Our hotel in Copacabana has only one drawback, the utilities can be intermittent. We lost electrical power for the second time during our stay last night and it has yet to return. The water is out also. I improvise quite wonderfully regarding the water. I heat the water from our hot water bottles in a pan (we have gas) so that Christi can have a strip wash. Then we use that dirty water to … [Read more...]
Bolivian Andes, Day 46
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Spend the morning wandering around central La Paz, alternately trying to catch a flavor of the city and then my breath. In addition to its spectacular scenery, Bolivia has the highest percentage of indigenous people of any South American country, making it a photographic feast. In the afternoon, it's down to business. I tend to do – or at least to think I can do – crazy things once I start … [Read more...]
Mt Chacaltaya, Day 47
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Andean Summits have insisted that I do more high altitude acclimatization before my summit attempt on Parinacota. They recommend hiking the last few thousand feet of Mt Chacaltaya, another major peak near La Paz. We hire a taxi which embarks upon an unscheduled tour of the back streets of the capital as we wind our way up out of the valley and onto the Altiplano. The roads are atrocious, … [Read more...]
Sajama National Park, Day 48
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Everything for the expedition fits neatly into Sergio’s decrepit Landcruiser, including our cook, Claudio. It’s another awkward drive up and out of La Paz before we turn south and west towards Sajama National Park. The park, which lies on the border with Chile, has some beautiful scenery, including some spectacular eroded sandstone and volcanic rock formations. It’s a hard life here on the … [Read more...]
Summit day, Mt Parinacota, Day 49
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Sleep fitfully until 2 am. Summit day is here. Miraculously the wind dropped and it’s a perfect night: a billion stars in a silent night sky. Do a final carbo-load and then Sergio and I set off into the darkness, our headlamps providing the only light on the steep slopes of Mt Parinacota. As ordered, I plod slowly uphill through deep sand, the quiet man Sergio always 5 m ahead of me. We … [Read more...]
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