We were woken by our local support team at 5am for a cup of hot cocoa tea – becoming a favourite of the whole group. There was a severe frost, so getting out of bed was tough although the rising sun illuminating the surrounding peaks made it worth it. We were away by 6.15am to once again climb over the Salkantay pass – the weather was great so we were treated to spectacular views of the incredible peaks.
The rest of the day was basically a descent. We were making good time so Fernando suggested we have lunch at the Andenes ruins rather than planned small community of Wayracmachay. It seemed like a good idea at the time but it soon started raining and combined with our growing hunger, made us wonder if we had made the right call. The scenery was amazing – a huge mossy valley filled with massive, multi coloured boulders and towering peaks and the odd glacier gauge through the hills. We got a great feel for farming life in the valley where the animals were allowed to roam free. We finally all arrived at the lunch site by 130pm to be treated to another great feed and some sunshine.
It started raining again soon after we started walking but it was not too heavy and we had some tree cover. It lasted for an hour after which the sun burst through once again. Thankfully the mosquitoes were not a problem and it was nice not to be struggling for breathe. About an hour out of our campsite at Collpapampa, a few other (younger) trekkers started to pass us. However we had our own private campsite out the back of a local’s house. It was perfect with chickens and dogs running around the place. We negotiated for warm showers while downing a cerveza – 50 souls for 6 of us. Shame the showers were only luke warm but still they were a relief. We then convinced Fernando to arrange a fire (20 solos for the wood) which was magic to sit around after dinner. Day 2 involved 17.6km, over nearly 9 hours but with only 270m of climbing – like I said, it was mostly downhill!
We left our support team to the fire about 10 for another night of slumber with a small mat and a sleeping bag. The support crew were still at it when I got up for a piddle around 2.30! Hopefully we will still be getting breakfast in the morning! The roosters decided to start to crow around 3am – didn’t know that roosters suffered from insomnia! However we were woken at 545am to a cup of hot cocoa tea by the team, with little apparent effects from the late night sojourn. However Fernando did not rise until 630 and looked as bad as anyone I have seen with a hangover. Although full credit to the man, he soldiered on as engaging as he had been on the previous 2 days. I guess it helps that he is only 32!