Adios, South America
When I eventually left Cusco I caught an overnight bus to Arequipa. I actually wish I had caught the flight, because I didn’t manage to get much sleep on the bus. I had arranged to meet a couple of Kiwi guys in Arequipa. We had agreed that we should try and climb El Misty.
With a guide booked we set out for the first day’s climb. We started at 3400 meters and our campsite for the night was at 4800 meters. It took six hours of hard hiking to reach the campsite. When we got there we set about putting up the tents and then asked our guide when we would be eating tea. We were all starving and anxious to tuck into the spaghetti Bolognese that we had bought for our tea that night.
“Ah,” said Micky, our guide, “There is a problem with the spaghetti.”
“And what would that be, Micky?” we asked.
“Well, you know how I said I would get the spaghetti?”
“Yes, Micky?”
“Well, I did get the spaghetti, but I have managed to leave it in the van.”
“Excellent. So what can we have for tea?”
“Well, there is still the soup. And we have loads of bread. So we can still have soup for starters. Then we can have Bolognese sauce with bread.”
Of course, Micky didn’t speak English, and none of us spoke Spanish. So most of this conversation actually took place in sign language.
Never mind though. The soup was good and we were so hungry that we would have eaten anything. The one thing that didn’t taste so good was the cup of tea we had for dessert. Despite the fact that we put four teabags in the pot, the liquid that came out still managed to taste of, well, hot water really. Never mind, it was 4pm and time for bed.
The reason we went to bed so early was two fold. For one, at 4pm up a mountain there really isn’t much else to do once you have eaten dinner. The second reason was that we had to get up at 2am to finish climbing the mountain.
By the time we had gotten up, had some sandwiches and a couple more cups of hot water it was 3am before we started climbing. After five hours we reached a point were we could actually see the marker for the highest point of the hill. I also reached a point of physical exhaustion. “No Mas,” I yelped as I slumped to the ground. Micky looked at me gravely and told me that it was only another hour’s climb to the top. If it hadn’t been for the other two guys there I think I would have just sat there for a couple of hours. But, you know how it is when lads get together, none of us was willing to be the first to give up. So I picked myself up off the floor and slowly started the final part of the ascent.
Unless you have been 5500 meters above sea level yourself then you will have no idea how exhausted you feel after only 10 steps. I guess it’s like being really old. Your mind can’t understand why your body stops working after only a few steps. I finally made it to the top after settling into a rhythm of 30 small steps, then 30 seconds rest.
I made it. 5822 meters above sea level. That’s over 1000 meters higher than Mount Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe. The sense of achievement was overwhelming. Particularly as I had been prepared to give up only an hour earlier. Although having made the summit I can honestly say that I will not be taking up mountaineering as a hobby. It’s too much hard work, and I’m not sure if the brief surge of excitement at the top is worth the hours of sweat and toil.
In total it took us 12 hours of walking/climbing to get to the summit. Getting down did not take as long. There was a very steep scree slope that we just bounced down to the campsite. That took us all of 10 minutes. After about half an hour sitting around, getting our breath back at the campsite, and packing up we were off again. It took a further forty minutes to finish running down scree slopes then a final hour’s very quick hike back to the spot where we had parked the van. The trip down was just as exhausting as the trip up. I managed to twist by right foot seven times in the way down.
When we finally got back to town we all went straight to bed for a few hours. Then it was up, shower and down the pub to celebrate climbing a bloody huge mountain. The partying seemed to go on for three days. So on Saturday afternoon I decided I had better catch a bus out of town.
I had caught a bus to Nasca, but unfortunately the conductor forgot to wake me at that stop. As a result I ended up in Lima. Determined to reach my intended destination I got straight back on another bus and headed for Nasca again. Eight hours later I arrived. By this time I had decided that I wanted the mountain climb to be the last thing I did in South America and that I was well and truly ready to leave the continent. So I caught another bus straight to Tacna. Crossed the border by shared taxi, and caught a bus to Santiago. That journey was going to last for 29 hours, but by then I had already been traveling non stop for 48 hours so it didn’t really faze me at all.
I arrived in Santiago on December 3rd. I had left Arequipa on November 30th. I was going to have an early night, but when I got back to the hostel in the evening I found Dean, one of the Kiwi guys, checking into the hostel. He had caught up with me by getting a bus straight to Tacna and then flying down from Arica. He was due to fly out the next day. I also wanted to get onto the same plane, so we decided to go out on the town one last time.
The next day I went to the Qantas office and managed to change my flight to that afternoon. The only other problem was the issue of my Australian visa. When I checked in at the airport I was told that my current visa was not valid and they would issue me a new one.
So that was it. After:-
- 3 Train journeys
- 4 Plane rides
- 5 Boat trips
- 19 Long distance bus journeys and
- 30 Different Hostels
My trip through South America was at an end. I had met countless people, learned at least the basics of the Spanish language, gotten drunk numerous times, used up 15 rolls of film, seen some bizarre animals, eaten even stranger food, got sick, had good days, and had some bad days. Overall, I really enjoyed myself. I’m glad that Tim talked me into coming to South America all those weeks ago in a pub just off Oxford Street.
Now though it’s off to a new continent. And a whole new adventure…
See you in Australia.
