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Heading North
At last we are heading north after a nice relaxing week in Devon and Cornwall. Current plans are to have a day climbing in Wales before heading onto the Peaks for a few days of Grit!!! From there its onto the Lakes for 10 days or so of ... yes you’ve guessed it more climbing!
Our Nepal trip has been brought forward a week. Although this means we have to head back from the Alps a week early it has allowed us to change our NZ flights to give us an extra week down under which is brilliant. We’re busy putting the final touches to our plans in NZ and booking a couple of things up. Its all quite exciting really
We’ll hopefully try and post some climbing pictures from the Peaks and Wales next week sometime
The Disco Leg
Well at last I have joined Giles in his unemployed status and we are enjoying the first few days of freedom! Have been on the South Coast for a couple days now, and are hoping to head over to Cornwall for the weekend. Weather is gorgeous and we are doing normal holiday stuff and enjoying spending some time with Giles’ god-daughter. It has not yet sunk in that this is any more than a nice holiday after a very hectic few months at home
Homeward Bound
Well after a month our time in Bolivia has finally come to an end and tomorrow morning we start the long journey home. Truth be known it actually started last night when we boarded the public bus in Uyuni for the 12 hour overnight trip back to La Paz. It was an interesting experience with the first 4 hours being over dirt tracks and through rivers, as you can imagine little sleep was had by all.
We will be back in the UK early Tuesday morning. I have really enjoyed Bolivia and would love to return again really soon as although we have spent a month here we have only touched the surface of this beautiful and diverse country. However it is time to see family and friends and to get some washing done!
See you all soon!
Uyuni & The Salt Pans Tour
Well we are back in La Paz after an excellent tour of the Salt Pans in the south of the country. The trek aside this was the highlight of the trip, for us leaders anyway
I do not have much time as we are preparing for the trip home so it will have to wait until I am back in the UK for the full details. In the meantime here are some pictures to wet your appetite.
Oruro & The Southern Antiplano
We´re currently in the city of Oruro in the Southern Antiplano area of Bolivia waiting to catch at train to Uyuni and our Salt Pans Tour.
Its a very different city to La Paz and much less touristy. Some of the group think that this means its not very friendly but it has its own charms and its great to see Bolivian live going on without all of the tourist faff.
This will probably be my last chance to post until we are back in La Paz at the weekend. The Salt Pans are supposed to be stunning so hopefully I will have nice photos to upload. After that its the long flight home, arriving back in the UK next Tuesday.
It will be a shame to leave Bolivia but I am definitely looking forward to getting home and seeing family and friends.
Project Complete
Well we finished the project this morning. The orphanage were really grateful and presented us with cards, a certificate and banner thanking us. The project wasn´t the best in the world but the team got stuck in and made the best of it. Hopefully 16 lads will enjoy their new dormitories.
We had a rematch at the football afterwards which ended in a 3-3 honors even result. I´ll try and get some pictures up soon.
We are now starting the final phase of the expedition which will involve us traveling south through the country for a tour of the largest salt lake in the world. It sounds dull but is supposed to be beautiful. Loads of photo opportunities hopefully
So as we enter the final week of the expedition we´re all tired but still having loads of fun. Hopefully the final week will be as good as all the others.
Ireland & England All Stars 3 - 2 Bolivia
The project phase is still ongoing and we should hopefully finish tomorrow lunchtime. There have been a few logistical problems with the staff at the orphanage but nothing the team can´t take in their stride.
Last night a team of us decided to challenge some of the locals to a game or two of football, a brave decision considering our altitude of 3600m. 3 Irish lads and yours truly made an all star team against some rather fit Bolivian players.
It was round robin and after watching the 2 Bolivian teams play we were feeling rather confident. However our first match was a bit one sided with the Bolivian side beating us 2-0. After a quick rethink we decided to change our tactics from a continental flair style of play to a more traditional British hard tackling game. This had the desired affect with the All Stars winning 2 games on the trot.
The All Stars had to withdraw at that point for a rest due to the lack of available oxygen but we quickly returned to the fray with another convincing victory. At this point there was no chance of further play as we were all knackered and we quickly slumped to a final defeat. However we left the field with our heads held high 3 victories to 2 losses!
Project Phase
Well we are now into the project phase of the expedition working at a orphanage in La Paz, helping them create 6 dormitories for the children.
After 2 days of rest following the jungle trip the team is feeling refreshed and enjoying being back in La Paz. A few stomach upsets remain but these appear to be easing so as we enter the final 10 days of the expedition hopefully everybody will be fit and well.
The one main benefit of the project phase is us leaders can cover the project in shifts thus giving the others time off to explore La Paz, something that hasn´t been possible to date.
Rurrenabaque & The Jungle
Well we´re back from the jungle in one piece and not a snake to been seen.
The flight to Rurrenabaque was brilliant and we had a 19 seater aircraft to ourselves. The initial section was quite bumpy as we flew over the Andes but the views more than made up for it.
We descended into Rurrenabaque airport to be met by steaming temperatures of over 30 degrees. A real shock after the cool altitude of La Paz. The airport was extremely basic with a single building acting as check in and departures and the baggage collection being off a trolley at the gate. This was when our troubles began, yet again! Although we had checked in 20 bags only 5 had traveled with us on the flight. As the airline only ran 4 flights a day to Rurrenabaque it seemed unlikely the rest would arrive so we headed off to the town.
Rurrenabaque is a frontier town if ever there was one with a combination of basic local services and tacky tourist shops. All our bags eventually arrived the next day at 10:30 and we boarded our jeeps for the 3 hour bumpy and dusty ride to the Pampas Park. The roads were unpaved tracks and it was a really uncomfortable ride but we all arrived safely and in one piece and boarded 2 dug out canoes for the 30 minute ride into the Pampas to our camp.
The views were breath taking with wild life all around. We saw…
Off to the Jungle
In a couple of hours we leave for our 5 day tour of the Amazon Jungle and Pampas area around Rurrenabaque. This will involve a 45 minute flight over the Andes in a 20 seater plane which should be fantastic.
The Annaconda and Cobra hunting on Sunday morning is less than appealing but I´ll try and maintain a brave face.
More details and hopefully some photos when we return to La Paz next week
