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25.11.2019: Barranca to Pachacoto (Parque Nacional Huascarán)
Once out of Lima we headed east, away from the coast and up into the hills. We had two tolls to pay at $2-30 each and went up to 4100m above sea level before dropping down slightly. We've been at sea level for a couple of years so staying overnight at 3,800m was not ideal! But Kirsten wanted to go off road for 35 km up to a glacier that was considerably higher. We weren't going to make it up and back down again before it got dark because the road is bad gravel so we stayed at the junction in Pachacoto for the night.
Cordillera Blanca - 360° Panorama
(move mouse over panorama and click on the arrows)
26.11.2019: Pachacoto to Caraz
The next morning Kirsten was certainly feeling the altitude difference but Winnietwo felt it more!! It had gone down to 3°C overnight and when I started the engine the next morning we sputtered and stuttered and white clouds were coming out of our exhaust.
Well, Winnietwo hasn't stayed overnight at such a height for years either so no wonder he was having problems. Anyway, that made the decision for us ... we wouldn't go to the glacier and we continued on the main road through Huaraz and into Caraz where there's a really good campground.
It was only 107km to Caraz but it took us almost 4 hours. There were a huge amount of speed bumps along the route, not always sign posted, and all 7 bridges on the road were under repairs. So there were a lot of gravel or sandy detours and a few queues as it was one way traffic around the bridges.
We finally got to the campground at 2-30pm and met Debbie and Gary from South Africa who were packing up to leave. We hastily swapped tips - they were travelling south - and they told us about some scenic valleys that are on gravel but they said we should be able to do them in our 2 wheel vehicle. They had a Land Rover 4x4.
(In the next report we'll be writing about taking their route into the Tablachaca Canyon which ended up being more adventure than we could cope with!!)
27. - 29.11.2019: Caraz
We thought we'd stay at the campground for 3 nights but ended up staying twice as long! It was a really nice place with a grass parking area and a very clean toilet and shower block that had hot water. All the water is drinkable so we could fill up our tanks. We started off doing a few repairs and cleaning. The campground didn't have a washing machine but we could hand wash things which got dry fast because it got very windy every afternoon!!
We walked into town a couple of times to wander through the bustling market to pick up fruit and veg. We also needed a new sim card for Peru. It took a while to work out the system - we always have to make sure that, as foreigners, we can buy one. That's not always the case. It depends which country you're in. There's always a large number of packages you can buy and we have to make sure we understand - they certainly rattle off the lists really fast in Spanish!
On our second visit to town we were just walking back with all our supplies when we got a lift with a French couple and their two sons who were staying on the same campground. They had arrived the day after us and told us they'd been attacked by men with knives on a beach along the coast in Peru but fortunately they managed to get away without injury and could drive off. Apparently Peru is really dangerous along the coast north of Lima. We would need to avoid that area.
Anyway, when they picked us up they had just been up to Laguna Parón and they'd planned on stopping up there for the night. But at 4,200m high it proved too much for them and they were getting altitude symptoms. So they drove back down and stayed at the campground again.
They have a large MAN truck which is 4x4 and has very high clearance but the road up there is gravel with lots of potholes and rocks and switchbacks uphill. It had taken them 7 hours just to drive up and back!! But they said it was really beautiful and well worth a visit.
That evening we went to see Jaime, the really nice campground owner and he said he could book us a taxi with a very good friend of his who is extremely reliable. It would cost us $60 US but it would save us damaging Winnietwo and we could sit back and enjoy the ride. So we booked for the following day.
30.11.2019: Caraz to Laguna Parón
It was certainly a fabulous day out up to Laguna Parón and we're so glad we paid to go by taxi. Señor Victor picked us up at 9-15am and drove us up and up, 31km along the dirt road up to the laguna. It was extremely bumpy and the road was dotted with large rocks, potholes, and speed bumps (why on earth they were needed on such a bad road I'll never know!!) He only drove between 20 to 30kmh (12 to 18mph) but it seemed really fast because we were sitting far lower down in a "normal" vehicle. In Winnietwo we have virtually panoramic views!!
We drove up to 4,200m, a height gain of 1,800m, and went around several switchbacks. I sat on my hands for most of the journey to protect my back from all the bumps but otherwise I really enjoyed being driven!! The scenery was fantastic and we had good weather. It only took 1 hour 35 minutes to get up to the Laguna Parón and then we walked steeply up to a viewpoint. We had to scramble over various rocks to get there but were rewarded with a fantastic view over the beautiful blue laguna surrounded by snow capped peaks.
Laguna Parón - 360° Panorama
(move mouse over panorama and click on the arrows)
At first the peaks were covered in clouds so we ate our packed lunch whilst we waited and the clouds cleared!! Superb photo opportunity! The Pyramid mountain is reputed to be the Paramount pictures symbol and is 5885m high.
We had the viewpoint to ourselves but then we saw 7 minibuses arrive on the car park way below us so it was time to walk back down the steep, rocky slope. We past the large group of people on the way down. We walked along a path around the side of the laguna and the sun came out which meant we could see the top of Pyramid mountain and various glaciers.
Señor Victor was patiently waiting for us and, after paying 1 Sole each to use the public toilets, we set off at 2-45pm for the drive back down. We had great views going down and got back to the campground at 4-15pm. Just in time - because it started raining! It was a superb trip and we're really glad we paid out the money for a taxi instead of trying to drive ourselves.
Spectacular Laguna Parón
01.12.2019: Caraz
On our final day at the campground I did a lot of hand washing and we filled up all our water tanks. We did all of it before we'd even had breakfast so we ended up having pancakes with fresh blueberries for lunch instead!!
It started raining in the afternoon so I had to dash out to get all the washing in and then Kirsten cut my hair in the large shower block. We had spent more time in Caraz than we had planned and had thoroughly enjoyed our time there but it was time to move on to our next adventure. And, boy, what an adventure it turned out to be!!!
