Again, from Huaraz (tho not for long...)

Hola todos,

Bueno, otra vez estoy en Huaraz. And, again I am in Huaraz! But not for long...I am just en route to Lima, and from there, back down to Cusco again for a short spell. I have been having a great time in Northern Peru and wanted to fill you all in (albeit without photos for now, as I haven't yet transfered my pics from my camera) on my adventures and (near) future plans.

I have been living with Lib and Benj in their cute and cozy blue room in Musho (don't try to find it on a map - too small, even for Google Earth). For 3 weeks, I worked in the health post in a town called Tumpa, just up the road from Musho. As their doctor wasn't there during that time, I stepped in and saw patients in his absence. It was a great experience, and I feel truly lucky to have experienced both urban and rural medicine in Peru.

Last week, amidst a bit of an intestinal bug that included a fever for yours-truly, the three of us took off into the blanca (cordillera blanca mountains) for a 4-day trek. What a great experience! We had snow every day, even awoke to over a foot one morning, and the most beautiful scenery I have seen in the Andes thus far. We hiked up Quebrada Quilcayhuanca (a canyon), the up over a 5000 + meter pass, then down the Quebrada Cajup (another canyon) and back to the lodge where we started. We hiked 45 km in 4 days. What a trip (photos to come soon...)!

After thawing out and relaxing in Musho for this past weekend, we had some Peace Corps friends come up and head out on another hike yesterday, this time for just one day. Although it was a bit rainy, the company was great and it felt great to stretch our legs yet again.

Now all three of us have packed up and descended to Huaraz, where we await our evening bus to Lima. From there, L and B head to Ica to help out with some earthquake relief (they had a bit earthquake in August, 2007), and I hop on another bus down to Cusco to say hello to some good pals for a few weeks (and do a bit more hiking in the Southern Peruvian Andes). I will then meet back up with L & B in Arequipa to do some more hiking/exploring in the deepest canyon in the world (supposedly 2x deeper than the Grand Canyon!!).

I hope this finds each of you happy and healthy. I appreciate all of the communication from you all - keep the emails coming!! I will be in better communication while in Cusco, and will definitely be putting some pics on the blog to give you a better idea of my adventures this past month.

Besitos from the Andes,

Laurita