Well I have very limited Internet access, so I'll have to make this post short and sweet...
We ended up spending several nights at the Llama Pack hostel in Urubamba due to it's chill atmosphere. We got to know Coqui, his wife, child, llamas, and the Czech guy Misha all pretty well. We also met some chill English guys who were staying at the hostel and travelling together, Luke and George.
During our days in Urubamba we would hike up the valley a bit until we reached some cliff that Coqui had actually bolted 2 super sweet routes that were rated 7a+ and 8b on the European scale, or for those of you on the Yosemite Decimal System: 5.12a and 5.13d. The first time, we hopped on a crack that was to the left of the two bolted routes and made a nice 15m ascent with Simon leading. The second day we tried the 7a+ called Chongo Mondongo, meaning crazy monkey. It was a sweet route, but we were not quite ready for the difficulty. Nevertheless, we both gave it ago and decided it was worth returning to for a redpoint ascent. Coqui also has all the bolting equipment and told us that if we found a line he would let us set it up. Super chill guy.
Urubamba was nice, and we plan on returning, but first our expirience in Ollantaytambo some 20 minutes down the road.
We made it to Ollantaytambo on Sunday, and it a beautiful little village that historically used to protect the entrance of the Sacred Valley from invasions. There are many ruins, cobblestone streets, and Inca terraces that are still be farmed to this day. I had made an arrangement to WWOOF, or volunteer at an organic farm here in Ollantaytambo. We found the farm down by the railway station that takes people to Agua Calientes, the last city before Machu Picchu. The farm is actually coupled with the El Albergue hotel, and works to bring in some of the produce for the kitchen. We met and spoke with Louisa, the WWOOF coordinator who is actually and old counselour from Camp Palawopec! Crazy how small the world seems sometimes.
After talking about our work schedule, we took our gear to a camping place and set up our tent. The camping spòt is run by this Peruvian named Elder, and it is a really chill place that even has a sweat lodge! We plan on doing a ceremony come the next full moon. After getting our stuff together, we went to the market to buy food to cook dinner.
The next morning, we woke up at 8 and went down to the farm/hotel/restaurant to eat our breakfast. It was really deliscious, consisting of eggs, bread, marmelade, coffee, and pancakes, and was the best breakfast we´ve eaten since we´ve been here in Peru. After eating we went up to the farm to look around and learn about the types of crops grown there, and what we´d be doing. The farm grows all sorts of traditional plants, such as corn, quinoa, and other grains, as well as some other fruits and veggies. They also raise chickens, turkeys, rabbits, guinea pìgs, sheep, and pigs. The whole goal of the farm is to be organic and sustainable, and to provide all the food for the restaurant. There is a bit of an issue, considering some plants like tomatoes and eggplant aren´t traditionally grown in this area, but it is a work in progress. The actual work so far has consisted solely of weeding (maybe they don´t trust us with the other jobs) but it is a chill time. We work 5 hours a day on a 1000 year old terrace, surrounded by mountains and stunning views of glaciers and ruins. The farmers we work along side are all very kind and helpful people, especially the maestro, Julian. There is also a small school built on the farm that teaches loca children about healthy living, english, and other important things. We get fed two deliscious meals a day at the nice hotel. In general, it is a nice time and a good, wholesome expirience.
We´ve also been exploring the town a bit on our downtime. We´ve hiked up the ruins built on the mountains, and to a nice, clear resevior/swimming pool. We plan on working at the farm for two weeks, and will take the weekends to climb and explore the mountains more.
Thanks for checking in, I hope to be back before the week ends. In the meantime, I´m going to wash the dirt out from under my nails, and perhaps give my clothes a nice cleaning. until then, chao!
P.S. excuse any typos of mine, I am typing on a spanish keyboard with spanish spellcheck as well, hence any overlooked mispelled words.
We ended up spending several nights at the Llama Pack hostel in Urubamba due to it's chill atmosphere. We got to know Coqui, his wife, child, llamas, and the Czech guy Misha all pretty well. We also met some chill English guys who were staying at the hostel and travelling together, Luke and George.
During our days in Urubamba we would hike up the valley a bit until we reached some cliff that Coqui had actually bolted 2 super sweet routes that were rated 7a+ and 8b on the European scale, or for those of you on the Yosemite Decimal System: 5.12a and 5.13d. The first time, we hopped on a crack that was to the left of the two bolted routes and made a nice 15m ascent with Simon leading. The second day we tried the 7a+ called Chongo Mondongo, meaning crazy monkey. It was a sweet route, but we were not quite ready for the difficulty. Nevertheless, we both gave it ago and decided it was worth returning to for a redpoint ascent. Coqui also has all the bolting equipment and told us that if we found a line he would let us set it up. Super chill guy.
Urubamba was nice, and we plan on returning, but first our expirience in Ollantaytambo some 20 minutes down the road.
We made it to Ollantaytambo on Sunday, and it a beautiful little village that historically used to protect the entrance of the Sacred Valley from invasions. There are many ruins, cobblestone streets, and Inca terraces that are still be farmed to this day. I had made an arrangement to WWOOF, or volunteer at an organic farm here in Ollantaytambo. We found the farm down by the railway station that takes people to Agua Calientes, the last city before Machu Picchu. The farm is actually coupled with the El Albergue hotel, and works to bring in some of the produce for the kitchen. We met and spoke with Louisa, the WWOOF coordinator who is actually and old counselour from Camp Palawopec! Crazy how small the world seems sometimes.
After talking about our work schedule, we took our gear to a camping place and set up our tent. The camping spòt is run by this Peruvian named Elder, and it is a really chill place that even has a sweat lodge! We plan on doing a ceremony come the next full moon. After getting our stuff together, we went to the market to buy food to cook dinner.
The next morning, we woke up at 8 and went down to the farm/hotel/restaurant to eat our breakfast. It was really deliscious, consisting of eggs, bread, marmelade, coffee, and pancakes, and was the best breakfast we´ve eaten since we´ve been here in Peru. After eating we went up to the farm to look around and learn about the types of crops grown there, and what we´d be doing. The farm grows all sorts of traditional plants, such as corn, quinoa, and other grains, as well as some other fruits and veggies. They also raise chickens, turkeys, rabbits, guinea pìgs, sheep, and pigs. The whole goal of the farm is to be organic and sustainable, and to provide all the food for the restaurant. There is a bit of an issue, considering some plants like tomatoes and eggplant aren´t traditionally grown in this area, but it is a work in progress. The actual work so far has consisted solely of weeding (maybe they don´t trust us with the other jobs) but it is a chill time. We work 5 hours a day on a 1000 year old terrace, surrounded by mountains and stunning views of glaciers and ruins. The farmers we work along side are all very kind and helpful people, especially the maestro, Julian. There is also a small school built on the farm that teaches loca children about healthy living, english, and other important things. We get fed two deliscious meals a day at the nice hotel. In general, it is a nice time and a good, wholesome expirience.
We´ve also been exploring the town a bit on our downtime. We´ve hiked up the ruins built on the mountains, and to a nice, clear resevior/swimming pool. We plan on working at the farm for two weeks, and will take the weekends to climb and explore the mountains more.
Thanks for checking in, I hope to be back before the week ends. In the meantime, I´m going to wash the dirt out from under my nails, and perhaps give my clothes a nice cleaning. until then, chao!
P.S. excuse any typos of mine, I am typing on a spanish keyboard with spanish spellcheck as well, hence any overlooked mispelled words.
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