In case you were wondering, there is a purpose to my
muddy expeditions. Tomorrow I am going on a
high-altitude trek for a few days, and I need to be
ready--both physically and in my capacity to handle
exertion at higher altitudes.
With this in mind, I talked to some folks at a local
tour agency last night and asked them for a good
suggestion for today. They had the perfect route in
mind.
I met my guide, Henry, early this morning after
downing a quart of protein shake in about 5 minutes.
He didn't speak any English.
We went to the base of another "hill" and before I
knew it Henry shot up this trail like he'd just
switched on his afterburners. Christ!
I shot up after him, climbing through the humid
vegetation at twice my normal pace, my protein shake
gurgling uncomfortably in my stomach.
After some time, Henry stopped on the side of the
trail where I could take a minute to photograph the
city of Banos. Meanwhile, he rolled himself a joint
and lit up.
And then we shot up again. Now, I should mention that
in my other climb and during the mountain bike ride
I'd followed Bill Forrest's advice and breathed
entirely through my nose in order to maximize my lung
capacity.
There was absolutely no way I could sustain that
here--I would have needed nostrils the size of a
rhino!
For quite a while I suspected that Henry was ripping
up these trails at warp speed to prove some kind of
macho, South American point. He told me later on,
though, that speed climbing was perfect training for
the trek I was about to do.
Regardless, Henry showed no mercy. We moved up these
trails on fast forward, and it got to a point where
the only way for me to keep going was to enter some
kind of self-hypnosis.
I'd block out the heat from my awareness, block out
the profuse sweating, block out the sound of my ragged
breathing, block out the dryness of my throat, block
out the lack of air in my lungs, block out the burning
and fatigue in my legs, and block out all thoughts of
time and distance.
Instead, I'd let my mind go completely blank and stare
just at the couple feet of ground in front of me and
focus entirely on the process of taking the next step.
Step, step, step, step, step, step...
In this mindless trance, I was able to keep up with
Henry the entire climb. I didn't give in by calling
for a break or water or ask to slow down. The few
breaks we took were ones Henry called for, and I was
inwardly quite thrilled to see him out of breath as
well.
By the time we'd reached our top destination, Henry
applauded my gringo strength and stamina. Coming from
an Andean native who probably used to chase mountain
goats up and down the mountains as a kid just for fun,
I was quite pleased.
To compare our rate of ascent to Sunday's: on Sunday I
climbed (in the rain and mud) at a fairly constant
rate of about 1500 feet per hour, which isn't half
bad. This morning, we climbed some 2500 feet in an
hour and 15 minutes. As far as I'm concerned, that's fast.
After three action-packed days of non-stop physical
exertion, my plan for the afternoon was to simply to
loaf around Banos and let my body rest. And I did.
Even took 2 short naps. From what I understand of the
trek I'm about to take, I'll need every ounce of
strength I can muster...
Speaking of strength, I have to admit that I'm eating
quite well here. There'll be a shortage of chickens by
the time I leave!
The coolest dish I've had by far is avocado stuffed
with chicken salad in some kind of vinaigrette. Yum!
At this same restaurant, I also came upon the most
unusual toilet I've ever seen. Going past a dark and
narrow hallway, this little wooden door swings out to
reveal...the mini-toilet.
The room is so small it only fits the toilet, in an
unusual shade of pink. The walls and ceiling are
completely covered by newspaper pages. And the ceiling
is so low that, if I were to stand up straight, my
shoulders would touch it.
Made me think of Alice in Wonderland, except in this
case it was Gabriel in Wondertoilet!
In other random musings, my guide explained to me this
morning that parts of the movie Proof of Life (with
Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan) were filmed in the Banos
area, and notably at the waterfalls that I had visited
yesterday.
Cheers,
Gabriel
