Latest Articles on Bolivia
Change of Plan
Well this morning I ditched the Yunga Cruz trek as the team is dead on their feet and needed a rest day. Unfortunately another World Challenge Team is starting our plan B trek tomorrow so I have had to to arrange a third option.
We have decided to do the Takesi Trek instead and will be leaving at tomorrow Bolivia. Rather than the standard 3 day version we will be doing a 4 day variant where we will be allowing us to explore further into the Cordillera Real Mountain Range. I sounds stunning, as most of our experiences in Bolivia have been to date and I´ll report back on our return to La Paz.
Unfortunately I am still struggling to find any internet cafes with machines other than Windows 98 and as such can´t upload any pictures. My search continues and as soon as I find somewhere I´ll upload some shots to give you a flavor of Bolivia so far.
The Devils Molar
Did a really nice trek up to a high mountain crag called the Devils Molar yesterday. Fantastic views of the canyon with La Pas in the bottom and some 5-6000m peaks beyond.
The group worked well and we took a local bus for the half hour ride to the start of the trek which was a bit of an eye opener for us all. Some of the group were finding the altitude tough going but they got there and all enjoyed the experience. They even received a certificate from the village below the Molar for completing the experience.
Today we are off to Copacabana for a few days and the bus picks us up in a few minutes. Still no Internet connection where I can download pictures from my camera. Will hopefully find one soon!
Bolivia at LONG Last
Well we are here safely and settling in well in La Pas, more on that later.
The build up day went well on the Saturday at Hounslow Barracks in London. The team arrived at 1630 and ate, checked all the kit and completed the handover from World Challenge (WC). The expedition had begun! After the 121’s with all the challengers we discussed roles and rules for the expeditions. It was earlyish to bed for most of us in preparation for the 5am start the next day.
The trip to Heathrow went well. We checked in without a hitch apart from a 5 min panic that Maz (assistant leader) hadn’t been given a ticket by WC. All the baggage was checked in without a hitch. The money was collected and after a 5 minute dash in departures to get some breakfast (more like 15 actually ) it was a run to the gate in time for departure.
The flight to Miami was great, on a comfortable 777 (John you would be pround). There was loads of leg room and the food and entertainment was ok. Arrival at Miami was a different matter. Security was a pain with loads of checks from sullen security guards. We all bit our tongues and got through to the main airport within a couple of hours.
Now Miami airport is not the greatest in the world, especially when you have 8 hours to kill. We still had lots of stuff to cover which due to time…
Goodbye to Cambridge
Well this is the final email that I will log from home (Cambridge, UK) as when I return the house will be sold. Internet Cafe’s for me from now on.
I’m shortly leaving for London to meet the rest of the team for the expedition build up day, followed by a flight to Miami tomorrow (Sunday) morning. Hopefully the next post will be from Miami or Bolivia!
T-minus 2 days & counting!
Well, we’re almost there. On Saturday I head to London for the build up day for the Bolivia expedition with the flight departing Heathrow on Sunday at 10am.
Still got loads of packing and jobs to do and its becoming a bit of a rush to be honest, am really looking forward to the flight as will probably be the first opportunity to relax.
Can’t wait for the trip to start though its going to be fantastic!
Its Bolivia
Finally after a couple of weeks of uncertainty, during which we thought we’d be going to Argentina or Ecuador, its now be confirmed that we’ll be going to Bolivia after all.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office contacted World Challenge earlier this week to let them know they were going to change their travel advice and after checking with the Embassy and the In Country Agent it was decided to go ahead with the original itinerary - fantastic.
So its all systems go for Bolivia for the first leg of my trip, with departure scheduled for Sunday 3rd July
