I'm Dreaming of an Andean Christmas

While I would never for a minute contest the fact that I am the luckiest girl in the world to be able to spend 13 months traveling (with my love), there are most certainly some drawbacks. Probably the greatest of these is not being able to spend the holidays with our families. My mother, knowing this time would be difficult for Jeff and me, and also knowing how much her daughter likes a comfy bed and a nice shower, generously offered to pay for a nice place for us to stay for Christmas.

"Yusulipayki" means "thank you" in Quechua*

Originally Jeff and I had planned to spend those days in Trujillo. However, as Christmas approached, Jeff and I both began to quickly grow tired of Trujillo. We also were beginning to worry that we would not be able to fit all the destinations we would like to see into our remaining time in Peru. So we decided that we would set off a little earlier than previously planned. But where to spend the holidays? Of course Jeff, having memorized our Peru Lonely Planet by this point, had begun thinking about this and thought it would be nice to stay somewhere in the mountains. After being stuck in a city with cars everywhere for the past month, I was itching for some fresh air and some hiking, so it sounded like a perfect idea to me.

We decided we would head southwest to Huaraz. Being the expert that I am on fine hotels, Jeff entrusted me with the task of finding a new place to spend Christmas. Although our Lonely Planet guide for Ecuador was fantastic, both Jeff and I have been very disappointed with our Lonely Planet guide for Peru. As a result, we have been relying more and more on tripadvisor.com, which has yet to let us down. I spent a while scouring the hotels section of the site, but really could not find anything that stood out to me. Finally, I decided to look under Bed and Breakfasts, and I struck gold: Llanganuco Lodge. After reading the reviews and then checking out their website, I was sold.

So on the night of the 22nd, we said “goodbye” to Trujillo and caught a night bus to Huaraz. Neither Jeff nor I would characterize our previous night bus experience as particularly great, but the trip to Huaraz (8 hours) was absolutely horrible: a stinky bathroom, air conditioning turned off almost immediately, chairs that only partially reclined, a very bumpy road, a driver that enjoyed using his horn way too much, and yet another couple making out right beside us. When we arrived in Huaraz the next morning around 7, we were both exhausted. Sadly, we still had two more legs of the trip left. First we had to take a conví to Yungay, a smaller town about an hour away from Huaraz. When we arrived in Yungay, we quickly called our parents to let them know we were alive and to wish them “Merry Christmas” before the last leg of our trip, which would take us up the mountain where we would not have any phone lines or internet for the next several days.

Views from our room's steps

Following the directions we had been sent by the lodge’s owner, Charlie, we walked to the town´s center and hailed a cab. We had been instructed to first ask if the driver knew “Charlie’s house” and if not to give him a page worth of directions Jeff had spent an hour copying down before we left Trujillo. “¿Conoces la casa de Charlie?” I asked the driver as he got out of the car. The driver’s face lit up as he enthusiastically said “yes” and helped us into the cab. The ride to the lodge from Yungay was 16 kilometers up the mountain. The driving was slow and very bumpy, taking us about 45 minutes to arrive.

As we pulled up to the lodge, an Englishman in his mid-thirties came barreling down the walkway to greet us. He introduced himself as Charlie, and swiftly picked up both our bags (they are heavy bags!) and led us to our room. Both Jeff and I were exhausted from our trip, but Charlie’s enthusiasm was infectious, so we agreed to a quick tour around the lodge. Looking around in complete awe, I struggled to keep up and avoid piles of manure in my flip-flops as he led us to the top of a small hill. When we got to the top, we saw below us one of the most beautiful lakes I had ever seen, surrounded by some of the world’s tallest mountains as well as pre-Incan ruins. I was speechless.

Charlie then took us to the main lodge, a cozy little place with a small, open kitchen, a sitting area with books, and two tables to eat. Having not eaten since lunch the previous day, we were both famished. Luna, the lodge’s one-man staff, kindly cooked us up some sandwiches before we headed back to our room to collapse.

When we entered our room I could hardly contain my excitement. A huge bed with an orthopedic mattress! A down comforter! Tons of big, soft pillows! A BATHTUB! Best of all, however, was the view, which could be enjoyed from our private balcony. The mixture of sleep deprivation and high altitude may have made me a bit delirious as I danced around the room.

Of course the first thing I did was take a bath. Jeff had already fallen asleep by the time I climbed out and put on the wonderfully warm robe that the lodge provided. We both slept most of the afternoon. I was able to fit in a little bit of yoga on the balcony before we headed up for dinner.

We had both enjoyed our sandwiches earlier, but we were blown away by the amazing dinner that Luna prepared. Each night, the lodge prepared a set meal and we could choose to either have one, two, or three courses. The menu rotates through 14 different appetizers, entrees, and desserts, and each night Jeff and I would fantasize about which delicious meal we would get to enjoy. Nanno and Daddo kindly gave us money to pay for our Christmas dinner, which we were actually able to use to pay for all of our dinners while we were at the lodge. Yes, I know, my family spoils me. The meals, mostly international, were absolutely incredible. And the vegetables! Both Jeff and I have not been able to eat many vegetables since we started our journey due to the fact that not many have been offered and one has to be wary of possible contamination. Charlie, however, likes to do things right, and so we were able to feast on nutritious meals with lots of vegetables.

"Yuspagara" means "thank you" in Aymara**

Jeff, undoubtedly, will say that his favorite meals were our dinners. I, however, am a breakfast person, and the lodge did not disappoint there either. One of my favorite meals at the lodge was the porridge, which was filled with honey, cinnamon, raisons, apples, and bananas. Yummy! We got lucky on our first morning (it is the rainy season) and were able to sit outside and have breakfast. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

While the food and accommodations were enough to make our stay wonderful, I think both Jeff and I would agree that what sets the lodge apart are Charlie, Luna, Mike, and Shackleton (Charlie’s beautiful dog, Rhodesian Ridgeback, who was always by his side). Every night Jeff and I enjoyed eating dinner with Charlie and Mike. Mike, in his early twenties, had arrived over two months earlier for a one week stay and had decided not to leave. Though our conversations were a bit testosterone-heavy at times, I will have to admit I was always entertained.

I also enjoyed hearing about Charlie’s work on the lodge. One question that had been at the front of both Jeff and my minds when we arrived was how Charlie had been able to get such an amazing location, with its unparalleled views and easy access to a multitude of hiking trails (discussed in Jeff’s blog entry). Appropriately, land as amazing as where the lodge is located cannot be bought. All the land in the area belongs to the people of the community and in order to build anywhere, you must be part of the community. Charlie spent a great amount of time to become part of the community: attending community functions and helping to pay for various community projects. His hard work in the community and on the lodge have definitely paid off: he has built an amazing establishment and the people of the community always say Charlie’s name with a smile.

 It was with heavy hearts that Jeff and I left the lodge that Sunday. We both agree that though we have really enjoyed all the other places we have visited thus far, this is the first place to which we know we will return.

Charlie and us, surrounded by clouds

* Quechua is the most widely spoken of the indigenous languages in the Americas. The Incas were one of many groups that spoke this language.

**Spoken by the Aymaran people of the Andes, the Aymara language, along with Spanish and Quechua, is an official language in Peru.