Final stretch of the motorbike trip via Caraz to Huaraz, and visiting Laguna Paron.

July 22, 12:27

We’re sitting on the side of the road eating ice cream while Mike is calling his brother. All to gain some strength for the last stretch of today. The roads are pretty dangerous, them being on mountain ridges hundredths of meters above the ground. The roads are also very shitty, a lot of the time - big potholes, loose gravel, landslides, and big stones in the middle of the roads. It makes the whole ride very tiring (and I am not even the one that’s doing the riding). The rest of the ride is supposed to be a bit easier, so we hope. It’s only one more hour to Caraz, where we will stay for a few nights. The last stop before our destination: Huaraz!

July 23, 13:15

It’s resting day today, which means it’s coffee shop day! The last bit of the drive yesterday was really beautiful. Gigantic mountains, tunnels to drive through, and waterfalls to the left of us. Now I am enjoying a cafe pasado and a chocolate cake, cause why not? Also, Colombia and Ecuador have great coffee, but here in Peru all they have is instant Nescafé, which is just gross. But sometimes when you’re lucky, they have this cafe pasado. It is a sort of coffee extract that you pour into your cup of hot water, which tastes nice! So I guess I am lucky right now!

July 24, 16:14

What a beautiful view and such a nice day. We drove up to Laguna Paron. And this might be one of the prettiest lakes I have ever seen. Clear blue water with views of snow capped mountains. Some people rent canoes or boats and are quietly moving across the water. I am sitting on a stone bench looking at this beautiful scenery. We just made a coffee with cocoa leaves flavored water, cause that was the only type of hot water the little ‘restaurant’ had. But it tastes great and after our hike alongside the lake, it makes for a perfect ending to the day.

July 25, 21:53

I just had dinner with Alex and Julia, and it was so nice to see them again! We volunteered together at a hostel in Ecuador, and about two weeks ago, Alex and I found out that we were all going to be in Huaraz at the same time. So naturally we decided to meet up and it felt like I literally saw them yesterday! Super happy!

July 26, 12:52

Decisions were made today: Mike and I are staying in Peru!

The idea about crossing the border to Brazil via the Amazon is still something I would really like to do, but time wise it’s just not gonna happen now. In the end, I would have only about three weeks left to spend in Brazil and that’s just too short of a time for a country that big. So Peru it is!

We do have to go back to Chachapoyas cause some of our stuff is still there. But the idea now is to go back north through the Amazon and then drive south again along the coast. So we’ll still experience the Amazon and can enjoy the coast! Yay!

July 27, 13:42

We just changed hostels in Huaraz cause we were stupid and didn’t plan. Tomorrow Peru celebrates their independence so this whole weekend every hostel and hotel is fully booked. Now I am in bed watching the Netflix documentary ‘Inside the Mind of a Cat’, waiting for me to feel better. I was supposed to go on a hike today with Alex, but yesterday evening my stomach got very upset. Probably some food poisoning. So now I am just laying in bed and resting, so I hopefully feel good enough to do the 4-day hike that starts on Saturday.

Bleegh I am bored.

July 28, 19:57

Whoop whoop! I feel better! My stomach problems just lasted one day, luckily. I just packed my stuff for the hike and I’m a bit nervous. In these four days we’ll hike a total of 48 km and the highest point is going to be 5028 meters. I’m a bit nervous about the altitude, cause I even notice it now when I walk up the stairs - I get tired quickly. I just hope I am fit enough to do this hike. But besides that, I am very excited! About the hike itself and the views of course, but also that I’m doing the hike with Alex and Julia, so that’s super nice! Now chilling in bed, watching a movie and I guess an early night.