2nd October

Despite being on a trip jam-packed full of things that I’ve wanted to do for a very long time, I always expected that there would be a handful of days that would stand out above the rest. Today is such a day. Just like experiencing Quito for the first time, the cloud forests of Mindo, the whales off the coast of Ecuador and the horse riding in Vilcabamba, today will stand tall in the memory for a long, long time to come.

A lot of the reason for coming to this part of the world was to experience environments that are so very different to that which we’re used to seeing at home. Although South America is becoming more familiar to me now, having been here for nearly a month, I have never seen sights like those in which we were enveloped today. Our location; Laguna Llaca, ten miles north east of Huaraz.

Laguna Llaca is a mountain lake, fed by a glacier formed from the snow atop the surrounding mountains. Global warming has reduced the size of the glacier in recent years, but trust me, it still impresses the eye. We started walking at around 4,400 metres, and managed to reach our highest point yet on this trip so far, at 4,650 metres (over 15,000 feet in old money), at the far end of the glacier as it merges into the mountains. We only walked about three miles in total, but this took us around four hours; an indication of how difficult it is to walk uphill at this ridiculously high altitude.

But the difficulty is part of the experience, it wouldn’t have been the same if the walk was as easy as we’re used to back home. It was hard work, but by God, the view from the top, was worth every heart-pounding moment it took for us to get there. The pictures shown here really don't it justice though, much as I would love them too. They can't convey the magnificent scale of the place, the towering mountains that funnel the glacier, the whitest of white snow against the bluest of blue Andean skies. They also can't convey the supreme serenity of the mountains, with us meeting just two other people that day. It all sounds very poetic, but this is a stunning scene.

When planning this trip I didn't anticipate being able to get to a lot of the really scenic locations, such as Laguna Llaca, that encircle Huaraz. No buses visit these places, and walking such long distances is totally out of question on this terrain and at this altitude. So, how did we get there? By taxi of all things.

Unbelievable I know, but using a taxi is the most common way for trekkers to get to these out of the way places, despite the obvious obstacles. The roads in the area, outside of Huaraz anyway, are really, really bad. Even worse than dirt tracks (they're full of small rocks and stones) I'd have said they were "4x4 vehicle bad" to be honest, but these taxi drivers just don't care. Their good old Toyota Corollas are as good as any 4x4 in their eyes so they just go ahead with abandon.

You want to try sitting in the back of one of these things though, it's enough to shake your fillings out. It's slow going too, our ten mile outbound journey today (around twenty miles with all the switchbacks) took nearly two hours. But the real surprise in all of this was the cost. A two hour journey there, another two hours back, and the driver waiting around for four hours while we trekked, cost the princely sum of just £25. You wouldn't get that back in Blighty!

So back in the hotel room, completely worn out, and worrying about whether the six hour trek that we have planned for tomorrow is going to write me off for good or not. To be honest though, after today, I could die a happy man.

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Part of trip: South America 2009 - Ecuador, Peru & Bolivia

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