...all hell breaks loose as:- receptionist says no credit cards and we have no cash; no ATM either this being a middle of nowhere mountain town; and yet he has a credit card machine but claims it is not working.- Lanko people overcharge us for mules (we were supposed to have a round trip discount but they won't give it after all because we decided on the return mile service only after the expedition and not beforehand)- Lanko people can't find the crampon...

...we get up, put our stuff in order, prepare bags for mules, check internet and start walking....we walk, walk, walk, walk, meet an actual mule traffic jam on a narrow zigzagging path, I slip and fall, we walk, walk, walk....and then walk some more. This never ends!!!...after 8h of walking we make it to the road!...guys from Lanko are slow to pick us up at the ranger station and so Piotr flirts with female rangers again to kill time....it's dark so guys pick...

...we pack camp and attempt to move to Camp 3 (Berlín) at 5,900m but I am just to tired I cannot walk properly. The lack of sleep is taking its toll. I slept 3-4 hours a night for the last nine days and am exhausted... I go back to Camp 2. Piotr continues for sightseeing and will come back to go down with me later. Sebastian continues the summit attempt as planned....I go down and warm myself in the rangers' house while Piotr explores. They give me mate, we ...

...we spend the day in the tent relaxing, only seldom crawling out in search of snow for cooking...I go to poo only to find out that people don't really take their number twos with them and dump them around the big rock on the edge of the camp; by that point I'm too tired to do otherwise....we survive another, even colder night and this time I wake up a little stiff. Going out to pee is torture but stars never looked better!

...I find out my sleeping bag is doing just fine, thank you very much, even though temperature at night in the tent was sub zero...remembering that from Canada on there is no more water access, we realize that the expression: "I'm gonna get snow for breakfast, you want some?" makes perfect sense here... ...I dump a poo bag under a rock here vowing to return for it!...we eat, pack lazily and set off to Nido. Going is harder than expected, especially that from ...