Ancash the Beautiful
In November I was lucky enough to be reunited with all my CED frans in one of the prettiest places I’ve seen in Peru. A little about Ancash: The name of the region comes from a mixture of the Quechua words anquash (light, of little weight), anqas (blue), and anka (eagle). The region was created after the defeat of the Peru-Bolivia Confederation at the battle of Yungay in 1839. One of the deadliest natural disasters in Peru occurred in 1970, killing more than 50,000 people and damaging 186,000 houses. Home to the highest peak in Peru, second of the Americas and fourth highest in the Southern Hemisphere, Huascarán (6,768 m). Cool fact- past Peace Corps volunteers, Curry Slaymaker and Joel Albrecht, developed the proposal for the Huascarán National Park back in 1967. Huaraz, capital of Ancash, is surrounded by views of snow covered peaks and filled with hikers from all over the world. There are also a variety of crystal blue lakes (more than 400) including the very popular Laguna 69, which I got to see with my own eyes (cool stuff). Ancash is the department for the brave souls and adventure seekers.
So on to why I was in the beautiful department of Ancash. My colleagues and I had our first in-service training in one of the volunteer’s site, Carhuaz (45 min from Huaraz). We all brought a counterpart from our towns to discuss the topic of business advising. We worked on study circles, canvasing, and even did some fun cultural exchanges. Sadly, I missed out on Cultural Night due to an infection that kept me in bed for a day and a half. However, being able to see the projects and ideas of the other volunteers and even hearing the problems they are facing makes me not feel so alone in my own struggles.
Fun activities:
The first day we got in a few of us volunteers and our counterparts went on a short hike to get a better view of Mt. Huascarán. It was beautiful and windy enough to scoop up my little Yodi if he was with me.
After training, a few others and myself were determined to make it up to Laguna 69. To get up to the location of the lake (4,600 m), first you must climb up a little route with all of the other tourist. But after 3ish hours you are welcomed by the stunning turquoise water and the runoff waterfall from the surrounding glacier. The view was breathtaking and the water looked chilly, you can ask all the people that decided to jump in.
Huaraz is also home to Sierra Andina, one of the best artisan beer you can find in Peru. “Their imperial ale and IPA are exceptional beers, I wish I could’ve tried them on tap,” said Brandon Williams, beer enthusiast.
Because Huaraz is a backpacker central, you can find ‘hipster-ish’ cafes and restaurants serving up homemade breads and jam to delicious international cuisines including dishes like spicy green curry.
I would recommend Ancash to all of my adventure seeking friends and would love to visit again, however, not sure I would have much to my name if Huaraz was my regional capital.