Adventures in Peru (Trip Report)
Introduction
This is the story of our adventure in Peru and in the Arequipa and Chivay regions. The root of the trip trace back to last fall when a friend asked me where a good place in South America is to go to in early April for some climbing. April can be a tough month to find good climbing conditions in much of South America, but I suggested that the Arequipa region should be reasonable, even if it might not be quite be ideal then.
I was just suggesting a place rather than planning to go myself, but then I checked airfare during our discussion and noticed that it was just over $600 round trip to Arequipa from Denver. This was too good of a deal to pass up, so after checking with my employer, I hoped to book the tickets!
Kessler (my now 11 year old son) and I had already been to that region of Peru, but I was supposed to take Shaylee (my nine year old daughter) on a Daddy daughter trip when she turned 10 and she was getting fairly close to that age (I promised both kids that I would when they turned 10). I asked her if Peru is where she wanted to go and she said yes.
Kessler was one upset kid when he heard that there was a good chance that his little sister could have a chance to beat his high altitude record, so he was begging and pleading to go as well. My wife wanted and needed a break from the kids, so it was decided that I would take both kids to Peru.
As far as our previous adventure in Peru went, Kessler and I did that one when he was five years old. On that trip we trekked through and across one of the world’s deepest canyons, climbed in the mountains up to 17,400 feet/5300 meters, and even experienced a volcanic eruption up close.
2007 Trip Report
Now that the kids were older, we would have a chance to have a more adventurous trip. Because it was just me and the kids though, I wasn’t comfortable with going alone with just them. Our other friends were headed down there at the same time, but in the end they were planning on climbing Ampato, which was something I considered to be too big for my nine year old girl.
I decided to check with some local guiding agencies and see if we could put together a trip. I didn’t want to do just the normal tourist treks (some of which we had already done on our last trip anyway), but wanted to visit some new areas and get into some remote places. We also wanted to do one of the popular peaks as well. I had some ideas of various routes and peaks wanted to attempt so I checked around.
In the end, it was Incadventura whom we decided on and whom was willing to take us to the remote places we were planning.
The plan was to do a remote trek and circuit around Ampato, Sabancaya, and Hualca Hualca. We would do some more things around Chivay and hopefully this would be enough acclimatization for a climb of Pichu Pichu and either El Misti or Chachani.
The weather did adjust our plans, but we still had a great trip. We climbed or attempted several peaks, reached 5850 meters/19,200 feet, did some exciting river rafting, did some great treks, saw lots of wildlife, and had lots of cultural experiences.
It was also amazing how much the region had changed since 2007. There is now a very modern paved highway Arequipa to Chivay, (and more tourists!). For better or worse, now it's a quick and comfortable 3 hour bus ride Arequipa to Chivay instead of a bumpy and dusty road that used to take all day!
Here is our story……….
March 22-23: Getting There is Half the Fun?
It was somewhat a trial to get to Arequipa! First, the windshield wiper flew off the car during a blizzard on the way to the shuttle pick up point in Steamboat. The shuttle had to drive through the blizzard over the mountains to Denver.
Connecting through Mexico City was a real pain and it took 3.5 hours to clear customs. We were next to a screaming kid (not mine) on the flight we tried to sleep on. The kid was throwing a fit, stabbing the seats with a pen, throwing cheese, and all kinds of stuff. I have seen kids throw tantrums, but not for three and a half hours straight.
The first day we visited some old churches around Arequipa and went on a horse ride in the evening.
We also talked to Hugo and Nicolas at Incaventura. The area around Chivay had been experiencing much thunderstorms and the mountains were receiving heavy snow. We would have to adjust the original plan.
I was afraid however about heading directly to Pichu Pichu or El Misti because of acclimatization factors. In the end we came up with a plan that sounded good.
March 24: Bosque de Piedras/Sumbay Cave Paintings/Nevado Chucura
[COLOR=#000000]Today was our (Shaylee, Kessler, and I) first day in Peru. We met with Hugo, Eloy, and Nicholas from Incadventura to visit the cave paintings at Sumbay and to climb Nevado Churcura.
[FONT=Verdana]We drove to the Pampas Ca
Adventures in Peru (Trip Report)
Wow! What a awesome trip! Jealous.:hail2thechief::hail2thechief:
Would love to go to Peru one day.
