Our family took a trip to the Glaciar de Suyuparina, a tropical glacier about seven hours from us. I had not know there were glaciers in Peru, but after an argument discussion with Kenton, I was proven wrong ignorant.
We left at around 3:00 in the morning. The distance there wasn’t that great, but the roads were hours of gravel and then dirt roads that were quite rough, so our speed was quite slow. At one point, we got stuck in the mud when we were well out of cell signal and high up in the mountains on a dirt (mud) road. Thankfully, Kenton maneuvered us out successfully.
The elevation was between 17,000 and 18,000 feet. It was incredibly cold! A few of us were dealing with colds, so we struggled with the hike. Our oxygen dropped to the upper 60s, though I only thought to snap a picture when it had jumped back up to 70% saturation. Seth and I were especially hit because he had a cold, and I was just getting over pneumonia. We decided to drop out of the hike about halfway through and return to the van to rest.
It was gorgeous, and everyone enjoyed the trip. It was well worth it. I would recommend for others to go, but to make sure you are hale and hearty to make the most of the day.
Because we were getting home so late, we decided to stop in at the mall and get burgers and fries for supper. We were then able to crash when we got home at about 11:00 that night. A long day of adventures and memories.
Juan David 