Today, we planned to sleep in and have breakfast at 10 a.m., but that proved easier said than done. The wind howled all night, rattling the tent, and my sleeping bag—damaged with a cut—released feathers everywhere, causing me to cough constantly.
By 8 a.m., we gave up on trying to sleep and got up to deal with the sleeping bag. We began packing some of our belongings and left the tent open to air out the feathers in the strong wind.
When we returned to the tent after having tea in the mess hall dome, we found it had been turned upside down by someone else—likely to prevent it from blowing away, as we had left the doors open.
We decided to deal with the mess after breakfast. Once we were ready, we tackled the chaotic tent, crawling into the upside-down structure to pack up our bags before properly dismantling it. It was an awkward process, but we managed. Afterward, we helped others take down their tents, which was much easier since they weren’t flipped over.
By 11:30 a.m., we had packed everything, including our combined weight of about 24 kg, and began the four-hour hike down to the other valley’s base camp, Plaza de Mulas.
The hike started with a steep, icy slope, where we held onto a wire for guidance as we descended. From there, we continued toward Nido de Cóndores and then down a scree slope that became progressively steeper. Eventually, we reached a vantage point where we could see the much larger base camp below, a stark contrast to the one we had just left.
The descent was tough, especially for my knees, so I moved more slowly than the others. After a long effort, we finally reached the camp and were rewarded with snacks, including pizza.
After settling in, we prepared for the next day and found our dorm tent for the night. Inside were bunk beds, and I ended up with a top bunk, which had very little space between the mattress and the ceiling, with no safety rails to prevent falling. At least it was a real mattress, though!
We enjoyed dinner together before heading back to the dorm tent, eager to fall asleep as quickly as possible after the challenging day.