You can say that I’ve been offered and taken on some interesting opportunities during my time here in Peru. I met Cristian, a shaman from Wilcahuian last year through my landlord, Liliana. Since then, I’ve done a Coca Leaf and Wachuma ceremonies with him and he’s taught me to see and appreciate nature and flora with fresh eyes.

Cristian was going to Europe for a couple of weeks and needed promotional photos and videos. We settled on a Wachuma ceremony for my time - although I didn’t really have much experience in videography, I thought it would be a nice day out and I could learn a new skill.

Climbing Nevado Chachani in the Salinas and Aguada Blanca National Reserve

Chachani Volcano is a snow-capped, dormant volcano in the Salinas and Aguada Blanca National Reserve, located 22 kilometres from the city of Arequipa. It’s not considered a highly technical climb, but its elevation of 6,057m a.s.l. (19,872 ft) made the hike challenging.

I had originally booked to climb Misti Volcano, but on the morning of my tour (I was literally just finishing breakfast), I was told that the rest of my group had fallen victim to that all too familiar combination of too many Pisco Sours and ceviche. To cut a long story short, they postponed their tour by a day, but unfortunately for me, I had already bought a bus ticket to Cusco. He offered me a tour to Chachani or a refund. Without hesitation, I said yes to Chachani.

I climbed Nevado Mateo for my 36th birthday

“Is this even real? Are we actually doing this right now?” That’s what Travis and I kept asking each other.

This was my Sunday hike, and an early birthday present to myself. Climbing a glacier is certainly an unforgettable way to celebrate my 36th birthday. Last year I did a night SUP and blew out my candles in a glow worm cave, which is still up there as one of my happiest memories. It’s safe to say that I’ve certainly become more adventurous in my thirties!

Even though I was already awake before I heard the high-pitched noise of my alarm at 3.30am, getting out of bed in the cold is never easy. Being slightly over-excited meant that I only had a few hours sleep, but we still had two hours in the car before our hike which meant I had plenty of time to nap.

Nevado Mateo is in the Huascaran National Park (it costs 30 soles per day to enter the park) At 5,150m above sea level, it’s the highest I’ve climbed so far in Peru. Mateo is considered a moderate terrain glacier, which means you don’t need experience with crampons and ice axes to ascent to the summit. Mostly it’s the luck of the draw with the weather, however as it’s nearing the end of the rainy season and we definitely had incredible luck that day. Even at sunrise we knew that we would have blue skies for most of the day.

© 2015 Five Foot Ronna

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