Caraz

Caraz is a small town north of the tourist hub of Huaraz. Both are gateways to the Huascaran National Park, which is in the central Peruvian Andes. Plenty of mountaineers come here, and others do multi day treks. There are several ‘official’ day hike options, but getting to/from the trailheads is a bit challenging. We have taken taxis to be assured of getting back to the guesthouse.

Laguna Paron

We took a bus (8 hrs) to Huaraz from Trujillo, and couldn’t see anything because their windows are covered with some UV protective plastic. We both felt the altitude going over the almost 14 000’ pass (4225m), but could relax in our luxurious VIP seats - wide lounge chairs which reclined. Worth the extra few $ (total still < $20 pp).
There were the inevitable delays, and we arrived after dark. A friendly gentleman offered help finding the guesthouse. We declined, went on our way, but had to check the directions briefly a few blocks away. The gentleman was there again. Fortunately I had read about this scam - they offer to walk with you, but all does not end well.

Link to Caraz pictures

We took a so called collectivo (a super crowded minivan) to Caraz ~2 hrs away, and immediately everything felt fine. Mostly locals on the streets, and our guesthouse is great. Our hostess teaches English! We have hot water!

The small central square is full of people; many in what I initially thought were their Sunday finest. But later we saw people working their farms wearing the same traditional, colorful (the women) clothes. I think they are Quechua - the original people in this part of South America.

The weather has been beautiful; it’s dry here, but the farmers need water. The rainy season is starting I think. On our hike along Laguna Paron, some 6000’ (~2000m) above Caraz, we had light sleet. Fortunately we had nice views of the lake, but some of the higher peaks were in the clouds. The winding, very bumpy dirt road to get here is 32 km long. I wasn’t ready for a steep, round trip hike of 20km, so we took a cab up, and hope walking some 7 km slowly along the shore at almost 14 000’ will help us acclimatize for what is coming up soon. Craig does not feel deprived, because we both felt the altitude, and he had a cold. Besides, the uncertainty of how to get back to town after the hike was not for us.
Probably the most impressive people here, were 2 German girls with their guide. They swam in this glacial lake! Not just a jump in and out. They were to run back to the parking lot to warm up afterwards.

Life seems to continue outside the cities like it did centuries ago. Wooden plows, many mud brick homes - I saw one with a dirt floor, women carrying produce, babies etc in colorful wraps. But I saw one traditionally dressed older woman with a smart phone in Caraz.
There are kids everywhere, and they roam freely. The dogs are less aggressive than on our earlier trip, but Craig had to throw stones at a couple, and they stopped chasing him. This was on one of the hikes on the outskirts of Caraz.

They seem to have a parade every day. The biggest one was our first night here, and Craig will post a video. This one was to celebrate the arrival of spring. There were people of all ages, including little kids, marching bands (which Craig says were very good), a dance competition etc.

We saw lots of huge snow covered peaks on our way back to Huaraz. This time we sat on their side of the collectivo - in which I counted 22 adult passengers. The driver gets his own seat, and the conductor stands in the doorway encouraging seemingly everyone he sees to jump in. On our way back,  2 people who were waiting for a collectivo declined - 3 people were already standing in the isle, bent over. On our way to Caraz there were 23 passengers, but 3 were kids on their parents’ laps. The minivans have seats for 15 + the driver. They run every couple of minutes, and cost $4 for both of us (and our luggage, which took up some space). No one cared, though - people bring what they need and there were baby chickens on the first trip.

Am finishing this on our way to Lima, along a different road through the Andes. The pavement so far is great, we have the same nice seats, and we can look out the windows! (a different bus company). We have a super friendly attendant, and a meal was included. I had requested vegetarian such for both of us, and after the first bite, Craig thought he got chicken. After the second one, he wasn’t sure. Turns out it was fake, vegetarian chicken. I wasn’t impressed, but the rest of the meal was WAY better than anything I have ever had on a plane.
The scenery is nice, the bus has had to slow for cows on the road, and the driver seems very careful compared to some reviews I have read about the dangers of riding even in tourist buses here.
Security is amazing - they take pictures of all passengers, before and after boarding. The driver had to take a breathalyzer test.

Tomorrow we fly to Cusco, where the goal is to acclimatize further before the higher altitudes on our trek to Machu Picchu.