Thurs 25th Dec: Christmas Day in Huaraz

A lazy day today. The 25th isn´t as significant here. Its a public holiday but last night held the real festivities. It was very quiet early on, nothing was open down town. Families strolled around quiet streets. I lazed around the hostel for a while reading. There´s a single P.C. in the hostel and a had to wait for over two hours while a Swiss couple mucked about. Eventually I had to ask them how long more they were going to be as it was well into the evening at home by now. So with a touch of temper I phoned home to find it was engaged. When I did get through a Belgian girl came and interrupted me while I spoke to Gabe to ask me to finish up as she had arranged with her family she´d phone home at this time. I told her I´d just spent nearly two and a half hours waiting to make this call. But she was adamant she had to phone home. I let her on to make her call to which there was no reply. My temper was up now. She did thank me as she left but you could say the look from me was frosty, a bit unfestive of me but she crossed me at the wrong moment. She made a hasty exit.

In the afternoon I went out to look around. The weather has improved today, no rain like the last few days. I intended hiking up to a viewing point on a hill overlooking the city but my hip was playing up. For the last couple of days it has become increasingly stiff and sore. This morning I spent an hour doing exercises to try ease the stiffness but after half an hour walking through the streets I decided to take a taxi up to the top as it was too uncomfortable to walk. I feel as if I´m beginning to fall apart slightly at the moment with all the aches, pains and sickness. The road up to the viewing point was so bad I felt a bit guilty asking the taxi man to drive up there. At one point I honestly thought the car wouldn´t make it began down in one piece. The road was that bad.

In the evening the town opened up again. Street traders reappered on the main avenue. Internet cafes, some restaurants and pharamacies in particular were all open. Lots of people came down to stroll around town. In the main plaza parents brought their kids to look at the crib there and let them play with some of their new toys. Street vendors began to do some business. It was starting to feel like a regular evening.

Tomorrow I head into the high mountains of the Cordillera Blanca. I will meet a guide at 6am so I have to be up early. I´m a bit concerned about my hip. If its as sore as it was today I´ll be in trouble. As I have an early start tomorrow I go to bed early. It seems to be a quiet day all round really.