Camping by Mt Tikimani

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Last weekend we went camping in the mountains and it was FREEZING!! It even snowed! If I had of known the weather report before we left I might not have ventured on such extreme camping... but lucky for James and Randy (who decided on the location) its difficult to get (accurate) weather forecasts in Bolivia (especially when you don't own a TV).

So off we went... James, Randy, Dani and I... and hiked for an hour in the dark to our 'campsite'... it was a beautiful walk - we were able to see the silhouette of grand Mt Tikimani above us and to the side of us we were able to see the reflection of the stars in the lake. Nothing short of amazing. The mountains and valleys in Bolivia are incredible. We arrived at our campsite (a flat strip of grass on the side of a valley) and cooked our dinner over an open fire (since we forgot our gas!)... and then watched the lightening display and hoped it did not mean anything for the weather the next day. But alas... after a freezing nights sleep (at 4300m) we woke up to drizzle and hiked in the fog for a few hours to our next spot by a lake.

We were told that there were trout in the lakes (and admittedly, we did see one)... but sadly for us we were unable to hook any of em, much to Randy's disappointment... although Dani did come close. We arrived back at camp frozen (as by this time the weather had deteriorated) and camped down for the night. The rain and wind at one point during the night made me wonder whether we would lose the tent-fly and subsequently get hypothermia... but no, an hour or two later the rain turned into snow and caused our tent to collapse on us! Twice! Quite an interesting experience to encounter whilst sleeping. At this point I thought perhaps we would be shovelling our way back to the car with our bare hands that would then fall off because of frostbite (okay, so I wasn't very optimistic at that time of the morning)... but luckily it rained again! By the time we stepped out of our tent in the morning the mountains had a new look and the path was easy to find. We need to do that hike again in good weather... but I'll need some time for the memories of the cold nights to fade... which takes more than a week, Randy!!

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Photos

Fishing for trout
Wearing leg warmers made of alpaca!

Walking the narrow path
Unlike most hikes in Bolivia, this one had a cable to hold on to.

Comments

[Danielle]

What a blessing is always to spend time with you guys. You defenitely are a wonderful couple filled with joy, love. Your adventurous spirit is amazing. We had a wonderful time together and I would love to go again with you! Love you very much my precious Kiwis