Delfina, Way Inn Lodge Boulders, y Hatun Machay

I've been a bit of a slacker lately with the blog . . . lots to catch up on. So I finally managed to find the sweet Delfina. The following day after meeting with her cows I found her in Huanchac. She was very appreciative of the gifts. We hung out with her cows for a bit and I snapped a few shots of her, and then we walked into Huaraz together since she needed to buy some food for her cows. The walk is about 40 minutes to the mercado in Huaraz. She discussed how her life is much harder since she doesn't have a husband or kids but that she just never wanted to be with any of the men that she knew. So Delfina does it all on her own - cares for her cows, sells herbs in the market, grows corn and potatoes - everyday. She is a tiny, sweet woman with more strength and independence than I can even begin to comprehend.

I also managed to go bouldering at a place about 30 minutes away in a taxi with Cesar and Jaime. The place was absolutely beautiful with enough rocks to keep me happy for years. It is up high near the mountains, which means amazing views. It was hard to put the camera down to enjoy the climbing. At the end of the day we walked back to town which took about 90 minutes or so. It was actually a really nice walk, despite being in the dark, because we walked down a walkway/trail that passes through all of the towns between there and Huaraz. I was able to get a glimpse of rural living and life outside of Huaraz.

On my birthday, back in the begining of my trip I met a woman, Luciana, and her friend at a bar. We spent most of that night dancing together, but I had mentioned to her that I wanted to go to Hatun Machay before I left Peru. At the time, I didn't realize how lucky I was to have met her (funny how, as cheesy as it sounds, some things seem to happen for a reason). This last Thursday I went to Hatun Machay with Luciana, her boyfriend Andres, and one of his employees/friends, Hernan. All three of them are from Argentina. Andres, after falling in love with Hatun Machay, decided to build a rustic "refugio" for travelers who wanted to come to the area to climb or hike. Hatun Machay is probably one of the most magical places I have ever been to in my life. It is a stone forest that I have yet to see the end of, even after hiking for hours. You can wander through the area with towers of stone above you, making what looks like a castle. "Hatun Machay" in Quechua means "Big Cave", and here there are many, filled with 14,00 year old pictographs, carvings, and paintings. It feels old, sacred, and peaceful. There are a few people that live amongst the stone forest in very modest homes made of rock walls and straw for a roof. The homes tend to be the size of a very small room, which I can imagine helps to keep them warm in this very cold place (4200 m). Andres, before building the refugio, had discussed the matter with the few locals in the area to make sure they were okay with the idea. He is also doing his part to preserve the place and serve the community there. Luciana and I ran into one of the locals (photo above) who is only 22 years old but seems to have a maturity and wisdom about her that no American 22 year old has ever had. Hmm. . . I can't really find words to express this place. Andres enjoys spending his days putting up routes on these sharp volcanic towers. He has developed a lot of routes already but this place has an endless amount of potential. The refugio is almost completely built, after more than a year of construction. There are a handful of employees working to finish the bathrooms (they ran out of bricks) and a few other odds and ends. The place is very welcoming with bunk beds upstairs and a large kitchen with wooden tables downstairs. The only problem is getting out once you are in. . . I was lucky to have a ride back to Huaraz with Andres and Luciana, but as you can imagine there aren't a lot of people coming out that direction (Andres made a road down to the Refugio off of a dirt road up in the mountains). So you have to be flexible and hope someone comes in on a day you are trying to get out so you can hop on their taxi, or you walk out for a few hours with the gear you brought in, or you wait (which isn't really such a bad thing now is it?).

With only one week left, it is back to the hospital for me and maybe some more climbing in afternoons.