Southern Peru - Ausangate Trek

Inveralmond Community High School Gym, Saturday 16th June, we come together as a team for the first time to embark on our month long expedition to Southern Peru. The day is packed with last minute personal kit checks; distribution of group kit into bulging rucksacks; security briefings; first aid briefings; country briefings; distribution of roles and anything else we can fit into the small window of time we have before jumping on our flight at Edinburgh airport.

Almost 24 hours later, arriving in Lima the high rise buildings, misty skies, and light drizzle remind us reassuringly of home and the team is able to embark on making preparations to leave the security of the big city in relative relaxation.  There is much to do; starting with a meeting with the in country agent and the money man, the purchase of a phone and travel arrangements get sandwiched in the middle and a trip put for pizza to round off the first day in this exciting new country.

Our first bus experience takes us south to Paracas to visit the Islas Ballestas, otherwise known as poor mans Galapagos. A swift boat trip around the island, with birds and guano everywhere, we make it back to shore, pleased that Conor has done his security job properly (check the sea worthiness and safety of the boat).

With Jack becoming team leader, we make it safely onto an overnight bus that takes us further south and we begin our slow ascent to high altitude. Arequipa, the white city shines in the sunlight with the volcano El Misti sitting perfectly on the horizon. This is a short stop but provides a little time for an acclimatisation trek - allowing us to take our first step towards tolerating the heat and the diminishing amounts of oxygen in the the air.

Next we head towards Puno, the capital of Folklore situated on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. As we visit Urus, one the floating reed islands, the team learns more in an hour of observing this fascinating culture than they could ever dream of by reading a text book.

After Puno we turn towards Cusco, our base for the remaining 2 1/2 weeks of this journey. Having felt the effects of the lower levels of oxygen in the air at Puno, Cusco is warmer and lower.  Our acclimatisation time is spent on day treks from the city taking in the fascinating archeological sites of the surrounding area and honing our fitness for 'the big one'.

 

Finally we embark on the project phase of the expedition. Our goal: to help a local community build a medical centre. Alfredo, a native from the village of Chillipower, guides us for 7 hours over a pass to the community where we will spend the next 5 days.  With Sebastian the project manager guiding us, supported by team leaders Blair, Rachel and Kieran the days are spent splitting bamboo, nailing it to the ceiling and windows, collecting woods and watching with fascination the experts cover our work with plaster at a speed we could only dream of. 

Back in Cusco, we have a days rest which we spend white water rafting before turning our minds to the trek.  Alfredo is back to help our guide Antonio for 7 days, no showers, small tents in a remote mountain area.  We are to trek around Ausangate (6380m), the highest mountain in the area over passes of up to 5100m. A challenging trek with many, many tears but even more rewards. The unusual amounts of snow and high winds make the trek even more challenging but who can forget eating a fully cooked lunch at 4900m with a beautifully prepared table in the snow?  And then hot springs in the snow?

Due to the strength of the team, a rest day near the end allowed those with the inclination to do so, to sample a Pacha Manka. This is a local method of cooking meat in the ground and we bought an alpaca for the purpose.  Although Devon, our vegetarian found this an especially difficult event to witness, it was a very special occasion.

Having tasted Ceviche, Alpaca, Lomo Saltado, local trout and many different varieties of potatoes, there remained the final Peruvian delicacy to try before our departure.  Half the team sat at the table around the plates of guinea pig knowing that those who had snuck off to McDonalds were missing out on a once in a life time experience.

With the month having disappeared in the blink of the eye, Lima is unchanged and the misty drizzle prepared us for the long fight back to Scotland via Amsterdam.  


Leading for World Challenge
http://www.world-challenge.co.uk/