Semana Santa in Ancash

April 15, 2009

By Milene

In Peru, the week leading up to Easter is known as Semana Santa or Saint Week and it is one of the most important national holidays of the year. Most schools and offices in small town such as where we live shut down for the week. As Peace Corps Volunteers in Peru, we receive four free vacation days. Nathan and I decided to take the opportunity to travel to Ancash. Ancash is a department in Peru that holds one of the most beautiful snow peaked mountain ranges in the Latin America and possibly in the world. Tourists from all around the globe come to Ancash to see the Cordillera Blanca and the Cordillera Negra mountain ranges. Huascaran, the highest mountain in Peru (6768m) and the second highest in South America, is one of the main attractions. Alpamayo, another peak in the range, was named “the most beautiful mountain in the world” by UNESCO. The region is also spotted with crystal turquoise glacial lakes supplied by the mountain runoff water and elegant waterfalls.

For Peace Corps volunteers, Ancash is an attractive place to visit not only for its views, but also for its great cafes, restaurants, and hostels all catered to the tourist population. It was the first time since being in Peru that we saw bagels and hummus. We also found Indian curries and Mexican burritos, which satisfied some long-held cravings. We stayed in a really cute hostel with a fireplace café on the fifth floor that had a panoramic window with a view of the Cordillera Blanca. The hostel served breakfast each morning with fresh fruit juice, bread, jam, cheese, coffee and tea. The atmosphere reminded us of a ski resort since the weather outside was cold and inside was warm and cozy with friendly people everywhere. While there we met up with several other Peace Corps volunteers from Peru 9 (a previous group) who we rarely get to hang out with.

We took a one day visit to a glacial lake, which was gorgeous. We took a refreshing dip in the freezing cold water as is Peace Corps Ancash tradition. Then we stopped at a town called Yungay, which was destroyed by a mudslide caused by an earthquake in 1970. We took a description off of Wikipedia of what happened:

“On 31 May 1970, the Ancash earthquake caused a substantial part of the north side of [Huascaran] to collapse. The block of ice and rocks was about 1 mile long, half a mile wide, and half a mile deep. In about five minutes it flowed 11 miles to Yungay, burying the entire town under ice and rock, and causing the deaths of more than 20,000 people.”

It was a surreal experience to stand on the very earth which buried the town and look up at Huascaran, thinking of how powerful the natural force must have been to cause such destruction. The only remnants left were the grass field that has grown over the area that used to be the town, a bus that was completely twisted by the mudslide, and pieces of buildings that had been torn off and relocated. Ironically, the only structure that was not damaged was the cemetery since it was built on an elevated hill. We found out that the only survivors of the mudslide were 300 children who were off at a circus in a nearby sports stadium.

The trip as a whole was great, and we look forward to going back and doing a three day trek in the Cordillera Blanca with Nathan’s siblings when they come visit in May!

Lots more pics at: http://picasaweb.google.com/nathanhaft/SemanaSantaInAncash#