Hello gang! This will be a quick catch up letter. Since we came down from the mountains we've been chillin' in Huaraz. It's a great town, albeit a bit dusty and littered with a stack of exhaust fumes to be inhaled by one and all! On our first day back to normal life we chilled and recovered a bit from our adventure/epic. We did make it out to check out the bouldering in another area outside of Huaraz. A five minute taxi ride for .75$ took us to this open area with lots of farm land and stacks of boulders. I actually didn't get to do that much as my shoes are still up at the Sphynx and you know, bouldering is just rough for me with my ankle injury being so fresh in my head... Naresuan, Tommy and another fellah, Andy, took enough hard falls with wobbly landings to shy me away.. But, I got to sit back and enjoy the company of a pit bull puppy named Chopper whose ears had just been cut off my his 15 year old owner... you know, cut back, fighting dog style... poor thing is only about 3 months old and his ears are scabby and bloody... but, he still had no trouble barking at us like an attack dog one minute and then licking the chocolate off our candy wrappers the next.
The bouldering is great here and the spectators are enthralled... from ages 5 to 70, they flock to watch the gringos climb on top of big rocks in their fields while their cows, sheep and pigs provide the background sending noises. We made a plan with Naresuan to go biking up to the Rurec Valley which is a bit out of Huaraz. The plan the night before was to take a collectivo (public bus) out to Olleros, the closest town to the valley and then ride out on flats to the valley and scope the route potential for future trips. The Rurec Valley boasts walls that are sheer, featured and very inspiring for the hiker, climber and cows alike! Well, when we met up with Naresuan in the morning with our souped up GT bikes from Zarela's, he said... let's hit it.. no collectivo, no taxi.. let's go! So, we rode slightly up hill for 15-20km and then reached the dirt road up to Olleros...
After sucking exhaust to that point and being greeted by all Peruvians that knew how to say Hello Gringo... Hellos mister.. yes, even I am a mister here... we reached Olleros 2 and a half hours after leaving Huaraz.. Then we rode higher and higher. Finally we reached the part that is meant to be flat.. and it was. And it was gorgeous and we could see the Rurec valley in the distance and the peak, Shakshaw... and it was all about 6 hours away! And by then, my legs were jello and all of our soft bums were bruised and screaming for a break. The butt thing was definitely the worst. None of our tails were in shape for riding and 6 and a half hours later in Huaraz, we were all squirming in our seats while we waited for our Cristales (beers)! It was great! And yes, photos were taken en masse. Other than all this adventure, we've shopped, we've drank, we've laughed at these mad Austrians who clearly know how to handle their drink.... 15 hours worth without losing a single morsel to the bowl....
And then today we sent Tommy off on the bus to Lima and he'll fly out tonight to Utah. Mandy and I leave in the morning to head back up to the Sphynx. The whole valley and all surrounding peaks are surrounded by gray clouds right now, the worst we've seen so far... but , who knows what can happen over night. We're going regardless cause we only have one week left... I won't make it to any jungles, the Amazon, Machu Pichuu, but I can always come back! With Seamus next time! He would love this place and they would love him! Well, must go grab a new book for the rest of my trip! Hope you're all well and I'll be in touch when we get back on Saturday! Ciao kids! -rai
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