After so many disappointing places in Peru, Huaraz was just a new one on the list with its mountains of garbage, bad smell, many many dogs on the streets…we reached it after 10 hours of bus passing through ugly towns, though nice natural sceneries.

But the 3 days that followed (my birthday in the middle) made our soul smile with the surrounding beauty of the Cordilleras. We started with a tour at the Pastouri Glacier (theoretically not that nice, but good for acclimation before going on the longer trails) located at 5000 m. On the way up we saw turquoise lagunas, llamas and the amazing Puya Raimondi, the biggest pineapple plants in the world – they bloom every 50-75 years for 9 months with more than 8000 niches and a flower heights up to 10 m and then they die… Reaching the top after 1 h hike, we were stunned by the surrounding beauty. It was the first time I was seeing a real glacier – white and blue, covering the mountain and looking towards its own lake…wonderful.

It was a tiring but cool day that finished after midnight with me getting one year older. I was surprised with a bottle of champagne and a “Happy Birthday” song at 00 sharp.
But the surprises were still to come the next day: lazy morning, roses, horseback riding (for those who don’t know, Zeb loves horses) in the mountains, a delicious dinner and a surprise cake in the hotel room. And all of these covered in love! What a blessing!
But that was not all.

The best of Cordillera was yet to come the 3rd day at Laguna 69, a paradisiac lake at 4950 m, with stunning views of the surrounding mountains: Huascaran, Chopicalqui, Huandoy, Pisco and others. We had to hike up for more than 3 hours to get there but it did worth all the effort – blue-turquoise water, snow, sun, cascades, wild rabbits…just imagine… or see the pictures.