Saturday 29/10/2022
Campamento Santa Rosa
In my tent with Lieselot, who just hung her smelly sleeping bag outside for a bit. It’s hot in the tent. I have a constant thirst. The heat made things really hard for me today.
The climb was step by step.
Drank a lot of water.
Massive sweat patch between my boobs on my T-shirt. My bra was hanging off my backpack to dry after our blissful and refreshing dip in the Apurímac. Highlight of the day.
We met a Peruvian family who are still on their way up to Marampata. Hilde is there too. The group is too slow for her. For me, definitely not. I struggled so much. I’m done. Starting early enough tomorrow. Goodnight!
Sunday 30/10/2022
Marampata – camping at Nancy’s mother’s place
It’s beautiful here.
Just had a chat with Nancy. She’s from Marampata and now lives in Cachora. She has four (looking back, I think I meant three) daughters and two sons. The daughters are called Andrea, Rosa and Luciana. Her eldest daughter is twenty and studies tourism. Her youngest son Adrien (though everyone seems to call him Erick) is here too. He starts crying the moment Nancy steps away from him. The other son is called Jhoel.
Lieselot is taking a picture of me now. Keep writing.
Lunch soon! Fresh from Nancy’s mum’s wood fire. Olluco (known to us Ecuadorians as melloco) with rice and eggs. Omnomnom.
The sun right above me. No shade anywhere to keep my Inca Kola cool. The inner tent is already set up, so it doesn’t heat up. During our first break this morning I swapped my Fjällräven trousers for shorts. And it was maybe 7 a.m.
It was a short walking day. But oh, so enjoyable. A water break at “the waterfall.” Deliciously fresh mountain water. The sun coming out from behind the mountain.
(…)
Suddenly we heard Lieselot shout that we were almost there. Group picture, with Hilde. And now a chill day in Marampata. Hilde is off exploring. We enjoyed a first surprise from Lieselot: “party nuts”. The kind Hazel doesn’t like, but now everyone loved them. We also got a wonderfully juicy orange from Nancy.
I’m happy to be here. My white pen is so dirty just from holding it.
Meanwhile we enjoyed a lovely lunch and an ice-cold shower. Garke is reading “Mijn kleine oorlog” by Louis Paul Boon. The others are taking a nap. I like it here. This is one of the toughest treks I’ve ever done. The heat. The steepness. I overestimated myself and underestimated the group. I even think I wouldn’t do this with Jehan. The climbs are too steep, too long. But how wonderful it would be to be here with him. (…)
Earlier we were all sitting outside together, enjoying the sunset. Every now and then someone would get up to do something. Fetch a headlamp, put on an extra layer, do the dishes, go pee, brush teeth. Garke and Lieselot said it’s a nice group. I agreed. It’s been a long time since I’ve done something like this with someone other than Jehan. If I ever have without him. But it’s really nice! The advantages of being in a group are there. But it also gives me the space to do my own thing. Like writing.
Today we also had a fresh fruit juice in “downtown” Marampata. We had to wait forever, but it was worth it.
The wind is super strong. Tomorrow: visiting Choquequirao!
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