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Day 3 Hiking up The Giant: lastnight I took a sleeping pill and managed to get a few hours of sleep which I was very thankful for. I was up at about 5am and there waiting was some hot coffee loaded with sugar exactly what I needed. Breakfast today was quite good with a couple of pancakes, 3 thick slices of fried ham and some omelette - finally we are getting some substantial energy delivering food. There was a light drizzle when we started and it would continue all through the day. The track started very steep and had water flowing down it just like a muddy river, the walking was slow going and we had to watch our every step. The jungle was incredible with a very unique plant life that is used to rain all year round - carnivorous plants, huge ferns and brightly coloured orchards where at every gaze. We made it to the edge of the wall and stopped to rest with some of the other group - all agreeing how magnificent the scenery was on today's walk. We continued on up the muddy trails coasting the side of the waterfall and right near the top walked through this gigantic waterfall that plummeted us with water - myself and Yuki shouted with excitement only to find out that we were not allowed to shout as the indigenous considered the place sacred and we didn't want to offend. The walking got tougher and it all of a sudden started to pour with rain, over huge boulders we climbed and finally made it to the top. And what a site it was with black rocks and an almost Barron landscape with some strange plants covered in a thick mist. We took some photos and then headed to what would be our camp for the next few days: a small cave with an overhang where we had shelter from the elements. We had a good lunch of Arepas filled with omelette and as a special treat the porter boiled up some soup and noodles - exactly what we needed to warm up. We all got out of our wet clothes and tried to dry them and I even managed to sneak off for an hour nap. At around 3pm we all went for a walk around starting at the valley of crystals; huge valley covered in beautiful white crystals - very unique. Next we visited rock formations of bears and monkeys all set in this black Barron prehistoric environment. It was incredibly cold and raining a lot so we didn't want to stop walking and made our way all the way to The Jacuzzi - an incredible crystal clear pool of water situated on top of this mountain - as we arrived the sun came out and we got to appreciate the true beauty of this special place. With pink sand, white crystals, black rocks, carnivorous plants and oasis like lagoons there is certainly no where on the planet like this place. I headed back to camp really quickly as I was so cold but unfortunately lost site of the group and had to turn back and go looking for them - luckily I found them and we all made it back to camp. It was far to cold to bathe tonight and dinner for me was served super early as I couldn't eat pasta: for dinner I had potatoes, carrots, mince meat, onion, cabbage and Tomatos all mixed up and it was really good - unfortunately a little cold but hit the spot none the less. The rest of the group ate about an hour later and Yuki had a suprise; he had brought a bottle of Venezuelan whiskey up the mountain. So with dinner we cracked open the bottle and drunk what was a very good whiskey - the whiskey warmed me up perfectly and I kept drinking and soon found myself quite drunk and very talkative. Atleast I was warm though and when I got to my tent I think I passed out straight away and had the best sleep of the trip so far.
OBSERVATIONS:
- Jungle very unique because of moist climate alongside mountain
- On top - looks like something from a lost world
- Visit crystal valley and the Jacuzzi
- Yuki's suprise bottle of whiskey warmed us up well and got me very drunk
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