Early car ride with Damni to the 7 Lakes of Ausangate. We arrived and had a small breakfast with Damni and our driver. We were again the only two on this journey for this hike. As I said before, we did this with a travel agent and so sometimes I wasn't always very aware of how much distance it was to get to one of these destinations OR how long these hikes and journeys would take... In this case, it was probably better we didn't know.
Starting at 14,000 ft elevation, we hiked with Damni over 15 km. He only told us these facts when we were over halfway finished. We saw seven stunning glacier-fed lakes, surrounded by rolling hills opposite the Vilcanota Mountain Range. It was difficult with the altitude, with Max and I battling headaches and some dizziness at different points. Damni was cautious and allowed lots of breaks, hydration,and also something he called an elixer, which basically you huffed and it opened up your airways. It was a strange feeling but we both used this elixir a few times and it shook off the dizziness, if not for a while.
It was an amazing hike. I don't think Max or I were adequately prepared for what lay ahead. The beauty, the spiritualness, the tranquility. We had deep conversations with Damni about his life growing up on a coffee farm, and being raised by his grandparents. We took a moment of silence at one small magical 'lake' where we cast our wishes and prayers to God. It was definitely one of the most spiritual moments being there with Max and experiencing this incredible place together.
We were exhausted on the way home and slept a lot of the loopy, curving and bumpy drive home. We looked at our airplane napkin to find a place to eat and ended up at PachaPapa. We had the most delightful abuelita serving our table. She didn't speak any English but had no trouble at steering Max away from what he intended to order, to order something completely different off the menu 😅 It was a fantastic meal and an entire bottle of red wine. The night was cool and we sat out on the patio while someone played music in the corner. It was the best way to end our 4th day in Peru :)
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