Huaytapallana

So, Friday morning, we wake up early... as in 6:30. We went to do a little bit of shopping for food and stuff to take along with us to Huaytapallana. We met with the guide at 8:30 and by 9 we were in the van driving the two hours to Huaytapallana. Ok, so Huaytapallana is a glacier in the Andes mountains. The highest peak is at 5,5?? meters. I can't remember exactly, and we weren't able to climb to the peak anyway. Before starting to climb, we gave an "offering" to the mountain. lol. Not that i believe in this stuff, but apparently some of the natives do. So, before starting this four hour climb, we smoked a cigarette, chewed on coca leaves and drank pure alcohol. jaja...Destroying your lung capacity just seems like such a wonderful way to start an intense workout... especially when the intense workout is in high altitudes.

Seriously, the view got better around every turn in the path...

there are a total of five lagoons near Huaytapallana, this one was def my favorite, the color is beautiful.

So, to climb onto the glacier, we did have to use ropes although with good shoes, it would have been pretty easy without a rope. Either way, it was a safety issue although again, i was amazed at the lack of safety precautions. At parts in the trail, you're looking at a 100 ft drop or more. Not like a cliff drop, but if you fall, you're not going to be stopping until the bottom. And the so called 'trail' was less than a foot wide and covered in rocks, boulders... you name it. Can't lie, half the time i was trying to jump from rock to rock (especially on the way back down... i had more energy).

there were a total of six people in the group, plus the tour guide (Juanito). Boy was he adorable! But that's not really important. Anyway, we're like walking around on this glacier and Juanito asks if we want to go higher. lol. Need he ask? Apparently, yes, cause 4 of the 6 stayed below. Daniel adn i were the only ones to take him up on his offer. So, after some more climbing, and the zoom on my camera, here is the rest of the group. :)

We did sort of have to watch where we walked... Juanito's foot went through the ice once. Bad time, his shoe was waterlogged in freezing weather. :(

Sorry for the abundance of pictures, i just like them all! Again, this place was simply breathtaking. totally worth missing two classes for the adventure. We didn't arrive back to Huancayo until sometime between six and seven. We bought return tickets for tonight at 11 (yay for another night on a bus). Then we roamed a little bit, always watching for TVs covering la copa mundial! Woo hoo, futbol! We had some dinner, ate the ice cream that we didn't eat last night, and chilled in the central park for a while. Arrived back in Lima at 6:30 am on Saturday. Plenty of time to get back to my house for a little breakfast, then Daniel had an exam at 8 and i unpacked and showered before my make-up class at 10.