river boat was less crowded (compared to Iquitos to Pevas and Yurimaguas to Iquitos journeys) which certainly made the journey more comfortable. The food was worse than the Yurimaguas to Iquitos trip, but since there were only 3 meals, this was not too big a deal. This was the first trip in quite a while where I am back traveling alone, and I must say boredom does become a factor - especially when we are talking of such long journeys (in terms of time). Not speaking much Spanish was a hindrance, but I did manage to converse briefly with some of my fellow passengers. I did spend a bit longer speaking to the seemingly only English speaking person on board, Mario, an engineer in the Peruvian navy, who was with an evangelical church group going towards the border. One thing I have noticed is that it is not only the Americans (as from USA) who think of Africa as one big country ... much of the conversation I have had with locals has been on ho big Africa really is (yes, much bigger than South America, let alone Brazil) and the various differences between the Amazon and African savannahs.

Santa Rosa is where all passport formalities for Peru is done, and it took considerably longer than it took to enter the country. It could be to do with my slightly disheveled look (slight beard, longer hair than normal), could be to do with my slightly disheveled passport (after being in pockets and hidden pockets) ... don't know ... it took a while.

At Santa Rosa, an English speaking Peruvian guide offered his services - well offered is the wrong term, he decided to tag along, and I decided that having someone to translate between Spanish, Portuguese and English for the officialdom and boat tickets would be worthwhile. After concluding passport formalities in Tabatinga (Brazil), we crossed over to Leticia (Columbia) to change money (there are no formal border checks or formalities) before heading back to buy the boat ticket. The normal river boat (much better than the Peruvian ones) to Manaus, the first major stop for me, is 4 days and leaves in two days time and I am tired of hammocks so was looking for a cabin. The cabin costs only slightly less than a speedboat - which seems quite luxurious and will get me to Manaus in 36 hours. For me it is a no brainer - this way, I have a chance to get to Belém for Carnaval ... let's see what happens.

For the record, neither Leticia nor Tabatinga, are delightful places to be at. I am here only because the first boat out happens to be tomorrow. Neither towns are very attractive, nor are they very touristy ... they just get the job done I suppose.

At Play in the Fields of the Lord

No, I have not turned religious. When I was in high school I watched a movie, and later read the book, which is set in the Peruvian Amazon (back then I preferred the movie because there is a lot of sex and violence ... I think I would still prefer the movie :p). After 4 days (more on why not 5 later) in the jungle, I think it is a rather apt title for this post ...

Downriver from Iquitos

Most tours from Iquitos operate up the river, and getting a company willing to do a tour down the river (towards Brazil) was difficult. Luckily, I was wanting to do a proper jungle trip, and not stay in lodges - past 20 or 30 Km from Iquitos, such facilities simply do not exist. This is a pity in some respect, because this is a very nice part of the country. It is brilliant in other respects - less tourists mean that the experience is more real, not staged.

The trip "officially" started (and would end) in Pevas, on old Amazon frontier town about 190 Km down the river from Iquitos. From there, we still had another 2 hour trip in motorised canoe, up the Ampiyacu River, to Nueva Esperanza, a village of the Ocaina tribe. Nueva Esperanza would be our "base" camp for the trip.

The Guide(s)

Initially I was looking to contract a freelance guide directly, but searches on the Internet revealed that the two freelance guides I did know off, both had rather bad reputations. So, eventually, I settled for an agency, Amazon Adventure Expeditions, owned and operated by one of the most experienced guides in Iquitos, Moises Torres Monteluis. The deal was organised with Moises directly, and my guide from the agency was Moises' brother Israel.

Israel (nick name Commando) speaks English quite well which the primary reason he was assigned to me. He has been guiding in the jungle, mostly trips similar to mine for about 10 years, which is a long time when one considers he is turning 28 next month. I got on quite well with Israel, which is an important issue when one considers the fact that it is only him, his "assistant" and myself for most of the trip.

Israel (left) does know the jungle quite well - both the fauna and the flora. He had a good eye in spotting birds amongst the trees, but he was not as good, in my opinion, as his assistant, René (right), a local resident of Nueva Esperanza. René is a pastor as well as the radio operator for the town. Israel and René were actually in the army together 12 years ago (when army service was compulsory) and René trained as a radio operator in the army.

The Village

While there are a few tribes in the Amazon who still wear only reeds and hunt with bows and arrows, the large majority of the Amazon tribes have had a touch of western civilisation infused in their lives. According to Israel, the western influence has probably gone too far - young children no longer learn their mother tongue, and thus Ren's generation will probably the last who can speak their mother tongue.

The village is relatively small - about 100 persons including the children (who make up a large percentage of the population). Although hunting still takes place (in fact a wild pig was hunted on the day we arrived), fishing and farming are the real activities of the village. Contrary to my expectations, there does not seem to be any gender defined divisions of labour: both men and women were working together to make new roofs for the village houses, I saw both men and women making baskets, rowing boats, cooking and going to gather fruits from the forest.

The village is very open - people do close their doors, but more to prevent dogs and other animals from coming in that to prevent people from coming in. Children seem to drift in and out of the houses all the time, and while there is a definite parental upbringing, there is also a community upbringing aspect to their life. The villagers were very friendly and very hospitable. As I explained earlier, not many tourists come to this area, and at least from Israel's point of view, I was the first in years. I really enjoyed my time in the village, and the time I spent in the village has been one of the most relaxing in a long, long time.

Ask, and the Jungle will Provide

It is widely promoted that the seeds of the Andean cultures lie in the jungle - and the concept of duality - the balance - the yin and yang if you prefer - is so applicable. While the forest can harm (insects, disease) it can also heal. The forest provides nourishment, but the forest floor is a massive pile of decaying plant matter.

I had a number of walks in the jungle, and Israel pointed out many of the plants that are used by the Indian communities for various purposes: from building material, to nourishment, to medicinal, to creating souvenirs. One of the amusing examples was a tree whose sap can be used to cure vaginal cancer (according to Israel, although I think he probably means cervical cancer, which I know is curable) which has branches shaped like penises ... rather apt in a way, one would think.

While the jungle does provide, more and more villages have created resorted to slash and burn to clear the forest and farm. While, in this part of Peru, they are still farming native plants that grow in the jungle, I wonder how sustainable this venture will be. I have also come to realise that living in the jungle entails living ecologically is a myth. Villagers take what they need - and sometimes this can be very wasteful. For example, one palm's edible portion is only the top part between the trunk and the leaves (which Israel described as jungle spaghetti). Thus to get that portion, an entire tree needs to be pulled down.

We went fishing one of the afternoons, and René managed to catch 6 fish for 4 different species, unfortunately no piranhas. Israel managed to catch 2 (cat fish, which were also caught by René) and I managed a grand total of 0 ...

Animal and Bird Life

Ironically, the most fertile time of the year for the fauna - the wet season (now) is also the worst season to go to the jungle to watch fauna. Because there is so much rain, animals do not have to come to the river looking for water. Furthermore, when it rains, the animals stay put - thus making it harder to find them. Both these factors together meant that I did not see much wildlife in the forest. I certainly did not expect to see the two big animals of the jungle, which are rare to spot anyway: the jaguar and the anaconda - but apart from monkeys, two snakes in the water I did not see animals in the jungle.

That said, I did see a lot of varieties of birds, and with the exception of the parrots and macaws, all them quite close (close being around 15m max from me) which helped since I did not have any binoculars. The Amazon is a bird watchers paradise, and sunrise and sunset makes it a very picturesque place for bird watching.

Camping

We spent two nights camping in the forest, and that was an experience in itself that I will not forget anytime soon - just the noise of birds chirping at sunset to insects and frogs through the night to the birds chirping at sunrise ... not quite an orchestra but close. The camping system was funky too - a hammock, surrounded by a hammock mosquito net, covered with a plastic sheet for rain protection. On the first day, there was a massive rain downpour, and I was quite amazed at how quickly Israel and René managed to start a fire with wet wood.

Mosquitoes and Ants

Not only is the wet season bad time for finding animals, it is also high season for mosquitoes. It is a good thing that I have been taking anti-malaria tablets and have had my yellow fever inoculation. It is said that prevention is better than cure - but I am wondering if there is any such thing as sure bet prevention of mosquito bites. You see, insect repellents (at least Tabard) simply does not work effectively. Firstly, there is the fact that it has to be really applied thickly to have any real effect. Secondly, after an hour or so of walking, and sweating it has all run off anyway, so it needs to be reapplied. Lastly, I noticed that it needs to stored at 25 degrees Celsius ... please find me a fucking area with insects where the temperature is below 25 degrees ... what were they thinking? I also have a hand sanitizer with a "natural" insect repellent which I can also testify does not really work. And for the record, Israel's jungle mosquito repellent also does not seem to have any long lasting effect.

Ants are a more interesting proposition. Israel claims that in his experience, he has never had anything similar to what we experienced. Simply put, we were attacked by ants - not the humans directly, but rather my mosquito net on the first night and Ren's t-shirt the next night. Ants have also more or less destroyed my rain jacket - which has served me well for a long time now - Cape Town rain and wind to snow in Hungary and Germany.

Concluding Thoughts

This was definitely one of the most interesting experiences I have ever had. Because it was a solo experience, it cost a lot, and on that front maybe it was not the best value for money - after all I did not see much wild life. But it was also a lot more than just an experience in the jungle, and for that maybe it was worth the expense. In the end, I had to cut my stay by effectively half a day - there was a boat from Pevas to Santa Rosa (at the border with Brazil and Columbia) on Wednesday, and the next boat would be on Saturday. Taking into account all the additional time for waiting around in both Pevas and then in Tabatinga (border town in Brazil) it was just not worth waiting around.

I am very much a city boy - and this trip has taught me, how much I depend on modern conveniences to survive. If civilisation were to destroy itself (not necessarily unrealistic IMO), surviving would be difficult for me. There is an interesting byline to this however ... I did manage to teach Ren on how to use the programmable features of his radio ... the manual was only in English, and was a horribly written manual at that ... I actually just played around with various combinations of buttons to work out how it worked :p

I would definitely recommend taking a jungle tour, and recommend Israel as a guide. If I do come back to Peru, I would like to do a longer jungle trip - only this time it would be in the summer. And hopefully, there will be someone else to share the burden of the costs ...

Iquitos and Beyond

Iquitos - one of the largest cities in the Amazon jungle, yet there are no road connections to any other major city in they world (there is a recent road to the town of Nalta near the official start of the Amazon). For once, the phrase "All roads lead to Rome" (or to Cusco) has no meaning. Even this far up the river, it is navigable by ocean going ships, although they do not usually come up this far.

Being a city on the banks of the Amazon, fish dominates the menu. And a quick walk through the old Belém market this morning, I was quite impressed with the variety and quantity of fish for sale. And like the rest of Peru, fresh fruit is also readily available, and quite cheap.

Because of its relative isolation, it is a bit more expensive when compared to some coastal towns, but not really that much more expensive. It is a vibrant town, and the setting for many expeditions to the jungle. And like most tourist trades, it caters mostly for the tourist: luxury and semi luxury lodges, speed boats, swimming pools ... some of the offers almost seem like theme parks.

After a lot of thinking, especially considering the considerable financial outlay, I have decided to go for a much more of a wild jungle trip. At this point, both Asher and Daniel have decided to press on to Brazil and make their way to Salvador. I have decided that instead of spending money on expensive dorm beds in Salvador (50 US $ a night, minimum 7 nights) to spend it on the jungle trip ... I will still make it to Brazil for the Carnaval, just not to a major Carnaval city.

The jungle trip, is in many ways roughing it. It will be just me, the guide (who speaks fairly good English) and his assistant, for 5 days in the Jungle, far from any luxury lodge. There will be camping on 2/3 nights and at least one night in an Indian village before, one night in a simple hotel before I get a boat for a day and half to the border. Like all nature expeditions, nothing is really guaranteed - but I have a fairly good chance of seeing animals in the wild and it should be an interesting experience.

I leave later today ... and if all things go well, I should be able to blog about my experiences in the jungle next week, from Brazil. Of all the things I have done on my trip, this is both the most terrifying and the most exciting ...

Yurimaguas to Iquitos

The Lonely Planet labels this part of my trip very much as "off the gringo trail". While Machu Picchu and the Incas have been very much a more recent fascination, sailing down the Amazon is an old dream ... and this is the start of what could be a very long trip down the river.

This is not a cruise trip down the river. Nor is it a speedboat down the river. In fact, much of the journey is not even on the actual Amazon ... which officially begins as a river much closer to Iquitos. It is a throwback to the stories of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer - large cargo/passenger boats, slowly, almost drifting, down the river.

The Good Doctor

Asher and I arrived in Yurimaguas on a Sunday. Weekends are not really a great time to do anything in rural Peru - they seem to be all asleep. Regardless, the docks were somewhat busy, and there was a boat leaving for Iquitos at noon the following day (but we could stay overnight for free). We were in fact one of the first people that enquired about a ticket (and one of the only tourists). One of the earlier passengers was a retired British doctor, Tony, and his Peruvian girlfriend, and in many ways he has become a major figure in my trip in Peru.

Tony is an almost stereotypical cranky old man ... except for the fact that he is not really that old. He is 55, has been retired for 15 years, and runs a pro bono clinic in the jungle for 6 months of the year. The other 6 months of the year, he spends in the Canary Islands, and thus he speaks excellent Spanish. And for a man who is a doctor, and has apparently had 7 minor heart attacks and a heart bypass operation, takes numerous pills, he still chain smokes and drinks probably a lot more than he should. But as he correctly points out - for him, life is too short ... so he might as well live it the way he wants to.

In many ways, conversations with Tony is more of him ranting about some topic, and someone else listening. He is a bit paranoid, has a few too many conspiracy theories but is also knowledgeable in a lot of areas other than medicine. He worked as a forensic pathologist in the UK, and thus has lots of stories about crime and punishment. He has interests in photography, radio and apart from treating locals in the jungles, he is doing his own research into the medicines of the local shamans.

He has become a major figure, mainly because he has guided us, before the boat journey, during and even after in Iquitos. He does not really have to ... but he does and does not demand anything in return. Because he has been doing his volunteer work for over 5 years, he has a reputation which has helped us in return. He has definitely been one of the most interesting people I have come across during my trip so far.

Onboard

There are basically three types of accommodation on the boats (launcha in Peruvian terms): cabins (140 Soles), upper deck (120 Soles) and lower deck (60 Soles) hammocks. Being the cheapskates we are, we bunked down with the locals in the lower deck hammocks - and in many ways, I think this must be what a sardine locked away in a tin can feels like.

The food, which is included in the price was interesting ... well it was edible, and fairly good ... but hardly food for the gods. The cabins got a lot better food, but that is to be expected. Since Tony was traveling in a cabin, he offered to allow us to put our backpacks in there, thus reducing the need to keep a constant eye on our bags.

Having limited Spanish knowledge was definitely a disadvantage in terms of keeping ourselves from being bored ... that said, one of the Peruvian passengers was quite keen to improve his English and was also quite helpful in his own way. I also managed to get a game of Rummy (cards) going with two other passengers.

The only real negative part of the journey was that I managed to lose my towel ... which, if you follow the Hitchhikers Guide, is a disaster. It is not really I lost it, but it was stolen - and I was not the only one who had their towel stolen ... oh well ... it was a good towel though.

Last thoughts

It is only when you are on the river, that you realise how big it really is. For most of the journey, we were on the Marañon river, which only becomes the Amazon when it joins with the Ucayali River about 70 Km upstream from Iquitos. The river itself is very brown, a far cry from the clear mountain waters in the Andes that feed these rivers.

Since the boat sticks mainly to the middle of the river, it is not the best place for wildlife spotting. There are a lot of birds to be seen, although I cannot identify what I did see. But it is still an amazing experience to slowly drift down this massive river

Chachapoyas, Pedro Ruiz , Tarapoto and the road to Yurimaguas

We only stayed one night in Chachapoyas, and left Chachapoyas for Pedro Ruiz after our visit to Kuelap. There are no direct busses to Tarapoto, our next stop, and given road closures, it was best to leave at night. For a small town, I have spent more time in Pedro Ruiz than in larger, more well known towns, such as Nasca.

The intention was to take shared taxis (collectivos) all the way to Tarapoto, but we discovered that was a rather expensive option. So we took a chance, and bought a bus ticket from an "agent" for 28 Soles to Tarapoto. It turned out to be one of the best purchases - as we got effectively a first class seat (bed like seats) for the 7 hour trip.

Tarapoto, also known as the "City of Palms" is not much to write about. It is the first forray into the jungle - a welcome relief from the mountains into the heat and humidity of the jungle. After spending the night in the city, we took another collectivo to Yurimaguas - from where we were to take a boat down to the Amazon city of Iquitos.

The road between Tarapoto and Yurimaguas is still under construction, but once completed it will be one of the most spectacular roads in Peru, if not the world. Winding over the last remnants of the Andes, with some spectacular waterfalls (Cataratas de Ahuashiyacu) and some spectacular views of the jungle below. Right now though, the road is still muddy in large parts and quite difficult to drive through in places.

Kuelap

Off the beaten track, the reason I made the trek to Chachapoyas was to visit the Kuelap ruins. The Chachapoyas area was inhabited by a pre-Inca civilisation known as the Chachapoyans, of whom not much is known. Peru tourism authorities would like to make Chachapoyas the second Cusco - as there are a number of fascinating ruins around the city, with Kuelap being the principal attraction.

Again, not much is known about Kuelap - it is a fortress built on top of a mountain ridge, very much like Machu Picchu. Unlike Machu Picchu, it is not as dramatic - nor does there seem to be any complex geometry. However, unlike Machu Picchu, it does seem to be a more functional complex, and in many ways a lot more accessible. While the fortress is slowly being restored, it has its own charm being largely unrestored - with trees and vegetation covering much of the ruins, one feels a lot like Indiana Jones.

Kuelap was definitely worth all the trouble to get to Chachapoyas. It still has a cloak of mystery surrounding it, and the high walls of the fortress, untouched by earthquakes and time, give it a feel of solidity. Once restored it will look spectacular, but I just hope that it does not become the tourist money making machine that is Machu Picchu.

Asher and I visited Kuelap with a Peruvian, Gabriel and his Dutch girlfriend, Marije. This allowed us to pool together for a taxi, instead of relying on tour guides based in Chachapoyas. At the moment, this is probably the best way to explore Kuelap, although it is possible to get there by public transport from Chachapoyas.

Trujillo to Chachapoyas

There are two roads to Chachapoyas - the first is a really picturesque dirt road over some spectacular mountain passes and the other, is a mostly tarred road, over lower mountain passes, which is not as spectacular. Normally, the latter route can be done in about 14 hours by bus. The more scenic route, even though it is shorter in length can take over 2 days, and there are no direct buses. If I had the time, I would have taken the first route. If I could foretell the future, I would have also taken the first route.

Early in the morning, there was a rock slide which caused an accident on the road - a bus was "swept" away by the rocks into the valley below. People died, I am not sure what the casualties were. I don't know much about the accident except that I was lucky in not being in that bus, which was not far ahead of my own bus. I was asleep at the time, and only heard about the accident later. That was only the first delay.

The second, longer delay happened only an hour later, when another landslide completely blocked the road, coupled with a river that had burst its banks about 2 Km earlier. It took about 5 hours to clear the road, and quite amazingly the buses used a pedestrian bridge to cross the river ... which looked at times that it would collapse.

We then stopped in a town called Pedro Ruiz, not far from Chachapoyas, where we were told by the bus company, Movil Tours (rated very reputable by many in Peru) that we would only continue our journey in about 4 hours time. We weren't told of the reasons, but I assumed it had to do with driver fatigue etc. However 4 hours passed, and there was no sign of the drivers, and after almost 6 hours, the drivers pitch up. We then learnt that the road to Chachapoyas is closed in the morning for road works, and thus the delay. This off course infuriated all the passengers since the company had not actually informed anybody about this problem - and people could have found a lot of other things to do rather than sit around in the bus terminal.

That said, after a day of accidents and rockfalls, I was glad to reach my destination safely.

Trujillo

The original plan was not to stop at Trujillo at all - but rather take a bus to Chiclayo (2 hours north of Trujillo) and then take a bus to Chachapoyas. However, there was a direct bus from Trujillo, and thus we decided to change our plans.

Trujillo is one of the biggest cities in Peru, and is literally an oasis in the northern desert. It is quite picturesque, and with the remains of Chan Chan and the seaside town of Huanchaco close by, it is a rather nice destination. I think I should have spent a bit more time here ...

Chan Chan

Long before the Inca empire came into prominence, the Chimu empire dominated northern Peru since around 1100, and their capital was based in Chan Chan, a few minutes bus ride out of Trujillo. After the Incas conquered the Chimu, Chan Chan was apparently largely abandoned, and the desert around Trujillo started to take over.

Today, Chan Chan is slowly being restored, with the temple citadel at the heart of Chan Chan the closest to full restoration. Unlike the Andean civilisations, the Chimus used mud to build Chan Chan, and not stone. However, like their Andean counterparts, their buildings have also stood the test of countless earthquakes. There are a few other parts of Chan Chan that have been restored and open to the public. However, as we were leaving Trujillo that afternoon, we did not have time to visit the other places.

Huanchaco

Huanchaco is a small fishing town near Trujillo, my first stop after Huaraz. After arriving at 6am in Trujillo on an overnight bus from Huaraz, the three of us (Asher, Daniel and myself) decided to spend most of the day on the beach before taking the next bus out - around 2 pm for Daniel who was going to go straight to Tarapoto and then Iquitos and 3 pm for Asher and myself as we were going to make a short stopover in Chachapoyas before carrying on to Tarapoto and Iquitos. It is a picturesque town, but definitely nothing amazing. We met a surfer girl, Kath, from Sydney who was equally unimpressed by the beach. The best part of the day was definitely lunch - we had the "national" dish - ceviche (also spelled cebiche) which is raw fish marinated in lime juice ... a bit like pickled fish I suppose ... but really really tasty. We bought it in a small restaurant on the side streets of the town - which in the end was a great idea as, by the time we left, it was full of locals!

Reflections: Huaraz

In my original plan, Huaraz was supposed to be a one night stop-over at most - visit Chavin De Hauntar and then carry on. Instead, I ended up staying in the area for longer than any other area in Peru. As a base for hiking in the Andes it is superb, and although there are more attractions around the area that I did not visit - such as more ruins, lakes and thermal baths - I definitely had a great time here.

Although Huaraz is a pretty small town, it has an amazingly big market where one can buy everything from fresh fruit (with mangoes, avocados, bananas and oranges being the most prevalent) and vegetables to meat to clothing to pirate DVDs.

I stayed at Hostel Caroline - amazingly cheap deal at 10 Soles (just over 3 US $) per night for a dorm bed including breakfast and transport to and from the bus terminals. The hostel is quite big actually - 4 storeys high, and the owners live with their family at the hostel, making it a very friendly family atmosphere. It has definitely been one of the best hostels I have ever stayed in. I also managed to find two guys - Asher and Daniel (both from England) who are keen to go to Brazil for the carnival, via my mad idea of sailing down the Amazon. Let's see what happens ...

Santa Cruz Trek

A large part of the Ancash region in Peru is a valley between the Cordillera Negra (black range) and the Cordillera Blanca (white range) mountains in the Andes. Most of the highest peaks in Peru (there are over 50 mountains in the area) are in the Cordillera Blanca, and are permanently snow capped (hence the name). It is for this reason, the area is a very popular destination for trekking, ice climbing etc.

Apart from the Inca trail, I had not planned on doing any trekking during this trip. And, I did not do the Inca trail because I did not think I was fit enough. So, in a moment of madness or insanity (or whatever you call it), I signed up together with four other people from my hostel to go on the 4 day, 3 night Santa Cruz trek. I have not done anything resembling camping for over 10 years, and apart from hiking on Table Mountain, I have hardly done anything of the sort ... so this was always going to be an interesting experience.

The Santa Cruz trail is one of the "easier" trails in the Cordillera Blanca. And the trek, organised by Montrek, a trek company with a good reputation in the guide books, was definitely more luxurious than the standard trek: donkeys to carry equipment and bags, a guide, a donkey driver, the food and the equipment were all part of the package. In those terms, the cost was also very reasonable: 80 US $ for the package and about 22 US $ for the entrance fee to the national park.

The Group

Montrek (and it seems the other trek companies) are all agencies. They contract out the guides and donkey drivers on an individual trek basis, as well as provide all the equipment and the food. Our guide, Abel, was fairly new at the job (around one year as a qualified guide), but as he spoke good English and some French on top of the Spanish and Quechwa, he claimed that he is in fairly high demand. Since he grew up in these parts he was very knowledgeable of the geography, the vegetation as well as some local stories and folklore. He was also the cook and a very good cook at that.


The donkeys were driven by their owner, Emilio, and his 14 year old son, Adrian. What was really impressive was how fast Emilio and Adrian could cover the trek - they started each day after we left, and got to the camp site before us and were usually half way through setting up the tents. Even more impressive is the fact that they did the return journey (which is much harder) in just 1 and a half days!

As for the trekkers, there were 4 others from the hostel I am staying in Huaraz. Marta, is from Barcelona, Spain, and has been traveling around Central and South America for about 4 months. In Spain, her primary (summer) job is working for a large music festival. Wes(ley) is from Canada and has been in Peru for a couple of months, mainly surfing. He is a tree planter during the summer. Andrea, Wes' friend, also from Canada, is on a three month trip in South America, most of which has been spent on volunteer work in Ecuador. She also does environmental work in Canada, mainly doing field work in the forests. Alia is from Alaska, and is taking a 10 month break from university and traveling in Central and South America. We were also joined by Benjamin, from France, an ex professional tennis player (who has been to South Africa for tennis tournaments) and who currently runs a tennis academy in Nice.

How many in a combi?

The trip to the starting point of the trek as well as the return trip from the end was done on public transport - specifically on combis. Combis are exactly the same thing as in South Africa - minibus taxis that manage to fit an extraordinary number of people in them. And because Peruvians are on average shorter than South Africans, they seem to be able to fit in more people! On both trips we had to change combis, and on second combi (to the starting point) there were 20 people in the combi, including two kids, the driver and the conductor. As we approached a checkpoint, the conductor got 5 people of the combi, and asked them to walk round the check point such that the police could only count 15 people in the combi! On the return trip, we managed to fit even more people into the combi - 23! South African taxis, it seems, has tough competition.

Laguna 69

On the trip up to the starting point, we passed the beautiful Llanganuco Lakes, known locally as Laguna 69. I am not sure why they are called that, but one of the lakes is called the male lake and the other the female lake. And they say Peruvians are conservative ...

Ola, Caramelo?

On the first day, we passed a number of small villages, and we were often greeted by the kids by the words "Ola, Caramelo?" or "Hello, Sweets?". It is really an uncomfortable greeting ... and it is in many ways sad that sweets have become integral part of the greeting. I suppose, trekkers giving out sweets has not helped either.

Day 1

Day 1 was a short trek of around 4 and half hours (including stops) to the first camp site. Starting of in a farming village, the trek first descends into the valley before climbing back up on the other side. After the ascent up the mountain, the route is relatively flat through rather marshy grounds until the camping site, which is at the base of the ascent for Day 2.

The camping site, in a meadow was spectacular, with snow capped mountains on one side, a river (which eventually flows into the Amazon) on another and another mountain on the third side.



Unfortunately, as is the case in this time of the year, the evening was wet featuring a big thunderstorm around 4 pm and then further rain in the evening. This pattern was repeated without much variation for the next 3 days.

Day 2

Day 2 was the hardest - about 5 hours of a fairly steep ascent to the highest point: the Punta Union Pass at 4750 m above sea level. The camping site was about 3800 m above sea level, so that makes it almost 1 Km in vertical ascent.




The first part of the route was fairly easy - a rocky path through a mountain stream into a valley, and a rather slow ascent up the valley. Once the valley was crossed however, it was a rather steep ascent first to a plateau about 4400 m above sea level followed by another steep ascent up to the pass.





Despite it being the height of summer, and being in the tropics, the day was very cold coupled with a strong, cold wind. There was even snow on the pass, although not much. Because of the weather, the most of the peaks were behind clouds, which meant that the promised spectacular views were missing. The view down the valleys were however still spectacular, especially the glacial lake near the pass. There was even a small avalanche of snow falling from the mountain into the lake, which was rather impressive in both sight and sound.




The camp site for the night was around 4200 m above sea level, again in a meadow surrounded by snow capped mountains and rivers. Adrian tried out some fishing, without success.

Day 3

In terms of distance, Day 3 was the longest. It was also the easiest, with most of the trail being flat through the Santa Cruz valley. Much of the valley was marshland, which did make walking rather muddy though. One of the mountains near the valley, Pomabamba, is one of the last remaining refuge of pumas, who often visit the valley to dine on horses and cows grazing in the valley. Skeletal remains suggest that, although infrequent, they are still alive.





The last camp was set up in front of a spectacular waterfall, and one of the most spectacular camping spots on the trail. Adrian tried fishing again, and did manage to catch one small fish ...

Day 4

Day 4 was a short hike (about 2 hours) down a very rocky descent into the town of Cashapampa. I think it could have been done the day before, but transport from Cashapampa to Caraz, and then to Huaraz would have been the problem and hence the extra night on the trail. The highlight of the descent was the spectacular remains of a large landslide from last year as well as the fast flowing river beside the trail.

Last Thoughts

I really enjoyed the trek, and am actually quite keen to do some of my own back in SA. Granted, this trek was made easier with donkeys and guides, and it was certainly not the most difficult of climbs. But given the altitude, I am quite impressed that I did it without much difficulty. Maybe I am fitter than I thought ... but I don't think I am fit enough to do the trail in reverse or do the trail in 2 or 3 days as it should be possible. It was certainly a great experience, and definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far.