We were out the door and at Avenida Gamarra by 7AM. I met Francois, a Canadian trekker, the previous night, and we decided to hike up to Lake Churup together.

The combi wasn't leaving until 7:20, waiting for more passengers before heading off. The driver wanted to charge us 5 soles, but we were insistent on paying only 3. Once we started rolling, the combi picked up an additional 20 or so mostly local passengers, cramming everyone into the tiniest space available. Thirty minutes later, we got dropped off at the far edge of the town of Llupa. With what appeared to be only two parallel streets, Llupa was less of a town and more of a village. From Llupa, we hiked 40 minutes upwards on rock and gravel until we reached Pitec, where the path to Lake Churup began.