Salkantay, Day 3!

You would think that I wouldn`t have much to say, except, that we walked from here to there, but alas!

It all started the night before, at the candle lit dinner, still trying to safe the moths, and with the thunderous rain coming down! Jabu, our guide spoke to us, in his broken English. He moved the one silver cup next to the huge silver hot water flask, with another silver cup on the other side, all three in line. We sat there watching his finger trying to walk from the small silver cup, up and up the tall silver hot flask, and then quickly running down on the other side to land on the brim of the small silver cup! We have to make a big decision. Do we really want to suffer up this tall mountain, and then suffer down the other side for something like 11 hours?

We can take a short cut, and just take a taxi for 15 sol per person to the other side, Hidro-Electrica. It felt like our guide really thought this to be the best option for all of us. We actually felt it before. At our briefing with the manager, Rider, at Bioandean, he also hinted towards taking a short cut if the weather isn`t in our favor.

But I was not made for short cuts in my life. I could not do this! I paid my 390US$ for the full Monty! I was here to suffer, I was here to climb mountains, I was here to walk with my baby blue crocs all the way to Machu Picchu!  Somehow I sensed the rest of our group feeling exactly the same.
But we did not make a decision, we decided to wait and see what the weather would hold. It was great with me, because I already knew, the weather would be perfect!

We got up the next morning, around five after a night with thunder and lightning. Our tents were storm proof, and we sipped on the coca leave tea at the flap of our tent. We were on our way!

 

 

 

But soon we realised it is going to be a speed walk today! We sensed some kind of atmosphere in the air, as our guide left as far behind, walking like crazy! Our "family' had a great day! we stopped and enjoyed the beauty, and somewhere along the road we found a women selling a bag filled with passion fruit! To me it was like an oversize grenadilla, and I so wished my Dad could be alive to taste this with me!

We washed our hands in waterfalls, and Gordon wet his hair, and we walked and walked and walked. Eventually we got to a little place, called La Playa, and stood amazed at how this people live their lifes among these mountains.

I met the sheep, was he for Xmas? He was enjoying the luxury of the flower bed.

I met the turkey, was he for Xmas? But he had a name! I was introduced to Jose! I stood there, cackling, remembering to feel like a little girl again on my grandma`s farm, cackling in the mornings with her turkeys, enjoying the noise they could make.

We reached our camping spot in the day light, and we were looking forward to a good peaceful afternoon after lunch. It was the first time that we had some time to relax, and not sleep for the dead in our tents!

Johan discovered a banos! And in the banos, a shower! It even had warm water! I wasn`t thinking about food anymore! I got into our bags, and found the plastic bag with all our smelly socks! I could wash them and dry them in the sun! My gift, my pre-Xmas gift!

We enjoyed lunch, with lovely stuffed chicken breast, and traditional raw trout in vinegar, called cerviche!

If you are friends with Gordon and Sarah....did you know? Ok, I won`t share their secret, but I will share this photo of them with you!

We spoilt Marco with his favorite treat, as  we found a packet of Tim Tam`s in Cusco! He would never have thought of sharing it, but today with these new friends coming over mountains, he shared them all! But he had to teach these Canadians the proper way to eat them! Bite of the two ends, and suck your coffee right through the juicy cookie! So now you know...

We enjoyed the green grass, and just to be for a while, with only Marco using our walking stick as spears, fighting the invisible enemy!  Sri joined him, not with the spears, but he found a ball! Do you know the game, The Name Game? Sarah wasn`t sleepy, and joined them. They were laughing and jumping and trowing the ball at each other. But they didn`t stand a chance against the Sri! This is the photo before......

And this is the photo after.....

Sri jumped towards Sarah, and she saw him slowly going down! He twisted his ankle, and soon it started swelling. Jabu, was great with his patient, and our assistant chef was chewing fresh coca leaves and placing them on Sri`s ankle. Jabu was dipping them in alcohol and placing them on the ankle! Something has to help!

While Sri was resting, we sat down with the locals on the grass in front of the TV, and watched their soccer final with them. It was Peru against Paraguay, and Peru lost! but we enjoyed the people more. The men sitting on the only bench were sharing a big bottle of beer, with one glass between them all. One of them would pour, handed the glass to another, who downed the glass in one big gulp, and then he got the bottle to pour for the next....until the next and the next bottle! But only one glass among them all!

We were squeaky clean with fresh socks, and at dinner we decided that we would walk over that huge silver hot flask tomorrow! Jabu, thought he would scare us, by telling us that we had to be up and ready at four o` clock the next morning, but we just nodded, and headed for our tents as soon as possible!