From Lima to Huaraz

After the winter temperatures in Patagonia, we arrived in the warm but always hazy Lima at this time. It was quite a shock to experience this bustling, noisy, hectic city after the deserted south of Chile. Three days in the big city were enough and we took the bus north to Huaraz, a city in the middle of the Andes. It is much cozier here and we have really grown to love the city. The houses are all almost finished, the drivers constantly honking, many, especially older women traditionally dressed with a hat that is too small and too high and too many skirts layered on top of each other - somehow very special. The landscape here is beautiful. Even from the city, you can see some of the many glaciated peaks over 5000 and 6000 meters, and when the sky is clear, this scenery is breathtaking.

But breathtaking is not only the landscape, but in the truest sense of the word, the altitude. Huaraz is more than 3000 meters above sea level and the first few days we were short of breath and had slight headaches. On the hikes, when it got a bit strenuous, we really struggled to breathe. Yesterday we hiked from 3800 to 4600 meters - 800 meters of altitude are already an achievement even at lower elevations (especially for me). I didn't think I could do it at all, and several times I was close to tears and wanted to give up. But maybe the coca leaves I chewed helped 😉.

Torsten and I have now become (over)confident and have signed up for a four-day mountain tour in the Andes that leads through the most beautiful part of the Peruvian Andes. Our host (innkeeper) dispelled my concerns about not being able to do this tour with the following not completely serious words: 'If you don't survive this, at least you died in the most beautiful place on earth'.

I will definitely tell you all about it!