Huaraz!!!!!

Hooray for Huaraz!!!
 After leaving Arequipa via a 18 hour bus journey I arrived in cold and rainy Lima for 2 nights. I ticked off the 2 highlights of cultural tourism listed in the lonely planet, a monastary and a cathederal. Got ripped off, probably, by a couple of taxi drivers, and sat in the South American explorers reading up on trip reports from other travellers, recommending, or not, in some cases, trekking agencies in Huaraz. I ended up with a list of 3. I also found a proper outdoor clothing shop having a 50% off sale. As I had been pretty frozen during the Ausangate trek due to the fact that I hadn't packed my big super warm down jacket, I treated myself to a new one! I now have far too many jackets but atleast I wont be cold!!!
 Lessons I've learned.....so far.
1. To wait till I get to places before booking trips as they are often alot cheaper.
2. I'm looking forward to getting off this main part of the Gringo trail....far too many idiots.
3. I really need to learn more Spanish!
I arrived in Huaraz in the dark and got dropped off at Jo's Place the hostal I had booked. The hostal is a bit like a cross between a squat and a festival. Its like someone built a load of brick and concrete cube rooms and just threw them down in a random pile, connected them with various types of stair cases (wood, concrete, spiral steel...) and then rolled out a bit of grass in the middle for tents. I felt right at home immediately. There is a roof terrace with a 2 ring gas stove and a sink for the kitchen. I will admit that I gave the whole thing a good clean and sanitize before I used it! There is also a tv room with loads of dvds and comfy sofas. My room is basic but comfortable and the sheets smell clean and it only costs me 20 soles a night. About 5 pounds.

Huaraz its self is not going to win any prizes for the most beautiful town anywhere, ever. But It is surrounded by fantastic views of the white peaks of the Cordillera Blanca. The general vibe of the town however is so different from anywhere else I have been in Peru so far. Firstly you dont get hasseled by touts walking up the street and  the "tourists" are pretty much all here with a common goal, and that is to head out into the hills /mountains /glaciers /lagunas etc. People in general just seemed nicer and friendlier.
I spent the next day going round my top 3 trekking agencies getting a feel for prices and services and also trying to find a group of people who were wanting to do the treks I planned to go on.  I also put up notices in the 2 most popular cafes in town, stating my plans and inviting people to contact me if they wanted to do similar. After chatting to lots of other travellers both in the hostal and around town I eventually booked myself on the 4 day Santa Cruz trek with a 5th day excursion to Laguna 69. I choose a trekking company called Huascaran, who had good recent trip reports in the South American Explorers, also had a good write up in Lonely planet, but mostly, I liked the attitude of the owner.

Back at the hostal I had an email from an American guy who wanted to do some trekking, so I went to meet him to see if he might be good for a group trip. His name is Lom and is from Sanfrancisco. We decided to go on an acclimatization hike the next day up to a hight altitude lake called Chuurup. His Spanish is much, much better than mine so we planned to get a collectivo (little mini bus that is the main form of public transport) the next day up to a village about 1 1/2 hours walk from the start of the hike. Back at the hostal, I started chatting to a German girl called Simone who also said she wanted to come.
The next day the three of us got the little bus out of town to a village called Llupa and from there walked up a dusty track to the next village called Pitec, which was also the start of the walk. I finally felt like I was leaving the Gringo trail. There was a local lady walking up the track with us who chatted in Spanish, asking us where were were going and from etc.  She was in traditional dress, which is a many layered and colourful skirt, leg warmers, sandals and the local style of hat, which in this area reminds me of a traditional Welsh hat. Like a top had but slightly pointed and worn at a jaunty angle which makes the women look incredibly stylish! She had her shawl wrapped around her shoulders and filled with bread rolls. She explained that she brought the bread from Huaraz to sell in the village, but that she lived in the village and had 20 cows for milk. She asked us if we had any empty water bottles she could have for her milk.
The walk was a bit of a shock to the system after 3 weeks of not doing any real excercize and also de acclimatizing more than I thought in the 2 days I had in Lima. It was a steep hike, with an altitude gain of 1400m over 3 hours and also some scrambling at the top. I found it surprisingly hard and swelteringly hot! Still it was worth the effort. The Laguna at the top was the most amazing blue and crystal clear. Also freezing cold! We stayed at the lagoon for an hour or so to have our lunch and then raced back down to mountain to catch a collectivo back into town. I had to pack as I had an early pick up at 6am for the start of my first proper trek in this region.