June 17, 2017
Today we tackled a big tourist attraction hike and then made our way back to Huarez.
Cycling Stats & Travel Stats
Start Point: Laguna 69 Trail Entrance, Ancash, Peru, Ancash, Peru
Destination: Huaraz, Ancash, Peru
2 trip on bike to bus, 83 km in tour bus
Route Description:
On this day we hiked up to Laguna 69. It’s a 16 km hike where you gain 911 meters in elevation. After the hike we decided to take a bus down to Huarez. You can ride this section as it almost all downhill. While the road is bumpy and rocky our friends cycled it and reported it was not too bad. We ask a tour bus that was transporting hikers and for two people and two bikes it was 50 soles. It took about 3 hours to return to Huaraz and they dropped us off right at the door of our hotel.
Accommodations:
On this night we returned to Huraez to our previous hostel of 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: I’m a cyclist, not a hikelist. After being witness to such beauty yesterday, today was a bit of a letdown. I wish that the hike had been about an hour shorter in each direction. The Laguna is a great tourist destination if you’re spending a few days in Huaraz, but I think there are nicer ways to enjoy the scenery. Basically I’m just a big whiny bitch. Meh.
There were a bunch of buses parked back at our campsite, waiting to take day-trippers back down to Huaraz, and for a reasonable fee I loaded our bikes and gear into the back and we took the easy way out. I was hot, tired, grumpy, and that highway between Yungay and Huaraz wasn’t going to be a lot of fun anyways. Philip figured that he and Nici would just cycle and meet us back in Huaraz tomorrow. We passed them heading down the road and I’m pretty sure they are going to have to wild camp tonight what with the headwind they’re facing, and the rapidly diminishing light. We arrived back at Jo’s Place in time for dinner and then went straight to bed.
Amanda writes: Today we did the Laguna 69 hike which as Andrew mentioned is a very popular tourist destination. The hike was definitely harder than I thought it would be. I used hiking poles for the first time today and wow do they ever make a difference! I highly recommend investing in poles if you’re going to hike. Still even with the poles it was a slog. So when Andrew negotiated a good price for ride directly to our hotel and lots of room to put the bikes on a big tourist bus it was an easy sell for us. The bus didn’t leave until 3pm so we had some time to kill. As we were hanging with Nici and Philip while they packed up to prep for their ride down the bus driver came to talk to us about when and where to load our bikes and gear. As we were trying to discuss our options and answer the bus driver Philip piped into the conversation and in the process the bus driver ended up leaving. I was particularly annoyed with the entire situation. I suppose after traveling with others for over a week its bound to happen. Nici and Philip have an advantage that they can speak another language that we can’t understand so we can’t participate in their conversations. So with the combined tiredness of hiking, planning our next trip and having unwanted conversation contributions we left the campsite full of frustration. It’s days like these where I’m just glad by the end of it Andrew and I can curl up in bed and just be grateful we are safe and together.