through Apus-Peru. This took place on
.
Due to a canceled flight, one of the group members arrived the morning of the trek, delaying our start time by 2 hours. I enjoyed sleeping those extra two hours and leaving the hotel at 8 am instead of 6 am. Thanks Brad! :-)
OUR DAILY ROUTINE
aka
Eat Hike Sleep... Eat Hike Sleep... Repeat 5X/Day for 8 Days
We basically followed the same routine each day, although starting and ending times varied a bit. Generally, one of the horsemen woke us in the morning with a hot cup of coca tea. We then had 15-30 minutes to get dressed, pack up our gear and day packs, and meet for breakfast.
Breakfast consisted of a hot liquid porridge/gruel made of some kind of grain. For the first half of the trip, I tried the porridge each day, but usually could not choke down more than a sip or two (disclaimer: I don't like hot cereals like oatmeal or cream of wheat). By the end of the trip, I didn't even bother to taste it anymore. One day we had hot chocolate instead, which I happily consumed. We also had bread, butter, and strawberry jam each day. We also had fresh fruit, or pancakes with caramel sauce, or an omelet. The food was accompanied by hot water and an assortment of teas, hot chocolate powder, and instant coffee.
After breakfast we usually had about 15 minutes to use the restroom, brush our teeth, finish packing, and fill our water bottles before heading out for the day. Note about the restroom. At some of the camps we had actual toilets, but at most we did not. Sometimes there was an established squat or pit toilet (no seat!). If there was no toilet at all, the trekking company dug a hole in the ground and put a tent around the hole for privacy. I had interpreted the "toilet tent" that they mentioned on their website as having a portable chemical/camping toilet or at least having a bucket to sit on above the hole in the ground. Was I shocked the first time I needed to use it!
Following breakfast, we started the hike for the day. On most days, we would hike about 2.5-3 hours before we stopped at a "rest stop" for a snack. Our daily snack consisted of a piece of fresh fruit (apple, orange, banana) and a small package of cookies or cereal bars. About half the time, we stopped for a snack in a small village where additional fruit, cookies, chips, soft drinks, or water could be purchased.
After our snack and a short rest (15-20 minutes) we would hike for an additional 2-3 hours until we reached the lunch spot. The lunches were amazing.
We would start with an appetizer like this pizza
or this ham and asparagus dish.
The appetizer was then followed by a bowl of hot soup. Most of the time it was a broth soup with vegetables and a grain (wheat, oats, rice, quinoa) but sometimes it was a vegetable puree (mushroom or asparagus).
Following the soup, we had the main dish and sides. Most of the time they were served family/buffet style.We had a meat dish that was usually beef or chicken. In this case it was orange chicken.
We also had vegetables, beans or lentils, and at least one kind of starch (rice, potatoes, and/or pasta). It was impossible to still be hungry after lunch!
There were a couple of times when we had a plated lunch - when the cook didn't have access to a kitchen or the "kitchen tent". This fried rice and stuffed chicken was our picnic lunch on the first day just outside of Cachora before we actually started hiking.
This stuffed chili pepper and rice was the plated picnic lunch we had (along with the pizza and a bowl of mushroom soup) at the top of the Abra Victoria pass at 4130m/13,546' elevation.
We typically spent 1-2 hours at each lunch stop. Sometimes we ate almost immediately after arriving, but usually we had time for a 15-20 minute rest (nap) before lunch and another 15-20 minute digestion period following lunch.
After lunch, we would hike an addition 2-3 hours to our campsite. We usually arrived at the campsite in the late afternoon, but twice we arrived right around dusk.
Shortly after arriving at the campsite, we would have tea. Depending on how much time we had before tea, we might take a nap, a shower if available, wash some clothes, or just kick back and relax.
On most nights, we would have fried "wontons" that were filled with fried bananas, cheese, ham, or covered with caramel sauce.
We would also have cookies and a big plate of popcorn. Of course, we would have an assortment of teas (tea bags and coca leaves), instant coffee, and hot chocolate mix. We got a good laugh one night when somebody actually read the label on the tea bags and discovered the brand was Hornimans. It was even funnier when we tried to explain to our guide why we found the name so funny.
Following tea, we would have about 1 hour before dinner. By this time it was dark and usually cold. We typically went to our tents to read, chat, or nap until we were called for dinner.
Dinner would start with a bowl of hot soup, similar to the types served at lunch (but never a repeat of that day's lunch).
We would also have at least one starch (usually 2 or 3): pasta, rice, potatoes, yucca, etc., often with a warm vegetable sauce (tomato and onions) to scoop over it.
We also had a vegetable dish. In this case it is beets, carrots, and green beans.
And we had a meat dish. The dish above is fried cuy (Guinea pig) with battered and fried yucca root. Most of the time the meat was chicken or beef, and we also had fish one night.
Our cook Herbert did a great job of keeping us well fed!
Following dinner, we would chat a bit about what we saw during the day, discuss the morning's hike, have another cup of tea, and then head off to our tents for bed.
The trail lived up to its name with lots of butterflies, but it was so much more. In order to have butterflies, there were also lots of wildflowers, including these asters.
Yellow columbine
Indian paintbrush (with a grasshopper)
The trail was a bit different than I anticipated. I had originally thought that most of it would be ascending up the mountain. Since my knee was still a bit fatigued from my Peru trip, that was a good thing.
Unfortunately, over half of the trail was spent descending into a ravine to the spring before we could ascend back out.
and their creepy looking larvae/pupae that were hanging off a log.
I was thrilled when we finally reached the climb. My knee was happier and I could go full throttle and race up the hills.
This gave me the chance to break out my hoop and play for a while as I waited for some of the others to catch up.
