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Takesi Trek
Well we have returned from the Takesi Trek safe and sound, with lots of fun and games to report. The trek was fantastic with us crossing a 4650m pass on day one before camping at 4300m. On the second day we planned to ascend the mountain again to view some lakes before returning to our high camp. Days 3 and 4 involved us descending from the high mountains down into the Yungas (jungle type terrain) before arranging transport back to La Paz.
That was the plan anyway. The first day (Sunday) went well with us meeting the mules and muleteers (people in charge of the mules) in the Cordillera Real Mountain Range at 10am in the morning. It was beautiful high mountain terrain with glaciers and some of the highest peaks in Bolivia visible. We set out on the trek and ascended to the pass. Some of the trail was made up of pre-Inca paving which was over 3000 years old. It was awe inspiring to walk across this and think about the effort that must have gone into creating it and how many thousands of feet have walked across it over the years. That was for Maz and I, it was all a bit lost on the group to be honest.
We made the pass by 4pm and headed down to our high camp which we reached just before dark. Tents were pitched and food cooked and eaten before we all turned in for a very cold night
Day…
Copacabana & Isla del Sol
Well we’ve just returned from a three day trip to Copacabana & Isla del Sol. What a stunning place it is! After the hustle and bustle of La Paz, Copacabana made a pleasant change with its quiet streets and beach.
For those that don’t already know Copacabana is on the shores of Lake Titicaca, which is supposed to be the highest navigable lake in the world. You cannot see land on the horizon so it gives the impression of being a sea, although it does feel weird to be standing on what appears the sea shore and just shy of 4000m
The trip to Copacabana was fairly straight forward with the bus picking us up from the hostel. The highlight was the small ferry crossing on route where we had to leave the bus which was put on a small barge and make our way across on smaller motor boats. It was quite surreal watching the coach being taken across the 2-300m stretch of water on a flimsy barge, more so when you realised all our kit was on top of it.
The drive from the ferry to Copacabana was very reminiscent of the North West of Scotland, with dramatic landscape dropping into deep blue water. The only minor difference was the parched landscape, oh and the lama’s !
We spent the night in Copacabana before catching a ferry to the north of Isla del Sol. The original plan had been to trek along the coastline before taking the short…
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
The Itinerary
The current itinerary is:
July 2005
I’m leading a World Challenge Expedition to South America for a month. This was going to Bolivia but due to the recent civil unrest it will now being going to either Argentina or Ecuador. I’ll update once we know for sure
August 2005
Obviously the main event here is Lea’s 30th but as a side show we’ll be spending 3 weeks in Scotland and a final week in the Lakes. No firm plans yet but rest assured there will be plenty of climbing
September 2005
Its off to the Alps to meet John and Leigh. Again no firm plans yet but the Matterhorn was mentioned. John and Leigh have to return to the UK by mind September but Lea and I are staying until early October. Again there are no firm plans and the weather will play a major part. It could include more mountaineering or we could push onto the Dolomites or even the Pyrenees or Costa Blanca. Again stay posted and we’ll update as we know more.
October 2005
In early October we’ll return to the UK and get ourselves packed for the major leg of the trip. The first stage is off to Nepal and join up with Adventure Peaks Nepal Unclimbed Expedition. The team are planning to attempt an unclimbed peak (circa 6,500m) in the Langtang Region of Nepal plus a couple of other peaks as acclimatisation. We’ll return to the UK in mid November/
November…
