After a solid 9 hours of sleep, we were more than ready for our 7 A.M. breakfast. We ate fresh fruit bowls and drank mint and coca tea with a view of the mountains. Kelly kept telling us to drink lots of the coca tea since that is supposed to help prevent altitude sickness.

Our taxi driver arrived with his little van around 7:45. The only other passengers were two girls from France. They have been traveling around Peru for 4 weeks and are headed to Bolivia for 3 weeks before going home. I was so impressed with them as they knew French, English, and Spanish quite well.

We drove for an hour and a half up a bumpy gravel road with lots of hairpin curves.

The farms on the mountainsides were so intriguing. The ladies wear tall hats, pretty skirts, and colorful shawls/wraps to carry babies or produce in. They were so pretty and I wanted to get photos, but I couldn’t bear to point my camera at them as if they were part of an exhibit so I just smiled and nodded instead. At one point there was a small herd of cows blocking the road, so our driver did some honking and we finally managed to get past them. Soon after the farms, we drove into the clouds and couldn’t see anything.

After arriving at the parking lot for Laguna Paron, we darted to the baños, which left a lot to be desired. After all our coco tea and water, even these primitive restrooms were a welcome relief. We had come prepared, but later in the day, we saw a lady selling little squares of toilet paper outside the bathrooms for 1 sole (30 cents). Genius, really.

We were the first ones there, as most taxis bring people in from Huaraz (another hour away). Soon we were huffing and puffing up the steep hill to the mirador (overlook). This was our first time at such a high altitude and it was not quite like I expected it to be. I don’t know how to describe it, but I will say that I went very, VERY slowly up the trail.

We were still in the clouds most of the hike, and were a little worried about not being able to see the lake at all from the top. However, when we were getting to the top, we looked up to suddenly see huge mountain peaks looming right above us. The clouds quickly cleared off, and we got our first glimpse of Laguna Paron which has the bluest water I have ever seen.

At the top, we found a place to sit with a view of the lake and ate our cheese and jam sandwiches and bananas that Kelly had sent with us.

After we were up there for awhile, we saw other vans coming in with more people so we headed back down. We had seen kayaks by the lake and wanted to get out on the water.

No one else was there but we helped ourselves to some life jackets, oars, and a kayak and hopped in. A man showed up from somewhere to push us in the water and we happily paddled around the lake. I’m sure these photos do not do it justice, but it will not be for lack of me trying.

We had planned to meet our taxi at noon, so we paddled back to shore, paid the man who helped us, and climbed back into the van for the ride home.

Since the clouds had disappeared, we could see the scenery the whole way back down. My favorite part was all the eucalyptus groves we drove through. I spotted three different types of eucalyptus. Some were bushes, and some were tall trees. It smelled wonderful as we drove past them. 

I made a list of other cute things we saw.
A lady carrying a bouquet of wildflowers
A watermelon patch
Giant agave plants
A man on a motorcycle with a baby on his back
Sunflowers
Waterfalls disappearing into the clouds
A field of peas
Burros
A brown and white striped pig
A puppy fast asleep in a moto

Back at our inn, we refilled our water bottles and made dinner plans with our host before resting a bit.

In need of snacks and more cash, we then walked to the town center and found an ATM and a supermarket. The sights and smells on our 30 minute walk were not like anything we’d see at home.

After we got back, we resisted tasting our snacks since Joel, the chef in residence, was making dinner for us. We had a delicious beef tenderloin with fig sauce (made from figs grown on the trees right outside our room), and fried potatoes that were a delicious Peruvian variety.

We are going to bed tired, sunburned, and with the remnants of headaches from the high altitude.

x Ella