Hard to believe I have been around for seven weeks now! Huaraz turned out to be a great base for all sorts of mountain activities - and a very pleasant place to hang out during (many) lazy days. But as it is getting more and more comfortable for me, it does get time to get going again! I know where to go for chocolate tart, where to find the best coffee in town, where they do a great and cheap fruit salad, where to go for an inexpensive and yummy lunch menu, where to have really nice food, which internet cafe has the best computers, etc.
I get greeted by the locals almost everywhere I go, often by handshake. Many people even know my name. I keep meeting people on the streets and have to plan a little bit of extra time for chatting. Francois, the French owner of my favourite restaurant wonders about my beard when I come back from the mountains and asks where I have been. I get special treatment (free lemonade) at my favourite lunch spot. The people in the internet cafe are relieved to see me again as they had worried I might have been one of the climbers who died ten days ago because I had not shown up for a while. I know the menus of my favourite restaurants by heart and order straight away when I walk in. Of course all the waiters there know me and always ask how I am doing. Marcelo, the Basque owner of the bar where I hang out sometimes, gives me free drinks when I bring in other people. I sometimes get a free breakfast at my hotel and have a chat about the latest news regarding the climbing accident with Flor, the lady who owns the place. She already knows which of her rooms I prefer and tries to keep one for me when I am off to the mountains. Last but not least I find myself often giving detailed advice on where to find what in Huaraz to other foreigners...
If I do not fancy getting a permanent part of this city, it is time to move on now! I am a little bit sad to leave Huaraz behind, though. I truly had a great time here and I do plan to come back some time to "do" a few more walks and mountains at some stage in the future.
So I am finally leaving tonight! My night bus to Trujillo on the coast leaves at 9pm. From there I will move on to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. I also feel it is getting time to get back "home" to Buenos Aires, at least for a couple of weeks.
