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This hike was 40km in 5 days of walking. (1 full day at the site)

Really appreciated the full day at the site
The camino was really easy (IN DRY SEASON), and in no way compares to the difficulty of any other multi-day hikes I.ve done in SA. For me it was quite disappointing. (4 hours of walking per day, 1 day of 7 hours)

I understand that the same hike can be done in 4-5 days, but this generally means spending only a few hours at the site (which would suck)

There is a 6/7 day version that is a loop - I´m guessing this is more rewarding, but wasn.t available when i signed up -- in fact the agency told me if I convinced 3 more people to come, that we could do it -- I convinced 5 people and we still didn.t go -- the agency never bothered to tell the guide.

NOTE--- bring RAID -- there are wicked fleas in the beds and hammocks.

p.s. in the rainy season, I.m sure this trek is a bitch!


Stuff I brought

First aid kit
soap
sunscreen (useless, as you sweat it off immediately!)
bug spray
1 pants
1 shorts
1 bathing suit
2 socks
1 t-shirt
1 tank top
1 base layer
1 rainjacket (for warmth) -- you would not need this for rain
1 winter hat
1 sleeping bag

1 book
1 chess set

1 set of clothes for day, 1 for night
DID not need rainjacket -- or t-shirt really (just wore base layer)
winter hat always comes in handy, and compensated for light clothing.
towel might have been useful, but glad i didn.t carry it
Book was semi useless, but only because we had such a big group, and people got along well.

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also.. cocaine laboratory for 20,000 pesos was a complete ripoff.

Mike

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Mike, thanks for the information. Question-- from previous reports I recall reading there are two companies that do the trek now-- who did you use and how did you find the guide? It seems it can be hit or miss. And out of curiosity how large was your group. Thanks for any additional info.

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17 people, way too big (was told 100% not more than 12) - went through Magic Tours, which takes a small commission and then sends you to turcol...

turcol and sierra tours run the tours - doubt that you have any influence about your guide.

Sierra seems to run smaller groups.

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lol @ the fleas in the "beds"! I posted this in another topic:

If anyone suffers from respiratory problems, I'd be careful. The cots provided in Ciudad Perdida haven't been washed in years, so they're full of dust, mites, etc. Any asthmatic will surely have an attack. We had one in our group. He was fine walking, crossing the rivers, sleeping in hammocks, but said that the cots were "an immediate attack on the lungs", lol.

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