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Bolivia 02/01-21/01/08
Copacabana
Primero quiero aclarar una cosa: El copacabana mas famoso esta en Brazil, el Copacabana de Bolivia no tiene nada que ver. Es una pequeña ciudad al borde del lago Titi Caca ( En Quechua Titi=Puma, Caca=Piedra).
La verdad es que la parte Boliviana del lago es mucho mas bonita que la parte de Peru. Justo al Este de la ciudad esta el Cerro Calvario que ofrece unas bonitas vistas de la ciudad y mas alla en el horizonte, la Isla del Sol.
Es gracioso como hay tradiciones propias de cada zona. Aqui, como estamos en fechas de año nuevo, tienen la costumbre de subir al cerro y tener un rincon donde ponen decoraciones con flores y cochecitos o camiones de plastico, casitas de plastico y tacos de billetes falsos. Lo rocian con cerveza y asi esperan que este año les traiga lo que tienen ahi expuesto... Hacen lo mismo en la plaza central con sus coches. Todas las mañanas a las 10h, decoran su coche y lo rocian con cerveza, un poco como si hubieran ganado un rally y habren una botella de champagne...
Fotos de copa a continuacion:
Our first stop in Bolivia was Copacabana, no not the famous beach resort Copacabana in Brasil, but a tiny Bolivian town on the shore of Lake Titicaca just over the Bolivian border from Peru. Lake Titicaca is spread over Peru and Bolivia, with 40% in Bolivia and 60% in Peru. Everyone told us that the Bolivian side is nicer and I have to say I agree. The water is cristal clear, bright blue and with the mountains all around it, it really is like something out of a postcard. Visiting Copacabana around New Year was a great way to learn all about the weird and wonderful traditions of the locals. For example they climb the hill closest to town where they set up a small display of flowers, toy cars, toy houses, toy dolls, fake money etc. They then spray beer over this and this is supposed to mean that they will receive all these things in the year to come. In the town square a similar practice goes on where they pour beer over their cars/buses/lorries etc and this blesses their vehicules and ensures them safe journeys in the year ahead. Dont know if I agree with the waste of all that beer but hey each to their own!!
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La Paz
La llegada a la Paz desde los Altos es impresionante. Esta encerrado en un valle y asi a primera vista recuerda un poco a Quito. Solo que La Paz es la capital la mas alta del mundo: 3650m. Menos mal que ya venimos aclimatados a las altitudes. Me recuerda una aventurilla que me conto mi padre una vez que se fue a La Paz por motivos profesionales. Recien bajado del avion se fue al hotel y cuando se estaba duchando le dio un yuyu y se cayo redondo en la bañera...
Las calles de esta capital son super empinadas y es gracioso ver los mini van del año de la polca, cargados hasta arriba, intentando subir... Hay mogollon de puestecillos en las calles en la zona turistica. Hay una zona que se llama el mercado de las brujas y encuentras de todo para hacer recetas curranderas...Placentas de llama, sapos desidratados, tapires disecados....miam miam.
La Paz
We got to La Paz a day later than planned as there were numerous bus strikes due to an increase in insurance prices. To get from Copacabana to La Paz we actually had to get off the bus and get a boat while the bus went on a separate boat along side us. Then once on the other side we got back on the bus again and headed for La Paz. Arriving in La Paz is pretty impressive as it is in a valley and you can see the whole city spread out in front of you. Its also the highest capital in the world at 3650m, so all in all a totally breath-taking place! It is full of tiny steep streets and it is quite amusing watching the tiny, ancient buses, over packed with people trying to pull themselves up the hills. It is also a magical place, especially an area known as "The Witches Market" where you can see and buy all sorts of magical potions and remedies for good luck, health etc. For example you can easily find a dried llama placenta which you are supposed to put under the door of your house for good luck. I dont even want to know how they get the placentas out!!! If that doesnt do it for you you can get your tarot cards or coca leaves read by one of the many street witches.
Huayna Potosi
Once we got to La Paz we said we would rest for a few days and then decide what adventure to get up to next. However in the end we went into an agency for some information and she tempted us with a 3 day mountain climb leaving the very next day!!! Okay if Im honest she tempted Antoine with the trek, I had to be persuaded into it as three days trekking through the snow to climb a 6088m mountain didnt seem like fun to me at first! However before long we were signing the dotted line, getting our snow boots fitted and being told what time to be there the next morning. So much for resting for a few days?!?
I have to admit that I was rather nervous about the whole thing, all the talk about high altitude, snow walls and harnesses wasnt sounding great! However we were already in the bus on our way to base camp so it was a bit late to back out! On the first morning we got the bus to base camp which was already high enough at 4700m. Thankfully we were well equipped with snow trouseurs, jackets, hats, gloves and boots so the cold didnt seem to severe at first. There were five of us in our group (one Australian guy and two french Canadians) along with three guides and our cook to boil the pasta for dinner! The first afternoon was great fun as we got on our crampons and did some glacier climbing as practice for the big climb. I had never even seen a real glacier before let alone climbed one, so it was def something different. The whole afternoon on the glaciers flew by as we had so much fun and everyone loved it. I started to relax a bit then, thinking perhaps this wasnt going to be as painful as I thought! That night we went back to basecamp where we had some pasta and went to bed in our wee tents. Thanks to the fact that Antoine, the Australian and I, were sharing a two man tent, we were a tad squashed in and didnt get much sleep. The cold didnt help either, I thought my toes were frozen!
On the second morning we woke up to find that the weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was snowing heavily. The plan for the day was to climb three hours from base camp to rock (high) camp at 5200m, however we spent the morning waiting (and freezing) at base camp hoping that the weather would improve. Thankfully there was a guy who lived near base camp to control a hydro electric plant there and he let us use a small outdoor room at the back of his house. It wasnt much but it was well needed shelter from the wind and snow. Every few hours Id put boiling water in the metal water container we had and use it to defrost my feet! After lunch (more pasta cooked on the small gas stove) the guides decided that the weather was clearing slightly so we packed up our climbing gear and started the three hour hike up to high camp. It was a tough three hours as we had all our heavy climbing gear in our bags on our back and it was 100% up-hill!!! The last part just before reaching high camp was the worst as it wasnt even a path, it was literally climbing over stones. Not easy at over 5000m with over 15kgs on your back! Thankfully though we all made it to the small refuge at 5200m at around 5pm where some hot soup was waiting on us. The refuge was literally one room with a big table and a small ladder at one side leading up to an attic room. The attic room was covered with small matresses on the ground and that was were our group and the other people (appro 20) where to sleep from 7pm til midnight, before waking up and starting the real climb at 1am. We were like sardines squashed into a small tin so although we did go to bed around 8pm not much sleep was got until around 10pm with the sound of people getting up to go to the toilet, one girl puking her guts up (excuse the expression!) from altitude sickness etc. Antoine and I also had to make two toilet trips thanks to all the coca tea we drank to combat altitude sickness. Seeing that the toilet was literally a hole in the ground 20 meters from the refuge it wasnt easy to face the cold!!! So after perhaps 2 hours of sleep we were all awoken and told to get ready as the moment of truth had arrived. It was quite a surreal experience at midnight in a small refuge getting all equipped with snow gear, crampons, harnesses etc so the excitment of it all took over from the nerves. It is two people max per guide so Antoine and I had our own guide who we were tied to with a cord. Then just after 1am, head torches lit, we set off for the 5 hour up-hill snowy climb. The climb has to be done at night when the sun is down as during the day the sun melts the snow / ice making it too dangerous. So we had to get up to the summit and make it back to high camp by 9am if we wanted to play it safe. The climb in itself was really tough, some parts where more steep than others but it was all up-hill, the altitude made it necessary to go really slow and the higher we got the colder it was. As we made our way up we met other groups coming back, they had already found it too much and given up. I was determined though that if I had come this far there was no going back until we reached the summit. The two hardest parts where two snow walls, (almost verticle climb upwards which means using your snow pike and crampons), the first one was not too long so it was okay but the last one was the final climb to the summit and really tough. It was 5am, we had been climbing for almost 5 hours and we were faced with 150m of a 70º snow wall to reach the summit. We stopped to have a snack before making the final effort to the summit but everything (water, chocolate) including us were almost frozen, so we didnt hang about. It took us 45 minutes to do the final climb and I can safely say it was the most nerve racking and toughest thing Ive ever done in my life. Not to mention the coldest! However once we made it to the summit and saw the sun starting to come up it was all worth it. We were literally above the clouds and I was so overwhelmed by the fact that I had actually made it that it was an incredible moment. Unfortunately the cold meant we couldnt stay at the summit too long so we took our celebratory photos and started the descent. One thing I can say is that going down is way easier than going up!!! Poor Antoine had to climb most of the way down but I, being the only girl, got to ab-sail down. :-) Later when we got back to high camp we found out that our group was the only one in which everyone made it to the summit and I was the only girl that day to do it!!!! I deserved to feel proud of myself!!! :-) What can I say about the climb......it was the coldest ive ever been in my life, it was the toughest thing ive ever done and thanks to the altitude the most nerve racking....however without a doubt it was also one of the best!!!
If you scorll further down the page you will see some of our photos and also a video of when we made it to the top. Can you spot the iceberg which was starting to form on Ant´s beard?
Huayna Potosi
Nuestra idea era descansar un poco al llegar a La Paz y decidir nuestro planning para las proximas semanas. Al final nos da por lanzarnos en una aventurilla mas: Por que no intentamos subirnos a la cima del Huayna Potosi?? Annemarie no esta muy convencida al principio. Hay que mencionar que la cima esta en 6088m...Al mismo tiempo le tienta bastante el reto y cede ante el desafio. Mañana por la mañana nos vamos para las montañas.
El camino hasta el campamento base es ya de por si una pasada. Vamos en una furgo con un Australiano llamado Lawrence que tambien se ha apuntado a la pateada. Esta como a unos 25km de La Paz. Cerca del punto de partida se encuentra una mina donde en 1965 hubo mas de 500 muertos. El cementerio esta al pie de la montaña.
Una vez en el campamento base que esta a 4700m, nos encontramos con el resto del equipo. Dos canadienses: David y Phillipe. Por la tarde salimos a caminar una hora hasta el pie del glaciar para practicar con el uso de crampones y piolets. Es la caña, escalada en hielo, siempre habia querido probarlo.
Por la noche durmimos en unas tiendas y hace un frio de c-----s. Casi no pegamos ojo. Nos levantamos por la mañana y esta nevando. No podemos salir asi que esperamos hasta despues de comer. Por fin se despeja un poco y salimos hacia el Rock Camp. 3h de pateada con los macutos a tope. Crampones, saco de dormir, toda la ropa, las botas...Segun llegamos al campamento que esta a 5130m, comemos algo y nos vamos a la cama. El refugio es muy basico y dormir a esta altura siendo las 18h no resulta nada facil. No dormimos nada pero al menos sienta bien estar en el saco calentito descansando. A las 00.00 nos levantamos, comemos un desayuno basico y a la 1 salimos con las frontales encendidas.
Nuesto guia va habriendo camino y vamos annemarie y yo mismo encordado detras de el. El camino es duro, con repechos bien empinados. Vamos avanzado muy lentamente, paso a paso y aun asi empieza a escasear un poco el aire. Miro mi reloj, son las 4 de la madrugada. Ya llevamos 3 horas caminando en el frio. Annemarie no se queja, avanza bien y yo sigo detras, cansado ya. 5h de la mañana, nos pegamos un descansillo antes del ultimo tramo. Nos espera 150m de pendiente a unos 70º para alcanzar la cima. Todavia es de noche pero se ve que el sol esta ahi a punto de enseñar la cara. Nos lanzamos en la subida y 45 minutos despues, hacemos cima. El cansancio y el frio se disipan. Ya solo queda emociones para las vistas que tenemos ante nosotros y la sastisfaccion de haberse superado. Estamos bien por encima de las nubes, solo sobresalen unos picos nevados. Estamos a 6088m! Nos cuesta creerlo. Los rayos de Sol iluminan el horizonte, es una sensacion feerica.
Annemarie esta congelada pero la sensacion de haber superado sus miedos y haber aguantado tal esfuerzo le produce una satisfaccion inegualable. Sobre todo que es la unica chica en hacer cumbre hoy!!! Las otras han ido dando vuelta a lo largo del camino...Algunos chicos tambien de echo.
Todavia nos quedan 3 horas hasta volver al Rock Camp. Las vistas son magnificas y ahora que vemos por donde hemos subido, nos preguntamos si hubieramos aguantado tanto si hubieramos visto lo lejos que quedaba la cima.
Al llegar al refugio, solo tenemos 1 horita para comer algo y descansar. Luego toca 1 hora y pico de bajada hasta Base Camp. Un dia largo, mas de 10 horas caminando, despues de haber trasnochado...pero sin lugar a duda, ha merecido la pena! Sin lugar a duda, volveremos a probar nuestra perseverencia con quien sabe, un 7K??
Como dice el proverbio, "Una imagen vale mas que 10 palabras...
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Si el album de fotos no aparece, pincha este link: http://picasaweb.google.com/antoineberte/HuaynaPotosi
Os dejo tambien un video de la subida nocturna:
Un video cuando estamos en la cima congelados.... A video of when we are frozen at the summit....
The next set of photos below is from Antoines bike trip to "The Devil´s Molar". Since he has been missing his down-hill antics since we left, he could not resist the idea of a full day biking through the amazing mountains on the outskirts of La Paz. Since this is all too technical for me I spent the day lazing around the city. It is the first time in over 3 months that we spent more than an hour apart!!!! I didnt know what to do with myself but as you´ll see from the photos, Antoine wasnt missing me too much! :-(
La Muela del Diablo
Para aquellos apasionados por la bici como yo y que les gusta los videos de unos chalados que se tiran por unos cortados y tal...este es vuestro articulo!
Me pase en La Paz por una agencia especializada en organizar rulos en bici por single tracks muy majetes. El tio me convicio en menos de un minuto (tampoco era tan dificil) cuando me dijo que me podia llevar por unos caminos en los que grabaron a Cedric Gracia en el New World Disorder 6...Incluso me enseño el video y efecticamente sale un coche con la matricula de Bolivia y luego las bajadas. El dia de despues me pase por ahi, me dieron una Iron Horse Yakhuza y nos fuimos por ahi. Iba en una furgo con un guia que llevaba su bici tambien. Llegamos arriba de unas montañas y empezamos el dia de freeride.
Primera bajada de una media hora, el tiempo de acostumbrarme a la bici. Paisajes increibles. Mi guia baja rapido pero en cuanto tenga la bici en mano se va a cagar...
Nos tiramos una segunda vez por otro camino en el mismo sector y me doy cuenta de cuanto lo echaba de menos. Casi 3 meses sin montar!
Los otros caminos por los que vamos son la polla. Single track con cortados a ambos lados. Caminitos en bajada desde la cima de una montaña hasta el valle. 1h y pico de bajada sin siquiera empujar la bici. A veces me paro para esperar el guia..."Bajas rapido, manejas bien" me dice sonriendo... Un dia redondo. Estoy doblado pero me lo he pasado genial. Cuando vuela a casa tengo que volver a ver ese video con los caminos que baje.
Unas fotos para daros envidia...
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Potosi
Welcome to the highest city in the world with over 100,000 inhabitants......yes Potosi is at a staggering 4060m above sea-level. Thankfully after our mountain climbing and time in La Paz we are well acclimatized, however not as much as we thought as after climbing only a few steps we were gasping for air!
Apart from it´s status as one of the highest cities in the world Potosi is famous for its gold and silver mines. Nowadays there is no gold left but it still operates as a silver mine. It was once one of the wealthiest cities in all of Latin America and the Spanish used large sums of money from here to support their wars/growth in Europe. However nowadays the town is a quieter place and a good way to see traditional Bolivian life up close. Antoine did the tour of the mines but I decided to give it a miss as it was all very much underground and small spaces.....my claustrophobic side wouldnt have been too comfortable down there! From what Antoine said though it was quite an experience. They had to wear suits and torches for the visit and in some parts the tunnels were so small that you had to crawl on your hands and knees. Unfortunately the working conditions are really bad, with all the dust it is hard to breathe properly and at some points the temperature reaches 30ºc. Consequently the miners often have respiratory problems and have to give up working in their early 40´s. I think the part Antoine most liked though was when they were allowed to buy real dynamite in the miners market nearby and detonate it!! No safety issues here!
Potosi
Bienvenidos a la ciudad de mas de 100.000 habitantes la mas alta del mundo: 4060msnm!
Es verdad que despues de haber estado a 6088m ya no nos parece tan alto pero en cuanto intentamos subir unos escalones rapidamente, enseguida nos falta el aire...
Potosi se creo por los yazimientos de oro y plata y hoy en dia sigue siendo una ciudad prospera gracias a las minas de plata. En la mina gigante que podreis ver en una de las fotos, trabajan 15.000 mineros. Hay posibilidad de visitar las minas asi que me apunte. Annemarie estaba con ganas de verlo pero con su pequeña clostrofobia, decidio quedarse fuera.
Una vez equipado con el mono, el casco y la lampara, empezamos la bajada hacia las entrañas de la montaña. Hay zonas en las que hay que arastrarse y con todo el polvo que hay es dificil respirar. En el tercer nivel hacia bajo, la temperatura roza los 30º y ver en las condiciones en las que trabajan los mineros es desespertante. Algunos empiezan a los 12-14 años y a los 40 ya estan con problemas respiratorios y no pueden trabajar mas.
Antes de entrar a la mina fuimos al mercadillo de los mineros, compramos dinamita y mechas y nos explicaron como detonarlo. Al salir de la mina, hizimos una prueba: Boommm.
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Uyuni - Salares
After leaving Potosi we got a small mini-bus to travel the 150km to Uyuni, further south into the wilderness of Bolivia. The bus journey alone turned out to be a bit of an adventure, one that lasted 8 hours may I add!!! The bus got stuck twice along the journey and since this place is the definition of "the middle of nowhere" there was nothing for it but to get out and push. It is hard to believe that the main road between two cities is literally a dirt track which when covered in rain turns into a small river! Welcome to Bolivia, the poorest country in South America.
When we did eventually arrive in Uyuni we changed our minds about staying there for a day and went straight to an agency to book our 3 day trip for the next morning. Uyuni is literally a lost little town with nothing but muddy streets and agencies for visiting the nearby salt planes. So we slept there that night and set off on our 3 day 4x4 jeep tour the next morning. There were 6 of us in our jeep along with our driver/guide. Apart from myself and Antoine, there was a French couple (Mathlide and JB) and two Brasilians. The communication barrier kept us from talking much to the Brasilians but we immediately clicked with Mat and JB, who became our partners in crime for the next few weeks. The food was basic and the accomodations were refuges where we all slept in the same room in our Snow White and The 7 Dwarves stlye beds, but the craic was flowing and the scenary was out of this world!!! We saw everything from salt planes to snow capped mountains, to pink flamingo filled lakes and boiling natural geysers. We even got to take a dip in some natural hot baths at 5000m. Anyways enough said.....the photos below will explain much better than I can the beauty and wildness of South-West Bolivia.
Uyuni- Salares
Que quede claro, el viaje entre Potosi y Uyuni es surrealista. Un mini bus que tarda 8 horas para recorrer 150km.
Os imaginais pillar un bus en España en el que los pasajeros se bajan para empujar el bus?? Si si, de tanto barro y rios que habia que atravesar, nos tuvimos que bajar con palas, sudor y casi lagrimas, sacar el bus de los obstaculos diversos.
Uyuni es super cani y llueve sin parar. Es el punto de partida para ir a explorar los salares y las lagunas. Reservamos tres dias con Colque Tour para ir a visitar la zona e ir hasta Chile. En el jeep caben hasta 8 personas asi que nos preguntabamos con quien ibamos a compartir esta aventura. 2 brasileños y una pareja de Franceses: Mathilde y Jean Baptiste.
Encontrarse con un desierto de sal es algo bastante inhabitual, sobre todo cuando este esta recubierdo de unos centimetros de agua. Lo mejor que puedo hacer es invitaros a ver las fotos...
El feeling con los franceses fue bueno enseguida y la verdad es que cuando lo pienso ahora...podres brasileños...
Los tres dias en el jeep puede hacerse un poco largo pero con todos los paisajes increibles que hemos visto y el buen ambiente que habia, se hizo bastante ameno.
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Fotos de la Laguna Colorada Photos from the "Coloured Lake"
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Primero quiero aclarar una cosa: El copacabana mas famoso esta en Brazil, el Copacabana de Bolivia no tiene nada que ver. Es una pequeña ciudad al borde del lago Titi Caca ( En Quechua Titi=Puma, Caca=Piedra).
La verdad es que la parte Boliviana del lago es mucho mas bonita que la parte de Peru. Justo al Este de la ciudad esta el Cerro Calvario que ofrece unas bonitas vistas de la ciudad y mas alla en el horizonte, la Isla del Sol.
Es gracioso como hay tradiciones propias de cada zona. Aqui, como estamos en fechas de año nuevo, tienen la costumbre de subir al cerro y tener un rincon donde ponen decoraciones con flores y cochecitos o camiones de plastico, casitas de plastico y tacos de billetes falsos. Lo rocian con cerveza y asi esperan que este año les traiga lo que tienen ahi expuesto... Hacen lo mismo en la plaza central con sus coches. Todas las mañanas a las 10h, decoran su coche y lo rocian con cerveza, un poco como si hubieran ganado un rally y habren una botella de champagne...
Fotos de copa a continuacion:
Our first stop in Bolivia was Copacabana, no not the famous beach resort Copacabana in Brasil, but a tiny Bolivian town on the shore of Lake Titicaca just over the Bolivian border from Peru. Lake Titicaca is spread over Peru and Bolivia, with 40% in Bolivia and 60% in Peru. Everyone told us that the Bolivian side is nicer and I have to say I agree. The water is cristal clear, bright blue and with the mountains all around it, it really is like something out of a postcard. Visiting Copacabana around New Year was a great way to learn all about the weird and wonderful traditions of the locals. For example they climb the hill closest to town where they set up a small display of flowers, toy cars, toy houses, toy dolls, fake money etc. They then spray beer over this and this is supposed to mean that they will receive all these things in the year to come. In the town square a similar practice goes on where they pour beer over their cars/buses/lorries etc and this blesses their vehicules and ensures them safe journeys in the year ahead. Dont know if I agree with the waste of all that beer but hey each to their own!!
Una mañana nos levantamos con fuerza asi que alquilamos unas bicis y recorremos los 18km que separan Copa
de Yampupata. El camino de tierra va bordeando el lago y es espectacular. Al llegar a Yampu, el camino se para y toca pillar una barca para ir hasta la Isla de
Sol. Es muy turistico asi que solo pasamos una horita ahi y nos volvemos en barco a Copa. Un dia redondo!
Al dia siguiente teniamos planeado ir a La Paz pero no podemos. Hay bloqueos en protesta por la subida de los seguros para transportistas y todas las carreteras hacia la Paz
estan bloqueadas. Al final acabaremos saliendo a la 1 de la tarde del dias siguiente....De echo, se pilla un buseto que luego se sube sobre una barca de madera para cruzar el
lago Titi Caca.
Antoine was missing his bikes so one morning in Copacabana we decided to be energetic
and rent some bikes to do a 18km tour of the lake. The sun was shining and I have to say the views were amazing. There was a bit more up hill on the route than Id been expecting (and at 3800m
above sea level up-hill is not good!!!) but we made it to the end at a small village called Yampu. From there we got a small rowing boat, with bikes and all, over to one fo the islands
on the lake called Island of the Sun. It was slightly more touristy than we had expected but the trip in the boat was worth it.
The water is so clear and blue it makes you want to jump in for a swim, however once you touch it you remember your at the highest navigable lake in the world and the water is far from warm!
We made it back to Copacabana again that evening after another boat trip, tired and happy.
Si el album de fotos no aparece, pincha este link: http://picasaweb.google.com/antoineberte/TripToYampupata
La Paz
La llegada a la Paz desde los Altos es impresionante. Esta encerrado en un valle y asi a primera vista recuerda un poco a Quito. Solo que La Paz es la capital la mas alta del mundo: 3650m. Menos mal que ya venimos aclimatados a las altitudes. Me recuerda una aventurilla que me conto mi padre una vez que se fue a La Paz por motivos profesionales. Recien bajado del avion se fue al hotel y cuando se estaba duchando le dio un yuyu y se cayo redondo en la bañera...
Las calles de esta capital son super empinadas y es gracioso ver los mini van del año de la polca, cargados hasta arriba, intentando subir... Hay mogollon de puestecillos en las calles en la zona turistica. Hay una zona que se llama el mercado de las brujas y encuentras de todo para hacer recetas curranderas...Placentas de llama, sapos desidratados, tapires disecados....miam miam.
La Paz
We got to La Paz a day later than planned as there were numerous bus strikes due to an increase in insurance prices. To get from Copacabana to La Paz we actually had to get off the bus and get a boat while the bus went on a separate boat along side us. Then once on the other side we got back on the bus again and headed for La Paz. Arriving in La Paz is pretty impressive as it is in a valley and you can see the whole city spread out in front of you. Its also the highest capital in the world at 3650m, so all in all a totally breath-taking place! It is full of tiny steep streets and it is quite amusing watching the tiny, ancient buses, over packed with people trying to pull themselves up the hills. It is also a magical place, especially an area known as "The Witches Market" where you can see and buy all sorts of magical potions and remedies for good luck, health etc. For example you can easily find a dried llama placenta which you are supposed to put under the door of your house for good luck. I dont even want to know how they get the placentas out!!! If that doesnt do it for you you can get your tarot cards or coca leaves read by one of the many street witches.
Huayna Potosi
Once we got to La Paz we said we would rest for a few days and then decide what adventure to get up to next. However in the end we went into an agency for some information and she tempted us with a 3 day mountain climb leaving the very next day!!! Okay if Im honest she tempted Antoine with the trek, I had to be persuaded into it as three days trekking through the snow to climb a 6088m mountain didnt seem like fun to me at first! However before long we were signing the dotted line, getting our snow boots fitted and being told what time to be there the next morning. So much for resting for a few days?!?
I have to admit that I was rather nervous about the whole thing, all the talk about high altitude, snow walls and harnesses wasnt sounding great! However we were already in the bus on our way to base camp so it was a bit late to back out! On the first morning we got the bus to base camp which was already high enough at 4700m. Thankfully we were well equipped with snow trouseurs, jackets, hats, gloves and boots so the cold didnt seem to severe at first. There were five of us in our group (one Australian guy and two french Canadians) along with three guides and our cook to boil the pasta for dinner! The first afternoon was great fun as we got on our crampons and did some glacier climbing as practice for the big climb. I had never even seen a real glacier before let alone climbed one, so it was def something different. The whole afternoon on the glaciers flew by as we had so much fun and everyone loved it. I started to relax a bit then, thinking perhaps this wasnt going to be as painful as I thought! That night we went back to basecamp where we had some pasta and went to bed in our wee tents. Thanks to the fact that Antoine, the Australian and I, were sharing a two man tent, we were a tad squashed in and didnt get much sleep. The cold didnt help either, I thought my toes were frozen!
On the second morning we woke up to find that the weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was snowing heavily. The plan for the day was to climb three hours from base camp to rock (high) camp at 5200m, however we spent the morning waiting (and freezing) at base camp hoping that the weather would improve. Thankfully there was a guy who lived near base camp to control a hydro electric plant there and he let us use a small outdoor room at the back of his house. It wasnt much but it was well needed shelter from the wind and snow. Every few hours Id put boiling water in the metal water container we had and use it to defrost my feet! After lunch (more pasta cooked on the small gas stove) the guides decided that the weather was clearing slightly so we packed up our climbing gear and started the three hour hike up to high camp. It was a tough three hours as we had all our heavy climbing gear in our bags on our back and it was 100% up-hill!!! The last part just before reaching high camp was the worst as it wasnt even a path, it was literally climbing over stones. Not easy at over 5000m with over 15kgs on your back! Thankfully though we all made it to the small refuge at 5200m at around 5pm where some hot soup was waiting on us. The refuge was literally one room with a big table and a small ladder at one side leading up to an attic room. The attic room was covered with small matresses on the ground and that was were our group and the other people (appro 20) where to sleep from 7pm til midnight, before waking up and starting the real climb at 1am. We were like sardines squashed into a small tin so although we did go to bed around 8pm not much sleep was got until around 10pm with the sound of people getting up to go to the toilet, one girl puking her guts up (excuse the expression!) from altitude sickness etc. Antoine and I also had to make two toilet trips thanks to all the coca tea we drank to combat altitude sickness. Seeing that the toilet was literally a hole in the ground 20 meters from the refuge it wasnt easy to face the cold!!! So after perhaps 2 hours of sleep we were all awoken and told to get ready as the moment of truth had arrived. It was quite a surreal experience at midnight in a small refuge getting all equipped with snow gear, crampons, harnesses etc so the excitment of it all took over from the nerves. It is two people max per guide so Antoine and I had our own guide who we were tied to with a cord. Then just after 1am, head torches lit, we set off for the 5 hour up-hill snowy climb. The climb has to be done at night when the sun is down as during the day the sun melts the snow / ice making it too dangerous. So we had to get up to the summit and make it back to high camp by 9am if we wanted to play it safe. The climb in itself was really tough, some parts where more steep than others but it was all up-hill, the altitude made it necessary to go really slow and the higher we got the colder it was. As we made our way up we met other groups coming back, they had already found it too much and given up. I was determined though that if I had come this far there was no going back until we reached the summit. The two hardest parts where two snow walls, (almost verticle climb upwards which means using your snow pike and crampons), the first one was not too long so it was okay but the last one was the final climb to the summit and really tough. It was 5am, we had been climbing for almost 5 hours and we were faced with 150m of a 70º snow wall to reach the summit. We stopped to have a snack before making the final effort to the summit but everything (water, chocolate) including us were almost frozen, so we didnt hang about. It took us 45 minutes to do the final climb and I can safely say it was the most nerve racking and toughest thing Ive ever done in my life. Not to mention the coldest! However once we made it to the summit and saw the sun starting to come up it was all worth it. We were literally above the clouds and I was so overwhelmed by the fact that I had actually made it that it was an incredible moment. Unfortunately the cold meant we couldnt stay at the summit too long so we took our celebratory photos and started the descent. One thing I can say is that going down is way easier than going up!!! Poor Antoine had to climb most of the way down but I, being the only girl, got to ab-sail down. :-) Later when we got back to high camp we found out that our group was the only one in which everyone made it to the summit and I was the only girl that day to do it!!!! I deserved to feel proud of myself!!! :-) What can I say about the climb......it was the coldest ive ever been in my life, it was the toughest thing ive ever done and thanks to the altitude the most nerve racking....however without a doubt it was also one of the best!!!
If you scorll further down the page you will see some of our photos and also a video of when we made it to the top. Can you spot the iceberg which was starting to form on Ant´s beard?
Huayna Potosi
Nuestra idea era descansar un poco al llegar a La Paz y decidir nuestro planning para las proximas semanas. Al final nos da por lanzarnos en una aventurilla mas: Por que no intentamos subirnos a la cima del Huayna Potosi?? Annemarie no esta muy convencida al principio. Hay que mencionar que la cima esta en 6088m...Al mismo tiempo le tienta bastante el reto y cede ante el desafio. Mañana por la mañana nos vamos para las montañas.
El camino hasta el campamento base es ya de por si una pasada. Vamos en una furgo con un Australiano llamado Lawrence que tambien se ha apuntado a la pateada. Esta como a unos 25km de La Paz. Cerca del punto de partida se encuentra una mina donde en 1965 hubo mas de 500 muertos. El cementerio esta al pie de la montaña.
Una vez en el campamento base que esta a 4700m, nos encontramos con el resto del equipo. Dos canadienses: David y Phillipe. Por la tarde salimos a caminar una hora hasta el pie del glaciar para practicar con el uso de crampones y piolets. Es la caña, escalada en hielo, siempre habia querido probarlo.
Por la noche durmimos en unas tiendas y hace un frio de c-----s. Casi no pegamos ojo. Nos levantamos por la mañana y esta nevando. No podemos salir asi que esperamos hasta despues de comer. Por fin se despeja un poco y salimos hacia el Rock Camp. 3h de pateada con los macutos a tope. Crampones, saco de dormir, toda la ropa, las botas...Segun llegamos al campamento que esta a 5130m, comemos algo y nos vamos a la cama. El refugio es muy basico y dormir a esta altura siendo las 18h no resulta nada facil. No dormimos nada pero al menos sienta bien estar en el saco calentito descansando. A las 00.00 nos levantamos, comemos un desayuno basico y a la 1 salimos con las frontales encendidas.
Nuesto guia va habriendo camino y vamos annemarie y yo mismo encordado detras de el. El camino es duro, con repechos bien empinados. Vamos avanzado muy lentamente, paso a paso y aun asi empieza a escasear un poco el aire. Miro mi reloj, son las 4 de la madrugada. Ya llevamos 3 horas caminando en el frio. Annemarie no se queja, avanza bien y yo sigo detras, cansado ya. 5h de la mañana, nos pegamos un descansillo antes del ultimo tramo. Nos espera 150m de pendiente a unos 70º para alcanzar la cima. Todavia es de noche pero se ve que el sol esta ahi a punto de enseñar la cara. Nos lanzamos en la subida y 45 minutos despues, hacemos cima. El cansancio y el frio se disipan. Ya solo queda emociones para las vistas que tenemos ante nosotros y la sastisfaccion de haberse superado. Estamos bien por encima de las nubes, solo sobresalen unos picos nevados. Estamos a 6088m! Nos cuesta creerlo. Los rayos de Sol iluminan el horizonte, es una sensacion feerica.
Annemarie esta congelada pero la sensacion de haber superado sus miedos y haber aguantado tal esfuerzo le produce una satisfaccion inegualable. Sobre todo que es la unica chica en hacer cumbre hoy!!! Las otras han ido dando vuelta a lo largo del camino...Algunos chicos tambien de echo.
Todavia nos quedan 3 horas hasta volver al Rock Camp. Las vistas son magnificas y ahora que vemos por donde hemos subido, nos preguntamos si hubieramos aguantado tanto si hubieramos visto lo lejos que quedaba la cima.
Al llegar al refugio, solo tenemos 1 horita para comer algo y descansar. Luego toca 1 hora y pico de bajada hasta Base Camp. Un dia largo, mas de 10 horas caminando, despues de haber trasnochado...pero sin lugar a duda, ha merecido la pena! Sin lugar a duda, volveremos a probar nuestra perseverencia con quien sabe, un 7K??
Como dice el proverbio, "Una imagen vale mas que 10 palabras...
Si el album de fotos no aparece, pincha este link: http://picasaweb.google.com/antoineberte/HuaynaPotosi
Os dejo tambien un video de la subida nocturna:
Un video cuando estamos en la cima congelados.... A video of when we are frozen at the summit....
The next set of photos below is from Antoines bike trip to "The Devil´s Molar". Since he has been missing his down-hill antics since we left, he could not resist the idea of a full day biking through the amazing mountains on the outskirts of La Paz. Since this is all too technical for me I spent the day lazing around the city. It is the first time in over 3 months that we spent more than an hour apart!!!! I didnt know what to do with myself but as you´ll see from the photos, Antoine wasnt missing me too much! :-(
La Muela del Diablo
Para aquellos apasionados por la bici como yo y que les gusta los videos de unos chalados que se tiran por unos cortados y tal...este es vuestro articulo!
Me pase en La Paz por una agencia especializada en organizar rulos en bici por single tracks muy majetes. El tio me convicio en menos de un minuto (tampoco era tan dificil) cuando me dijo que me podia llevar por unos caminos en los que grabaron a Cedric Gracia en el New World Disorder 6...Incluso me enseño el video y efecticamente sale un coche con la matricula de Bolivia y luego las bajadas. El dia de despues me pase por ahi, me dieron una Iron Horse Yakhuza y nos fuimos por ahi. Iba en una furgo con un guia que llevaba su bici tambien. Llegamos arriba de unas montañas y empezamos el dia de freeride.
Primera bajada de una media hora, el tiempo de acostumbrarme a la bici. Paisajes increibles. Mi guia baja rapido pero en cuanto tenga la bici en mano se va a cagar...
Nos tiramos una segunda vez por otro camino en el mismo sector y me doy cuenta de cuanto lo echaba de menos. Casi 3 meses sin montar!
Los otros caminos por los que vamos son la polla. Single track con cortados a ambos lados. Caminitos en bajada desde la cima de una montaña hasta el valle. 1h y pico de bajada sin siquiera empujar la bici. A veces me paro para esperar el guia..."Bajas rapido, manejas bien" me dice sonriendo... Un dia redondo. Estoy doblado pero me lo he pasado genial. Cuando vuela a casa tengo que volver a ver ese video con los caminos que baje.
Unas fotos para daros envidia...
Si el album de fotos no aparece, pincha este link: http://picasaweb.google.com/antoineberte/BikeMuelaDelDiablo
Potosi
Welcome to the highest city in the world with over 100,000 inhabitants......yes Potosi is at a staggering 4060m above sea-level. Thankfully after our mountain climbing and time in La Paz we are well acclimatized, however not as much as we thought as after climbing only a few steps we were gasping for air!
Apart from it´s status as one of the highest cities in the world Potosi is famous for its gold and silver mines. Nowadays there is no gold left but it still operates as a silver mine. It was once one of the wealthiest cities in all of Latin America and the Spanish used large sums of money from here to support their wars/growth in Europe. However nowadays the town is a quieter place and a good way to see traditional Bolivian life up close. Antoine did the tour of the mines but I decided to give it a miss as it was all very much underground and small spaces.....my claustrophobic side wouldnt have been too comfortable down there! From what Antoine said though it was quite an experience. They had to wear suits and torches for the visit and in some parts the tunnels were so small that you had to crawl on your hands and knees. Unfortunately the working conditions are really bad, with all the dust it is hard to breathe properly and at some points the temperature reaches 30ºc. Consequently the miners often have respiratory problems and have to give up working in their early 40´s. I think the part Antoine most liked though was when they were allowed to buy real dynamite in the miners market nearby and detonate it!! No safety issues here!
Potosi
Bienvenidos a la ciudad de mas de 100.000 habitantes la mas alta del mundo: 4060msnm!
Es verdad que despues de haber estado a 6088m ya no nos parece tan alto pero en cuanto intentamos subir unos escalones rapidamente, enseguida nos falta el aire...
Potosi se creo por los yazimientos de oro y plata y hoy en dia sigue siendo una ciudad prospera gracias a las minas de plata. En la mina gigante que podreis ver en una de las fotos, trabajan 15.000 mineros. Hay posibilidad de visitar las minas asi que me apunte. Annemarie estaba con ganas de verlo pero con su pequeña clostrofobia, decidio quedarse fuera.
Una vez equipado con el mono, el casco y la lampara, empezamos la bajada hacia las entrañas de la montaña. Hay zonas en las que hay que arastrarse y con todo el polvo que hay es dificil respirar. En el tercer nivel hacia bajo, la temperatura roza los 30º y ver en las condiciones en las que trabajan los mineros es desespertante. Algunos empiezan a los 12-14 años y a los 40 ya estan con problemas respiratorios y no pueden trabajar mas.
Antes de entrar a la mina fuimos al mercadillo de los mineros, compramos dinamita y mechas y nos explicaron como detonarlo. Al salir de la mina, hizimos una prueba: Boommm.
Uyuni - Salares
After leaving Potosi we got a small mini-bus to travel the 150km to Uyuni, further south into the wilderness of Bolivia. The bus journey alone turned out to be a bit of an adventure, one that lasted 8 hours may I add!!! The bus got stuck twice along the journey and since this place is the definition of "the middle of nowhere" there was nothing for it but to get out and push. It is hard to believe that the main road between two cities is literally a dirt track which when covered in rain turns into a small river! Welcome to Bolivia, the poorest country in South America.
When we did eventually arrive in Uyuni we changed our minds about staying there for a day and went straight to an agency to book our 3 day trip for the next morning. Uyuni is literally a lost little town with nothing but muddy streets and agencies for visiting the nearby salt planes. So we slept there that night and set off on our 3 day 4x4 jeep tour the next morning. There were 6 of us in our jeep along with our driver/guide. Apart from myself and Antoine, there was a French couple (Mathlide and JB) and two Brasilians. The communication barrier kept us from talking much to the Brasilians but we immediately clicked with Mat and JB, who became our partners in crime for the next few weeks. The food was basic and the accomodations were refuges where we all slept in the same room in our Snow White and The 7 Dwarves stlye beds, but the craic was flowing and the scenary was out of this world!!! We saw everything from salt planes to snow capped mountains, to pink flamingo filled lakes and boiling natural geysers. We even got to take a dip in some natural hot baths at 5000m. Anyways enough said.....the photos below will explain much better than I can the beauty and wildness of South-West Bolivia.
Uyuni- Salares
Que quede claro, el viaje entre Potosi y Uyuni es surrealista. Un mini bus que tarda 8 horas para recorrer 150km.
Os imaginais pillar un bus en España en el que los pasajeros se bajan para empujar el bus?? Si si, de tanto barro y rios que habia que atravesar, nos tuvimos que bajar con palas, sudor y casi lagrimas, sacar el bus de los obstaculos diversos.
Uyuni es super cani y llueve sin parar. Es el punto de partida para ir a explorar los salares y las lagunas. Reservamos tres dias con Colque Tour para ir a visitar la zona e ir hasta Chile. En el jeep caben hasta 8 personas asi que nos preguntabamos con quien ibamos a compartir esta aventura. 2 brasileños y una pareja de Franceses: Mathilde y Jean Baptiste.
Encontrarse con un desierto de sal es algo bastante inhabitual, sobre todo cuando este esta recubierdo de unos centimetros de agua. Lo mejor que puedo hacer es invitaros a ver las fotos...
El feeling con los franceses fue bueno enseguida y la verdad es que cuando lo pienso ahora...podres brasileños...
Los tres dias en el jeep puede hacerse un poco largo pero con todos los paisajes increibles que hemos visto y el buen ambiente que habia, se hizo bastante ameno.
Si el album de fotos no aparece, pincha este link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/antoineberte/SalaresUyuni02
Fotos de la Laguna Colorada Photos from the "Coloured Lake"
Si el album de fotos no aparece, pincha este link: http://picasaweb.google.com/antoineberte/LagunaColoradaBolivia