Rest Day in Huancaya

Thanks to our lucky encounter with Alexia, Audrey and their dad, Diosdado, we ended up staying at the hospedaje of one of their acquaintances. The hostel was simple, especially the bathrooms, but clearly designed with love to make guests feel cozy and comfortable. Our room was terracotta-colored, with a wooden ceiling, handmade wooden furniture, and – best of all – every one of us had our own bed. What a dream.

The patio was especially charming: in its center lay a rare patch of grass and some greenery (in Peru, people seem to prefer cement), surrounded by an improvised outdoor living room. Wooden benches covered with sheep fur stood under a patched-up roof, providing shelter from the rain. The landlady, a calm and kind-hearted woman, radiated warmth. You could tell she was a loving mother and grandmother, and we enjoyed a few heartfelt conversations with her.

Our first rest day started with a well-deserved lie-in after the long evening before. Unfortunately, I was still feeling sick, but the sun was shining and we spent the morning in the patio: doing laundry, writing in our diaries, updating the blog, and enjoying the luxury of WiFi. Later that night, after Mom and Bill had gone to sleep, I indulged in streaming numerous Veritasium videos on YouTube – a guilty pleasure after days without internet.

Because our landlady was so kind and helpful, we asked if we could borrow a small frying pan. She happily agreed, and that led to two culinary highlights: that evening Jacques cooked home-made fried rice with falafel, and the next morning I tried out banana pancakes with eggs, cinnamon, and Tsampa. Both were delicious – simple but perfect meals after weeks on the road.

On the second day, we decided to go for a short hike. However, since nearly every trail came with an entrance fee, our only free option was walking along the main road. The scenery there was less impressive than the paid trails, and when a horse suddenly started chasing us, trying to bite, the whole adventure quickly lost its charm. We ran and scrambled onto the large trunk of a fallen eucalyptus tree to get out of harm’s way. After that little drama we agreed to call it quits. Truthfully, none of us were too upset about it – we had all been in a lazy mood anyway.

So instead, we enjoyed a sunny picnic by a small waterfall before heading back to the hostel. Later, at a local restaurant, we treated ourselves to a lovely serving of tallarín con verduras. A few blog posts, some more YouTube videos, and then it was time to call it a night.