Here are notes and lists of places along our journey that I think will be helpful to someone planning a trip. I tried to note any exceptional places we stayed or ate, and also where to get good information and beta for climbing. I'm sure I've forgotten some things, but hopefully this will help.

Trip report by Sid Wiesner 

Inspired by Bill Brose's stories, a group of us decided to spend some time in Peru and Bolivia to climb a few mountains. Originally, our goal was to climb 3 mountains in 17 days in the Cordillera Blanca with a group of six. But life catches up sometimes, and the group size dwindled until only Brian Wolovich and I were left. He is a teacher, and I have no shame asking for extended vacations from work, so we figured why not go for 6 weeks instead. Before we could have second thoughts, we bought the tickets and were off!

We flew into Lima, Peru, and I just have to say that Lima is a place you enjoy leaving most. With pollution coating your lungs and car horns that never stop honking, you are not sad to leave. We quickly headed south for some altitude, and found ourselves in the beautiful city of Arequipa. Here, we found some great vegetarian dining (Govindas!) and had our fill. Then on to the Colca Canyon, a remote gorge that is reputed to be the world's deepest (yes, deep, but I suspect that the Peruvians are also good marketers), and also for the huge condors flying through the skies.