Today was day 2 , a very challenging 657 metre climb from our start point . A tour van picked us up at 8 am so we had a nice bunch of about 10 keen walkers .

The first half of the walk was on well constructed trail that kept on a steady steep incline . Eventually we reached an office of sorts where we paid about $15 nzd each to complete the walk .

Nice cool walking temps made it very pleasant . Both Barb and I are making good progress on altitude acclimation , however oxygen deprivation still makes climbing a real mission . 20 steps then stop to ventilate lungs and ward off the extremes of altitude. The young and fit seem to make great speed , particularly local Peruvians but most other visitors suffered just like us .

Barb was happy and relieved to not feel unwell , and with the high point over 4600 metres well pleased with our progress

It took us nearly 3 hours to the high point , with a much faster descent . You can almost feel the oxygen lifting as one rapidly descends , then back to the van and a narrow winding road all the way back to a mere 3000 metres .