Today was full of activity. We did a practice ascent of a mountain called Juriques in order to prepare for our ascent of Licancabur later in the expedition.

We drove to the site and began our ascent.



The wind and difficulty of the terrain are demonstrated in this movie.

[Video: A Windy Day!]

During the ascent we encountered many interesting volcanic rock formations and plant life that had adapted to survive there.







We also encountered ancient Inca ruins in the distance.
The environmental conditions here may have been different in the time of the Incas.



Macario guided us up the slope. As mentioned in an earlier update, he knows this part of the Andes like the back of his hand.



We finally made it to the summit. The wind there was fiercer than I had ever encountered. It was sustained over 100 km/h. These movies helps convey the experience:

[Video: Climbing Juriques]

[Video: At the Summit of Juriques]

The team had been split into two groups. We waited at the summit for the second group and tried to shelter ourselves from the fierce wind.





Rob demonstrates the strength of the wind in the following photograph:



We stopped for a quick group photo before we began our descent.



[Video: Group at Juriques Summit]

During the descent I photographed other interesting kinds of plants.







We finally could see our vehicle in the distance. Once at the vehicle I photographed the second group as they descended in the distance.



Quote of the day:

"This is what I call wiiiindyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"