back from chavin!
a parent of one of my highschool classmates had a genetic defect which allowed him to climb everest multiple times wtihout oxygen. i was pretty sure that i was not a superhuman like him….but always thought that i could handle my altitude. turns out i’m really really weak. after the first day of our climb at ~2.5 miles above sealevel….i puked. the next couple days were better (no puke), but shortness of breath and headaches were the norm.
out there (in the cordillera blanca), you lose sense of time and place. climate can change from cold/windy to warm/sheltered in a heartbeat. landscape can change from grassy plains to snowcapped peaks (which seem very out of place). terrain is dry or swampy. one thing that is consistent, though, is the presence of cow and sheep shit….everywhere. seriously, you cannot escape it. it doesn’t help that there isn’t much wildlife (insect or animal) up there, so things tend to linger.
not too many people inhabit the path. the first and second days we passed a few small family farmers (cattle/sheep). after the pass…things began to change, and about 10km from chavin eucalyptus trees appeared as well as small villages with pople dressed in colorful indigenous garb. one woman we met on the trail didn’t even speak spanish. it’s cool being in such a different environment, which is quickly fading, as roads and telecom become more common (they’re building a road as we speak). it’s especally amazing to see schools and other large structures up in the hillside, where every single brick (or window, metal fence, etc.) is carried up on the backs of men and mules.
chavin is another interesting place. home to a 3k year old religious cult, there are some awesome archaeological sites, which francois was able to give us vip access too (he worked on the dig for a couple of summers). the chavin temple features tons of narrow passages which archaeologists (and, sometimes, their friends) can crawl through and admire the stone structures which have survived earthquakes, landslides and everything else. we were also fortunate to be in chavin at the end of their big annual festival, which featured street food/games and a bull fight in their brand-new (under construction) bull stadium. why would a small town of a few thousand people be building a $2 million stadium only big enough for bull fights? well, it turns out that their copper mine has been paying huge dividends recently ($20-50 million / year). still, a hospital and fast internet are nowhere to be found.
so is the hike from ollero to chavin worth the pain? …depends who you ask. francois’ done it three times and would do it again in a heartbeat. tessa enjoyed the untouched asspect of it, and might do it again. i’m glad i did it (no regrets), but once is enough for me — i have the pictures and the memories.
and how about chavin? chavin is a nice little town….which is even nicer now that they’ve spent millions on making the town look nice and on a beautiful museum. the new road connecting chavin to civilization is already falling apart (the 60km taxi ride back took ~2hrs), meaning that it’s a bit hard to get to….but if you’re up for the drive (or hike)…one day’s very nice, and more than enough time, to see the entire town. apparently if you continue east over the mountains you can hit the amazon!
PICS OF THE CORDILLERA BLANCA (here are a few….but francois took some awesome ones, which he’ll be posting on his site in the next couple weeks: www.brahic.com)
