Today, we woke up early and enjoyed one last free shower before heading down for breakfast with all our equipment. We made the most of the buffet breakfast before loading up onto Alele’s Land Rovers. One vehicle carried all our bags, while the other transported the group, with everyone sitting in the back facing each other. We drove to the entrance of the Vacas Valley and prepared to start our trek.
After a mandatory group photo by the sign, we set off along the same path we had taken two years ago. The trail began by winding alongside a small stream between the trees before opening up into the main valley, where we followed the river for the rest of the day.
The trek covered 16 km over five and a half hours, with an elevation gain of 730 meters. Along the way, we took a few breaks to enjoy snacks and spotted some cows—a fitting and amusing detail, given that this is the Vacas Valley (“Valley of the Cows”). It was a pleasant surprise since we hadn’t seen any cows on our previous trip here. Hopefully, a good omen!
For lunch, we stopped by the river and enjoyed a ham and cheese pastry, some candy, and our last Snickers bar—RIP to a much-loved snack.
We finally reached camp around 2:30 p.m. and were greeted by a much different setup than two years ago. What had previously been a blank site was now dotted with domes, creating a lively and well-equipped base. Upon arrival, we were welcomed with tea and snacks. Sadly, there wasn’t any passionfruit tea, so I skipped it. Adding to the chaos, we weren’t yet told where our bags were located.
After a quick break, we attended a mandatory tent setup demonstration. Then it was our turn, and that’s when things went slightly awry. We picked a spot close to the dome but didn’t clear it properly, so our tent wasn’t as square as it should have been. After retrieving our large bags, we realized my foam mattress was too big for the tent, which meant reorganizing everything and leaving some bags outside. On the bright side, the mattress turned out to be very comfortable.
With the tent finally set up, we had some free time to relax. However, the tent became so warm from the afternoon sun that I started feeling heat exhaustion. I alternated between going in and out of the tent to manage the temperature, but outside was too cold and inside was too hot. Thankfully, as the sun went down, the tent cooled to a more bearable temperature.
An hour before dinner, we headed to the main dome tent, where I finally got my first passionfruit tea of the day. We chatted with a few people before being served a delicious Argentinian parrilla dinner, featuring beef, sausages, and roasted butternut squash. We enjoyed the meal and some conversation before heading back to our tent for the night.
Getting ready for bed involved brushing my teeth and then an unexpected scavenger hunt for Mathieu’s lost headlamp, which he blamed me for misplacing. Once we found it and sorted everything out, we settled into our tent, which felt like a glamping setup compared to previous trips.
Since it was still only 9:30 p.m., I decided to read a bit before falling asleep, ready for an early start tomorrow at 7 a.m.