Huaraz

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Huaraz was beautiful, it's a small town nestled in a valley between the Cordillera Blanca (which contains the highest peaks in Peru) and the Cordillera Negra, so you can see many snow-capped peaks from the town.  It was really good to be surrounded by mountains again after the bleakness of the deserts of the Peruvian coast.

We didn't have enough time to do any serious trekking in the area, mainly because i was struck down with a very dodgy stomach again.  The owners of the hostel we were staying at were my saviours though, as soon as they found out i was feeling ill they gave me their "secret Peruvian cure" - a drink of papaya (the fruit and its seeds) - to settle my stomach, they said that as soon as i'd drunk it i could start eating normally again.  Sure enough their magic cure worked just as they said it would.

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After that episode we only had enough time for a day trip, so we travelled through the Callejon de Huaylas and up to the Laguna Llanganuco.  The lake was beautiful, its turquoise waters are nestled beneath the snowline of two of the highest peaks in Peru.  On the way back we stopped off at a couple of the small villages to visit a Manjar Blanco (a delicious local sweet delicacy which tastes like fudge but has the consistency of thick butter) factory and to watch a demonstration of ceramics and pottery making.  We also visited the remains of the old city of Yungay, which was completely destroyed in 1970 by an avalanche.  Pretty much all that remains in tact is the cemetery which is on a hill and which consequently saved about 90 people from certain death during the catastrophe.