Tour Lauca National Park near Arica, Chile

There are archaeological and natural wonders in Lauca National Park, including the geoglyphs at Putre, and the high altitude lake Chungara. The tout guide only speaks Spanish, yet an American couple visiting from Boston kindly summarized the highlights. They live in the same apartment as I did when I was in boston. Small world!

I would rather take a public bus to a small town Putre then hike the peak of 6300 meters, than taking this 12 hrs tour just to walk around the lake at 4500 meter for half an hour. I learned about the hike option after I paid for the tour and a bus ticket to calama. Well, next life. I stayed at a nicer hostel which yet is not for backpackers and has no hiking info.

I stopped by another hostel Sunny Days on my 2nd day in Arica and chatted with the owner from new zealand for over 1 hr about my iternary for chile and argentine as well my travel experience of US national parks. We had a great time although I could not hike the national park or move to his hostel (sold out). I did share the info with my roommate of the 1st hostel and hope she can hike there.

Edit Museo Arqueológico de San Miguel de Azapa in Arica, Chile

Contains archaeological pieces. The oldest Mummies in the world (7000 BC), skulls, tools, clothe, etc. There us an old olive oil mill located in the middle of the museum.

Contrary the iced mummy Juanita the well-preserved frozen body of an Incan girl who was killed as an offering to the Inca gods sometime between 1450 and 1480, these mummies were ancestors dressed up paraded in religious celebrations and stored in the household.

Juanita was discovered on Mount Ampato (part of the Andes cordillera) in southern Peru in 1995 by anthropologist after the volcano irruption 500 yrs after she was scarified for her people to calm down the volcano. What amazed me most was she and priest could hike that high and far to the volcano peak with no hiking boots and all the high-tech equipment. You can Wikipedia the photos of Juanita. It was not allowed to take her photos on the museum.

I took a shared taxi to the museum, yet found a ride with a group of chilean police academy students back to town. We took a group photo.

Arica, Chile

The port city Arica has beaches, gardens, sand dunes, and year-round warm, dry weather. It is a popular resort area. People here cerebrate halloween as well.

There was a Chinese tie of Arica. The import of Chinese labor for picking bird shit left a deep diet influence on Arica. A fast food shop in Arica will ask you if you want French fries or chinese fried rice as a side dish. Africa has more Chinese restaurants than all those i saw in Colombia, equator, Peru added together. This reminds me of the Chinese labor imported to San fransisco for gold digging.

Arrived chile after 32 hrs bus ride

And missed the earthquake in Peru.

On my Way to tacna, the border city, I woke up in the beautiful views of the Peruvian coastal line and sun rise on my overnight bus to Tacna. This section is right along the edge of the coast with great views, rather than distant from the coast line as the northern section.

After over 3 weeks of traveling in Peru and showered by the passion and friendship of the Peruvian people, the sandy dry coast no longer looks like dessert to me. It a dry, harsh environment some poor people here have to live with, like the deep cracks on my dry fingers and heels I have to live with, or, again, the bus wifi was out of commission that I have to live with.

Everyone lives with different set of restraints the person has to live with, yet some (including me) have the luck, vision, and courage to break up away from the restraints to seek new opportunities and experience. The cute little Peruvian girl sang in the bus may make her way to the international stage to be another Jennifer Lopez (I still do not know why people here gave me the nick name. I did not look like her and I did nit sing or dance here).

I hope one day people in peru will strive away from poverty and reach their dreams, no matter what the dreams are. One of my hiking guides wants to get married and starts his own travel agency next year, and another one of my hiking guides would like sing and compete for Peruvian idol. I have the same hope for my family and friends around the world.

Once you determine what is most important for you, go for it. Do not let the little chicken in you and people around you to dissuade you from your dreams, true calling and/or path. I am traveling here regardless of my broken Spanish, the petty crime in Peru, by myself alone, and taking a leave from work without pay. I have waited for long enough yet still having great health, physical strength, adaptability, and spirit to travel and venture like people in their 20s. Do not wait for too long, my friends, especially those who want to hike the mount Everest.

I just watched a movie "Rio" in the bus about returning a parrot trafficked to US and grown up in US back to the Rio jungle to learn to fly and live there. The movie moved me to tears at the end. We all need to release the restraints impose by the society and others and revive our true nature and instinct to live a life we truly desired and enjoyed, rather than being trapped in the cement building and sitting in front of computers the whole day and day after day.

In addition, i would like to visit Rio during the conerval one day.

Another cute movie tilted HOP was about Easter island, bunnies, and Easter eggs.

Transfer via Lima part 2

I had a rush start by running into downtown huaraz at 8:30 am to buy a 55 liter backpack. I run back to hostel to quickly repack and then run to the bus terminal 5 minutes before the departure at 9:30 am. I looked for the staff to check my bag , jumped into the bus, and barely catches up with my breath when sit down. Not a great way to start a day.

Everything moved as scheduled until near 4 pm in the after when I assumed that the bus should have arrived Lima. I asked fellow passengers how far we were away from central Lima and they urged me to get off at an earlier stop to take a taxi so I would stand a chance to catch the bus at 5:30 pm toward chile border.

As the time passed, I become more anxious. My options were either staying one night at Lima or gambling to catch the bus during rush hours.

Once the bus got to the earlier stop, I run to the bus driver and the luggage staff with a paper showing the bus and time I needed to catch. They realized the urgency and dragged out my luggage and led me to a taxi. My risky option left my fate to god and the taxi driver.

The taxi driver appeared to apprehend my urgent situation and drove like an embulance. However, the rush traffic was very tight. As he maneuvered via small alleys, time was passing and I felt we were further away from the destination and more hopeless. I felt like crying to run into such a mass, but still managed to negotiate down the taxi fare when we arrived at the bus terminal at 5:40 pm.

I run into the terminal ticketing table and waved my paper with destination and time. The lady looked at me with sympathy and shout to the luggage staff to see if the bus left for sure. I started winning like a crying baby and bagged for help with the luggage stuff because I really did not want to spend the night in lima.
Lucky me! The stuff waved hand to the bus driver to see if he could stop to take me. And the terminal stuff was so kind to calm me down and led me to the ticket counter, the luggage counter, and the security check to set me on the bus. I gave him, the bus driver, and the ticket lady each a big kiss on the cheek. Thank them and my perseverance that I actually got on 5:30 pm bus at 5:40 pm. This bus company is famous for punctuality and offering wifi on board.

I will avoid stressing myself and stretching my luck so far.

Santa Cruz hike in the national park In Huaraz, Peru

This 4-day hike leads to a pass at 4750 meters high which is higher than the dead woman pass 4215 meters of the inca trail of machu pichu. However, it's total length is only about 50 km, and the longest uphill alivation change on a day was 500 meters, rather than 900 meters as in inca trail.

This hike was easier for me than the inca trail further becase it was fully supported so that I did not carry my own sleeping mat and bag. In addition, it's cost was only 25% of the once trail hike. I like the mountain range here better than the ruin along the inca trail.

I had minor headache when arrived huaraz in the early morning and then jumped right on a tour at 9 am. When finished the tour back in town at 6:30 pm, I shopped in town for 45 minutes and signed up for this Santa Cruz hike at 7:15 pm. Thereafter, I had a quick dinner then rushed back to my hostel to pack for the 4-day hike strating from 6:30 am next morning.

I still had headache on the 1st day. Fortunately, the 1st day was easy. It was only 11 km with 800 meter elevation gain. But the sleeping mat was thin and I wad cold that I barely got any sleep at the 1st night.

I exercised a lot of will power to finished the 2nd day 22 km and 700 meters alivation Change. I almost bared out the optional gracier hike of 3-hr and 200 meter alivation gain. But I finished it by taking 2 power naps on the way. God blessed me. I put on all my clothes for the 2nd night and got some sleep. Not much because me and my tentmate dragged the shared cover the whole night. The 2rd day had the best weather and we passed two beautiful lakes.

The 3rd day was the hardest since it included 500 meters up and 1000 meters down vertically that were spreader over 16 km, and we walked via the 4750 high pass. On that day, we also heard bad news that a DIY couple hikers camped close to us had their stove and hiking boots stolen. God blesses them hike safely out out the mountain range. I had never images this sort of crime would have happened.

The last day was just 7 km yet with 800 meters elevation change. The weather was mirrible so I felt quite lucky to enjoyed the earlier days.

I was tired but still went to the bus companies to book my tickets to chile. It will involve several long bus rides. You will see update again after 2 days.

Tour Huascaran national park In huaraz, Peru

Which was used to be snow-capped, yet now is bold with a few patches of snow therein. This park rinds me the gracier national park in the us which also has several patches of snow left yet you need to hike up miles to see them, rather just walking less than a mile or mules to get to them. Global warming has impact on every where. I need to hurry up to visit more places before they disappear.

I am taking a 4-day Santa Cruz trek until 10/27 with no Internet access.

Transfer in Lima, Peru

And accompanied a friend who tried hand-gliding. I skipped it. I then took an overnight bus to huaraz.

While walking around the beach area, we ran into to inca trail fellow hikers ready to fly back to SFO that night. One travel companion left for chile and the other is flying back to Brazil, so I travel by myself again to huaraz, the hiking paradise. I am waiting for my overnight bus in the station, and try to get used to solo travel again.