Home Sweet Igloo

To Soraypampa, Peru

At 4:40 a.m., as I was leaving the flat to get some more money at the ATM, our guide, Karl Joset, was already waiting outside. It took a little while to drive around town and pick up the rest of the group before heading into the mountains. The final group tally, much to Dex’s dismay, was ten: Jonny and Michael from England; Lee and Chelsea from San Antonio, Texas; Lasse from Copenhagen; and Manouk from Holland.

It was a good three or four hours before we were out of the car and on the trail. Although the sky was overcast, it was dry the entire day and the eight miles or so was relatively flat. We kept playing hop scotch with a couple other hiking groups until arriving at our camp in the early afternoon. The camp featured nine small, glass domed “igloos” all lined up outside a wooden dining hall. They each had a small miniature, half height door, two platforms with foam mattresses, and a light and electrical outlet at the far end. Pretty cool.

After lunch, to Kylie's dismay, the schedule called for an extra out-and-back hike. The superfluous miles didn't sit well with her, at least to start. The hike headed straight up the grassy slope behind camp to a lake at the base of snow covered Mt. Humantay. The glaciers on the mountain had retreated far up the mountain and were, due to the low clouds, not even visible for much of our stay. You could, however, clearly see how the glacier had carved away the ridges on each side of the lake.

Tomorrow, we were informed by Karl Joset, would be the big day as we would go up and over the 460m Salkantay Pass. Dex and Kylie, like the rest of us, were tuckered out, so much so that they retired to their own little igloo even before the bananas flambe were served. Bon appetit.