The snowcapped mountains to the north and east of Huaraz make it easy to see why it is one of South America's foremost hiking and climbing destinations. The Cordillera Negra and the Cordillera Blanca are one of the most impressive ranges in the Andes. Hidden in the glaciated mountains are sparkling lakes with unusual shades of jade, emerald, and turquoise.

There are many adventurous things to do in Huaraz Peru. Huaraz sits at the foot of the Cordillera Blanca mountain range and is one of the most outstanding places for adventure travel and outdoor sports in Peru. The city of Huaraz is surrounded by the Andes mountains with stunning glaciated peaks, lakes, and hot springs.

It was late when we got home from Pichu Pichu so the next day we slept in and took it easy in the morning. Besides the rest, we wanted lots of good food so we decided to stop at El Herraje Restaurant for lunch before heading to Misti. El Herraje has two locations in Arequipa, the one near the Cathedral is large, touristy and expects tips, a smaller one two blocks away caters to the locals and tipping is not expected. They have a grill special, with a choice of chicken, beef or pork, generous portion of fries and a salad for 7 or 8 soles - the perfect way to start any climb. Or to end a climb; we became regulars there during our time in Arequipa.

After months of planning and over a year of dreaming about it, I finally got on a bus from Arequipa to go to Cusco to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. We were supposed to be there a couple of days early so they could acclimatize but Milana's flight from Lima was cancelled so she arrived about noon the day before our tour started. I had already met Karen the day before and we had gotten to know each other a bit as we did some sightseeing and hiking together near Cusco.

I have been busy with the tourist business lately (mostly promotion work), including getting my car registration taken care of among other things, and haven't been able to go with the brothers here on any mission trips. Alberto and I have wanted to go back to Cushpa, a small village up canyon above Cotahuasi, which is at 14,500 feet. Because most of the people live up to a couple of hours from the village, the only time they are all together is for the monthly village meeting. We had agreed to go to Cushpa on the 15th of this month, the day of their meeting, to minister there.

Ever since our failed summit attempt of Nevado Solimana last November, my climbing buddies and I have been talking about trying it again. We have set a couple of tentative dates, but they haven't worked out for one reason or another. As I live near the mountain, my friends from Lima had asked me to keep an eye on it and send them photos of the climbing route. This week, I finally got the time to hike up to the mountain to see what the route looked like and take some photos.

On September 1st, the team from Westside Baptist Church in Florida arrived in Arequipa and Lucho and I met them at the airport. They spent the night in Arequipa and in the morning we started on the two-day trip to Pausa. We spent the first night in Caraveli, and in the morning continued on to Cahuacho. We used to take a shortcut to Pausa that goes through Casiri, but that road had been impassable due to landslides for about two years.

That's right, attempt, as in not successful. Actually it was my third time on the mountain, but the last trip was planned as only a recon trip, with an unprepared attempt on the lower southwest peak. In addition to Carlos and Hugo, my partners on the first try, we added Carla, another friend from the Camycam mountaineering club in Lima. I picked up Carlos and Carla at the bus terminal on Friday morning, after their 15-hour ride from Lima.

Living in a deep canyon in the Andes Mountains gives me lots of opportunities for hiking and exploring. There is no such thing here as a recreational trail, they are all either used by people and animals to get from village to field or village to village, or they were used for that in times past, during the Inca and Wari (pre-Inca) cultures. Most people here can't quite comprehend why I am out hiking just for fun, and not because I have to get from one point to another.