Laguna Churup
The tour to go to Churup costs 30 Sol but when I looked at the map I thought it could be done on my own as well. So in the morning I just stand on the road waiting for a bus which goes in the direction of the Mountain. Well I didn’t have to wait at all. The first bus was there already when I reached the road. I went up to Lupa instead of Pitec, which meant around 3-4 km extra hiking, but I didn’t mind at all. I had plenty of time and I could see more of the landscape. I mean I could have if the fog wouldn’t cover the whole valley. Anyway, It was still fun and I started to talk to a Quechua lady on my way up. She was really nice. She told me where she lives, told me about her four children and she asked me about life in Europe.
When we arrived at Pitec we said goodbye and I started my exhausting hike up to Churup. Huaraz is 3000 metres above sea level and when you go from the altitude 0 to 3000 you can expect some sort of altitude sickness. Luckily, in my case it was just a mild headache, however hiking up to 4500 on the next day was a big step again. I felt the lack of oxygen from the very first moment. I had to force myself to go as slow as possible because otherwise I just ran out of oxygen and my heart starts to beat so fast that it is almost scary.
When I reached the National park, I had to register my name and pay the entrance fee of 30 Sol. Even though I had 4 km, and 500 metre extra in my legs I still managed to be the first on the mountain, because the tourist buses are leaving Huaraz later. It was a special feeling, knowing that I’m hiking up on a road all alone. Noone is up there. About an hour later, not much before the Laguna, I lost that feeling when a girl kind of ran up next to me, when I was fighting for my life.
The headache arrived again when I reached 4000. It was still not that bad, but made me decide to stop at 4500 and not go further to the other Laguna.
When I reached the viewpoint above the laguna I still couldn’t see anything. Not the peaks nor the laguna. I only see the girl who just overtook me standing calmly on the rock in the greyish nothingness, her palms facing the sky. It is the indigenous way of praying or just appreciating life and nature. I’m not really sure.
I sat done 20 metres away, not to bother her but once she finished we engaged into a conversation. It turned out that she is a professional climber and she told me she was a friend of Erős Zsolt, who was the first Hungarian on Mount Everest and who died recently last year. She also knows Dávid Klein, another Hungarian climber.
While we were talking the fog slowly disappeared and a beautiful lake appeared in front of me. It was magical.
Later that day, I managed to get next to my altitude dizziness, some serious sunburn, heatstroke and I think I even caught a cold. Nevertheless, it was all worth it. It was an amazing day, and I’ve never slept better than that night.
Seriously, just look at these pictures!
