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Published: September 26th 2005
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this is not, in fact, black and white. it is a colour photo of BRILLIANT THINGS!! Two weeks ago me and Rich walked past a sign announcing
12 days trekking in the Cordillera Real- confirmed! . A mere twenty minutes and 200 quid each later we were signed up! After buying a few extra pairs of socks and woolly hats we were ready, although not really sure what we had let ourselves in for!
Let me say, the first 5 days were definitely characterised by fog. We started in t shirts at a ´mere´2,695m. Up hill all the way. Luckily though we had two mules to carry our ruckscks, and boy did we need them!
On arrival at the first campsite it was raining loads, so once we had figured out how to put up our tent, we crawled inside. Into our wet shelter. We spent the first night a-shivering, even though we had down sleeping bags (we remedied this later by using our own, summer sleeping bags as liners). When we awoke, a new snow had covered the ground and a snow lined pass loomed ominously above us!
Yup indeed. Up up we went to our first pass. It was a staggering and literally breathtaking 4,960m. The highest MOUNTAIN in
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the early part of the trek was mostly characterised by fog Europe is Mont Blanc which weighs in at a seemingly low 4,808m, the stature of the Andes became even more apparant by the end of the second day when we set up camp in the shadow of Bolivia´s highest peak.
Each day we ascended at least one pass. Hours spent climbing were followed by desending in half the time, with the sure knowledge the next ascent was never too far away. Bolivian Andes don´t really have flat sections. At this altitude breathing is really tough, yet alone 6 hours a day of physical exertion. (And only having Rich to talk to was pretty tiring too). The photos show just how awesome the landscape was. BTW, Rich did the captions.
It was amazing. For the first 8 days we saw not a single vehicle. We saw some houses and wondered how people could live so many days walk from the nearest town, in bleak and barren areas inaccessible by road, and survive. It wasn´t until day 8 we saw any other gringos either.
By day 6 our mules had been traded for llamas. Imagine my amusement when they first turned up and were being loaded.
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and to think they used to say i had my head in the clouds! (you have no idea how hard it is to be as funny as me. ) BTW, all photo captions by Rich A funny sight indeed. Rich nipped behind an earth bank for a call of nature and only his head could be seen poking out. To heighten my amusement I told the llama herder-dude that Rich was afraid and was hiding. haha!
Anyhows, as I was saying, by day 8 we were back using mules. We arrived at the days destination an hour in front of these Germans who had set off an hour and a half in front of us, and ignored our jolly ´Buenas Dias amigos!´on several occasions. I mistakenly thought they were just too pooped to respond, as opposed to being downright rude. Wrong! Anyway, our mules didnt turn up for hours, leaving us in our day clothes, waiting for our tents and stuff as the cold dark evening descended on us in the Andes. Did they offer us a warm cuppa that they were so happily carressing? Did they hell! sour krauts indeed. huh.
Day 9 was the biggun! We had been scaling passes and walking constantly between 4,000m and 5,000m for over a week, but the altitude still gets you badly. The Germans, who were too feeble to attempt the cross glacier
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moody route of ours were left behind and we went up and up through the snow. At that altitude and intensity it was necessary to stop every 10 steps or so as you waded through the unbroken snow. Seriously tough work, especially without an axe to dig into the snow when you inevitably lost your footing on the mountainside.
We paused for some lunch next to a glacial lake and had to climb round some sections of rock that couldnt be walked round. And finally we made it to the pass. At this point our guide asked if we wanted to get up to the peak alongside. Hell yeah! and up up up we went. We finally reached the top and had the most awesome views of all the snow capped peaks in the Andes to one side, and the flat Altiplano to the south. The wind kept Rich glued to the floor as we stood on top of the world at a staggering 5,250m! Without doubt, it was one of the most amazing views and achievements of my life. Just check out those pictures!
Cos we were super rapid hikers, we got a day to relax
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you lose a lot of perspective when things are this big. Thats a good few kilometres in length on day 10, and it sure was needed. We sat by a lake and rested our exhausted legs. The final twos days we werent given an easy ride and headed back towards La Paz.
This trek was awesome. Every day the scenery was somehow different. Bright red rocks rich in iron (I figure) and bright blue rivers (mineral content stuff apparantly), cloud forests, glaciers, snow capped peaks, and lakes 10km long. Not to mention seeing a Condor, and an adult male at that! At times I felt like a little Von Trap kiddy as I scaled through the peaks, climbing every mountain, so to speak. Rich took this even further and true to the song, decided to FORD EVERY STREAM! unfortunatlely, fording for Rich meant falling in, and imagine his happy little face as he returned from the glacial river, in his only pair of trousers, soaked to the bone! What a happy animal!
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HARDCORE!...
Especially when I find it tiring walking up a moderate hill, carrying only a Kebab!