Tht 2015 august

THE HUARAZ TELEGRAPHMade in Huaraz August 2015 Free/Gratis!

www.thehuaraztelegraph.com

See the middle page for our exact location in Huaraz

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PARQUE GINEBRA 30-B HUARAZ(043-426386) [email protected]

2nd floor Av. Luzuriaga 646

Pizzas, beef and more...

Av. Luzuriaga 834 - Huaraz

The story of a female trafficker behind bars in Huaraz

Montserrat Gonzales Hermína (insert) from

Basque Country is being held at the

Víctor Pérez Liendo penitentiary in Huaraz, and openly admits to

The Huaraz Telegraph that she is a drugs

trafficker. The thirty-eight-year-old is just one of 327 Spanish convicts behind bars

in Peru. The mother of four who suffers from

HIV describes how she got into trafficking and

what countries she ´successfully´ visited, and what she did in Peru before getting

caught. When finished doing her time, she is

wondering if she will be put on a plane, will she be dumped across the border, or will she just

walk out the door? page 6¨Huaraz is not offering the quality

that is expected by a tourist¨LP confirms inclusion of new hotels for 2016

The Huaraz Telegraph interviewed Lonely Planet´s author Alex Egerton who spent almost four weeks in Ancash travelling

the length and breadth of the region from Llamac in the south to Pomabamba in the north and everywhere in between.

Alex was asked why it is important not to reveal his identity, what is his opinion on the services offered in Huaraz compared

to other cities he has visited and how many new places have gained a listing

in the new edition of Lonely Planet, to be published in mid-2016. Alex finally also

reveals if he has ever been bribed in Peru

The Huaraz Telegraph interviewed Antonio Palacios Bertolot, the new Dean of the College of Graduates in Tourism in Ancash and asked him in a very openhearted

conversation about the current situation of tourism in Huaraz. Would he agree this is maybe the worst year in terms of visitor numbers for Huaraz?

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2 The Huaraz TelegraphAUGUST 2015

VISIT: WWW.THEHUARAZTELEGRAPH.COM

The EditorialÏ was already starting to get worried!¨

I heard that a lot when I told people during the first months of the high season in Huaraz that we were going to make some more editions. They had to be more patient this year. Indeed, we have been missed by many, but we´re finally here! This year will only see two editions of The Huaraz Telegraph; the last one will be next month´s September issue. Personally I am glad to be back with a couple of new editions as well because I like making the paper. We produced the first ever bilingual Christmas versions of The Huaraz Telegraph last year, which is still available on the internet and can be downloaded for free. The edition received many credits from the local population because for the first time, they were able to read all of our articles in Spanish (Castel-lano). I believe Huaraz needs our newspaper so much because it´s a project that many people are involved in. Not just the tourists who are our target audience, but also the many people who have contacted us and have shared their scientific research, stories and experiences with us. I recently came across a traveller who said he hadn’t seen any English newspapers in the rest of South America, and was very happy with our unbiased and up-to-date information he found on

our website, in particular on the NGOs and volunteering-options in our region.

We are especially happy that we were able to welcome a couple of new advertisers and you be-ing our readers would do us a great favour by paying them a visit and don’t forget to mention that you saw their ad in this newspaper. Huaraz is evolving, slowly, but it is! A couple of fantastic new hotels have opened up this year, the Maimara Hotel, Hotel Suiza Peruana and La Aurora. Apart from the hotels there is a great new café, which is producing the best cappuccino in town. It´s called Blues Café and when you are able to find it you will notice that this café doesn’t change for its WIFI password every hour, whereas another one in town does. New advertisers on board The Huaraz Telegraph´s English edition are also El Tambo, La Casa de Maruja, Mirko´s Handi-craft Store and Artisan Gallery, Alpa-K, Joshe´s Bar, La Carbonara, Churup Albergue, Sala de Estar and Hotel Centrocoop to just name a few, and, of course, Buongiorno who were first pres-ent during our bilingual Christmas edition. Boungiorno offers a great daily menu for as little as S/. 10.00 on their second floor in front of Bruno´s Pizzeria and maybe the best value breakfast

in town in their establishment in front of the hospital, also on Luzuriaga.

I personally would like to thank all sponsors for trusting us and committing their brands with our newspaper and also those businesses who were not able to buy some advertising space in this issue but were more than delighted to have our paper available for their guests, either while they are waiting to play Frisbee on a Friday with California Café or simply waiting for a room in some hostel or hotel. In the last paragraph of this tiny editorial I would like to dedicate to my super sub- and copy-editor Ms. Emma Steel for the great work she has done to make this paper a col-

lector’s item again, from all the way across the other side of the world in England.

Also kind regards to those reading our website and following us on Facebook. Let’s hear from you if you think you can make a contribution to our newspaper.

Rex Broekman

Founder and editor of The Huaraz Telegraph

The Huaraz Telegraph freely available!The Huaraz Telegraph is available for free at most of the following hostels and hotels in Huaraz. We do not recommend any hostel in particular as we are completely neutral. We did however only list those hostels where our target audience is able to read our paper and thus are we very proud to announce that around 50 lodging services in and around Hua-raz are happy to provide its guests with multiple monthly editions of The Huaraz Telegraph.

Derecho de auto y deposito legal (esp.)

Telegraph® es una marca registrada en INDECOPI. Todos los artículos actuales y anteriores son propiedad y son reclamados por The Huaraz Telegraph y no pueden ser reproducidas por ningún medio sin permiso escrito del Telegraph®. Derecho de autor general sobre todos los contenidos, composición y diseño por The Huaraz Telegraph, Huaraz, Perú - © 2012 – 2015.Hecho el depósito legal: 2013-007727

To hostel owners: In case we have excluded your hostel, our apologies. Please contact The Huaraz Telegraph and make sure your establishment will be mentioned in the next edition. In

case of any errors, please also contact The Huaraz Telegraph by an email.

Descargo de responsabilidad (esp.)

Nosotros nos sentimos muy orgullosos de comunicar que los artículos publicados son escritos por nosotros o por nuestros lectores. En comparación, existen muchas revistas en circulación en la ciudad y ellas no sobresalen en originalidad porque la gran mayoría de sus artículos vienen de línea recta del internet. Nuestros artículos son originales y con temas interesantes tratamos de llamar la atención del lector. Los textos publicados en The Huaraz Telegraph tienen una finalidad meramente informativa y entretenida. Los artículos publicados en esta edición de ninguna manera tienen la intención de molestar o herir a nadie y simplemente reflejan la opinión de los autores sobre sus experiencias (pro-fesionales) en ciertos eventos, a ciertos comportamientos o hábitos de nuestra sociedad. En el caso que tiene dudas o preguntas, puede dirigirse directamente a nuestro editor.

About the editor of The Huaraz Telegraph

Rex Broekman (32) was born in the Netherlands and is living in Huaraz since 2007. During this time he has taught English at the Language Centre of the National University of UNASAM, and to psychology, computer information systems´, civil engineering and architecture students at the San Pedro University in Huaraz. He holds a degree in marketing and is about to finish an additional degree in education at the San Marcos University in Lima. Mr. Broekman founded the newspaper in 2012, and since March last year he also works as news anchor of the programme El Informativo at channel three (Mon-Fri 7pm) of Cable Andino in Huaraz.

3The Huaraz TelegraphAUGUST 2015


Brief Local News

Accident on Tocclaraju shocks Estonia and Peru

On Sunday the 7th of June, four climbers from Estonia went missing while trying to conquer the Tocllaraju Mountain (6,032 masl). At around 8 oćlock in the morning disaster struck as the four Estonian friends and experienced climbers fell through a covered ice bridge on the Tocllaraju Mountain, a little bit more than 100 metres from the top. Thanks to two German climbers who managed to contact someone in Huaraz by satellite telephone, a rescue team of the Asociación de Guías de Montaña del Perú (AGMP) prepared a rescue mission to locate the whereabouts of Annemai Märtson (33), Tarmo Riga (43), Jane Riga (42) and Allan Valge (36). Unfortunately, only Annemai Märtson was found alive by the rescue team led by Víctor Rímac Trejo and Tom Rodríguez. Miss Märtson recovered well in the Clínica San Pablo and has made it back to her home country. The editor of The Huaraz Telegraph met a strong Annamai the week of the accident when he paid her a visit in the clinic where she was recovering from her injuries. In the many private conversations they had, she told the editor that she would rather not talk to the press, a request we would like to honor and, therefore, we will keep all our chats for ourselves. Something we can share with the world is that Annamai expressed on multiple occasions her deepest gratitude to her rescuers, and she added that when time is ready, she will share her version of the story with the world.

Sadly, the three Estonians were not the only victims of this year’s mountaineering season. On Wednesday the 17th of June, the 46-year-old Thierry Daniel Badan showed up at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Caraz with acute mountain sickness symptoms, which soon progressed into high altitude cerebral edema (HACE). Badan was transported to the Clinica San Pablo in Huaraz to receive treatment but died two minutes after arriving at the emergency room of the clinic due to poor blood flow to the brain. The doctors said that he died because of cerebrovascular accident (brain attack), but that his life could have been saved if the ambulance that brought him from Caraz had had oxygen onboard. Just before going to print, Huaraz was shocked with another deadly incident, an Israeli tourist identified as Aviv Yehezkel Bromberg (24) died few metres from lagoon Jahuancocha in the Pacllón district in the province of Bolognesi. It´s said that the Israeli citizen was showing health problems during the hike and this would have gotten worse by the high altitude.

Andino Hotel extends partnership for two extra editions

General Manager Mario Holenstein of Andino Club Hotel proved once more his believe in the purpose of The Huaraz

Telegraph by signing a two-edition deal. Andino Club Hotel succeeded the 2012 main sponsor Movil Tours and 2013 backer Transportes Linea in 2014 and we are very proud to have their logo on our front page for two editions in 2015. The Andino Club Hotel was originally built with 15 rooms and completed on the 20th of August 1974. In 1982 current owners Mario Holenstein and Fritz Lingenhag signed a contract to rent the hotel for three years and two years later Holenstein completed the purchase of the hotel with financing from Switzerland. A year later the first extension of the hotel took place, which saw the hotel expand to 40 rooms and 100 beds. In 1995 a first renovation took place and saw the kitchen extended, the location of the reception was changed and conference room with a capacity for 120 persons was installed. These were remarkable highlights for the prestigious hotel. In 2003 a second extension took place with the accomplishment of 21 brand new rooms including suites, junior suites, superior and standard rooms and also a second conference room with a capacity for 50 persons was completed, as was the installation of an elevator in the hotel. In 2009 the latest improvements were celebrated with the inauguration of a new bar called Bar Andino. In the near future guests can expect to enjoy an indoor swimming pool and spa. All rooms in Andino Club Hotel have a direct-call telephone, free wireless internet, a digital colour TV with cable, a hairdryer and hot water 24 hours a day. Furthermore, the hotel and its Turismo Andino Travel Agency provide 4x4 pickup trucks for rent, organisation of trekking, climbing or mountain biking in the area and transfer services to bus stations or the airport in Anta. The Huaraz Telegraph would like to thank General Manager Mario Holenstein and Resident Manager Joachim Fust of the hotel once more for their confidence in our newspaper.

Sad news on the glacier front as climate change continues taking its toll

In the past four decades, Peru has lost 42.64% (870.66 square kilometres) of glaciers surface at 19 Cordillera ranges in Peru, so briefs the National Water Authority (ANA). The smaller glaciers (less than or equal to one square kilometre) have shown a more dynamic structure mainly due to climate change. Peru has 2,679 glaciers within an area of 1,298 square kilometres. The Cordillera Blanca has the largest glacier surface with 40.63% (5237.62 km2) and 28.18% (755) of the total number of glaciers. According to ANA, the largest water potential lies in the basins of the Santa and Marañón (Cordillera Blanca), Inambari (Cordillera Vilcanota) and Urubamba (Vilcabamba) rivers. The five Cordilleras of the Northern Andes are the Cordillera Blanca, Cordillera Huallanga, Huayhuash, Raura and the Cordillera Huagoruncho. American environmental historian Mark Carey said in his book

Glaciers, climate change and natural disasters (Instituto de Estudios Peruanos & Instituto Francés de Estudios Andinos, 2014) that more resources should be assigned to the study and protection of glaciers. The shrinking of glaciers has had a number of effects in different populations around Peru that still many of us are unaware of. Carey´s book provides several new details about the way we understand the glaciers, water as an essential resource, natural disasters and the aforementioned climate change.

Fewer foreigners entered Peru in 2014 compared to 2013

According to statistics of the National Superintendence of Migration, during 2014 fewer foreigners entered the country taking into account different means of access, compared to a year earlier. The figures show a decrease of 0.02% as on the 31th of December 2014 counts stopped at 3,890,929, whereas in 2013 3,891,657 foreigners crossed the border into Peru. The biggest decrease was shown in July (-4.59%), which resulted in 14,217 fewer border crossings. Decrease was also recorded in March (-1.24%), April (-1.51%), July (-0.40%), September (-2.14%), October (-3.32%) and November (-0.77%), whereas August 2014 saw an increase with 4.93% resulting in 349,454 arrivals, 16,421 more than in the same month a year earlier. It´s mentioned in the stats of T-News that that there is no specific reference to the travel industry and the differences in numbers could be related to the behavior of Peruvians living abroad.

Social issues remain an alarming topic in the Ancash region

The Ombudsman issued a new report on the latent nationwide social conflicts. In total there were 210 conflicts reported in the country of which 149 are active and 61 inactive, and as well shown in the investigation, Ancash and Puno on taking the second place. In the top three, 22 of the cases belong to Apurimac and 21 to Ancash and Puno respectively, followed by 16 cases in Cusco, Ayacucho, Cajamarca and Piura with 14, Junin with 12, Lima provinces and Loreto end the list with 10 conflicts. In addition, 61% of

disputes are related to mining, 16.4% to hydrocarbons and 8.6% to energy. The Ombudsman advised the State of Peru to initiate a process of dialogue since there is no solution in most of the cases presented and roundtables seeking to end the conflict do not exist.

The number of traffic accidents keeps increasing in Ancash

Despite the hard work and dedication of the National Police, the Superintendence of Transport of persons, cargo and goods (SUTRAN), Serenazgo officers and others worried about traffic, traffic accidents in recent years have been increasing at an alarmingly rate in Ancash. In 2013 2,175 people were reported injured and in 2012 the number of people killed in accidents reached 675. At the Huaraz Police Station so far this year there have been hundreds of complaints about different types of accidents. Per day 10 complaints are recorded and of these 70% are all minor accidents, but 30% are unfortunately fatal accidents. The most deadly and accident-causing roads in our region are Lima–Chimbote Conchucos, the Huarmey sector followed by the route Huaraz–Lima, the Conococha and Rumichuco sectors; Huaraz–Casma and Huaraz–Caraz road leading through the sectors of Monterrey and Mullaca. For tourists it´s very important to bear in mind that a green traffic light in Huaraz does not mean you can cross the street safely. It´s known that car drivers have absolutely no respect for pedestrians so be very careful, either on foot or on a bike.

Rangers at Palcacocha have not been paid since January and are without proper equipment

In our September 2014 edition we ran an article about the growing threat to Palcacocha Lake, an article that caused a furor among some íntellectual´ tourism operators, who still don’t understand what they are up against. To quote from last year´s article: Ëvery citizen in Huaraz knows about the possible danger of Lake Palcacocha, including the authorities. Local newspapers, radio and television stations; however, prefer not to report on this delicate topic. Why?

Deadly accidents in the mountains, social conflicts still alarming, receding icecaps and strange plans for an airport near Huaraz

Andino Club Hotel seen from their garden and entrance patioThe Huaraz Telegraph

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It’s believed by local people that if the media were to speak about it people would get scared and tourists might flee from the city. Others admit that there is no real danger, little do they know about the precarious situation. If it might come to an outburst one day, people in Huaraz have a little over one hour to evacuate. This was confirmed by the Centre for Research in Water Solutions in a report written by Marcelo A. Somos-Valenzuela, Rachel E. Chisolm, Daene C. McKinney and Denny Rivas of the Centre for Research in Water Solutions.¨ Huaraz Informa reported on July 7th that the rangers at Palcacocha Lake have not been paid since January and are working without the proper equipment. Huaraz is considered a vulnerable area; a flood from the Palcacocha lagoon could cause the destruction of a large percentage of the urban area. The control and monitoring of the lake to alert the public in case of a flood depends, apparently, on four unpaid rangers who should be well prepared and specialised working at 4,000 masl. Additionally, the communication system through UHF radio transmitter is too old to use and obsolete and the only satellite phone used for early warnings is frustrated by lack of maintenance.

91-year-old Peruvian finished translating Don Quijote into Quechua language

The Peruvian journalist and Professor Demetrio Túpac Yupanqui originally from Cusco, finished translating Don Quijote into Quechua after 10 years, just in time for the 400th anniversary of the Spanish novel. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s novel, Don Quijote de la Mancha is now available in 70 different languages around the world, so reports Peruvian Daily Peru21. In honor of Yupanqui´s work and his career, the Council of the Four Incas awarded him the title of Amauta Capac Apu, meaning great teacher and master after he finished translating the first part of the book. Thanks to Yupanqui’s accomplishment, Don Quijote de la Mancha is now available to more than 10 million people who presently still speak Quechua in countries like Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and also Peru.

New proposal for airport in Ancash near Catac raises questions

Last year Eleazar Espinoza brought up the idea of constructing a new airport near Huaraz. The man who unsuccessfully ran for mayor during the 2014 elections thought he found the key to give tourism a boost. A month ago, a Private Public Partnership and government meeting was held to promote strategic investments in Public and Private Partnership within the Huanuco region. At the meeting the Regional Directorate of Foreign Trade and Tourism in Ancash (DIRCETUR Ancash) and the International Cooperation Agency of the Regional Government Ancash were present. DIRCETUR presented, along with their technical team, two emblematic

new projects. One is the construction of a shared bus terminal (like Cusco, Arequipa and Puno or Plaza Norte has in Peru) and the construction of an international airport in the District of Catac. The last idea was presented to representatives of People’s Republic of China, and it has been reported that representatives were very interested in the possibility of an investment. Thirty per cent of the investment would be contributed by the regional government of Ancash and the remaining 70% would be chipped in by Chinese investors.

A combined bus terminal could possibly bring a solution to the informality at the interprovincial bus terminals in Huaraz as touts and lousy taxi drives still hang around to pick up naïve tourists with the only purpose to make as much money as possible. As for the airport, although your editor first thought this might be a great idea as he published in one of his forewords last year, now seems not doable at all. Huaraz has an airport at Anta, 40 km from the city with one daily flight from and to the capital. A second one would need enough demand to make it feasible. Tourist numbers in Huaraz have been falling year after year and it seems that 2015 is the worst year the last decade. A flight to Lima costs approximately U$ 100, whereas by bus the price is around U$ 17.50. The airport at Anta is used mainly to ship gold, silver and copper out of the region and not for domestic flights. Also, no one in Huaraz has ever seen any technical plans or investigations that support the construction of a second airport, and last but not least no one really knows if these Chinese investors really exist.

Maybe we should compare the idea of a second airport near Huaraz with the plans of an international airport at Pisco (south of Lima). The plans of this airport at Pisco have not generated much expectation in the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and its future is troubled. Peter Cerda, regional vice president for the Americas of the organization, told El Comercio that the location of the air terminal, about 250 kilometres from Lima, can work against as it is still too close to the Jorge Chavez airport to be attractive for airlines that make international flights. He added: ¨We have not heard of any airline, at least one that is a member of IATA, seeking to operate connections between Peru and abroad using as a base to Pisco. With three-hour drive from Lima, I think the Jorge Chavez

may remain the first choice.¨ Cerda also said that 99% of international traffic reaching Peru passes through Lima. The decentralization of supply of alternate airports to the capital should be done strategically and the airlines and its users should be taken into account.

Peru not among safest countries in South America

Chile is the most peaceful country in the South American region and Colombia’s the most violent, so reports the Institute for Economics and Peace, through a study based on the Global Peace Index (IGP). According to the study, South America saw a decline in its score boosted by increases in popular protests and increased perceptions of crime. Chile is ranked 29th in a list of 162 territories, followed by Uruguay (44). Argentina is 60th, just ahead of Greece and behind Sierra Leone in Africa, Ecuador followed in spot 84. Paraguay (89), Bolivia (90) and Guyana (92) precede Peru, which is the South American country that has gone down on the list, due to the number of deaths from internal conflicts.

Big canyon waterfall opened by enthusiastic rock climbers

The Barranco Catarata Grande (Big Ravine Waterfall) with a vertical drop of 2,200m is one of the highest in the world and is located in the north of the Cordillera Blanca in the Ancash province of Huaylas in the sector of the Cañón del Pato (Spanish: Duck Canyon). The project arose by exploring canyons in the area of the Cordillera Blanca combined with the ambition to make a major decline. A first expedition in early

2014 was launched for data collection and measurement of heights in which Joshua Lopez and Dominique Bertrand from Huaraz participated. As a result of this first expedition the only access point was found in a ravine at the ruins of Auquispuquio. It took the team eight months of looking for sponsors and to purchase of all the technical gear needed to finally make the descent into the ravine. During the exploration, two internationally recognized climbing experts joined the team: Toti Vales and Alvaro Lafuente from Spain. On the 10th of August last year, Joshua Lopez, Dominique Bertrand, Pablo Lopez, Alvaro Lafuente and Toti Vales moved into the Cañón del Pato. It took the team a total of four days with lots of rappelling with rock bridges and parabolts to finally make it to the bottom. The waterfall ravine runs in an east to west direction where one can see the peaks of Mount Milluacocha. The goal of the project is to open more ravines in the area and throughout Peru, in order to promote a new sport that has huge potential in the country. Additionally, the adventure and equipping of the great waterfall gorge was captured on video and produced into a short film, which is to be presented at various adventure film festivals around the world. People interested in sailing down the Barranco Catarata Grande can contact Dominique Bertrand at [email protected].

Huaraz footballer on trial at Royal Antwerp FC in Belgium

Luis André del Pozo Reyes (24) is one of many trying out this summer at Royal Antwerp Football Club, often simply referred to as Antwerp. The Belgian football club based in the city of Antwerp is regarded as the oldest club in Belgium, founded in 1880 by English students residing in Antwerp as Antwerp Athletic Club, 15 years prior to the creation of the Royal Belgian Football Association. Luis André del Pozo Reyes was born in Huaraz but was registered in Lima; however, he has been a Huaraz resident since 2010 and started his career at 16 years of age at Academia Deportiva Cantolao in Callao, one of the most prestigious youth setups in Peru. Yoshimar Yotún, Carlos Zambrano and Claudio Pizarro are just a couple of class Peruvian footballers who all came through the youth system of Cantolao. At the age of

Brief Local News

The Huaraz TelegraphLuis André del Pozo Reyes (24) described his trail at Royal Antwerp FC as his last chance to get

his football career off the ground

These are the adventureres responsible for opening The Barranco Catarata GrandeThe Huaraz Telegraph

Continuation of page 3



Brief Local News16 Del Pozo Reyes tried out in Sweden with Idrottsklubben Brage, also known simply as IK Brage; a Swedish football club located in Borlänge now playing its matches in the Division 1 Norra (Swedish third tier on the football pyramid). His Swedish spell lasted three years but he was not given a contract extension and returned home to make his reappearance at Academia Deportiva Cantolao. In 2013 Del Pozo Reyes had other short spells at the local University Football Team of the UNASAM and Sport Ancash, but his career at la Amenaza Verde didn’t come to fruition. In 2015, and with help of a FIFA agent he met in Europe in 2009 who saw some videos of Del Pozo Reyes, the defender was offered a new opportunity at Royal Antwerp FC. Despite being one of Belgium’s best-supported clubs, The Great Old have been under-achievers for several years. They have not won a league title since 1957, and have spent several seasons in the second division but according to Del Pozo Reyes, this is about to change. Luis André del Pozo Reyes is a central defender. He describes himself as an excellent thrower and to be precise at mid distance. The defender has been invited by vice-president Dirk Stoop of Royal Antwerp and his trial period will last three months. If Del Pozo Reyes manages to sign a professional contract (at Antwerp or any other professional football team in Europe) he promised The Huaraz Telegraph an exclusive interview about his experiences on the European continent.

Tourism entrepreneur wants Chavín to become eighth wonder of the world

Family-owned tour operator Jamanca Tours presented a resolution that has the objective to include the archaeological site of Chavín de Huantar to the list of Seven Classic Wonders of the Ancient World and to bring the Raimondi Stela back to the site. Jamanca truly believes that Chavín has what it takes to be added to a list that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. On Saturday the 11th of July, Jamanca invited local press, many local mayors of Ancash, and people worried about the culture and identity of Ancash on a tour that showed the worrying state of the archaeological site. Unfortunately not many of the invitees took the invitation seriously and only a small group of 20 people went to the site located in the Conchucos Valley in Ancash.

Chavín de Huantar contains ruins and artifacts constructed in 1200 BC and occupied by later cultures until around 400-500 BC by the Chavín, a major pre-Inca culture. However, to be included in the list lots of work needs to be done. The circular plaza is in good condition and appears to have been a sacred and ritually important open-air space within a ceremonial centre, but the old and new temple are completely covered with dirt because of the 1970 earthquake in Peru. The site holds a large amount of

geographical and religious significance, which may be one of the reasons why the location was used as a large ceremonial centre and a centre of power for the Chavín culture. John Rick of Stanford University has studied the site with laser scanning in an attempt to determine whether it was planned by the elite or had resulted from some grassroots religious fervor. There are still many undiscovered secrets at Chavín de Huantar but only investment from the local or national government and donations can make Chavín a true tourist attraction. Highlight and main attraction of the site is still the Lanzón Stela, which is assumed to be a supreme deity. Another sacred object that belongs to Chavín culture is to be found in the Museo Nacional de Arqueología Antropología e Historia del Perú in Lima. The broken Raimondi Stela is a sacred object and a major piece of art of the Chavín culture and the Jamanca family said that they will do everything to bring the Stela Raimondi masterpiece back to where it belongs.

Sadly, people working at the site told The Huaraz Telegraph that tourist numbers are falling rapidly and that money is needed to keep the site open to tourists, much more money is needed to cover the temples and protect them from the rain and sun. Almost 95% of the site is exposed to sun and rain and because of the lack of maintenance and money Mother Nature is claiming the site and without the help and interest from local authorities, Chavín de Huantar might soon belong to Peru´s ancient history in terms of something that once was. Chavín de Huántar has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and making it the eighth wonder of the world might be a bridge to far at the moment but in terms of history, culture, religion and art it´s definitely worth a shot and would certainly see visitor´s numbers raise again.

The official I love HZ brand offers souvenirs and t-shirts to tourists

I Love Huaraz is a brand that belongs to two brothers from Huacho (north of Lima) and in 2012 they decided to come to the city of Huaraz in search of new opportunities. Surrounded by mountains and various activities like hiking and climbing they came up with the idea of helping the Huaraz tourism sector by creating the I Love Huaraz brand. The business is currently run by Cesar Escobar Silva Santiseban and his partner and together they take care of the logistics and marketing. Although they are still a very small company, different products are now available for tourists, such as jumpers, t-shirts, caps and cups. All items have the official I Love Huaraz logo and little by little the name of Huaraz will be spread out around the globe. From the beginning the team had a very positive reception from the locals and they admitted to The Huaraz Telegraph that they are happy with the results by sustained efforts in the past years. Their products can be found in different travel agencies and restaurants in town, and people wishing to contact them can visit facebook.com/ilovehuarazoficial



Locked up AbroadA mother of four from Basque Country verifying improved security at

Jorge Chavez International Airport

Continue reading on page 8

Centre for Drugs and Human Rights and responsible for overseeing the welfare and rights of women imprisoned in Peru states that drug dealers in Spain offer ´victims´ an economically interesting proposition knowing they need the money. ‘The mule is not responsible for anything. They buy the ticket and are asked to make a hotel reservation in Lima. Sometimes they are taken for a short trip to Cusco to avoid suspicion. They participate in tourism, spend some money, take pictures, but never of their companions who, for obvious reasons, do not want to be identified and will use a false name. They are also staying in a hotel that does not have surveillance cameras to recognise their faces.’ The penalty for smuggling drugs in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador vary from six to fifteen years for quantities less than ten kilos, over ten kilos one could face up to 25 years. The consuming and price of pure cocaine in Europe has risen dramatically, making Spain, France and the Netherlands popular destinations because of their direct flights from and to South American soil. Apparently, a gram

think again, think again and look for a better and legal way to make the money that they need.’ Mr. Jones is just one of the many examples of burriers (Spanish combination of the word burro [donkey] and courier) that fell for easy money.

The fact that age doesn’t matter was recently proved by Neal Marttala Norman (81) and Ruth Marttala Muriel (82). The aged couple was arrested by members of the Anti-Narcotics Police, at the airport of Carlos Martinez de Pinillos in Huanchaco. In a black briefcase Neal Norman Marttala was carrying two 500 grams packages of roasted and grounded coffee, inside which a bag of clear plastic was found with 150 grams of cocaine hydrochloride. Interestingly the elder Americans were about to board a Lan Peru plane that was heading to Lima before traveling to Spain with drugs valued at U$ 40,000. Is it a coincidence more and more traffickers are choosing Europe as their main destination? Maybe not. According to Spanish daily online El Confidencial, Spaniards are dealers´ favourite mules to smuggle cocaine

Bolivia is number nine. Peru´s total prison population has increased significantly over the past 15 years. In 2000 there were 27,734 persons incarcerated, 31,311 in 2004, 43,286 in 2008, 58,019 in 2012 and the latest calculation assumes that there are no less than 73,255 people in prison in Peru, which comes down to a prison population rate of 236 (per 100,000 of national population) based on an estimated national population of 31.06 million at end of March 2015. Is someone reading this and still thinking of trying to ship some white powder across the Peruvian border?

Taking the conditions in to account, Peruvian prisons are not state-of-the-art

When locked up in Belgium or Germany one can easily say that life in prison is still life in prison, but life in a prison abroad appears to be a living hell, such is the case in most of the African, Asian or South American prisons. South American prisons are known for being overcrowded, violent and lacking simple basic services such as clean drinking water, decent restroom facilities and good food quality. Back in October 2012, Peruvian consulate sources confirmed that its prisons have the capacity to hold around 27,000 inmates but had nonetheless almost doubled the number of jailbirds doing time; however, these figures were slightly manipulated as we will show. Peru doesn’t have the highest incarceration rates in South America, but 236 per 100,000 of national population is still a lot, but not when compared with the United States (698) but close to Brazil (301), Uruguay (282), Colombia (242) and Chile (240), whereas other countries in South America have a much lower prison population Venezuela (166), Paraguay (158), Ecuador (162), Bolivia (134) and Argentina (154 per 100,000). The figures above are confirmed by the International Centre for Prison Studies and are worrying for organisations such as the United Nations, whose body of the Latin American Institute for Crime Prevention admits that overcrowded prisons are a problem worldwide. According to their director, incarceration rates have doubled and even tripled but the strongest trend is seen in low- and middle-income countries, such as Latin America. There are many studies that prove that overcrowded prisons lead to an environment of extreme violence.

Peru´s total prison population is calculated at 73,255 (31st of March 2015 by the National Prison Administration). A shocking 49.9% of the total prison population are pre-trial detainees or remand prisoners. In Peru 6% of the prisoners are female and only 1.4% of the population is younger than 20 years of age. On the 31st of March 2015, Peru´s official prison system capacity was calculated at 32,250. Its occupancy level based on its official capacity shows a dreadful rate of 227.1%. Peru has 67 correctional facilities spread across the country of which 2.5% of the population is foreign. Argentina has 5.4%, Colombia and Brazil 0.6% and Ecuador with 8.1%. On a worldwide level Peru is ranked 15th in terms of the occupancy level. Most overcrowded prisons are to be found in Benin, Comoros, El Salvador, the Philippines, Zambia and Guatemala. Venezuela is number eight on that list and

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and kept in check in a report by the Ombudsman of Spain María Soledad Becerril Bustamante, at the end of 2014 exactly 1,735 Spaniards were incarcerated abroad. Surprisingly Peru is top of the list with 327 Spanish convicts, followed by France (155), Colombia (139), Morocco (119) and Germany (117). Javier Casado director of the foundation called +34, an organisation that helps Spanish inmates abroad, states that most of them are from Cataluña, Madrid and Andalusia. The majority of them are traffickers with no criminal record in Spain; however, at the time they did face serious economic problems, which made them likely to fall for easy money-making schemes such as drugs trafficking.

prisons and spending time ón the inside´ is often described as hell, especially by foreign inmates. Nick Jones from London, arrested in April 2009 at Jorge Chavez International Airport, confirmed to the BBC in a 2010 interview that: ‘If you try to live on this food you will permanently suffer from diarrhea and stomach sickness … they bring you food with stones in it, or used toilet rolls,’ also adding, ‘the stress and the strain of being in a situation like this when you can’t sleep, you don’t eat, you can’t drink the water is very, very hard. I would say to anyone thinking of doing what I did,

into Europe. Apparently, cartels have a predilection for young women, so states Tito Pérez member of la Dirrección Nacional de Antidrogas (Dinandro) when stressing: ‘Organisations use nice and good-looking women, but methods vary, there are also cases in which elderly persons are employed.’ Bruce Bagley, a professor at the University of Miami and expert on drug trafficking said to the same online newspaper that women are treated differently at immigration controls and historically suffer less scrutiny. According to Jerome Mangelinckx, legal office coordinator of the Research

of cocaine in Madrid, London or Paris is worth three times its value compared with Miami or Los Angeles. In Spain it is assumed that 15% of its cocaine arrives by international flights, the other 85% arrives by ship across the ocean.

Like the old proverb says, crime doesn’t pay, and many couriers still risk their life and that of their families in the hope of a more prosperous future. Apparently many choose Lima International Airport because of the ‘lower chances to get caught´, but the cartels never bet all their

The Huaraz TelegraphPicture from the prison in Huaraz, taken from the stadium Rosas Pampa



Advertorial/Publirreportaje

Have you already visited us? We´re to be found at Parque de Ginebra near the Plaza de Armas and offer all kinds of services like great food and local made craft beer

In this edition of The Huaraz Telegraph we would like to share some of the key features at Trece Búhos. There is a lot to tell and in case you haven’t heard yet, we produce our own beer at our microbrewery and the beer is called Lucho´s Beer. We have just recently reopened our second floor where you can play pool or just chill out on our terrace which provides a nice view of the park. We are located only one block from the Main Square and only 30 metres from the Casa de Guías.

Trece Búhos offers a unique type of home-made brew and as far as we know, Lucho´s Beers are the only beers in South America served in swing-top bottles (also known as flip-top in some countries), apart from imported beers like Dutch Grolsch. The most functional feature of the swing-top bottle is that it can be resealed, so the beer inside stays fresh. Another interesting fact is that swing-top bottles are recyclable, energy saving and sustainable. According to the owner of Trece Búhos, the swing-tops are imported from Germany and France and definitely mark his unique beers and establishment. Lucho’s beers or ales are unique, and come in different flavours. The ales are top-fermented; the yeast floats on the surface of the liquid during the fermentation process, rather than sinking to the bottom as in a lager. Lucho´s ales contain hops, which help to preserve the beer and impart a bitter herbal flavour that balances the sweetness of the malt. Lucho´s has three kinds of ales on offer: Blondie, as the name suggest, has a nice blond colour; Red has a sweeter taste; and Black, the most popular of the three.

All ales are available in two types of bottles, a small one for the passionate drinker, and a big bottle for the thirsty drinker. And there is more, did you know that 13 Búhos has two types of beers based on the sacred leaf from the Andes? You can also find other drinks that have a ćoca´ flavoured taste like the Coca Sour, which contains Pisco with macerated coca leaves, lime juice, gum syrup, egg white and ice. If you prefer a non-alcoholic beverage, we also serve Coca Cola! Pay attention to this great deal on offer. In most places you pay from S/. 10.00 for a regular beer, imported beers of course not included. At Trece Búhos you can get your beer for as little as S/. 8.00; and this is a regular beer. The bigger bottle we offer contains 650

millilitres and is the real deal for those travelers who are on a budget and is easy to share between friends.

Like mentioned in the first paragraph, a couple of

months ago we reopened our second floor. This floor is directly connected to the first floor and it allowed us to expand our services. On our second floor guests can find our restaurant, which offers excellent dishes but the two most eye-catching foods we offer are our Argentine

Tomar bebidas alcohólicas en exceso es dañino

beef and our Thai food. Our top floor is very well decorated and like on the bottom one we have always been a place where local artists have been able to show their creations.

There are many fancy paintings on the walls and there is a rooftop terrace where people can enjoy a beer and even smoke a cigarette without bothering others. Among the other dishes we offer are pasta al pesto, napolitana or boloñesa and our hot wings that are served with chips.

One our other great deals on offer is our Midday 10 Soles menu. The menu is served from 12:30hrs until late in the afternoon and contains two different starters to choose from, followed by three different main courses to select and is concluded with a small desert. Our menu is different every day and because of the quality of it, very popular amongst locals. There is as much ´refresco´ as you can drink and it varies from chicha morada (a sweet Peruvian beverage made from blue corn), maracuyá or apple. Additionally, there is free wifi for all our customers.

Last but not least, we would like you to come and participate in our legendary nights at Trece Búhos. We frequently have local bands and musicians performing and local musicians are also creating new genres like Chicha or Peruvian Cumbia, enabling Peru’s music to open up to new influences to expand both at home and abroad, beyond native folk music. At 13 Buhós we have a large collection of music from all over the world, and it only takes a small chat with our DJ to check if your favourite song is next. And when the shutters are down, and the early birds have gone home, the dancing begins! If you are in Huaraz you have to come and experience the joy of dancing on the bar. There are some free drinks for people who keep the fun going while demonstrating some Latin dance moves to the patrons! Besides our bar, we have an interior space where people can read a book, use their laptop or even play some games. The most popular game we offer is Jenga (by Parker Brothers). Another important item we should not forget to mention is our Drinking Ski. That’s right, a special ski with

some shot glasses attached to it that four people at the same time have to drink. If you’re sitting in your hostel and reading this at around 11 p.m. don’t hesitate, put on your shoes and come along! The best nights out aren’t planned they just happen! Our friendly and trained

staff will be waiting for you.



Continuation of page 6

The Huaraz TelegraphMontserrat (left) being interviewed by the editor of The Huaraz Telegraph

money on one horse, or donkey in this case. Most of the time there are up to five people boarding the same plane and only a few need to get through. It´s believed that when one gets caught, it´s easier for the others to slip through because of the media spectacle that is often generated. International burriers who get caught are even bigger news. The Deseret News reported on October 27th 1997 that Peru is a risky country for foreign drug mules and inspections have only improved meaning the chance to get caught gets higher and higher. In 1997 Peru caught 56 foreign drug mules, whereas in 2010 480 arrests were made, 320 of those taken into custody were non-Peruvians and in 2011, 350 mules were arrested at Lima’s airport, with 200 of them foreign nationals. Most of those who get caught share the classic story, short on cash, they were tricked or threatened and someone offered them around U$ 5000 to make a short trip.

The story of Montserrat Gonzales Hermína (38) from Basque Country is pretty much the same. Montserrat is being held at the Víctor Pérez Liendo penitentiary in Huaraz. Montserrat is not the only foreigner in Huaraz´ prison, the other one is the South African Lewis Charles Cornelius Strijdom and there is also a Colombian, all three are in for drugs charges. I have visited Montserrat a couple of times now and would like to share my experiences with the reader. Part of the story that now follows was published in our special bilingual Christmas edition of The Huaraz Telegraph.

A year ago when I visited the penal it took like fifteen minutes before Montserrat showed up. Later she told me that she was very nervous, had borrowed some shoes and even did her make up. Montserrat said I was the first person in five years to pay her a visit so she could simply not believe that there was actually someone for her this time, although she was actually hoping it would be her tiastra (step-aunt) who apparently lives in Los Olivas (Lima). After smoking a cigarette at the inner courtyard she was told to go inside again to the women’s wing so there was no other option for me but to follow her into the prison when I would have preferred to interview her at the entrance pavilion.

In the women’s wing we sat down and I asked her what happened on the 7th of February 2009. She said the following: ‘At eight o’clock I packed my bags and went to Jorge Chavez Airport. At the airport I was stopped and asked about the bigger bag. At first I denied that the bag was mine but there was not much to deny. The fiscal showed up and they took all my belongings like money and other things I carried. I have trafficked before and got caught in Peru. Why I did it? Back then I had no home but I did have a son to look after. At the time I was 31 years old and was suffering from HIV. I obtained HIV because of my ex-partner. Life had no meaning to me so I decided to look for a way to make easy money for my family and the trafficking of drugs

created this opportunity.’

I noticed that Montserrat started to feel a little bit more at ease and wondered why that would be. While I looked around I noticed that we had the attention of many people around us in the courtyard. I then asked her how she felt at the moment. ‘You know I feel more tranquil here in Huaraz. I got here on the 27th of March of 2014 after having stayed in Chimbote’s penitentiary for two and a half years. I was transferred to Huaraz because I made problems back in Chimbote. On just a regular day, the guards came and said I had to prepare my stuff that I would

be transferred to another penitentiary, which turned out to be the one in Huaraz. Like I mentioned before, things are quieter here, but there is seriously nothing to do here. It’s so boring, at least in Chimbote there were workshops or you could help in the kitchen doing some cooking. Look around, it’s dead.’

Indeed, there seemed not much to do than just sit and look around. Well, what would you expect in a prison? I was wondering how her cell looked and asked if I could see it. This wasn’t as easy as I thought so we decided to stay where we were, in the courtyard. Could you describe your cell? ‘We sleep with

seven women in one cell, with bunk beds available on the second floor. There is a place where we can cook something and all our belongings are in the cell as well. You can move to another cell but the current holders of a cell have to accept the new cellmate. Someone can invite you to stay in their cell but if the other inmates don’t want you there, it’s a no go. You have to get along with some cell mates eventually. There are actually five people in this part of the prison I speak to and who I trust. I don’t have much contact with the other inmates. There are often fights within the block. Most fights are about money of course and others are

about jealousy and how we are dressed.’ Life is pretty much very boring and according to Montserrat the screaming and loud music doesn’t help either.

‘There are I believe 46 (50 at the moment of printing this newspaper) women at the moment and the girls I talk to are not all cellmates but they help me a lot, mentally. Others make me feel like shit, if I may speak out loud. There is a lot of discrimination going on here, because I am La Gringa. I am almost willing to say that if I make it back alive to Spain, I will treat Peruvians the same as they treated me over here. There are too many egoists, hypocrites and bad people

around me, not to mention the food. Fatal! I believe the rules in the women´s wing are a lot stricter compared to the male part.’ So what is a normal day for you? ‘I normally wake up at around 5 a.m. and then an hour and a half later the doors are opened so we can get out of the cells. On a normal day I take a shower, clean a little bit, eat breakfast and play some solitaire, a card game. Most of the time I talk to my cellmates or I am on my own. I maybe prefer to be on my own. At 9 p.m. the lights go out and the cell doors are locked. Most of the female guards are OK, if you behave yourself you won’t get into much trouble.’

When I looked around the pavilion I noticed that there were a few couples sitting on the courtyard but they didn’t seem to talk a lot. There was one couple that was kissing all the time, as the others were just looking around. I guess a more dramatic style of romance could not be found anywhere else in Huaraz at that same moment. It made me wonder if Montserrat had a partner in jail. She did not, although in Chimbote she had some sort of a relationship but suffering from HIV made it simply impossible to have sexual relationships. Montserrat while smoking another cigarette said that the couple we were looking at recently got married in prison; speaking of romance again! Inmates get dressed up and men put on a suit and then someone from the municipality shows up who does the paperwork. I also noticed that Montserrat had a couple of tattoos on her body and asked about the one in her neck that said Amar. ‘Amar is my son. You know, I am not afraid of death, but the thing that scares me the most is dying without seeing him again. Leaving my family behind is what would hurt the most. I still have contact with most members of my family. I sometimes call with my brother in Spain and they put me on speaker so my son, brother’s wife, my mother and niece can hear me. If I make it out alive I would run back to Spain, and get the hell out of this country. You know, the last time I visited the doctor in Chimbote, just before my transfer he told me that I was closer to the garden of remembrance than entering a home for the elderly. Harsh but that confirms why I might not make it out of prison alive. Speaking of which, did you know that most of the women in this part of the prison are in for murder? Most for murdering their husband or partner and some are in for drugs or theft.’

Just when I was about to leave, I noticed that it had started to rain. When I asked the female guard if I could get out, I was told I could not. Between one and two in the afternoon, there is a lunch break so no visitors can enter, or leave the prison. It was a quarter to two so it didn’t really matter. At that moment Montserrat got her medication served and she said that she had to take five pills a day to battle here disease. I got the impression that Montserrat liked my presence and wanted me to stay a little longer. I asked her if there was a psychologist or social worker in the prison she could speak to. ‘There is a lady that occupies that position but the last time I spoke to her she got me into a deep depression. I

Locked up Abroad



found out while being on the phone with my brother that my father had passed away two years ago. On top of the discussions we had, the psychologist filled in a form and declared me being a manipulator. She has absolutely zero understanding of her job.’ Talking about her life and her father brought memories up and I could see tears appear in Montserrat’s eyes. Of course, she made the decision to commit a crime and was caught. I asked myself how it would be not being sure if you would wake up the next day. And how would it be living in prison without seeing one single visitor in five years?

Just before saying goodbye there was one more thing I wanted to know. Montserrat told me that the contact she had with her family was over the phone, but how come that Lewis is never able to receive phone calls from South Africa? ‘There is a public phone on the wall here we can use, and also a cellphone here, and we have to pay the girl to use it.’ Isn´t that forbidden? ‘Of course it is! But everything you find out of these walls on the streets, you can also find on the inside. Alcohol, drugs and goods are all available here. I don’t know if the guards know about it, but ask yourself how do you think these things enter the penitentiary?’ I didn’t have a clue and the answer was surprising and shocking, and it is not appropriate to share it here but let´s just say that everything comes through the door.

On another occasion and two weeks before going to print, Montserrat told me a bit more about her life as trafficker and said it was no problem to include this in the paper. She said the following: ‘I was born on 7th of January 1977 and had a normal life until I was 19 or so. My mother was a trafficker and I got myself into trouble as I went stealing and got involved in the falsification of money. Once caught, the worst judge of Spain, Garzón put me behind bars for five months while I was pregnant. I gave birth to my son Amar in the prison of Madrid (Centro Penitenciario Madrid V Soto Del Real). When I gave birth I was found out I was carrying HIV. When I finished my sentence, I went to live with friends and my brother because I didn’t want to live with my ex-partner because of the damage he had caused as he is the one who infected me. As I said before, my mother was a trafficker and her socios offered me a lot of money to do the same thing. They basically told me that with only one trip, all my debts would have been cleared and there would still be money to put away for my son.’

‘My first trip was to Costa Rica and from there I went to meet some people in Panama. This was all back in 2008, it didn’t turn out to be a good deal because the people over there weren’t serious and I wasn’t feeling sure that I would get the job done, so I canceled it. Nonetheless I got paid for the job but it put me in a difficult position, I couldn’t refuse the next one. My second trip took me to Turkey and London. This job went well and I smuggled eight kilograms of caballo (diacetylmorphine or morphine diacetate,

also known as diamorphine or heroin). A third trip took me to Brazil where I completed the transportation of 12kg of cocaine. With this money I was able to buy a house and left my other children in a much better position. I have four children you know.

My forth trip is where it went all wrong. I arrived in Lima and went south to Arequipa after a week. I had to board a plane to Chile but once at the airport I noticed that all bags were opened up so I canceled my flight. Two weeks later I found myself back in Lima again and heard I had to take a bag to Madrid. This bag had something like 24 kilos in it and had to pay extra for extra weight. My contact told me that he would take care of it. It didn’t turn out to be my lucky day because when boarding the plane I was asked to join two police officers and give them my passport. Insisting I would miss my plane didn’t work. At the police station they opened the bag without the presence of a fiscal, which is against the law, but it was my word against theirs. They took my jewellry, my money and even the clothes I had. Later on they took me to Dinandro police station. My embassy visited me and I was transported to Interpol. I could easily get killed because I was taken without wearing a bullet proof jacket and was an easy target for someone who wanted to silence me. I was sent to Santa Monica Prison. As you know I was transferred from Cambio Puente de Chimbote Penitentiary on the 27th of March last year and since then I have been here in Huaraz.’

‘I don’t know what to do if I get out, this might not be as easy as it looks. I will probably have to stick around in Peru to pay my fines and arrange paperwork. Maybe I can look for a job while I get that all done. Life in the Huaraz prison is quieter and we don’t have to pay for our cell. The men, however, so I have heard do. I get a little bit of money every month of my embassy although they have never visited me; I guess they only do Lima and not the provinces. I would like to return to Peru once I get out, but this time just being a tourist.’

Montserrat and Lewis are not sure what to expect when released. Both are asking themselves if they will be put on a plane, will they be dumped across the border, or will be they just walk out the front prison door without belongings and money. Nicole Bartscher from Germany stated in the Huffington Post that she became trapped in Peru. She isn’t behind bars anymore but can’t pay the reparación civil (court-mandated fines). There is no such thing as state sympathy, which offers no financial help, or work visas, nor plane tickets back home. And the German is not the only one; apparently hundreds of foreign ex-mules are trapped in the same position. Apart from the reparación civil it will take a long time to obtain the much needed resolutions of rehabilitation and expulsion. A process that can take years and I am not sure if I should share this information to Lewis and Montserrat who are obviously counting their days and are very eager to get out.

Locked up Abroad

We´re very proud to announce we´re the best restaurant on Tripadvisor in Huaraz!



Expat in Huaraz

The Peruvian dreamAccording to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (I.N.E.I) 12,187 foreigners entered Peru in 2012 and stayed for over a year. The Huaraz Telegraph is wondering whether these visitors came to see the wonders of Peru, or were they looking for the Peruvian dream? If the American dream is the idea that suc-cess is possible for every individual, does the Peruvian dream exist? And if so, can you reach for those ideals on the Latin American continent being an expat? It is fairly easy to spot a tourist in Hua-raz, with their tiny day-sacks and camera around their necks, whereas expats blend in; they adapt to the local way of life. But what motivates a person to uproot their entire lives, and leave their family and friends to go and live on another conti-nent? Over the course of the season The Huaraz Telegraph will endeavour to inter-view expats living in Huaraz, to give the readers an insight into why they decided to do just that. But first let’s look at some interesting statistics. Although the follow-ing stats are accurate there is no statisti-cal information on how many foreigners live in the Áncash region.

In the period from 1994 to 2012, there were 89,320 registered foreigners resid-ing in Peru that did not leave the country. Between 1994 and 2004 the number of foreigners entering Peru did not exceed 3,500, and between 2004 and 2006 the number of foreigners living in Peru did not exceed 5000. From 2007 the num-ber increased to over 6,000 and in 2012 that number had risen to a staggering 12,187. It´s important to mention that, even though Peru has a law stating that visitors can only stay up to a maximum of 183 days a year, after one year Gringos are considered immigrants in the Repub-lic of Peru, be it legal or illegal.

There is no denying that the number of immigrants has increased over the years and between 2007 and 2012 there were 55,616 immigrants representing 62.3% of all registered immigrants in the analy-sis period of 1994 to 2012. To make a small comparison, in the last six years

60% of the immigration population, but in 2012 they reached 70.9%. In the docu-ment found on the I.N.E.I website the distribution of foreign migrants is also represented by age group. A chart shows that the predominant age group is the 30 to 34 year-olds representing 12.2 % of all immigrants. Immigrants from 35 to 39 years of age characterise 12.1 % dur-ing the period from 1994 to 2012. This is followed by the 40 to 44 years old with 11.2%, continued by the group of 25 – 29 years old (10.7%). On the other hand, the highest percentage of immigrants are aged from 15 to 49, representing 68.2 % of all immigrants.

Looking at the gender population pyra-mid, the concentration is in the middle, being narrower at the base and that there is an increase in the first and last group. Immigrants aged under 15 count for 6.8% and are distributed almost evenly be-tween men (3.7 %) and women (3.1%). People older than 59 years of age repre-sent 10.3% and are distributed between 6.3% men and 4.0% women. Of the total number of 83,628 immigrants over 14 years of age, 33.7% are declared to be single whereas 199 people are said to be widowed, and 98 are divorced.

Between 1994 and 2012, 89,320 foreign-ers were considered to be new residents of Peru without any migration movement noticed and just before the document starts to talk about the country of origin, it mentions that 69,277 people (represent-ing 77.6%) have come to Peru by air, entering the country at Jorge Chavez Na-tional Airport. A small 8.6% entered from the south in Tacna (Santa Rosa), 2.3% from Bolivia (Desaguadero), and a 1.4% came from the north, crossing the border from Ecuador at Aguas Verdes. A total of 3,378 (3.7%) arrived at the harbour of Callao (probably shipwrecked and unable to return home).

The authors of the report declare that there exists a strong concentration of regional immigrants referring to 31.6% of

foreigners coming from Latin American countries such as Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Americans (from the USA) with 12.4% the biggest group of newcomers, followed by the Chinese with 9.3% and Bolivians with 7.8%. As you just have read, you will need to stay in Peru for over a year to qualify for the status of immigrant. This is also the main condition for our interviewee plus the fact that he or she should live in Áncash, and in this latest edition of The Huaraz Telegraph we conducted the interview with one of the few English lads living in the area.

1. Who are you?Charlie Saxty Good, jack of all trades and master of none, mountain man, father, failed philosopher, mediocre entre-preneur, practiced janitor. I come from Marlow-On-Thames, Buckinghamshire, Great Britain. I grew up in the country-side, where we could only get to the house by boat, my brother and I did the shopping by canoe. Hence I feel at home at my rather remote location.

2. How old are you and what’s your profession?I just turned 40. Although I was a science geek at school, I studied economics and accounting at university in Bristol, Eng-land. Then qualified as an accountant with Deloitte Touche in their head office in London, and then I moved to the French Alps for two ski seasons training as a mountain and ski guide.

3. How long have you been living in Huaraz?I lived in Huaraz for a season in 2002, and a year in 2004 when I rented a flat there whilst looking for the best spot in the Northern Cordilleras. I now live in my mountain lodge up on the edge of the Huascaran National Park, near the lake and ruins of Keushu, and the entrance to the Llanganuco gorge. Huaraz is used synonymously, by all, for the whole area, Cordillera Blanca, Huayhuash, Callejon de Huaylas. I even slip into this. I believe this to be detrimental to tourism in the

measured concern over 50.0% of the im-migrants from the period of analysis. The period between the years 2001 – 2006 represented 18,499 incoming foreign-ers representing 20.7% of all registered immigrants during the study period, while the years 1994 to 2000 represent 17.0% of total registered immigrants. The num-ber of foreign immigrants in Peru has a greater dynamism in the last years of the study. Until 2003 foreign immigrants did not exceed 20,000, this number doubles in 2007 becoming 40,446, and in 2012 the number of foreign immigrants in Peru rose to 89,320.

Dividing the entry of foreign immigrants into different periods (in years) and hav-ing the estadisticas de la emigración internaticional de peruanos e inmigración de extranjeros 1990-2012 in hand, one can see that the average annual immi-gration per period is becoming a grow-ing trend during the last three periods, except from 2001 to 2003. On average, only 2,357 people crossed the border into Peru between 2001 and 2003. Between 1994 and 2012 the annual average is 4,701 surpassing this in the last two pe-riods 2007-2009 and 2010-2012, reach-ing average immigration figures from 7,420 and 11,118 respectively, the latter being six times higher than the average income of foreign immigrants of the first period (1994-1997). When analysing the gender of the newcomers it´s remark-able that the population of males is by far bigger than the opposite sex. Men represent 66.8% of the immigrants while only 29,636 (33.2%) are female. Since 1994, men have represented more than

All statistics on Peruvian international emigration and foreign immigation by the I.N.E.I on: http://www.inei.gob.pe/media/MenuRecursivo/publicaciones_digitales/Est/Lib1102/libro.pdf

The number of immigrants in Peru is growing by the year (I.N.E.I. stats)



Expat in Huarazarea and would like to see guidebooks and visitors talk about the Northern Cordilleras. Huaraz is not the attraction, rather far from it perhaps. Huaraz is not the whole area; it is a city, not a very pleasant one at that, with hardly any of the benefits of a city. All of its sewerage goes straight into the Rio Santa; the tap water is not potable. I find it embarrass-ing that although Ancash is the richest region in the country, the infrastructure is so terrible; the sewerage bubbles out of the manhole covers when there is heavy rain, and the phone and electricity cables block the view. However I will assume that when you say Huaraz that you really mean the whole area, as this is how we all use ‘Huaraz’.

4. What brought you to Huaraz?I was traveling with an Anglo-Peruvian university buddy after graduating. We came here to acclimatise for the Inca trail. Embarrassingly, I passed out but-tering my bread at breakfast. It seems that mountain man is something that you have to earn, and is perhaps something I may never acquire.

5. How has your life changed over the years?Woah, this is a broad question... In brief I was a well-paid corporate slave in the city of London, where I was pretty much owned by the firm. I lived in my basement flat in Kensington. I thought that I could see how life was going to pan out, and how dire it was going to be. There was no adventure, no surprises, no passion, no giving back. I spent all of my weekends and holidays climbing, skiing, canoe-ing, trekking. Now I don´t waste time or resources commuting. I live in the most beautiful place that I have ever visited, with my two Rhodesian Ridgebacks and soon my wife and kid. I am a member of an Andean peasant farming community. I have land allocated to me, I don´t have a land title and so can never sell it or get loans against it. See my blog for why this is a good thing. When I die it will go to my family free of inheritance tax. If I decided not to live here, it would go back to the community, quite justly. I am here for the long haul. I get to give back directly, we sponsor the schools and some communi-ty projects, but until now have not put this information in the public domain, I see it as a responsibility, not as something to sing and dance about.

6. What are your favourite hangout spots in Huaraz?Cafe Andino and California Cafe, Trece Búhos, Creperie Patrick, Chilli Heaven, Tio Enrique, Bruno´s, Pizza BB, Rincon-cito Minero, El Fogón and a few others, I go back to places that don´t make me ill, and all of these also happen to have great food. Unfortunately I don´t get to go to the city much now or party much in Huaraz anymore, but you may have seen me spilling out of Makondos or Tambo with the rising sun, years ago. Although I don´t like the way Huaraz has

changed as a city and how it is now get-ting its very own shanty town, I do like the people of Huaraz and the establish-ments, there are some good hostels/ho-tels. Unfortunately the people of Huaraz don´t seem to be able to pull in the same direction, some even boycotting this very paper, after an article on the elite of Hua-raz meetings. I wasn´t invited to these proported meetings of influential business owners, that allegedly got together to see how tourism could be improved, but I did think that they were a good idea. What ever happened to freedom of speech? This lack of working together makes me very sad.

7. What is it you miss the most from back home, and how often do you go back?My mountain lodge is my home; I only have debts in the UK. I used to go back to Blighty every 12-18 months, until my 100-year-old grandmother finally died last year. I miss my friends and family, but it is about time that they got their arses out here. Decent beer; but now we have that through Sierra Andina and Lucho´s Beers, decent cheese, sausages – but Tio Enrique does a great sausage, GUIN-NESS. Earl Grey tea I bring out by the suitcase. I really miss transparency, hon-esty, punctuality, and someone buying the next round.

8. What is it you like most about Huaraz?The city: The hangouts. The area: the access to these mountains, lakes, flora, fauna; a lot of it not explored on a micro level. I found a fortress at 4400m that no one in Huaraz seems to know about. We have also found substantial sections of Inca trail that are completely overgrown. The views, the sunsets, that I get to be on my MTB twice a day, that I can go trail running from my front door or swim in a high mountain lake.

9. What’s your opinion of the tourist business in Huaraz?There are some very professional opera-tors, I am friends with many and send my guests with them when they want more than day treks. However, there are four things that are really letting Huaraz, and the area, down. Number one the bus tours, Llanganuco, Chavin & Pastoruri. I believe that these are NOT how to add value to clients or gain our rightful world-wide reputation as the most accessible high mountain area of the world. These bus trips are miserable in my opinion, with only minimal time actually being spent at the destination. The rest of the time clients are driven via coffee shops, artisan stores, and restaurants so that they can be filtered for cash for hand-backs to the guide. In 1997 I got the bus from Lima, did the Llanganuco bus tour that day, next day Chavín, the next day Pastoururi was planned, we ditched it, if we hadn´t we would have spent over 36 hours in three days on buses, call that a vacation or living hell? Two, many

sleep in a sleeping bag under the night sky outside of your tent – with suitable sleeping bag. The night sky here is awe-some. Do stop to smell the flowers, just don´t pick them – or I´ll set the dogs on you. Pack up your f***ing rubbish. Be re-spectful to the locals, pay them fairly, they were here before us/you and there are WAY too many rocks for you to be buried under out here.

11. If you were to become the Mayor of Huaraz one day, what would you do or change?I would put a bullet in my brain. I wouldn´t wish this job on my worst enemy. Clearly, however, development isn´t a multimil-lion monstrosity of a football stadium that is hardly ever used. Development is: 1) potable drinking water, 2) treated sewer-age before it goes into the river, so as not to contaminate the water of users down-stream 3) Proper health service 4) De-cent schools that teach critical thinking, not learning by rote. In that order. That way people don´t tend to get ill, if they do – they get fixed, and they can be edu-cated without having to rush to the loo all the time. What’s more, the relatively new Centro Cultural was a massive missed opportunity to push our position as the most accessible area of high mountains, only second to the Himalaya. The Centro Cultural should have included the most fantastic high mountain training facilities, with pressurised gym, world class climb-ing walls – ice and rock. Roof top heated swimming pool, bars, restaurants and vol-leyball court would have crowned it rather nicely. The main street Luzuriaga and the town square should be pedestrianised. Government offices should be moved to the edge of town, banks should be moved off of the town square, and restaurants should spill out onto the street/square like in Spanish cities. The electricity cables should be hidden in underground con-duits. Laws should be passed for uniform building height, red roofs, and all build-ings should be finished. An area of green-belt around Huaraz should be passed into law. No one should be allowed to build within 10 metres of the carretera central down the valley... Read more about Charlie on our website..

operators try to compete as lowest cost providers, this affects the service level, safety and the pay to contracted services, this damages the area´s reputation. I was present at meetings between agen-cies back in 2004/5, no one could agree on how to improve this situation. Three, guidebooks almost always say that the best months are June, July, August for mountaineering, but don´t mention that all other sports are great for around nine months a year, this damages our mar-ket. And finally four, the city of Huaraz is a planning disgrace, even Huaracino friends of mine say that the best thing that could happen is for it to be wiped off the planet again – this has happened several times, so is not out of the ques-tion. I would highly recommend that you see the documentary that Juan from Churup Guesthouse released recently on how Huaraz was before the 1970 calamity; it was a beautiful, a cultured city. Before 1970 Yungay was a hub of tourism in the area due to its strategic location, Huaraz was the administrative capital. Unfortunately Yungay´s popula-tion was buried, almost to the last man, which must have been a brutal day. Just remember that when you think that you are having a tough time.

10. What sites or activities do you recommend (or not) to our readers?Don´t do the trail between Wilkahuain and Monterey. There are hold ups at gun point. I was held up and when I reported it to the police they seemed suspiciously uninterested. Do the Yanayaku trek. Do mountain biking with Julio Olaza, a local legend. Do climb Pisco, even if you don´t have mountain climbing experience. Do the Santa Cruz circuit. Climb in Shupluy, Chancos or Monterrey. Climb the Sphinx if hard enough. Ski a mountain if you are nails. Go horseback riding at Wayne and Diana´s place. Do Ayahuasca at The Way Inn, hi Mum! Go trail running that will kick your arse. Do the Huayhuash on MTB, carrying all your own gear for five days, which kicked my arse.Do NOT raft the Rio Santa, as mentioned – it is an open sewer. I found out the hard way. Do come late June for the Festival de Andinismo – there is some really cool stuff being rolled out by some dedicated individuals. Do

The Huaraz TelegraphCharlie Good from England with his dogs at the Llanganuco Lodge


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Environmental Issues

Clashes with the police have been violent and a number of protestors have already been killed. This conflict is the current high profile conflict in the country, but there have been many similar events over the years. A few years ago Conga was the hotly contested mining development. Planned for the highly biodiverse wetland areas above Cajamarca and to be carried out by a company that had already gained a reputation for environmental mismanagement from its other operations in the region. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) submitted and perfunctorily approved by the government was shown to be grossly inaccurate and massive protests ensued, the case is on-going as no resolution has been reached.

The last time a similarly high profile event rocked Ancash was in 2011 when plans to drain Lake Conococha and replace it with a mine emerged, with the planned site of the mine almost directly on top of three important river sources (Santa, Fortaleza and Pativilca), rivers that provide the irrigation water for thousands of agricultural producers across the region. That project was eventually put on ice for a period of five years when region-wide strikes and road blocks brought the area to a complete standstill for nearly a month.

The national ombudsman Defensoria del Pueblo currently puts the number of socio-environmental conflicts in the country at 141; approximately 66% of these are related to mining. Ancash has more conflicts than any other region in the country. Although mining is a high profile activity in the country and makes important tax contributions, less than 1% of the population is employed by this sector, whereas 26% of the population is employed by agriculture (World Bank, 2015). Nevertheless, mining interests have been active in the country for a long period and as such have developed close ties with governments. It is in fact impossible to overstate the power that mining companies have to influence government policy and some of the legislative changes the mining lobby has managed to effect on the back of an economic slowdown are the main subject of this article, but first a little about the context in which these changes are taking place.

Peru currently gains 6% of its GDP and 61% of its export earnings from

mining (Propuesta Ciudadana, 2011). Between 2002 and 2012 world trade in minerals and metals was booming. Large infrastructure projects in countries like China and India meant that demand for copper, iron and other construction materials was high, as was interest in gold, with some investors hoping to use gold reserves to protect themselves against future crises in the Eurozone countries or America.

However, since 2011 global prices of metals have fallen dramatically. In 2014 the average price of copper was 22% lower than in 2011, for gold this drop has been 19%, for silver 46% and for lead 13%. The World Bank predicts that this trend will continue. As Peru is heavily reliant on the export earnings that minerals provide this has severe implications for the economy as a whole and such has caused panic amongst politicians. The reaction from the government since 2013 has been to pass a slew of legislative changes (paquetazos), purportedly to stimulate the economy although in effect these changes simply allow mining companies to increase or maintain their profits during a period of lower international metal prices at the expense of host communities and the environment.

The changes enacted have included weakening of environmental legislation, new powers to police to quash protests (the police can no longer be held accountable for the death of a protestor) and greater powers for the government to seize communally-held land. The logic behind these paquetazos is the only way to combat the shortfall in revenue as prices fall is to open more mines as quickly as possible. Discussions about how to diversify the economy so that is does not rely so heavily on the extraction and export of minerals are completely off the agenda. During the ten-year boom period seen between 2002 and 2012, very little money was invested in developing capacity in other areas. Instead, huge payments have been made to provinces where extensive mining activity is taking place.

Take, for example, the province of Huari in Ancash, in 2014 it received 255.5 million soles of mining tax money (el Canon Minero) and it has received comparable sums since the mining boom properly began in 2008, yet social indicators remain lower than average for Ancash as a whole, which is ranked 12 out of 24 departments nationally. The average amount received by the other 19 provinces in the region was 15 million soles. The gross distortion of revenue allocation goes further, within the province of Huari the municipal

district of San Marcos, (where Antamina, the largest mine in Peru is located), the local government received 111.2 million soles, this district has a population of approximately 13,600 people (Propuesta Ciudadana, 2014; 2015). The population of San Marcos, despite being on the edge of the most profitable mine in the country, does not have full access to safe drinking water, and the money that does flow into the community creates envy and conflict in surrounding areas, client like relationships between the local people and the mine, and destroys self-reliance and work cultures that existed in the area prior to the mine. It is effectively little more than a bribe to ensure that the residents keep quiet and do not vocally or physically oppose mining activity in the area; opposition to mining (i.e. conflicts) produces costly delays for the companies. For this reason mining companies broadly support these huge transfers of cash to the districts where they are operational.

The mining industry’s self-perceived right to make untold millions out of Peru’s subsoil is also highlighted by the details of the following court case. In 2014 26 different mining companies with operations in Peru filed a legal injunction to fight the ‘Aporte de Regulacion’ (APR Regulation Contribution), which was created in 2000 and is used to finance regulatory agencies including OEFA Peru’s environmental oversight agency. Prior to December 2013 mining companies were charged a figure relating to days of inspection work carried out, the cost of lab testing samples and other similar expenses. However in December 2013 a percentage for the APR was set and changes were made that brought in significantly more money for OEFA, which has handled environmental monitoring of the mining industry since 2010. The previous system did not make it possible to carry out technical work or conflict prevention, or evens to inform communities of the possible impacts extractive industry developments could have in their area. Nevertheless

the overall contribution to the APR is small, as was established when it was created, it could never exceed 1% of a company’s annual earnings after tax, and in 2013 the government announced that the contribution would be dropped from 0.15% of annual sales in 2014 and 2015 to 0.13% in 2016.

The companies involved in law suit argue the APR tax amounts to ‘a confiscation’, a claim that in light of the importance of environmental monitoring to increase community trust and reduce the likelihood of conflicts (which in themselves cost companies vast sums of money) seems ludicrous. Many of these companies conduct profitable operations in countries such as Canada, Australia and the USA where environmental and community protection legislation is much stricter. In these richer countries they know there would be no way they could get away with opposing, so vehemently, any measures taken to protect environmental health and the residents in mining-affected areas.

The changes introduced by the Reactivation Packages (paquetazos) have shocked many in Peru as the current President Ollanta Humala entered government as part of a left wing coalition that was seen as sympathetic to agricultural producers and indigenous communities. One of the first things Humala did on entering office was to enact the Consulta Previa, an agreement that the previous President Alan Garcia had left on the back burner. This took place in the city of Imacita-Bagu in September 2011, a highly symbolic location as it was the site where, two years earlier, 33 people had been killed and hundreds of others injured in the most bloody conflict of recent history, triggered by the signing of a free-trade agreement with America, which effectively opened up the Peruvian Amazon to increased private investment, creating the potential for 45 million hectares of forest to lose protected forestry status, be re-designated as agricultural land and sold off for extractive or productive use.

Anyone who has listened to the radio or watched television in Peru over the past few months is likely to have heard two words repeated again and again in news bulletins and panel discussions: Tia Maria. In this context Tia Maria isn’t a religious aunt, or a sweet coffee liqueur for that matter, but the name of a mine that is due to open in the southern region of Arequipa. The valley where the mine is planned is an oasis of green in an otherwise fairly inhospitable desert and as a result communities in the area are opposing its construction because of the potential impact on water resources and agriculture.

By: Ursula Ambulante

PhD researcher for Newcastle University in England

Land belonging to Campesino Community Cruz de Mayo, an agricultural area near Caraz where some hope to open a mine in the near future.

The Huaraz Telegraph

Mining: the good, the bad and the ugly!




The Huaraz TelegraphREDMUQUI raising awareness about Law 30230 at the Cumbre de los Pueblos, an alternative

to the COP20 event that took place in Lima in December 2014.

The consulta previa is a tool that promotes dialogue between communities affected by extractive industry projects, it gives them the right to participate in decisions made about activities taking pace on their land and was seen as an important progressive step forward for the country and one which would help avoid further bloody extractive industry conflicts. Critical to the implications of consulta previa is exactly which communities are classified as indigenous as it is only these communities that will be eligible for the prior consultation rights. The government spent almost a year producing a database defining which communities would benefit from this right. Its publication was repeatedly delayed, primarily because of lobbying on the part of mining interests who claimed that it would deter foreign investment.

The first indications of the changing governmental position came as part of a key-note speech on April 28th 2013 when Humala claimed that, ‘In the highlands, the majority are agrarian communities, the product of agrarian reform. Overwhelmingly, the native communities are in the jungle.’ Soon after that it emerged that the Mines and Energy Minister Jorge Merino had convinced Humala to exclude Quechua-speaking, highland indigenous campesino communities, i.e. all the communities in Ancash and around Huaraz were to be excluded from consulta previa eligibility. In addition, despite being ratified since 2011, there has not been a single case of the application of the consulta previa law to communities affected by extractive industry activity.

To return to the reactivation packages (paquetazos), or more specifically, Law 30230 as one of the sections most damaging to rural populations is known, it is impossible to overstate the extent to which it has the potential to disrupt Peru’s native, indigenous and campesino communities, communities that are already marginalised and left out of most state development projects. The package basically involves scrapping much of the environmental legislation and community protection measures that have been seen since the previous boom in mining activity during the Fujimori administration of the 1990s. Bear in mind that the Ministry for the Environment has only existed since 2008, before that environmental protection was within the remit of Ministry of Mines and Energy, despite the obvious conflict of interest between promoting mining investment and enacting environmental protection measures.

Some of the changes to Peru’s environmental and community protection legislation are as follows:

• The funding to OEFA, the body that monitors the environmental impact of mining, has been vastly reduced. The organisation will no longer be able to use the money it accrues from fining company misdemeanours to finance its monitoring activities, the money from the fines it imposes will now be sent to central government, supposedly to remove the incentive to fine companies for breaking environmental laws, despite the fact that

this model of environmental stewardship is common across many counties of the world and is not considered a barrier fair operation.

• Its power to sanction mining companies who break environmental laws has been almost completely destroyed. OEFA now must prioritise correction measures over fines, and only if these measures are not carried out will fines be applied. The fines paid for environmental damage have been reduced by half and are only applicable if a) human health or life has been gravely endangered and it can be proved beyond any reasonable doubt, or b) the same infraction is committed within six months (if it occurs again after six and a half months no fine will be applied).

• The environmental impact assessment process through which projects are approved has been ‘streamlined’, or more specifically the time available to assess EIA has been reduced to 45 days without any increase in capacity. Bear in mind that the document needs to be seen by various specialist authorities, including the national body in charge of protected areas (SERNANP), the Ministry of Culture (MINCU) and the National Water Authority (ANA). Failure to assess the document in time will result in severe sanctions for the civil servant in charge of the process. These capabilities were already overstretched, last year ANA, which has a staff of 13 received on average 50 EIAs per month. These documents can be up to 22,000 pages in length, a strategy some have suggested is used intentionally to make it harder for those assessing the documents to find the most relevant information.

• The Maximum Permissible Discharge Limits (LMP) and the Environmental Quality Standards (ECA), (i.e. the amount of a particular contaminant that can be legally released into the environment etc.), previously considered a technical matter and the responsibility of the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM) has been passed to the a coalition of ministries that includes the Ministry of Economics and Finance (MEF) and the Ministry of Production and the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM), these bodies are likely to intervene and water-down legislation as they have a duty to act in favour of the interest they represent.

Many of the conflicts that are affecting the country are due in part to the chaotic way that land usage is allocated. For example, there is a tendency to open, or try to open mines high up in watersheds that provide the water resources for large, often profitable, agricultural populations. To address this problem, in 2013 congresista Veronica Mendoza presented the Land Ordering Bill in parliament, this had the imminently sensible aim of designating certain areas for mining. These areas would be where mining would have minimal impact on other competing land uses and economic activities such as agriculture or tourism, for example. This process has been comprehensively blocked by Law

30230 as the mining lobby does not want deposits in ANY area of the country to be classified as unavailable for exploitation. Along similar lines MINAM is no longer able to create natural protected areas as they now need to be approved by a consortium of ministerial bodies, some of whom represent industrial interests.

More worrying still are the changes being made to campesino and native community’s land rights. A special process has been established that will benefit large investment projects in rural areas that can claim to be of ‘great public importance’ (although no legal definition exists for this term). Under this process communities that do not have their title deeds in order could have their lands confiscated despite the fact they are currently occupying and using them. Approximately 1436 out 6069 campesino communities are not properly registered. In addition on the 14 February 2015 Supreme Decree 001-2015-EM came into effect. This law has been declared illegal and unconstitutional by a consortium of national NGOs as it attempts to undermine land rights granted by General Velasco in the 1960s. The Campesino Law and the Land Law state that decisions relating to community-owned land can only be made at the General Assembly (GA) in which all members of the community have the right to participate. Any decision taken at the GA needs to be passed with at least two thirds of the community voting in favour. SD 001-2015 undermines this by allowing decisions about the sale of land to be taken by the Junta Directiva, which is composed only of community leaders and does not legally have the power to represent the community. It is much easier for mining companies to buy off leaders than whole communities, and there are many examples of exactly this occurring in the different conflicts around the country.

Before Law 30230 was implemented Peru had been slowly moving towards greater empowerment for historically neglected highland (sierra) and lowland (selva) communities. These changes are a huge step backwards and, as many others have commented, are likely to generate more (costly for

both mining companies and the state) conflicts in the long run. If Tia Maria, Conga and Conococha are anything to go by communities are unlikely to surrender their lands without a fight, and why should they? If water needed for agriculture is damaged so is their means of survival. The tendency for poor people to mobilise to defend the resources they need for survival has been labelled ‘the environmentalism of the poor’. This idea is used to show that concern for environmental issues is intrinsic to social justice and not simply a luxury of well-off people living in advanced industrial economies. People who mobilise to protect livelihoods affected by climate change are another example of this phenomenon.

Anyone interested in these issues or wishing to support communities affected by mining can contact the author for more information or make donation to RED MUQUI a coalition of organisations that work to support mining-affected communities. CooperAccion is another NGO that conducts excellent work on this topic, although it is not active in Ancash specifically. Local organisations active on mining-related issues include Propuesta-Ciudadana and its sister organisation CEDEP, which work to increase civic participation in decision making and increase understanding of how mining affects the community. Together they organise excellent workshops and other informational events. There is also much smaller organisation called Asociacion Urpichallay, which when it has sufficient funds, is active in the Marcara area raising awareness of the environmental effects of mining and how communities can act to protect themselves with initiatives such as participatory water monitoring techniques and forming alliances of people interested in these issues.

This article was written by Ursula a PhD researcher for Newcastle University in England. She has been researching the topic of Peruvian mining conflicts since 2012 and will be researching mining conflicts in the area of Ancash until at least the end of the year. She has been resident in Peru since July 2014.



Travel Guides

Who will be in and who will be left out in the newest edition? Picture: Jheison Huerta


Who are you and what can you tell us about your background?

A journalist by trade, I got into the field as a radio reporter at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation after which I travelled and worked in various parts of Asia, Africa and Europe before moving to Latin America in 2004, initially in Nicaragua and then in Colombia, which is the homeland of my wife.

While working as a journalist in Nicaragua, I contacted Lonely Planet to see if I could bring my local knowledge of the region to their guidebooks.

After a rather taxing application assignment that involved writing a mock guidebook section on a local destination, which was assessed by in-house staff and editors, I was bought on board as part of the team of authors, although I understand the application process is a bit different now.

I have worked on LP projects throughout Central and South America including books on Nicaragua, Peru and Colombia as well as regional guides.

When not working on guidebooks – all assignments are actually contract-based, so we don’t sit around the office waiting to be sent somewhere exotic – I write about the region for various publications. I am especially interested in the Andes and the Caribbean, which is why Colombia is a great base as it offers an abundance of unexplored swathes of both.

Was it your first time in Huaraz?

Yes. Although I have travelled in Peru before, this was my first visit to the Ancash area.

How long have you been in the Ancash area and what villages have you visited?

I spent almost four weeks in Ancash travelling the length and breadth of the region from Llamac in the South to Pomabamba in the North and everywhere in between. This involved a lot of long, rather uncomfortable stints on buses, but in this region the discomfort is compensated by phenomenal scenery around every corner.

While sometimes it is necessary to rent a vehicle or hire a private driver, I try to travel by bus wherever possible so I can inform readers of the logistics involved. I travel in the most uncomfortable buses, so I can compare them and tell readers which ones to avoid!

For the forthcoming Peru guide, I also

covered the Cajamarca, Amazonas and San Martín departments as well as part of La Libertad.

Could you explain how the selection process works and how does one obtain a spot in the book?

There is no official application process or anything like that. We visit as many places as possible in each town to select the best possible options for travellers.

Therefore, for business owners, the best way of making sure they are included is to offer the best possible product in terms of both quality and value. It’s important to note that these books are used by a wide range of travellers from backpackers on a tight budget to professionals on a short break with plenty of cash to burn, so it’s not just about being the cheapest, but rather offering an exceptional experience to travellers within whatever budget range the business is positioned.

Obviously as well as our local contacts, we take into account readers’ suggestions and even business owners are free to write in and advise that they have opened a new business in a particular place. These suggestions are collated into a spreadsheet, which is given to authors before they head out onto the road to make sure they are aware of new places in the region.

Why is it important not to reveal your identity?

When we first approach a business we want to see how they treat customers, as this is an essential part of the travel experience. If we announce our mission in advance, some businesses may go the extra mile to make us feel comfortable, try to buy us drinks and generally offer full VIP treatment, which they don’t offer to normal customers. We want to know how they react when the average client walks in; we want to see how they operate without them putting in special efforts because we are guidebook writers.

In restaurants, if the owners know you are reviewing the place, they might serve up bigger portions or offer free drinks. If we go in incognito, we know that the large portions are standard practice and the manager that offers a free welcome drink is offering good customer service rather than trying to give a favourable impression of the place to a writer.

As an experienced traveller, what is your opinion on the services offered in Huaraz compared to other cities you have visited?

Most travellers visit Huaraz as a base from which to explore the remarkable

nature of the region and organize adventure activities, but this doesn’t mean that the city should be resigned to just being a logistical stop.

Logically as an established travellers’ hub, Huaraz offers a fairly decent range of accommodation options, especially at the lower end of the budget spectrum. On the restaurant front, the city holds its own with other similar destinations, particularly with the availability of tasty international cuisines.

One area where Huaraz seems to be a little of the pace is with transportation, but that is not uncommon in Northern Peru. It would be of great benefit to travellers if there was one central bus terminal from which all regional and long distance buses departed rather than travellers having to walk around the streets looking for the offices of individual companies, which is especially and issue for early

and late departures.

If there was one central terminal, visitors could just head there and compare prices and itineraries among companies and choose the option that best suits their needs rather than having to trot all over town.

Another thing that is really noticeable here is the lack of respect that drivers have for those walking. Most motorists turning a corner would probably run you over if you step out to cross even with a green signal and a police official right there on the spot, there is absolutely no courtesy. This is something that needs to be addressed for the city to be more appealing to visitors.

After doing your research, and reading previous editions of LP, would you conclude that Huaraz is improving or not?

Lonely Planet confirms the inclusion of several new hotels in its ninth editionAs Huaraz is such a small place, we quickly found out that Alex Egerton, the successor of Kevin Raub (responsible for the information on Huaraz in the previous edition of Lonely Planet), was in town. We were happy Alex took some time out of his busy schedule to give us a short interview. We asked him about his background and how long he had been working for LP; the countries he has visited; how he obtained the job and, of course, if he ever had been bribed. Lonely Planet is a known as the Holy Bible of Travelling and is a key item to purchase before heading off on an adventure.

Huaraz & the Cordilleras




CALL FOR DELIVERY AND GET YOUR CHICKEN OR PASTA DELIVERED AT THE HOSTEL OR HOTEL YOU´RE STAYING AT

Having not researched the previous edition it’s hard to say exactly, but I feel in some areas things are definitely going in the right direction. There are now more appealing and comfortable accommodation options in the upper mid-range sector which was very much underrepresented in the town.

On the other hand there is still quite a lot of chaos involved in getting accurate information on mountain activities and buying a tour. There are agencies on every corner but very little regulation of the industry. For example, many trekkers complain that pack animals are treated very poorly while others complain that they were given misleading information before setting out on their trek.

The i-Perú office is helpful for things around town, but has very little in the way of accurate details on hikes and other outdoor activities. Travellers can get information, but it’s hardly an ideal situation where those selling the tours are the ones dishing out facts about activities.

Obviously, you cannot reveal to us who´s in or out, but could you share how many new places have gained a listing and maybe one business that has gained a spot in the new edition?

This is a hard one because until the book is edited, designed and printed there is always the potential for change; therefore, I never like to confirm to any business that they will be in a guide until the book is on the shelves.

Having said that, there are several new hotels that should be in the next edition especially in the mid-range area, there are also a couple of new restaurants and one local institution that is making a comeback after dropping out of the last edition. Stay tuned!

Have you ever been bribed by businesses in the area?

In Peru, I have not come across this – although in Colombia I was offered a decent amount of cold, hard cash by one businessman to include his hostels in the guide. Needless to say, I rejected the offer and none of the hostels in question have made the cut, not because of the shady owner, they are total crap. I actually said to the owner that if he had that kind of money to throw about, he

should instead invest it in improving his shoddy places and see if he can attract more customers.

Do you have the best job in the world?

Yes and no. It’s great to be paid to wander around and to feel that, in whatever small way, we are able to promote a type of travel that benefits the community and other important stakeholders. However, it’s not without its drawbacks. It’s nowhere near as romantic as it sounds: for every crystal clear glacier lake, there are endless bus schedules to obtain and mattresses and toilet seats to check under. Also it is very difficult to be on the road non-stop when jobs in thick and fast – hotels are fun when you choose to be there, but sometimes there is a longing for the comfortable sofa and a home cooked meal.

As an author, and with the rise of digital guidebooks and websites with reviews, how do you see the future of LP?

That’s one you’d have to ask management. I believe there is still a strong market for professional, critical content; it’s just a matter of how it is delivered.

Websites with reviews are a great resource, but there are several issues there too. There is so much content online, that it takes a great deal of effort to sort through it all and come up with viable options. Sometimes it’s nice to just open a book or a PDF or whatever and discover a couple of great places to stay or eat without the hassle.

Also there is the macro issue of where to go. This is something that online media have not really mastered yet. If a visitor wants assistance in planning their trip – which regions to visit, what mountains to climb – a guidebook is still an invaluable resource.

When is the newest version of Peru´s LP coming out (assuming there will also be a shoestring version of SA)?

The Peru book is due to be published in mid-2016, while the South America on a Shoestring is pencilled in for a 2017 release.

Travel Guides

WWW.CHURUP.COM / [email protected] TEL: 043-424200 JIRON AMADEO FIGUEROA 1257 LA SOLEDAD - HUARAZ




It was a chilly predawn morning in 1984 when I enthusiastically joined my Quechua speaking host family in their field at the base one of Peru’s highest glacial snow peaks, Hualcan, to plant oca, a variety of native Andean tuber that grows at elevations over 10,000 feet. We turned the bend of a steep southeast facing hill and were suddenly confronted with the majestic snow peak. Family members dropped their loads of tools and provisions, taking deep breaths of rarefied mountain air before squatting or sitting at this resting place, called hamana, a ritual point along a direct sightline to the glacier.

‘This will help you acclimate,’ Don Antonio said, as he handed me a wad of coca leaves, while his wife served him a small gourd of fermented maize beer, spilling a bit on the ground in devotion to the earth. Doña Francisca motioned for me to rest on an accommodating rock as the sun rose from behind the mountain. Just then, bright sunlight reflected off the metal tools and a shiny adornment on Don Antonio’s wrist – it was a watch, an item only recently accessible to the general population. Curious, I inquired, ‘What time is it?’ Don Antonio first looked up toward the position of the sun before looking at his watch finally he turned to me and explained, ‘Inti hatunnam, which means, the sun is [getting] big.’ I came to understand that as the sun cycles through the sky, he is considered ‘to grow larger’ until midday, after which he begins to shrink as he travels along his route toward the western horizon. One day, I asked an older villager when would be a convenient time to visit her, she thought a moment and replied, ‘Inti ichikllam,’ meaning when the sun is tiny and low in the sky, referring to sundown.

For the Andes region of South America, studies reveal the inextricable nature of time-space concepts as explained by Inca elites, and deeply embedded in the cosmovision of present day Quechua speaking peoples. Human–environment relations lend much to interpretations of the world and society in which we live, as illustrated here in a brief description of the results of a changing climate on knowledge and actions of the inhabitants of the Andes.

Time in Andean thought is cyclical, entwined with both biological and social processes that give form and meaning to concepts of chronology and appropriate moments for determined human action based on understandings of biological cycles and social reciprocity. From this viewpoint, humans and nature are merged in undifferentiated consequential relationships where rituals are means of communication and reciprocation. Diurnal, nocturnal as well as life cycle processes, are expanded and applied to

describe annual seasons and significant eras, as comprehended in the use of the Quechua terms, patsa and puquy.

Ritual and Climate Change

Our research and training center the Center for Social Well Being, in the Hualcan valley (Quebrada Hualcan) of the Cordillera Blanca, works in collaboration with traditional Quechua communities as well as with researchers from a wide array of disciplines (glaciology, geography, environmental studies, public health, anthropology, etc.) to explore issues of climate change here in the highest tropical range on the planet, where the glaciers are a storehouse for a significant reserve of fresh water. Our team of indigenous experts note that the term ‘Patsa Puqun’ emerges in local expression, brought into use with reference to the current era of global climate and culture change. While patsa (equivalent to pacha in Cuzco Quechua) is often translated as ‘earth,’ it actually refers to a combined concept of time–space, or the world in which we live. The verb puquy – to mature or ripen, refers to agriculture, humans, and the fermentation of grains. In the yearly agricultural cycle, puquy is a season that commences with the December solstice, when plants sprout and there should be plenty of rainfall that continues up until the month known as patsa puqu quilla in pre-Spanish times that coincides with the March equinox and important harvest celebrations, now merged with Christian Carnival and Easter traditions.

An important aspect of Andean seasonal fiestas is a ritual harvesting of the glacial ice that is consumed at lower elevations in celebration of the community relationships with the high mountain deities that provide essential water, a key element in crop propagation to ensure prosperity. This special kind of ice is considered medicinal, categorized as ‘hot and dry’ applied to ailments caused by cold and wet elements. Ceremonial ice harvest is a focal point of the largest pilgrimage on the South American continent, Quyllur Rit’i (‘star snow’), that draws tens of thousands of believers

annually on the full moon prior to the June Solstice in the southern Cuzco region, to the mountain Qolqepunku (literally, ‘storehouse door,’ in reference to the star that leads the constellation Pleiades observed from that perspective at that moment in time). However, as the glaciers recede not only is it more difficult to reach the ice, but touching, harvesting and dancing on the ice are now prohibited. This limitation gives rise to creative enactments of human interaction with glaciers by troupes of dancers, worshippers and musicians who continue to fulfill their spiritual obligations, climbing to where the glacier once existed to carry out symbolic performances.

be sure of yourself and know how to relate with the mountain, or you may be killed or later become very ill and die. It is important to work fast; you must cut the ice, tie it to your back and then run down the mountain at top speed without looking back. I would rush home and by 10am we would be serving flavored shaved ice in the plaza for the Fiesta de Mama Meche (Celebration of the Virgen de las Mercedes, patron saint of Carhuaz at

September Equinox).

Because of traditional land use practices, communities in the Quebrada Hualcan manage communally-owned land all the way up to the glacier and still may permit ice harvesting for ritual and medicinal purposes by community members only. On a visit to communal pasturelands over 12,000 feet with retired ice harvester, Don Eulogio, he pointed out to us the place on the dark rocky mountainside where the glacier once reached. He expressed sadness as he remembered his experiences of receiving the ice as a reciprocal gift from the mountain to the people as a sign of mutual care and respect between the environment and inhabitants. Our team specialist in Quechua language, knowledge and concepts explains that the impacts of climate change are felt by local farmers in terms of patsa puqun, a notion that the earth is in an advanced stage of maturity, perhaps even fermentation, and thus the warming of the high altitude ecological zones that affect agropastoral activities.

Andean perceptions of time do not conceptualize astral and seasonal processes to cycle inevitably and effortlessly, but rather that purposeful human activity, in forms of ritual actions and responsible work, must take place to guide and ensure desired outputs of human–environment relationships. Patsa, as time–space, may be verbalized as patsaakaatsiy, which refers to adaptation and acclimatization of humans and plants to changing environmental conditions. Puquy, refers to ripening, but maturation has its peak expression of suitable ripeness, after which fermentation and/or spoiling commences that may lead to a rotten state, rather than the desired cycle when fruits of harvest return to seed to bring new life.

Conclusion

We must dispel the myth that indigenous peoples are unaware of climate change and its implications, a belief held by academics, scientists and others who influence government decisions with regard to water and land use. On the contrary, contemporary Quechua communities who interact daily with their environment, are not only highly sensitive to and observant of ecological erosion and transition, but are key actors to include in the development of viable sustainable adaptation and mitigation strategies, of which they bode thousands of years of wise experience, continually acting in response to the consequences of global climate and culture change as lived in the Andes.

Patsa Puqun: Ritual and climate change in the Andes

By Patricia J. Hammer

Director of the Center for Social Well Being

www.socialwellbeing.org

Shaving the ice at the Fiesta de la Virgen de la Asunción, in the village of San Miguel de Aco, Carhuaz Province, Peru. Photo: Susan Crate, 2012

In the Callejón de Huaylas, consumption and appreciation of ice still goes on, but differently. Elderly ice harvester, Sr. Teodoro, has made the provincial town of Carhuaz famous for ice cream flavored with seasonal native fruit. He tells us,

We would leave the house around 3am to reach the ice before dawn. At the high lake, Shonquil, we would place our chewed coca leaves to appease the mountain, and quickly approach the glacier. This is the most dangerous moment. You must


Deglaciation of Hualcan, more than 6122 masl. Photo: Ruben Darío Alva Diego, 2013




Tourist InformationPlaces of interest

around HuarazHere we present a small guide to the villages around Huaraz in the Callejon de Huaylas and Conchucos. Most of them are easily accessible by microbus (colectivo). Ask your hostel owner or landlord where to catch the colectivos in Huaraz.

Callejon de Conchucos

The Callejon de Conchucos, which runs almost parallel to the Callejon de Huaylas to the east of the Cordillera Blanca, is less accessible and, therefore, less frequented by visitors, but it is equally beautiful. The Callejon de Conchucos is known mostly for the old Chavín de Huántar Ceremonial Complex. It offers a variety of off-the-beaten-path villages complemented by local festivals, typical music and customs. Take enough cash because most villages in the Callejon de Conchucos have no ATMs.

San Marcos (2960m)

San Marcos is located nine kilometres north of Chavín de Huántar, in the Mosna valley. Here you can expect basic tourist services as well as spectacular mountain-biking options. The Mosna Valley is also known as Magnolia Paradise because of the many flowers that enrich the area. At the nearby Antamina mine you could find fossilised remains of dinosaurs.

Huari (3150m)

The province capital is located 152km from Huaraz; about four hours by public transport. It is famous for its gastronomy and the María Jiray Waterfall. Seven kilometres from Huari is Lake Purhuay which also offers camping, trekking and mountain-biking facilities. Also worth visiting is the archaeological centre of Marca Jirca.

Chacas (3359m)

Less-known hikes to Huari or Yanama are accessible from this little village (Yanama is also the start of the Santa Cruz trek). Chacas offers tourists an excellent opportunity to experience the Andean lifestyle when visiting the main plaza. Flanked by the colourful windows and doors of the white painted houses; many with complex wooden balconies. There is a direct bus route to Huaraz with Transporte Renzo.

San Luis (3131m)

Capital city of the province of Carlos Fermín Fitzcarrald, it will take no less than six hours to reach this township from Cátac. Famous for the archaeological site of Cashajirca located three kilometres north of San Luis, and the beautiful Sanctuary of Pomallucay, this church offers its home to the image of Lord Justice Pomallucay.

Other villages in the Callejon de Conchucos worth considering visiting are Pomabamba, Piscobamba and Llamellín.

Callejon de Huaylas

The Callejon de Huaylas stretches for 150km in the Anca sh Region of Peru with the Santa River running along the valley floor. The Huaylas Valley is more crowded and most conventional tours run over paved roads.

Recuay (3422m)

If you have ever wondered how Huaraz looked before the earthquake of 1970, then visit Recuay. The structure of the narrow streets and adobe houses (houses built from sod) give a good impression. Just before arriving in Requay at the Bedoya Bridge, on the right hand side, starts the 183km road towards Olleros and Huaripampa, which is also the beginning of the Llama Trek towards Chavín de Huántar.

Carhuaz (2645m)

Famous for its local ice-cream and home to a lively Sunday market were countryside inhabitants sell various handicrafts, fruits and typical products from the region such as Manjar Blanco (blancmange).

Marcará (2950m)

This village mainly serves as a drive-through between Huaraz and Yungay. It is famous for its baños termales (hot springs) of Chancos. Weekdays are a lot quieter; at the weekends locals from the surrounding villages descend and the pools tend to become overcrowded. Expect the temperature of the pools to be around 70°C.

Jangas (2825m)

Here lies the parish of Don Bosco, an Italian Roman Catholic priest who in the 1800s established schools and carpentry and woodcarving workshops for orphans and street children. Jangas is a charming village not far from Tarica, and Anta airport.

Tarica (3600m)

This drive-through town is part of the conventional tour towards the Llanganuco Lakes and is best known for its many roadside shops selling handicrafts and potteries.

Yungay (2500m)

This is where tourists get the best views of the Huascarán, which is the highest mountain in Peru. Nowadays the old city of Yungay is a national cemetery because of the earthquake of 1970 that hit central Peru – killing 25,000 people in the city alone. The new town was rebuilt 1.5km north of the destroyed city. Yungay has the best access to the Llanganuco Lakes, Laguna 69 and Yanama where you could start the Santa Cruz trek.

Caraz (2250m)

Caraz is 32km from Paron Lake, the largest lake in the Cordillera Blanca, and is surrounded by 15 snowy peaks. Canyon del Pato – a rock formation formed by the movement of the Cordillera Blanca – is also in this region.



To start the interview we wanted to know what the roll of Dean of the College of Graduates in Tourism in Ancash entails.

Well, the college collaborates with different authorities to find ways of improving the tourism sector on a local, regional, provincial and national level. We also defend the interests of graduates in tourism in our region in terms of labour opportunities. For example, if we just analyse or simply look at the current composition of our local and regional governments, most people occupying positions that have to take important decisions about tourism, have no background in nor relation with tourism. The people at those positions are lawyers, accountants or singers (laughing). If we want to refloat tourism in Ancash we need professionals that have knowledge and practice in tourism and not professionals in other areas. It´s like making a paperboy head of a law firm.

When were you appointed as the new Dean of the College of Graduates in Tourism in Ancash and how long will your term last?

My guidance will last two years and I swore-in in April this year and we´re actually just recently in the process of validity and change of power. This will probably all be complete by the end of July. This was actually one of the problems my predecessor Alejandro had, he swore-in long before his job as Dean started and this caused some disturbing at the end of his governorship and this is obviously something we have to improve in the future.

At the end of June, Huaraz saw two different extreme sports festivals being held at the same time. One was the Festival del Andinismo, organised by the civil organisation Save the Rajus (Save the Mountains) of Benjamín Morales Irato in coordination with the District Municipality of Independencia, and the other festival, HirkaFest 2015 was organised under guidance of the heavily criticized Assistant Manager of Tourism, Silvia Mendoza Infantes of the Provincial Municipality of Huaraz. In its entirety, what do you make of the organisations of both festivals and the fact that many people were left confused?

In general it wasn’t that bad I believe. I do think, however, that the Festival del Andinismo was organised much more professionally compared to HirkaFest 2015. The Festival del Andinimso generated the participation of many competitors and athletes outside of

Huaraz. This is important because it shows being competitive, but what I am actually referring to is the promotion of Huaraz on a national level. This event made the headlines in the national press and saw a participation of international athletes, and this is perfect for Huaraz, of course. About the HirkaFest 2015, I think this was just a caprice. The reason for having two festivals at the same time was due to a confluence of discoordination, as I mentioned before, caprice acting of some people. Some wanted to organise something decent and got betrayed and there was fighting over and over and in the end Huaraz ended up having two festivals. This cannot be qualified as very professional. Having two festivals at the same time is not something that benefited the reputation of Huaraz. When I as a spectator see that there are two events parallel organised with almost the same activities, I get confused and don’t know where to go. I have to admit that I didn’t witness any of the events as I was busy working on other things (laughing).

Many people in the tourism sector, such as hoteliers and agencies, are worried about the very few foreign tourists our city is receiving this year. Do you agree and if so what could be the reason for this?

I agree, absolutely. Look, according to my point of view, this is due to a couple of reasons. In the first place, Huaraz is not offering the quality that is expected by a tourist. When I am offered a package tour of let´s say S/. 1000.00, and then find that my expectations do not match with the reality, I get disappointed. We have basically three types of circuits on offer in Huaraz. There are the conventional tours, the classic three, which are Llanganuco, Chavín de Huantar and the Glacier of Pastoruri, we have the adventure circuits and then there are many more circuits that aren’t even explored or offered to tourists. Tourism in Huaraz for the past years (decades) has principally only relied on those three conventional tours. Then the services offered to tourists are really bad. Think of restaurants and maybe also the treatment received by tourists in the tour agencies. Maybe the biggest problem is the quality of vehicles, the quality of restaurants that are found on the way and their restroom services and not to mention the poor state of many roads. The landscape is often beautiful but much more is expected by tourists. In general, I believe that carelessness and negligence and the lack of quality in general have caused the situation we´re in. Another problem area in Huaraz is the bus companies. During public holidays the bus companies that go towards regions like Ayacucho, Huancayo or to

New Dean of Graduates in Tourism expresses his concerns about current state of tourism in HuarazThe Huaraz Telegraph interviewed Antonio Palacios Bertolot, the new Dean of the College of Graduates in Tourism in Ancash (COLITUR Ancash) and asked him in a very openhearted conversation about the current situation of tourism in Huaraz. We also wanted to know what last year´s Third National Congress of Professionals in Tourism generated and what he thought about the fact that Huaraz had two extreme sports festivals organised two months ago at the same time. Palacios, 51, succeeded Alejandro Solis Neyra earlier this year. Originally from Lima Palacios studied tourism at the Universidad Nacional de Ancash Santiago Antúnez De Mayolo in Huaraz.

southern areas in Peru, don’t raise their prices. Bus companies that have Huaraz as their destination, double or even triple the price of a bus ticket. What happens is the following, if I got to the bus terminal in search of a destination for my family and I see that Huaraz is S/. 120.00 (normally it´s between S/. 25.00 for a day bus and S/. 50.00 for an overnight to Huaraz from Lima), while a ticket to Huancayo is only S/. 15.00, where do you think I will go? What we need to do is coordinate with those bus companies to make Huaraz more attractive and obviously the authorities should have a leading role in this. I don’t know, maybe I should become a dictator (laughing).

Many of the graduates of your college work in this sector, are they not able to change this situation?

As a matter of fact, there are not that many graduates in tourism that actually work in tourism either because they have been offered opportunities in other sectors apart from tourism, maybe because tourism wasn’t their vocation. I believe one should work and do what he or she likes the most but again, not many of the graduates in tourism are active in this sector.

According to your point of view, what can or needs to be done to reactivate the tourism sector so it will become sustainable and productive again?

As I mentioned previously, I believe coordination plays a key role; the coordination between the authorities of the state and the private sector will lead to success. There are many factors to be looked at, like the restaurants I mentioned before, hostels, bus companies, city order, and the food. Huaraz should be a nice city and this can be accomplished with discipline and education. I believe that education plays an important role in the whole of this. The job we´re talking about is a long term job; this cannot be done in a couple of days. In the near future, and if we maintain the situations like it is now, the only change we will make is we will have ourselves drowned. If we can unite ourselves (private and public sector) and undertake

action, meaning making intelligent and consensual decisions, we might be able to change the situation. What happens is that on a municipal level, changes are made too rapidly and this creates enemies. We have to see what is really important to move forward and make steps together.

One of the problems to address is the informality in the tourism sector. If I am not mistaken, Alejandro Solis tried to tackle this problem but did not succeed. Are you on speaking terms with the touts at the bus stations or touts active on the streets or Plaza de Armas?

This is actually a very delicate topic. In the past I set against many informal tourist operators and this went all wrong. I became the bad guy who was accused of taking away their right to work. I also work as a guide, so I cannot be quarreled with everyone. Don’t forget, these informal tourist operators have a clever way of protecting themselves. There exists a municipal ordinance to tackle the informality, an ordinance that states that you cannot sell treks, tours, etc. on the streets of Huaraz. This ordinance is completely worthless because they are not selling on the street. What happens is that they take tourists to their house, hotel, hostel or agency and that’s where the transaction is done. And when you look at them you can observe with your own eyes that they´re doing good business because year after year they become fatter and fatter and drive bigger and better cars, and that´s the truth. In the near future I don’t see a solution to this problem, at least not one offered by the authorities. There is the lack of good will, if they really wanted; they have the power but not the will. We have united many times in the municipality and at the regional government, with I don’t remember how many people, but it´s still a problem, so, I don’t know. Many of these informal tourist operators and touts work with popular and recognised hostels or hotels, so those official agencies are also working in the informal circuit. The only solution I see is to close them down and give others the opportunity; change the people. It´s not the agency that

The Huaraz TelegraphAntonio Palacios Bertolot, the new Dean of the College of Graduates in Tourism in Ancash

Focus on Tourism



Focus on Tourism

Jiron Las Esmeraldas 146 - Huaraz - Tel: +51-43222538

manages the agencies it´s the people.

On the 14th of July you were present at a meeting in Lima at the National Congress of the Republic of Peru, what was this meeting about?

Well the purpose of our visit was to solicitude money for the participatory budget of Ancash (Presupuesto participativo de Áncash). We went with many representatives of organisations from Chimbote like the FEDIP (an organisation that stands up for the defense of people’s interests), the college of accountants and Huaraz was represented by Mrs. Elena Rios Ortiz (president of the Chamber of Industry Tourism and Trade in Huaraz), Jose Luis Anaya (manager of Lalo Travel and president of the Peruvian Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies in Huaraz) and finally me. We believe that Ancash has offered so much to Peru, it´s time for Peru to give something back. The past months or maybe years, a few corrupt people have damaged the reputation of Ancash and this costs us. But these are just a few, it´s not right that all of us have to pay the price. Peru and our region have always benefited from the extraction and mining of gold, silver and copper and in Chimbote it´s economy depended on fishing and other extractive perishables goods. Now what we have tried is to put tourism on the agenda. Maybe tourism is the only resource that is sustainable for the next decades. Tourism is not a mine that is about to be abandoned, this is a mine that needs to take us forwards and needs to be exploited. There are many countries that depend on tourism, so why not us. We will have to wait to see if our visit was successful; I can only hope that if we succeed, that the money is not directly given to Waldo Rios Salcedo (this year´s installed regional governor and successor of the incarcerated César Álvarez Aguilar). Ai, no this cannot happen, this would scare the crap out of me.

How do you qualify the work and management of the Regional Directorate of Foreign Trade and Tourism (DIRCETUR) now Maricela Cafferata Diaz has been replaced by Herlan Herrera? Have things improved or gotten worse?

Well, apparently Herlan Herrera isn’t in charge of the DIRCETUR anymore, it´s worse; we are now without a head of tourism at the regional government. I know who will be the next one but this is not officially confirmed, but I will mention it to you off the record. The management of the DIRCETUR I would qualify as very poor. There is no money to make things happen, but they´re not making any steps forward. Like I mentioned in the beginning of the interview, here as well you see professionals working in areas that are not their specialty. It´s said that people who get hired have to ´donate´ part of their wages to the governor, to obtain a job. This is obviously not a healthy situation. When looking at the governments of Independencia and Huaraz, I believe that Independencia is doing a much better job, not in the least because Huaraz has a person

in charge who knows nothing about tourism (Silvia Mendoza Infantes), whereas Independencia has appointed a graduate in tourism (Rocio Del Carmen Diaz Estrada). And to make it even more incredible, in the Huaraz government there used to be a graduate, but they replaced this person for someone who knows nothing about tourism. What are you expecting? Rocio Del Carmen Diaz Estrada has worked in tourism and obviously has many more contacts in the area. A position of trust at any level should be occupied by a professional and not by a ´trusted´ or close friend. If we can make that change, not just in tourism but in all areas, we can make Huaraz a better place.

Last year, Huaraz hosted the Third National Congress of Professionals in Tourism, which provoked little interest from its target audience, so we reported in our newspaper. The congress was organised by the body of COLITUR. Allow us to quote a little piece from our publication last year: ¨Huaraz, a city that, according to its protagonists, is one of the main tourist destinations within Peru, was hosting an event that specifically targeted the industry; however, it provoked little interest from students, professionals or the public in general. Unfortunately the lack of interest and lack of motivation of the target audience meant few attended. Lack of punctuality didn’t help to make it professional either. The first activities were scheduled to start at nine in the morning, but an hour later the 70 people strong audience of professionals and students who came from places like the Amazons, Arequipa, La Libertad and Cuzco was still looking around and waiting.¨ What do you think that the congress has brought us, now a year later and looking back at the event?

Well, in my opinion what it generated was in general a dialogue with the vice ministry of tourism of Peru. The approach wasn’t really productive in the end because at the vice ministry they have changed the directives of different COLITURs, which isn’t actually legal. This is something we have to address, especially because I am not only the Dean of the College of Graduates in Tourism in Ancash but also Chairman of the Board of all Deans of COLITUR in Peru.

Finally, is there anything you would like to add or say to our readers?

Let me think. I hope that tourists have a decent stay in Huaraz and that they take back many nice memories to where they call home. They should definitely focus on insisting on receiving a good service from restaurants, agencies and hostels. If you pay for something, it should be of good quality. When good services are not demanded by foreign visitors, we will never improve them. I hope they have a safe trip, hope they manage to value our customs, and recommend them to go to new places instead of the three classic tours that are mainly offered in Huaraz.



Tourist Information

The Cordillera Blanca offers countless opportunities for trekkers and climbers, as well as for people not so keen on physical activities. The wonderful lakes and glaciers of the White Range are easily accessible from the town of Huaraz. Here is a quick guide to the best activities around Huaraz.

DAY TRIPS

Daily sightseeing tours

These tours are great for those of you who are not so active, or who need to acclimatise before heading out into the mountains.

LLANGANUCO – This tour visits the villages in the Huaylas Valley (Carhuaz, Yungay, Caraz), and the beautiful Llanganuco Lake. Be aware that you will only spend from 40 minutes to one hour at the lake and spend much time at places of little interest. Departs every day. Alternatively you can visit the lakes independently, taking a taxi from Yungay, that way you can take full advantage of the lakes.

CHAVIN DE HUANTAR – This tour takes you to Chavin, a village situated on the other side of the Cordillera Blanca in the Conchucos Valley. Here you can visit the Chavin de Huantar UNESCO World Heritage site, featuring some of the oldest and most significant pre-Inca ruins in Peru. You also make a stop at the lovely Lake Querococha along the way. Departs every day except Mondays when the ruins are closed for maintenance.

PASTORURI – This tour visits the southern section of the Cordillera Blanca, with the amazing Pastoruri glacier, which is still well worth a visit despite having lost 40% of its ice in recent years. You can’t help but be impressed by the huge ice cliffs and the Puya Raimondii – a rare 12m high bromeliad plant which you visit on the way to the glacier. Make sure you become acclimatised before going on this tour as the glacier is at 5000m. Departs every day.

Day hikes

These hikes are perfect for those needing to acclimatise before a trek, or for those with limited time.

LAKE CHURUP, 4485m – This is one of the closest and most easily accessible hike from Huaraz, leading to a very beautiful turquoise/emerald green coloured glacial lake. It can be quite challenging as there are some steep sections and there is a rock wall before the lake, which you need to scramble up to, there are wires to help you up. It can be tricky in the rainy season when the rock is wet and incredibly slippery, so be careful. It is recommended not to hike alone, but for experienced hikers a guide is not necessary as the path is easy to find. For those of you with limited hiking experience, it is advisable to go with a guide, as he will help you go up and down the rock wall safely. The trailhead at Llupa or Pitec can be easily reached

by public transport.

LAKE 69, 4600m – This is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful hikes in the Cordillera Blanca. Located in the northern section of the national park, from Huaraz it’s roughly a 3 -hour drive to the trailhead (Cebollapampa), but the journey is incredibly scenic with great views of Mount Huascaran and the Llanganuco Lakes. The hike is of moderate difficulty, but can be challenging for those with limited acclimatisation. You can reach the trailhead by public transport easily, but finding transport to get back can prove very difficult, so it is recommended to hire private transport from Huaraz. For those with hiking experience, a guide is not necessary as the path is clear, but make sure you are already a little acclimatised to the high altitude before setting off (if coming from sea level this is not recommended for a first hike), otherwise you may have some serious problems with altitude sickness, which is why some agencies prefer to send a guide with their groups so that they can keep an eye on any potential problems. The lake is totally stunning, not only its pristine blue colour, but also its fantastic location at the foot of the mighty Mount Chacraraju. You are rewarded with awesome views of the Cordillera Blanca’s highest summits during the hike.

LAKE LLACA, 4470m – This is one of the closest lakes to Huaraz. It takes two hours by private transport to reach the trailhead at the Llaca refuge. From there it is a short hike to reach the lake. The lake is not as stunning as others in the region, but it is a good option for those wishing to acclimatise with limited effort and time. It is possible to do ice climbing here, but the ice walls tend to be full of sand.

TREKKING

Easy to moderate treks

SANTA CRUZ TREK (four days) – Undoubtedly the Cordillera Blanca’s most famous and popular trek. It is suitable for novice hikers, but good acclimatisation is essential before starting the trek. This trek deserves its fame; offering varied scenery and endless views of majestic snow-capped peaks, jewelled glacial lakes and gorgeous Andean valleys. For those with ample experience of trekking at high altitude, this trek is doable without a guide, but be sure to follow the national park rules especially to carry all your rubbish out of the park. Ask in town for directions before heading out, as although easy to follow, the path is not signposted. Departures for this trek in an all-inclusive organised group run daily in high season, but standards vary from one company to the next. The trek can be completed in three or four days, but if you do it in three days you will miss the side trip to the Alpamayo base camp and Lake Arhuaycocha, which is undoubtedly one of the trek’s highlights.

OLLEROS – CHAVIN TREK also known as LLAMA TREK (three days) – A less popular trek, it mainly crosses vast

expanses of puna, following ancient pre-Inca and Inca paths that lead to the village of Chavin. There are no glacial lakes and few snow-capped mountain views during this trek, but you will come across isolated communities.

Moderate to challenging treks

QUILCAYHUANCA – COJUP TREK (three days) – A stunning trek which goes through some less-visited, but none the less stunning valleys of the Cordillera Blanca. It is a much tougher trek than the Santa Cruz for two reasons. First there are no donkeys to carry all the equipment, so you will have to carry a backpack weighing around 15kg (the weight depends on the number of porters accompanying the group). Second, because the pass is much higher. At 5050m the path leading up to it is very steep, rocky and generally not well trodden. The way down from the pass is even steeper and more challenging. This trek is perfect for fit, experienced hikers who wish to experience peace and tranquillity. Good acclimatisation is essential before starting the trek. Note that some agencies haven taken the habit of doing the trek in reverse, starting in Cojup, in order to avoid the national park control point in Pitec and send uncertified guides. Doing the trek this way is not recommendable as the ascent to the pass from the Cojup side is too challenging for most people.

AKILPO – ISHINCA TREK (three days) – This trek is similar in difficulty to the Quilcayhuanca trek, although donkeys can be used (they do not go over the pass but go back and around). The pass is very high at 5050m and the path leading up to it is steep and not well marked, the descent from the pass is very difficult and potentially dangerous if you go the wrong way. The trek starts at the pre-Inca ruins of Honcopampa, and then goes up the Akilpo Valley through beautiful forests of local quenual trees, before reaching the superb Lake Akilpo just before the pass. Then you go down to the Ishinca Valley. This trek is perfect for fit, experienced hikers looking for an alternative to the Santa Cruz trek. Good acclimatisation is essential before starting the trek.

ISHINCA – COJUP TREK (three days) – This trek is vastly different to all the

others, because it includes a glacier traverse requiring the use of equipment such as crampons and ropes. Bringing you much closer to the giant icy peaks of the Cordillera Blanca, the views are simply spectacular. This trek is only suitable for very fit and experienced hikers, but does not require any mountaineering technical knowledge. Thorough acclimatisation is essential as you will go well over 5000m. It is possible to include a summit climb to Mount Ishinca (5530m) during this trek.

Challenging treks

HUAYHUASH TREK (eight or ten days) – The Huayhuash full circuit trek is considered as one of the world’s most beautiful. It is a trek that requires good physical condition and acclimatisation, because it crosses many high passes (eight passes minimum ranging from 4650m to 5050m) and the campsites are all above 4100m. Trekkers are rewarded with endless breath-taking views of stunning glacial lakes, pristine valleys and icy peaks, which can be extremely close. There are many alternatives possible for the itinerary, but the most common group departures are for the eight day and ten day treks. Those with more time and wishing to explore less visited valleys of the range can do the trek in as many as 15 days, and take the more challenging high trail. Those with limited time can do the four day Mini Huayhuash trek, which visits one of the range’s most beautiful locations: the Lake Jahuacocha area.

CEDROS – ALPAMAYO TREK (seven or ten days) – This trek is less popular than the Huayhuash trek, and also very different, although not less beautiful. It is probably a bit more challenging too, even though the passes are not as high (eight passes on the full circuit ranging from 4400m to 4850m), but the trails leading up to the passes are much steeper. You are unlikely to meet many trekkers and will come across several isolated Quechua communities who still follow a traditional lifestyle.

The highlight of this trek is undoubtedly the view from Jancarurish of Mount Alpamayo, known as the World’s most Beautiful Mountain thanks to its near perfect pyramid of ice. You will not see as many glacial lakes and close-up views of

All you should know about day trips, trekking, mountaineering and bouldering


WARNING FOR TOURISTS:

AVOID THE RATAQUENUA CROSS AND DON´T HIKE FROM THE RUINS OF WILCAHUAIN TOWARDS THE BAÑOS TERMALES IN MONTERREY




Perched at 3,700m above the Urqumayu Valley, the site – one of very few Incan sites located in Northern Peru – was once the capital of one of the Inca empire’s four regions – the Chinchaysuyo, an important administrative and ceremonial centre set along the famous Incan highway known as the Qhapaq Ñan, which used to link Quito to Cusco. Although much less visited and not as famous as other Incan sites around Cusco, Huanuco Pampa is nonetheless impressive or rewarding, displaying the usual amazing finely-cut Incan stonework, but with some unique details, such as stone pumas adorning the main gateways, and boasting the largest ushnu

(ceremonial centre) of the whole Inca empire.

The complex was built by local ethnic groups Chupaychos, Yachas and Huamalíes as a tribute to the Inca and is known as the best planned administrative centre of the whole Tawantinsuyo, but unfortunately it was never finished due to the arrival of Spanish conquistadores. Since 1997, every 27th of July the local municipality organises the Inti Raymi, a fine spectacle dedicated to the Sun God, the only time of year when you are likely to see other visitors (up to 2,000 apparently) as the site

is otherwise pretty much deserted, which greatly adds to its appeal and mystery.

Tourist Informationglaciers on this trek as on the Huayhuash trek, but the landscape is much more varied and the isolation a real bonus. The trek can be done in seven days starting in Hualcayan or Huancarhuas and finishing in Pomabamba, allowing one worthwhile rest day in Jancarurish, but take into account that you need a full day to travel back to Huaraz from Pomabamba (night buses are not recommended due to frequent robberies on this route). For those with more time, you can add extra days by joining on to the Santa Cruz trek at the end, making it a ten or 11 day itinerary if finishing in Cashapampa, or a nine day itinerary if finishing in Vaqueria. The trek can be done in reverse, but it is tougher.

MOUNTAINEERING

Keep in mind that glacier conditions change from year to year, so what was an easy walk across a glacier one year may be a difficult passage through crevasses the following year. So make sure to check the latest conditions in town before setting out on any of these expeditions.

Non-technical climbs

These expeditions are suitable for people with no previous mountaineering experience; however, even though they are often referred to as trekking peaks these expeditions, although not technical, are harder than a trek, due to the fact that you wake up at midnight, walk in the dark and use heavy equipment such as mountain boots and crampons. If you are fit and have experience of trekking at high altitude and want to experience being on a glacier, then one of these peaks is for you.

MOUNT PISCO, 5752m (three days) – This expedition offers some of the best summit views of any peak of the Cordillera Blanca, and for that reason is very popular. Crossing the moraine takes two to three hours and is considered the most challenging part of the expedition. It is possible to include a hike to Lake 69 on the last day.

MOUNT VALLUNARAJU, 5686m (two days) – This expedition can be quite challenging, because no donkeys can be used, you have to carry a 15kg backpack up a steep path to moraine camp on day one. It is very popular due to its proximity to Huaraz making it a short expedition.

MOUNT ISHINCA, 5530m (three days) – This peak is mostly used as an acclimatisation peak for those wanting to climb the higher and more technical Mount Tocllaraju, which is situated in the same valley.

MOUNT TUCO, 5479m (two days) – A very seldom climbed peak, although it offers a relatively short and easy ascent, as well as the chance to see the rare Puya Raimondii plant.

Intermediate level climbs

These expeditions are suitable for people with some mountaineering experience. It is recommended to climb a 5000m+ peak before starting any of these expeditions in order not to suffer from altitude sickness.

well as an excellent physical condition. Two ascent routes are possible, either from Lake Paron or from the Santa Cruz Valley.

ROCK CLIMBING & BOULDERING

Rock climbing and bouldering spots are plentiful around Huaraz. All types of climbing, all levels, many different types of rock, fantastic views, no chance to get bored! Check with local climbers or travel agencies specialising in rock climbing for a detailed list of the necessary equipment and help with logistics, or buy the brand new Huaraz - The Climbing Guide, which features all the region’s best climbing sites - some 23 sites and over 1,000 routes in total.

CHANCOS – Located 32km northeast of Huaraz in the foothills of the Cordillera Blanca, Chancos is the perfect place for beginners and climbers with limited experience. After climbing, a good option is to visit the Chancos Hot Springs which are situated an easy ten-minute walk away.

LOS OLIVOS – This is the closest climbing spot to Huaraz, situated only three kilometres from the town centre. It features a large number of equipped sport- climbing routes in five different sectors, as well as several boulders, suitable for climbers with some experience. From here you get an amazing panoramic view of the town of Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca.

ANTACOCHA – Situated 35km south of Huaraz in the Cordillera Negra it is one of the few places in the area offering long routes with a variety of difficulty levels, suitable for climbers with limited or a lot of experience alike. The 180m high wall towers high above Lake Antacocha. This place offers a magnificent vantage point of the Cordillera Blanca, especially at sunset.

HATUN MACHAY – Located 69km south of Huaraz at 4300m high in the Cordillera Negra, this stunning rock forest is a paradise for rock climbing and bouldering with some 250 equipped sport-climbing routes and countless boulders, suitable for all levels. It is also a great place for hiking, as it offers some amazing viewpoints with views of the Cordillera Blanca, Huayhuash and the Pacific Ocean, as well as many caves with ancient rock paintings and carvings dating back to 10,000BC.

THE SPHINX – Also known as The Colossus of the Andes or ‘La Esfinge’ in Spanish, it is situated 90km northeast of Huaraz in the Paron Valley and is considered to be one of the most amazing granite rock walls in South America, offering a variety of traditional climbing routes with superb views of the snow-capped summits of the Cordillera Blanca surrounding it. Given its extreme altitude (5325m), it is essential to be well acclimatised before setting off on this climb and to have sufficient experience in traditional climbing. It takes an average of three to four days to complete the climb.

Information and photo of ´tip of the month´ provided by Marie Timmermans

Huanuco Pampa, also known as Huanuco Viejo, is an Incan archaeological site situated just over the border with Ancash on a plateau near the uninteresting town of La Union, in the nearby department of Huanuco. Remote and seldom visited, this site is easily accessible as a long day trip from Huaraz if you have your own transport, or if going by public transport as an overnight trip staying over in La Union.

TIP OF THE MONTH


MOUNT TOCLLARAJU, 6034m (four days) – This expedition is perfect for those who have climbed a non-technical summit previously and want to take the next step in the mountaineering world by trying something more technical. It includes the ascent of two 60m high ice walls requiring the use of ice axes. The relatively short summit ascent makes it a perfect first 6000m+ peak.

MOUNT CHOPICALQUI, 6354m (four days) – This expedition has the same technical difficulty level as Mount Tocllaraju, but it is a more difficult climb due to the much longer summit route and higher altitude. It includes the ascent of two 60m high ice walls requiring the use of ice axes. It offers one of the Cordillera Blanca’s most beautiful ascent routes along its southwest ridge.

Technical climbs

These expeditions are suitable for people with plenty of technical mountaineering

experience. It is recommended to climb a 5000m+ peak before starting any of these expeditions in order not to suffer from altitude sickness.

MOUNT ALPAMAYO, 5947m (seven days) – This is a serious and technically challenging expedition requiring the ascent of a 470m high ice wall. Excellent crampon and ice axe techniques are essential. Please note that the ascent from base camp to high camp is particularly challenging, given that you need to climb up a 60m high ice wall (at a 55 degree incline), carrying your backpack. Known as the World’s Most Beautiful Mountain, each year Alpamayo attracts many mountaineers from the world over.

MOUNT ARTESONRAJU, 6025m (five days) – This is a mentally, physically and technically demanding climb requiring the ascent of a 600m high ice wall, at an incline of 50 degrees. Excellent crampon and ice axe techniques are essential, as

Huanuco Pampa, also known as Huanuco Viejo are well preserved ruins

HUANUCO PAMPA


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