The 'Hilton Hotel, Iquitos,' for example, has a chicken infestation problem and does not appear to be formally related to the great chain's other properties - you can tell by the absence of a tiled bathroom (actually, of any bathroom at all!), and even the signage is a teeny bit suspicious, what with the lettering running down the plywood and there being no actual street address. You see, one needs to be a little more on the toes in these scenarios, and we do our best.
Good news for us: we leave on August 10 from Sydney, with the good folk from Aerolineas Argentinas helping out a bit with flights, and the connections via Auckland, Buenos Aires, Lima and onto Huaraz only expected to take about 40 hrs!! Oh yes, we should be in top form that day! See how much it pays that we have found the loveliest, springiest, quietest beds in all of Huaraz at the Hostel Churup (you can see where we're headed at www.churup.com - cute as a button!) ... we are destined to be very glad indeed to see those little bedrooms.
Good news for you: we plan to blog our little hearts out as we go - so stay tuned for the Girls on Top 2008 story as we head for our 200km expedition across the Huayhuash range. It's a wonderful spectacular high altitude adventure which the brochure at the Peruvian Cass de Guia (house of Guides) describes like this;
"We now present the Huayhuash... just as spectacular as those in Tibet and Nepal, the 200kms of trails make it one of the most difficult, longest and spectacular backpack trips of the world. The average altitude of the track is approximately 4,300m.
Few places in the world possess such beautiful landscapes as those found in Huayhuash, this is the reason it is considered among the top 10 most spectacular treks in the world. The Cordillera Huayhuash is probably the most impressinve trek in the Peruvian Andes. Six of its peaks are above 6000m, and 15 others reach 5400m. Huayhuash is the 2nd highest tropical mountain range in the world. it has a variety of ecosystems and significant potential as a tourist destination thanks to its incomparable views. Many lakes of incredible beauty are crossed while hiking protected valleys filled with a rich and diverse wildlife."
You can see why we've chosen the gorgeous Huayhuash, but oh yes... the brochure does indeed tell only a part of the tale. It doesn't mention, for example, the wild and hair-raising drive by mini bus to get to the Huayhuash ...a journey sometimes including a little tiny bribe to the cops, or a stop off for a handful of chickens to tag along with the troup, or a few hours delay as the road gets re-built or put back together, or that thrill you get in third world countries when you can see the outside tyre kicking the edge of the highway over the 100km dropoff you are navigating. It doesn't mention that of all the wildlife there are cute little rabbit things that the crew like to pop with slingshots and the pop again, into the kitchen. And that it's really hard to get enough traction in a tent, to stay on a thermorest, in a nice slippery sleeping bag, when the ground has iced over and the air turns to sleet when you breathe... all these things are the Secret Fun of It All that is just SO GREAT they don't put it in the brochures.
And there's other things too - the whole world turning to honey as the dawn light pours its living golden light over the mountains. The wonder of watching the birth of a cloud. The magic of each flower that has dared to open its face in the gnarly grass or the stoney flanks of a glaciar snout. Children. Looking back over a day's trail and realising how far we can get in life by just taking it all a step at a time. Fresh trout from a turquiouse lake. Horse riding through snowfields. Popcorn at camp. The incredible, soul-quenching joy of a Real Shower - of water than comes out of a tap - of a bed - of all the luxurious comforts of the life we forget to notice at home, and take for granted so easily until we have the change to truly appreciate them - and 12 days at altitude, if nothing else, guarantees that a Girl on Top will never feel more gratitude and love for a shower rose thatn on the day she makes it back to the hotel.
Coming home from huayhuash is at least as wonderful and awe-inspiring as being out there. To have hair that smells of lavender. To use soap. To actually see the dirt washing off your body as you stand under the first warm water in 12 days. To be amongst walls, and finally understand that they have a purpose beyond hanging artwork. To drift off to sleep in a bed with real legs, and a pillow. Just over 25 sleeps to go before we set out to take the journey that might teach us a whole new love and appreciation for what we are leaving behind ... and possibly so many other things too....