All Day Walking Tour of Loma Chicchuy

A thing to do in Huanuco is to go for day trips (paseos) to the hills/mountains that surround the city. Last time I was here, we made the trek up to Huacora to visit Orlando and Carolina's hometown (pueblo). For their 3 year anniversary, Tono and his girlfriend went to Huacora. Generally, their idea of a fun trip is to ride in a car filled to the gills for an hour or so and then get out and walk uphill and then back downhill for the remainder of the day. Don't get me wrong, it is a beautiful and totally worthwhile adventure, but just an interesting perspective on fun things to do.

I guess for a while now, Orlando has been itching to get out and roam the hills, so we decided it would be something fun to do as a church activity. We set the date for December 1, 2013. Then, once that date arrived, basically everyone else from church decided they didn't want to go. The few of us interested set out on our adventure to reach the summit (cumbre) of Chicchuy on Sunday morning.

Hueso driving the Moto.

It's been pretty wet and rainy of late, and unfortunately Sunday morning wasn't much different. It wasn't raining, but still very grey and sombre. The morning had an even sadder feel to it as our little buddy, Hueso, was not doing any better after his doctor visit on Saturday, where they found out he had a virus that had made its way to his brain and they gave him a shot to help. That morning though, he was trembling, foaming at the mouth, spinning in circles...he was not in good shape. [That night we found out that they took him while we were gone to be put down. It was hard to hear the news, but it was time. I'm glad to know he doesn't have to suffer anymore.]

Around 7am, we sat down to eat a hearty breakfast of rice, fried egg, and prepared plaintains. It is really one of my favorite things to eat here. Orlando said to eat up because this was going to be our breakfast and lunch. Noted.

At 7:40am, we headed out the back gate and wound our way down Huancachupa to the road. It was not an easy route and set the tone of our walking adventure to come.

Right around 8am, we met up with our driver and loaded up in the car. He drove a blue station wagon that has 5 seatbelts. Ok, so seatbelts, except for the front seat passengers typically, are optional in Peru and even more so when you are driving on the back roads where police are not likely to be found. And I say seatbelts, because that does not mean anything for how many people are going to pile into the car. Fabrizio, Eynor, another woman, and all the backpacks and bags were loaded into the trunk. Orlando, Antonio (abuelo), and Yimi sat in the back seat. Then, Melissa and I shared the front seat.

We got down the street a little ways where we picked up the driver's niece or some relation. Guess where she sat?!..in the driver's seat with the driver. How that man drove the car while practically sitting on top of the stick shift is beyond me, but somehow, he drove for about 40min like that, on a not awful, but still bumpy and windy dirt road.

We eventually made it to the bottom of Chicchuy and the walking part of our journey began around 9am. We got out of the car and Yimi pointed up at an antenna waaaaayyyyyy up the hill and said that was where we were headed. I laughed. I thought he was kidding.

The orange circle at the top of the pic is the antenna..
we had a ways to walk after I took this shot.

The first part of our journey, of course, was uphill. We walked uphill for a little over an hour to reach the summit of Chicchuy. This part of the trip was fairly typical. We passed some people with their horses. There was a gimpy dog that followed us for a while. We passed by a school house. The scariest part of that was passing through this very narrow route with dogs barking their heads off at us, which was just awful after having recently been bit by a dog that had a nasty bark like them. The hike up was not easy, but not terrible. By the end of it, Melissa, Eynor, and Fabrizio were climbing up on all fours, as Melissa said, "because I like dogs." It was a good feeling to reach the summit and at that point I thought we would hang out a bit and then head back down the way we came.

School House - Looks very well built, so I wanted a picture.
Orlando said you should always have people in your pictures to
remember the places you visit. Group photo!

We did hang out for a bit. We got sprinkled on a bit. We enjoyed the little bit of sun that came out, and at over 4000 meters (13k+ feet) up, it's quite strong even if only a little. And we enjoyed the panoramic view of the surrounding hills (lomas) and farms (chakras). After that, instead of heading back down, we headed up.

Turns out we were going to walk up to that antenna. At this part in the journey, the terrain changed from grassy and muddy to grassy and rocky. Going uphill on the rocks was not so bad. I only almost fell a few times. One time I slipped and then slipped again and almost faceplanted, turns out I was just practicing my break dancing moves. Saved it! I'm not sure on the time, but we eventually made it ALL THE WAY UP to the Channel 7 antenna. Woo hoo!

Victory pose!

Once there, we did some more resting and relaxing and enjoying the view. From there, you could look down and see all of Huanuco. It was kind of nice to get a lay of the land. There was some plant that has gum inside of it that Antonio and Orlando set to digging up. I watched the clouds float by - we were at eye level with them and took a nap. That is what it is all about - get up there and just enjoy nature (naturaleza). It doesn't matter how many times you climb up there apparently, because even though Orlando grew up in Huacora and climbing the surrounding hills, he is still awe struck whenever he gets up above it all. It is like being on top of the world .. or as Orlando says, being in another world. The fresh air, the silence and serenity, and the beauty are AMAZING and unlike any other experience. I guess it would be hard to get sick of that.

Panoramic shot of Huanuco from the top of the mountain.
(Huanuco is all of the buildings between the hills in the foreground
and the background. It's really a cool place to have a city.)

Finally, around 1pm, we set out on our journey back down the hill to get home. Well, it wasn't back, it was actually forward, and basically straight down. The first part was pretty good because there was lots of high grass and good foot holds, so we could fairly easily zigzag down.

Then, came the part with the rocks and I slipped and fell, not once, not twice, but three times. After the 3rd time, Orlando offered to hold my arm to keep me from straight up rolling down to Haunuco. Being the strong and independent person that I am, I didn't want to accept the help, but begrudgingly did. I am a fan of imagery and I really like the poem "Footprints," so I just kept thinking about that as Orlando helped me go down the hill. The next 4 hours of the journey did not get any better though. I hated being the weakest and slowest person in the group. I was frustrated with my trembling legs and the tears filling my eyes making it harder to see. It was humiliating that the 70+ year old Antonio gave me his walking stick because I was struggling so much with the route. Things were not made better either when Orlando told Yimi to give me a piggy back ride down the hill (which I refused; I don't care how strong he is, that is not a good idea.) It was a very rough journey, but gosh darn it, I was going to make it down on my own 2 feet; and with my walking stick and Orlando's assistance! Needless to say, going down that hill has to be one of the most taxing things, physically and mentally, that I have ever done.

When we made it down to the road, I let out the biggest sigh of relief. My legs were still trembling, but I made it! We all made it!

While still a somber feel at the Herrera house with the rain and passing of Hueso, it was nice to make it home and be with family and have a nice relaxing evening. It will be a memorable day, both the good parts and the bad parts. As the theme for Sunday said, being a Christian doesn't mean everything in your life will be a piece of cake, but it is nice to know there are people there to support you - even if it means sucking up your pride and taking their hand or accepting their walking stick. And despite it all, I would recommend an 8 hour hiking trip - do it!

Katrina, Melissa, Orlando, Fabrizio, Antonio, and Yimi (from L to R). Photo Credit: Eynor

P.S. Orlando bought us a gel (Fisiodol Gel) to put on our legs before we went to bed. So far, I can still walk with only a little bit of soreness in my legs. The true test will be to see how things go on Tuesday. That will be the true test.