June 18-25th, 2017
As we prepare for cycling in the Huayhuash region, followed by the difficult Peru Divide trail, we end up spending a week in Huaraz at the hostal.
Accommodations:
We spend the week in Huraez at Jo’s Lodging. We pay 50 soles for a private room with hot shower, private bath. There is a garden area and a kitchen to use. It includes wifi and you can camp if you like instead in the garden for 12 soles per person.
What happened…
Andrew writes: Maybe it’s something in the air surrounding Huaraz that just lulls you into such a relaxed state. We somehow ended up spending a week at the hostal in Huaraz not doing a heckuva lot of anything really. We’d wake up every morning and teach English online for about two hours, then after breakfast I would go and enjoy some time at the internet cafe playing video games while Amanda would meditate and do yoga. Then we would join Nici and Philip for lunch and dessert together before finding someway to occupy our hours in the afternoon until it was time for dinner. Some nights we would drink the local firewater (pisco) and play games, other nights would be movie nights, all in all it was pretty chill.
One thing that I had forgot to mention during all of the excitement of the finish of the Huascaran Circuit was that Nici had confided in me that she and Philip wanted to do their own thing from here on out. They’ve just spent 3 years cycling from Alaska to Ushuaia (minus some bits in Peru and Bolivia) and all that was missing for them was a sense of closure. Amanda and I meanwhile are still trying to reach our elusive goal of Ushuaia sometime in the next year. Nici is homesick. We just got back from spending 5 months in Canada. So all in all it was a nice three weeks that we got to spend together, and I just hope that Nici and Philip can have a great end to their adventure. We went for some really fancy dinners in Huaraz while we could which included pizza, Mexican and Indian food. Did I mention the pisco? It’s easy to forget after drinking so much of it. If you ever get the chance, I recommend mixing it with fresh squeezed lime juice and ginger ale.
Amanda writes: Another week of rest wasn’t so bad. Granted I was ready to leave a few days ago but the routines seemed to work for us. As Andrew mentioned Nici and Philip are going to head their own way and that works out just fine for everyone. While I hope our paths cross again, we were ready to head out at our own pace too; so it all works out. As Nici talked about closure for the trip it got me to thinking I wonder what it will be like for us when we get to the end. Is there an end for us? It really is a different trip for us and hearing Andrew tell me what Nici’s thoughts were I totally understand. The next 6-12 months are an important time for them and I hope they get the finish they’re looking for. Of all the amazing people we’ve met along this trip, Nici and Philip are really special. I hope to visit them in Austria when we come through and I’m confident our friendship will last for years to come.
Today’s Photographs
Just too damn lazy to take photographs for a week. Lazy, lazy, lazy.