“Hey is That a Condor!?”

Felix awoke us again at 5am with cocoa tea (though Emma had already been awake since 3.30 star gazing!)
Set off to hike a little worse for wear, Rach with her likely cracked rib from ju-jitsu last week, and Emma with her gammy hip and now swollen ankle (lesson learned to tie boots nice and tight). After the medication round we soldiered on from Collpapampa, following the stunning Urubamba River through La Playa and beyond.
Along the way we learned about the foliage, farming and fruits of the Amazon, some of which can only be found in Peru. We tasted amazing native tomato, one of the many types of passion fruit (Grenadian), baby strawberries, etc.

We took a bus ride up to a coffee plantation where we helped with a demonstration - from picking, de-shelling, roasting, grounding and finally tasting the best “Gesha coffee” in Peru (entered in competitions).

After lunch, we took a bus trip to hot springs absolutely hilarious! Ranging from deep discussions about politics, learning about USA / Brazilian culture and laughing until we cried! Each time a large solo bird was spotted someone would shout “hey is that a condor?!”. The springs themselves were lovely, nestled amongst the mountains but with plenty of changing/showering facilities - it was nice to stretch off our aching legs.

Over dinner Felix begun to share some stories of his experiences - from murders on hiking trips, to saving colleagues, his childhood experiences were captivating. We took these up to the campfire afterwards, where a few of us stayed up swapping stories and laughing over a beer.

We fell asleep listening to the distant buzz of crickets in the Jungle Domes, resting up ready for our last big hiking day of the trip tomorrow.Leggi altro