Hatun Mache

After finally getting to the right bus station, and 8 hours of bad bus sleeping we arrived in Huaraz to hoards of eager taxi drivers awaiting us tired gringas. We hopped into a taxi that agreed to take us to the hostel of our choice, only to conveniently remember, once we arrived, that it is no longer a hostel. He would of course take us to another... for double the price. We were tired... so whatever, lets go.
Finally arriving at a hostel, and ensuring the taxi driver that we did not want to go trekking, or buy a climbing trip from him we slumped into our cozy beds and slept away the morning.

Huaraz is a cute little town nestled in the mountains with endless trekking, climbing and biking adventures all around. After a little searching we found a company with transportation to Hatun Mache, a new climbing area about two hours away. (It ended up being a bit more than that since every 20 min we had to stop and throw water on the overheating engine).

After one day at Hatun Mache we knew we had to return to stay in the newly opened refuge for at least a few days. There is so much rock out there, it would take a few lifetimes to explore it all. As of right now there are about 70 routes bolted, and a few cleaned boulders... but there is the potential for hundreds and hundreds of routes and boulders. The only catch is that the rock is a little sharp... and it is at 4200m.

Back in Huaraz we wandered the markets picking out food for our 4 day stay at Hatun Mache. Trying not to be distracted by all the 30cent earrings, we ended up with pasta for every night, and avocado sandwiches for lunch. Much to our good luck, a group of girls were taking a walking tour our first day out, which included pachamanka (which, from what i understand, means earth pot).
This lovely meal is prepared by digging a hole in the ground and building a fire on which to heat rocks. The meat of a freshly slain lamb is lain atop the rocks, along with sweet potatoes. More hot rocks are added on top, which are covered in a tarp, and then buried. The fire is extinguished by a lack of oxygen, but the heat from the rocks is trapped by the earth, and is left for a few hours. If you ever get a chance to try this... do it! It is amazing.

We did lots of easy climbing, and drank copious amounts of tea at our small mountain getaway. We also had the chance to practise a little Spanish (which we are still hopeless at) because Oscar and Tito, the two guys that live in the refuge, don't speak a word of English.

We are back in Huaraz now... once again waiting for a bus. Tonight we are traveling to Trujillo where we will find another bus to a town two hours north, where we will catch another bus to Piura. After a night in Piura we will catch another bus (doesn't this sound fun???) to cross the boarder into Ecuador. From here its only one more bus to Vilcabomba, which is known for its people who live to be over 100 years old. Here we plan to recover from our bus journey by relaxing in a cute little hostel, hiking and horseback riding. After that is north to Cuenca to meet up with friends from the competition and do some more climbing!!

Alright, only 4 more hours to wait for our bus!!!

Hope everyone is doing well!!
Our interview is up in the new gripped e-mag... check it out at http://www.gripped.com/grippedemag/landing.html

much love, stace