Rachel and I arrived in Huaraz at around 7am on Monday the 20th Dec. This was to be my first ever couch surfing experience (Rachel is a bit of a pro at this). On arrival into Huaraz we went and met our couch surfing host Ivan, a nice guy from Huaraz who worked as a tour guide. We went to his place and then soon after another couple of couch surfers arrived (a couple from Australia/France). We had been told about a day trip to see a local(ish) Glacier and decided we would go and visit it. The other couple decided to join us. It was actually quite a few hours away but on the way we stopped to see some massive plants that live 100 years but only flower in their final year and also kill sheep (it was once believed they were carnivorous but they aren't). Then we went and saw a rock with some paintings on it. I missed the significance of it (mainly because the guide mumbled A LOT) but either the rock came from space, or they think aliens drew the pics or the pics are of aliens (I think this is the right one).Anyway after that we drank some naturally occurring sparkling water which apparently will make me live for 100s of years and have many wives and children! Then we carried on to the Glacier - the walk up to the Glacier was fairly steep and at around 5000m in a snow storm I felt it but we made it up there - it was beautiful and I even managed to make a snow angel! After all that we had seen all the trip had to offer so just headed back to Huaraz. The four of us went for a nice dinner in a French restaurant which was quite the treat.

The following day we were starting a four day trek through the Cordellera Blanca, called the Santa Cruz trek which is apparently one of the top 5 treks in the world (who decided this and what the other four are I'm not sure of) but I was really looking forward to it and it was the reason we had come to Huaraz. So as usual with these things we had an early start so we went to the bus station to meet our guide, the other five hikers (all from South Korea) and catch our public bus to the starting point. This leg of the trip took surprisingly longer than we had expected but we were treated to some stunning views of beautiful blue/green lagoons and long waterfalls. It was about lunchtime when we finally reached our destination where we started the trek. We walked along through a predominantly green valley but it was beautiful. After an early night we again arose early in the morning for what is the most difficult day as you pass over Punta Union the highest point on our trek (4750m). The weather wasn't exactly on our side as it rained a lot but it is rainy season so I guess this shouldn't be the biggest surprise. We were however treated to some stunning views of snow-capped mountains and again beautiful blue/green lagoons. At points the clouds were also working against us but the views were simply stunning and to be honest I really don't think my photos do the trek justice. We had another early night - some people on our trek were doing a 3 day/2 night trek and Rachel and I thought maybe this would have been a better ideaand toyed with the idea of just carrying on to the end with them . That night was very very cold, it snowed, I didn't sleep much and our tent leaked so in the morning we decided that we would definitely power through and finish the trek that day!

We walked along a beautiful long valley, around the edge of a beautiful lake with stunning waterfalls every few metres!I feel like I use the same adjectives quite a lot but the views were simply amazing and stunning! It was truly awe inducing, again the weather wasn't quite on our sides (although better) but the ground was drenched and we had to jump over quite a few streams (I'm not sure when a stream becomes a river but some of them were definitely on the cusp).Anyway we finally reached the village after quite a long, long walk. We then got some local share taxis back to Huaraz and treated ourselves to a relatively nice (but still cheap) hotel for Christmas. Knackered after our hike we had another early night! The Santa Cruz trek was simply stunning and I would highly recommend it to anyone coming to Peru - however if you could do it in dry season I do think that would be better. If you are doing in it wet season I would definitely recommend doing the 3 day trek (although the walk on the last day is quite long).

On Christmas eve Rachel and I met up with two local guys (Rachel met them from the couch surfing website). They were really nice guys and we proceeded to spend the day drinking with them in the back room of a shop, then outside a stall in the street, then in the street (the stall closed) and then later in a pub. We drank in the traditional Peruvian fashion - with only one glass which you pass around. They then very very generously invited us back to their home where we shared Christmas dinner with them and about 20 of their family - it was an amazing experience a family Christmas - and it meant I got to have turkey. We then visited some more of their family (I was now drinking whisky) where we rang in Christmas day. It was amazing the streets were buzzing and loads and loads of fireworks were being set off! I really enjoyed Christmas eve.

On Christmas day Rachel and I had a very chilled out day with a simple plan - cook Christmas dinner! We visited the market - it was strange - everything was open (although the streets were distinctly quieter than the previous day). We only had a two ring gas cooker to cook on so turkey was a bit out of the question so we opted for chicken. Like Christmas dinner at home we cooked a massive feast and it was really nice (even if I do say so myself). Then after a chilled out evening we both headed in our separate directions.