Huaytapallana

Huaytapallana is the highest mountain peak in the Huayatapallana mountain range of the Andes mountains in Perú (I bet you had fun reading that sentence). The translation of Huaytapallana, which is derived from a word of Quechua, is to collect flowers. The mountain reaches 18, 232 feet above sea level.

So on February 6, 2018, Jeanne, Victor, Ana, and I all set out to hike four kilometers to reach this breathtaking peak.

Jeanne, Ana, and I all woke up and quickly got around to our bus waiting with Victor. We said goodbyes to our host mom, before we left the city of Huancayo and headed toward where our hike would begin. The road was were bumpy, but the natural scenery made it worth it.

Once we arrived, we all had little motivation to begin the hike. It was quite chilly and the hike began by going up, and up, and further up. While I was definitely short of breath, I was okay. Jeanne had fallen behind with our guide, and I was primarily in the middle of our guide and Victor and Ana (who were hiking together). The hike was definitely difficult, but eventually we all made it about halfway. At the halfway point, we could see Huaytapallana, which was incredible.

At this point, after we took a break, Jeanne decided that she could no longer continue. I honestly didn't feel like continuing, but I conjured up the strength by telling myself I only would have one opportunity. While I now am I happy I made myself continue walking, during the walk I regretted it. As I continued on the altitude certainly got to me. I began to feel nauseous, and my breaks to get to the snow peaks became more frequent. Eventually, I made it. Once I got there everything became worth it. I was surprised to found out that as I reached the peaks, it was not cold at all. As the hike had continued, it had become warmer, and by the time we got to the peaks it was hot. This meant it was quite enjoyable, with the heat radiating from the sun and the snow simply sparkling. It didn't take long before I joined Ana and Victor playing in the snow. It was Ana's first time seeing and feeling snow, which made the experience even more enjoyable. We took pictures, and Ana and I attempted to make a snowman. While the snow was packing snow, it wouldn't roll, so our snowman kinda failed. So instead, Victor and I pressured Ana into making a snow angel. Ana went for it, but only moved her arms so her poor angel didn't have a skirt. She hopped up pretty quick as she was now wet, but we deemed that it was worth it. After we had taken some more photos and thrown a couple snowballs we all left the snow and continued the hike back.

On the hike back, I quickly began to feel more and more sick. While the hike itself was easier as we were going down, my illness definitely made it difficult to continue on. I quickly fell behind Ana and Victor, who were unaware that I was feeling as bad as I was. Breaking every so often, I eventually made it back to them, as they had stopped and waited for me (they got worried). They both ended up helping me climb down the mountain as I was super dizzy, nauseous, and had a blinding headache. I had no sense of balance and am so thankful that I had amazing friends that helped me down the mountain (as I honestly thought the only way I was getting down was by falling).

After we made it down (thank goodness), we all ate a lunch of trout, potato, rice, and onion. Jeanne and I were still feeling a bit sick, so the bumpy bus ride wasn't too enjoyable, but before we made it back to Huancayo, where we all took it easy for the rest of the day.