Touching the void

After a 12 hour flight to Lima and an 8 hour bus journey, we have arrived at the market town of Huaraz in the Peruvian Andes. At 3100 metres above sea level, we have both felt the effects of the altitude - headaches, laboured breathing after any form of exercise and resting pulses 50% higher than normal - and have therefore spent the last two days wandering the town, eating and planning the 6 day trek into the mountain range of Cordillera Blanca, not far as the condor flies from the scene of Joe Simpson´s exploits. Enforced acclimatisation has given us plenty of time to take in Peruvian life and, in no particular order, the following things are worthy of note: urine-coloured Inca Kola (the Peruvian soft drink); an old lady asking to eat the remains of our unfinished meals; ceviche (raw fish ´cooked´in lime juice and chilli); nets of squeaking guinea pigs at the market; 3 course lunches for a pound; fresh papaya juice; views of snow-clad mountains; and thick marmalade sunsets.