South American Adventure - Day Seventeen, Saturday 8th March 2014

We had signed up for a six kilometre hike to the Luna Valley this morning.  At the presentation last night, we had been told it was an easy flat hike.  Seemed the perfect start to our time in the desert.

After breakfast, we met the five others that were going on the trip and Andreas, the guide.  Andreas suggested that I bring my walking poles – couldn’t see the point on a flat six kilometre hike, but I went back to the room and got them anyway.  Paul already had his. He suggested that I took a hat , but apart from my woolly one that I haven’t yet worn I haven’t got another one.  The temperature is going to be well in the twenties today, so I thought the woolly one inappropriate!   I hoped this group weren’t going to be too fast – not used to trekking with a group.  Oh well – it is only six kilometres so they can’t leave me too far behind!  We got in one of the Explorar vans, and drove the fifteen minutes to the start of the hike.

We started on a flat rock surface, that was very similar to entering the siq in Jordan to get to Petra.  High rocks either side that offered some shade at this time in the morning – the sun hadn’t quite come up over the top of the left hand ones.  The rock formations were amazing – and interspersed were sand dunes that were completely flat.  I was, as usual, back marker.  At least I could take pictures and go at my own pace.  After a couple of kilometres we came to a dead end.  Not quite sure what was going on, I heard one of the others say that Andreas was trying a new route today.  What?  He hadn’t been here before?  Oh well – have to go back to the beginning and start again.  No.  We went back a few yards, and he decided to climb up the top of the right hand mountain.  He cam running back down.  Glad that’s not the way I thought to myself.  Unfortunately, it was the way.  My god, am I glad I bought my poles.  It was steep, sandy, rocky, and excruciatingly difficult.  It just seemed to keep going up and up.  By this time, we were in full sun.  What had I signed up for today?  Not this!

We eventually got to the top – I have never seen anything like it.  How I ever got up I don’t know.  At least I was up – and perhaps the rest will be flat.  No.  Don’t be silly.  There may have been a couple of flat sections, but I think my mind missed them.  The rocks were now like giant cactuses, having to put your feet on the end of the rocks rather than down in between them.  How much more of this is there?  Some of the rock was really soft, like walking on a carpet.  Paul pointed out that he hoped there wasn’t a hole underneath so we went right through.  Thanks for that!  “Only just around that pyramid shaped mountain” said Andreas.  Oh good I thought.  Wrong.  Round and up over that pyramid shaped mountain was the entrance to a huge arena in the middle of a circle of mountains.  It must have been a mile across.  At least it was flat.  We all had a group picture taken here – looking really happy because we thought the end was near.  Wrong again.  We had to walk across the arena – but at the other end there was only mountains.  I had a feeling that we were going to have to go over them to get out.  Right.  “Over that black mountain, and then only another kilometre and a half the other side” says Andreas.  The black mountain was the biggest one there.  Bugger!

“It is extremely easy – nowhere near as hard as it looks.”  Ha!  I said I am taking a picture of that, and will tell him when (or if) I manage to get over it whether it was extremely easy.  As I thought, it wasn’t.  Climbing over that was one of the most scariest things I have ever done in my life.  The trail – if you could call it that – was probably a shoe width wide at most.  You had to balance on the cactus type rocks to traverse it, as well as going up.  To the right was a cavernous drop.  I taught Andreas a new phrase at that point.  “Really easy my arse.”  He thought that was funny.  He was now carrying my camera bag, and yanking me from one rock to the next.  Oh my god – how I got up that mountain I have no idea.  I was exhausted, hot, scared and thinking that if I fall down now I am going to die.  When we got to the top Andreas said he had never lost anyone before.  Always a first time!  He kept calling me his favourite – felt like he was Bruce Forsyth on Strictly with the no hopers!

When we got to the top was the finish – no!  More up and more down and more round the corner.  The sun has now been shining directly on my head for over three hours – that is going to be my excuse for any crazy things I do in the future.  Paul was not happy – I could see him thinking that the Caribbean would have been a much better option.  I am tending to agree with him!  My legs have now gone to jelly.  The Gatorade comes out of Andreas’ bag – refills the salt apparently.  I don’t argue – it is an excuse to stop to drink it.  As we go around another corner there is a little cave under an overhanging rock – and it is in the shade.  I did contemplate having a kip, but as it was rocks for the floor I thought I would be swapping one form of hell for another.

When was this ever going to end?  As we walked up a huge sand dune Paul spied a road in the distance.  Hope!  Did we go straight to it?  No.  Was it flat to get to?  No.  Even a flat surface in the distance is actually lots of ups and downs in reality.  After nearly four hours hiking in the direct sunlight the Explora van comes in to sight.  I have never been so pleased to sit in a car.  I have never sweated as much (you really didn’t need to know that) and been so exhausted.  Or I don’t think so.  Might be like having a baby and forgetting the pain.  I have been to Annapurna Base Camp, so it might have happened at some point in that trip.

There were cold drinks in the van, that were gladly received by all.  Two of the group fared better than the others – but as usual I was always at the end.  The end of my tether!  The drive back to the hotel was only twenty minutes or so – and we had the joy of picking what we wanted to do tomorrow when we got back.  Ha!  Another six kilometre trek.  Are we mad or what?  But the upside was that we cancelled this afternoons excursion and spent it by the pool.  Excellent recuperation.  And by the time we got back to the room we had a bottle of win delivered from the Excursions Desk for the rubbish information that they gave us about the trek.  Thank you very much, but I think we would have probably done it anyway, but been a little more prepared mentally.

We had dinner with the other five people on the trek – even if we were slow they are still talking to us.  Karen & Jim from New York, Stefan from Germany and Lilian and Michael from Colombia but living in Miami.  Lilian was kidnapped by Colombian guerrillas in 1999 for four months – fascinating people you meet on holiday!  We then had a little lesson on astronomy.  There is a giant telescope and observatory on the hotel site, and we saw a blazing star, the nebulas around Orion’s belt, the moons and the bands around Jupiter and all the craters on the moon.  Amazing end to the day!