Number 42 - Camp under the stars

The universe is bigger than any of us, vast and huge. 

During my trip to Peru this year we spent 2 days hiking the Ausganste trek to the summit for Rajnbow Mountain.

At the end of day one we arrived at base camp to spend my first ever camping experience sleeping overnight at 4,000 ft above sea level . 

After a lovely Peruvian home cooked meal we stepped out into the darkness.

It was sub zero degrees as we huddled around the camp fire, sharing stories, drinking rum tea, and salsa dancing to keep warm. 

But the star of the show was that which was up above in the night sky...the universe! I’ve never in my entire life witnessed so many stars in the sky. At high altitude and with zero light and pollution you could see every one of the billions of stars so so clearly. Shining so brightly alongside the Milky Way and Jupiter! Simply breathtaking.

No one wanted to go to bed, and all I wanted to do the entire night was spend it staring up at the stars. But we had to get some rest and turned in for the night.

We got into our tents with 5 layers of clothing and 2 sleeping bags it was -5 degrees and I tried to sleep I best I could until the cold made me want the loo! 

I had to take 3 of my 4 pairs of socks off to get my hiking boots back on but I knew as soon as I stepped out it was going to be freezing! I got back into bed and I managed about an hour or two of sleep all night before Eric our guide was at our tent with a wake up call and hot tea at 4am. 

I was tired and cold, it was so tough camping in those conditions but being able to have witnessed the southern hemoishere night sky the night before made it all the worth while. 

Remember if it wasn’t for darkness the stars wouldnt be able to shine.