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Published: July 23rd 2008
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We started at kilometer 82 which is where most people start the 4 day hike. I had just about managed to fit my sleeping bag, a thermarest and enough changes of clothes into a duffle bag. We were only allowed 6kg so it was a struggle, as most of you probably know I dont like to pack light! Before we knew it the proters had made a headstart with all our luggage and the food and tents and everything else we needed. They were each carrying 25kg and they were only little guys, I dont know how they did it! I was feeling pretty apprehensive about the whole thing especially after the trek in Colca Canyon where I nearly collapsed at the top!
The trek began. Our guide, Gonzalo, started off slow and luckily the start of it seemed reasonable flat which isnt what I was expecting at all! I imagined an uphill trek from the start. I relaxed a lot once Id started, I was surprised that me and Ann were managing to keep up with the rest of our group who are much faster than us. We stop a few times on the way so Gonzalo could tell
us about the flowers and natural remedies people use and he pointed out the two glaciers that can be seen from the trail. The weather was fantastic, realy sunny and dry. After a while the divide started, Ann and I were obviously struggling more with the altitue than the rest of them so we hung back a little and went at our own pace. We were fine though, we just needed to have more regular breaks. Gonzalo was really lovely though we didnt feel pressure to keep with the group at all, he walked a bit behind us and stopped everytime we stopped which was really sweet! H e must have been thinking bloody English girls!
We finally made it to the first camp where we had lunch. The rest of the group were already there but at least we made it! The porters had obviously been there for a while as they had made us drinks, put the tents up and cooked us lunch. It was so amazing, I expected to be sitting on the floor to eat on a plastic sheet or something but they had put up a table and we all had a chair to sit
Amazing views
And we'd only just started walking! on. We had two courses for lunch as well, I couldnt believe it! Im not a big eater at the best of times and I was so hot I stuggled to eat it! We even had a waiter serving all the food, it really was 5 star camping!! Anna, im expecting the same when im back in the UK! Hehe!!
After a bit of a rest, we were back on the trial, again Ann and I had creeped to the back but we felt comfortable there. Luckily we had stayed together as Ann struggled at one point to regulate her breathing. I came to the rescue with one of my many inhalers!! It was pretty scary but she managed to sort herself out and we had a little rest before walking again. The porters had stayed behind at the campsite to take down the tents and pack everything up and they still managed to overtake us all and reach the campsite before us! They were fantastic, They were carrying 5 times what I was and I was struggling at points! When we reached the campsite at the end of the day, the porters had set up the tents again
Still smilling!
Well...it is only day one! and made us a supper of popcorn and crackers with Jam and honey. That was before dinner too! Supper was good but we all struggled with the 3 course dinner, ive never had so much food! The porters did everything for us, gave us hot water to wash our hands, blew up our thermarests, put the tents up, made us tea...I really didnt expect any of it! The mint and celery tea they had made us is apparently good for digestion so we drank that as Daniela had warned us that eating loads at altitude can affect your digestion...I wasnt taking any chances! We played Uno with Gonzalo for a while before getting ready for bed.
The toilets at the campsite were interesting to say the least, it was just a hole in the ground but they were disgusting! There was only one working and a huge queue so before bed me and Ann decided to go au natural! Big mistake, Ann went and left with the torch so I wasnt lit up for everyone to see and I heard a rustling in the trees coming from the opposite direction from where Ann was, I saw the trees move
and in my scared state I started running towards Ann screaming theres a four legged creature, pulling my trousers up at the same time...it was a abit of a struggle as I have thermals, and combats on because it was so cold! Ann shone the torch and it turned out to be just a dog but at night when your in the middle of nowhere its pretty scary! No more natural toilet stops for me at night!!
There were quite a few other groups at the campsite and one of them kept clapping at everything, we all joked that they werent getting as much food as us so they had to clap to keep up morale!! It was quite cold at night but I managed to sleep through. I imagined it to be much colder considering the campsite was at 3000m above sea level. I have adapted well to the cold, I might even be able to cope with air conditioning now!!
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Liz W
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The delights of camping.
Those campsite loos bring back distant memories of camping with the girl guides - we had to dig and erect them ourselves in a damp Nottinghamshire field - so think how lucky you were! That is what you get when you want see the world and experience new things, Helen. Keep safe and keep in touch. Love Liz x