I
was up and packed and waiting when the bus arrived. I jumped in and was greeted
by two very energetic Israeli guys. We then picked up 2 Argentine girls and
after a little while we stopped to change buses and we were off.
We
all caught up on some sleep on the journey but I woke up when we got stuck in
some traffic that was being caused by an Easter candle light procession. We
continued winding up bumpy roads through little farms with massive rocks in
their crops. We eventually stopped for breakfast where we got some hot
chocolate (hot brown water) but added some chocolate cereal before we jumped
back in the bus for the last little stretch.
We
stopped in the middle of nowhere and started walking. At first we went down a
little to a plain with a river flowing through it and a scattering of cows. We
continued walking up the valley through rain, fog, wind and a little bit of sun
before we finally made it to 4600m and Laguna 69 was in front of us. The lake
is a rich blue which is caused by a mineral in the area and is picked up by the
melting glaciers above. The reason the lake has this name is because all lakes
are numbered to make them easier to identify, well that's the story we got.
After
having some lunch in the sleet, rain, sun and wind we made our way back down to
the bus appreciating the mountains peaking out of the clouds. In the bus we
caught up on some sleep after a 14km round trip and struggling with low oxygen
and steep inclines.
I
got back to the hostel and had a nice hot shower before finalising the packing
and making my way to 13 búhos for a farewell drink with new friends... I was
thirsty so ended up being early (think that will be my excuse from now on).
After a few drinks and some food I made my way to the bus station where I
checked in my bag and waited for the bus. On the bus I had another large man
next to me but fortunately I was in the front so had plenty of leg room and
managed to get some rest.