Trek: Day 2

The morning of day two we woke up feeling much better thanks to altitude sickness medicine, Advil and a relatively good night’s sleep. That morning we got up and were able to see where we were and how incredible the campsite was. 

One of the many things I loved about Valencia Travel was that they hire local. I read quite a bit about how important it was for tour companies to hire local, and they did. A highlight to our morning was that the horse wranglers all lived close to where we were camping, so their families came down to camp for breakfast. So great. I love that their families got to see them before they were gone and also that we were able to be part of the local community. 

So here’s the deal- in Andean families today, the men are farmers and the women are shepherds. With our crew, the men were horse wranglers and the women were shepherds. On the morning of day two all of the wives came down with their herds of alpaca and llamas. The women wear very bright clothing so they can be spotted in the mountains as they shepherd throughout the day. While they watch their flocks they spin wool and weave various pieces as well. I mentioned that locals liked to dress BK and me up and this was the case in the mountains as well. The families brought down traditional wedding attire and posed us with one of their alpacas. Good times for all. 

We said our goodbyes and headed up the mountain. We quickly ran into a family who lived above where we camped the night before. Alex asked if we could come up to their house to learn more about how they live- and it was an amazing experience. The woman agreed and was so welcoming.

The family welcomed us into their home and told us a lot about their life. It also happened to be the father’s birthday the next day, so when we walked up they had just slaughtered an alpaca for a celebration the next day. 

The family had five children, two of whom lived around the homestead and three who lived elsewhere. The home had no electricity or running water and they lived off the land, with vegetables growing on their land. One thing about “their” land- all the land in the mountains belongs to the community. And when you talk about family, everyone around is family, regardless of if they are actually related or not. People watch out for and take care of one another. 

We were invited inside the kitchen room (outside above and inside below) to talk with the matriarch and learn more about their life. She sleeps inside the kitchen to keep the fire going and watch all the things. Additionally, Peruvians eat guinea pig, and this family had 20ish guinea pigs running around in their kitchen. We easily spent an hour with the family talking and learning from them. They seemed to enjoy sharing their life and we bought some of the wares they make to sell to tourists. 

We probably spent our first hour of the hike at their home, but it was such a great experience and we were so appreciative that they were willing to share their home and life with us. Day two of hiking was planned to be the longest hike. Because we had gone about an hour further the night before, we only hiked 6 hours on Day two instead of 7. After our visit, we were off to conquer the pass.

I would consider all three days difficult hiking in their own right. As far as altitude goes, Day 2 was probably the hardest, including crossing the pass at over 15,000 feet. We hiked at an okay pace and our guide encouraged us to go slow and steady. Despite that, we did always have an “in case of emergency” horse. I must have been hiking a little slower than anticipated because as we approached our guide and BK suggested that I take the horse up to the pass. Along with having the experience, I also wanted to enjoy the  trek, so I agreed and took the horse up. Not too bad!

So what was on the other side of this huge pass? This incredible view and lake! See why I said it reminded us of Switzerland? The lake is not used for fishing or anything else for that matter. Not very many locals live in the area, but they are scattered throughout the mountainside. BK was a trooper and just hiked right up the pass, which we later learned the guides and locals called “the gringo killer.” They thought that was hilarious.

We took a short rest at the top to enjoy the view and let BK catch his breath. Then we worked our way down to the lake where the crew set up for lunch. However, lunch would prove to be interesting, as one minute it was sunny and mild outside, the next it was cloudy and getting cold, then it started HAILING. Good times on a mountain trek, where at some point you have to just go on. Our ridiculously dedicated crew fixed lunch, took shelter in their tent set up and we all hung out until it sort of slowed down. But yes, at some point we did just get out and brave the weather. As the Swiss say- there’s no bad weather, only bad clothing. 

After lunch we trekked on in the hail. Our guide and crew talked later and were pretty convinced that the storm was the last rain storm of the rainy season. We went up and over another pass, which revealed another beautiful lake. This one was really cool too because we hiked on the side of a mountain and crossed over a stream that fed into the lake. BK said that it was one of his favorite parts. 

After this it was all downhill the rest of the day. You may be thinking that downhill is much better than uphill, but I would argue that it depends on the altitude, as downhill is challenging in a different way. We hiked on for probably another two hours and arrived at camp by the stream again. On night two BK and I were in much better shape and socialized more and hung out by the bonfire. The nights never lasted too long for us, mostly because it is pitch black dark without a head lamp and also because you know you’ll be up with the sun. Also, after the sun goes down it gets real cold real quick.

We ended the night with a great meal and trying to stay warm. If you go trek, don’t forget that the Southern hemisphere is on the opposite season from us. We were visiting during fall and headed into winter and it was COLD at night. Bundle up, and do what all the blogs say- sleep in numerous layers and possibly your clothes your planning to wear the next day. You figure it out and get ready for what the trek holds next!