I was determined to summit a mountain in the Andes. I stopped in La Paz with the intention of spending three days to climb Huayna Potosí (6088m), as was recommended by previous trekking companions. This time I had spent much more time at altitude and felt well prepared and acclimatized so as not to repeat the previous failure. I booked… Read more »
I had one of my worse ideas today: I went up one of the teleféricos in La Paz and thought I would walk to the top of the other one. It is only a mile and a half along a flat road high above the city proper. However, the neighborhood right above the gondola is questionable. I started walking very… Read more »
I followed a recommendation of a well traveled American couple I met in Copacabana and went to a concert at the Museum of Musical Instruments for my first outing in La Paz. The concert took place in a tiny hall of the museum with not more than 30 people attending. It was the sort of event where one person sits… Read more »
What happens when a slice of your country, like Northern Michigan, is separated by a narrow straight of one of the world’s largest lakes? How does one cross? In Michigan, you drive across a bridge. In Seattle, you drive onto a huge ferry boat with a hundred other cars. In Bolivia? Get off the bus (sans luggage) and watch as… Read more »
Today I got to “sleep in” a little, until 7:30, for an 8:30 ferry to Isla del Sol. I rushed to get a sandwich and catch the ferry. The ferry stopped at the middle of the island, where bathrooms and sandwiches were available – I guess they’ve got this figured out. The stop was also where they charged an entrance… Read more »
I woke up easily at six worrying about the border crossing and making the bus before that. The hostel let me make two more copies of my passport and called me a taxi last minute. At the bus station the attendant let me right through as the Peru Tours bus which I had a ticket for was standing right there…. Read more »
Nine hour bus ride from Huaraz to Lima. A sandwich and coffee to recover. Party until it’s light out. Lima is surprisingly nice! I am glad I stopped here long enough to find out. It is much quieter than the other Peruvian cities: the taxis seem to actually use their horns for their intended purpose. They have a chargeable card… Read more »
I had decided when I got to Huaraz that, in addition to treks around the mountains, I want to get to a summit of over 5400m. I asked around at the agencies and, after some trouble finding a group, booked a 2 day summit of Vallunaraju (5686m) with the same partner and guide that I went climbing with the day… Read more »
Retrospective Rest day and trying to find a summit expedition. November is a little late to climb on the Cordilleras, but it’s been done. An ATM ate my card and the bank said they won’t be able to get it out for a few days. I stopped by Cafe California, a tourist haunt, for a good cappucino, and a lot… Read more »
Retrospective For the final day of the trek we only had two hours of hiking which we could have tacked on to the end of the third day. Before we knew it we were at the checkpoint near Cajamarca, the ending point, where we waited a while for the guide. When we got to Cajamarca the van was waiting and… Read more »