In these parts there it seems there is a god who is a massive drama queen, lets call her Tommy, and she’s a vengeful bitch. Seemingly punished for our unexpected luxury we wake to a bit of a shitful day, the alpine atmosphere dealing up a densely clouded mass for Tommy to piss upon us all day long. This is a bit of a bugger as today we climb and climb and climb. Looks like there’s not a lot to see for these little wet ducks.
Today is a little shorter than yesterday but the elevation gained is notable, and by notable, I mean daunting. We’re pretty good with this kind of thing so we should be fine… should be. That is until we cross a river about halfway through the walk and its up up up. The little steam train (Charlie) battles on pretty well, the giraffe (Steve) however finds it a bit of a rough day. All said and done though it’s a great sense of genuinely plunging into the wilderness which is what we were exactly after. Trading sweeping vistas for atmospheric immersion we lap up the diversity that nature routinely deals.
As we arrive in La Neveria absolutely thrashed and a little more than half an hour ahead of schedule, which possibly explains the difficulty somewhat. A quick undress and we have an early contender for stinkiest, most disgusting boys of the trip, not pretty. But it’s food time, woo hoo! We’ve been shown a particular plant along the way that is used in lots of cooking and we’re treated to it also being used as a tea, and it’s sensational, kind of peppermint, lemon and rosemary all in one. Throw in 3 courses of deliciousness and Tommy can just go and get you know what 🙂 The crowning glory is a main course of typical La Naveria fare, frijole beans (pureed into a kind of thick gravy) a mixed vegetable fritter and a golden crispy potato cake. Oh, and of course tortillas. It’s a massive feast and now its time for afternoon nap.
Charlie and Steve's Excellent Adventure 