Well I made it!!! I am very proud and excited to say that I managed to stay with the trek and to really enjoy it. After my last blog my attitude changed and I was actually enjoying myself. Yes there were still some hard days and yes I still struggled but there was a different attitude about it!!! I was happy to be there and happy to be in the team.
Today we packed up our last tent, sleeping mat and bag, strapped our bags on and headed for home. We had a lovely stroll (well kind of a stroll pushed by Zac into a trot) around the edge of the mountainside, where my footsteps weren´t being watched as my eyes were looking for the perfect stone. (There were so many minerals in the mountains that all the shiny stones were drawing my attencion away from my steps). Anyway after I found the perfect stone (about 6 times) I enjoyed the walk. It was a beautiful day the sun was shiny and as we looked over our shoulders at the last picturs of the magnificent mountain range it seemed sad to be saying goodbye! After our 3 hour stroll we begun our 2 hour descent which is definately not the easy part!!! We skidded and slipped our way into Huayllapa (Zac´s home town) and joined the last of the team (aurieros) at the bus. It was sad to say goodbye to our companions, even though they couldn´t speak a word of english (which ended in a few catastrophes no soup and an issue with mashed potatoes, ask one of us girls for more info) it felt like they could understand us, Even if it was just a nod of the head and a smile!
The bus met us and took us on the our final resting place for the evening Chiquian where we staying in a gorgeous little hotel called Los Nogels (we have cards for our friends if they are ever in the neighbourhood). We were lucky that the town festival was on the next day, so after a little stroll (and a real stroll this time, no hills) we viewed the town, grabbed fruit, cheese, olives and wine and went back to the hotel to enjoy our delites. Dinner was served where we sat so there was no need to leave the confines of the toasty lounge room. Soup, tortilla and dessert I am not sure how my stomach can handle all this food. I suppose the walking makes room for it.
Anyway off to bed and that was the end of our trek through the Andes. We had a wonderful time full of many ups and downs both emotionally and physically, but we all made it and now our next adventure begins in the amazon!!!