Huayana Potosi

Sunday 29/7 and Monday 30/7 - La Paz
Huayana Potosi climb.

The climb to the summit of the Huayana Potosi was organized for three people: an Australian couple and myself, with two mountain guides.

The Australians finally canceled because feeling not ready, after negotiations I did the two days climb with one private guide at the group price (800Bs; ~100€).

All of the missing mountain stuff (such as sleeping bag, crampons, harness, overgloves, piollet...) was provided by the agency.

 Approaching the Huyana Potosi (6088m).

A taxi brought us from the agency to Laguna Zongo (4700m) over a dirt road. He dropped us there at 11:30AM. Around 3:30PM we arrived at the High Camp (5300m) with three mountain refuges. Ours was by far the simplest: an igloo build from metal plates, without any facilities. Let's add that the meal wasn't great neither.

At 6:30 we went to sleep. Sleep... i couldn't sleep from the cold.

After 30 minutes climbing, a one-handed guy in his "office" far from everything,

sells the entrance ticket (for the maintenance of the trail;10 Bolivianos).

Was the first to register that day, with a fancy passport number.

The base camp, reached after a 4 hours climb.

It was extremely cold that night!

The igloo kitchen, one pot full of snow to be melted.

Start of the dinner, mate de coca and crackers,

next followed a soup and meat with rice.

Next morning we "woke up" at 1:00AM. We started with the ascension one hour later, after having "breakfasted" some crackers with mate de coca (made from boiled snow water).

Near full moon and our front torches allowed us to find our path on the glacier, over snow bridgesover ice caves and in between huge crevasses (which I discovered only on our return). The guide knew well this ascension and I felt safe to step w crampons in his footprints, being connected by a rope too.

At these heights oxygen is rare, I knew, but above 5000m this is extremely true. At the highest point, each 20 mini steps I needed 2 minutes to recover my breathing. Apparently not sufficiently acclimatised...

When we had to climb a steep 50 degrees ice slope for more than a hundred meters I gave up, with many regrets. Main reasons were the cold (-30°C, explaining why I took only few picture) and especially because I was completely exhausted. We were around 5850m above sea level,still more than 200m from the summit. We were not the only to inverse the direction, but some went on.

The summit, as seen from more nearby.

The guide preparing the ice slope.

A group changing their mind, giving up, and returning.

Freezing fingers after having taken that shot.

Looking backwards on the return path, with regrets.

On the return path

Then followed the descent, for more than 1000m. We took a coke in Laguna Zongo awaiting the taxi. At 2PM I was back in La Paz, where the temperature increased to 11°C.

I don't know if I wrote this already but most of the hotels charge the room heating as an option. I'll request that comfort tonight. 

Waiting for the taxi back to La Paz.

(Click to return to the home page)

Copacabana

COPACABANA

- From Puno (Peru) to Copacabana (Bolivia)
- Copacabana
- Car baptism
- Isla del Sol
- Scary Estrecho de Tiquina ferry.

There are two ways to reach Bolivia from Peru. The main road goes through Desaguadero (the road for La Paz), the secondary road goes through Copacabana.

There are two direct buses from Puno for Copacabana, one in the early morning, the other in the afternoon. I arrived at the bus terminal in between these departures, so I searched for an alternative. Here it is:

- walk 5 blocks from the National terminal to the terminal for the Provincial departures,
- Find , then take the collectivo for Yunguyo (village 2km from the border), and wait until the departure (when the minibus is full) (8 Soles; ~3€ for 2.5 hours),
- In Yunguyo, take a tricycle to the border (1 Sol; 2km),
- Check-out with the Peruvian administration (easy),
- Walk through the nomansland for 200m,
- Check-in with the Bolivian administration (easy too),
- Take the collectivo for Copacabana (3 Bolivianos; ~0.40€ for 20 minutes).

Near to the border, change from the Combi to a Tricycle.

Until the "border".

Then visit the Police station to get a stamp.

Then checkout at Peru's Immigration office.

Then walk through the nomansland

(picture taken looking backwards to Peru).

Towards Bolivia.

Find the bathrooms and Bolivia's Immigration office.

Continue on the road.

Find a collectivo awaiting people like you,

and wait until the van is full (that can take a while).

Copacabana (Bolivia)

Copacabana (not to confuse with the Brazilian Copacabana) is a quite touristic place, with a lot of backpackers and corresponding facilities. Almost all shops, pubs and hostels along the main street make their announcements both in Spanish and English.

Despite this it has a lot of charm. The basilical is famous for the Madonna statue, originally that of an Inka Princess and for the car benedictions using liters of holly water and beer (cars come from Bolivia, Peru, Argentna...). Cars are brand new, or older with understood mechanical problems. They queue during hours for their turn.

Next to the basilica their is a room where the devote burn hundreds of candles to get their wish come true. On the black wall (from the smoke) there are many drawings of the objects of desire: house and cars.

Hostel for the first night.

The Basilica.

The candles room.

The drawings on the wall represent the objects of desire: cars, houses, money

(picture stolen from the internet, as my camera was out of order).

Cars awaiting to be baptised.

More cars, all clean and decorated

(picture taken Pascal and Christine, my camera being out of order).

Priest finally arriving

(picture taken by Pascal and Christine, my camera being out of order).

The priest negotiating the "donation", I guess
(one of my few my pictures).

The priest baptising the new car

(picture taken by Pascal and Christine, my camera being out of order).

 

Also repairing cars.

(picture taken by Pascal and Christine, my camera being out of order).

Some drivers continue to baptise themself with beer,

 or champain for the more luxury cars

(picture taken by Pascal and Christine, my camera being out of order).

But this car didn't start anymore,

even after a lot of trials from priest and driver...

(picture taken by Pascal and Christine, my camera being out of order).

 

Capacabana beach.

Isla del Sol

Boats for the Isla del Sol sail in the morning at 8:30AM and arrive at Challapampa, in the north of the island, at 11:00AM.

I found the island nicer than the Taquile island visited earlier with Annelies, and less touristically exploited. People living on the island not only depend from tourism, most of them still cultivate on the prehispanic terraces.

Tourist Boats leaving Copacabana

(overloaded and without any life vests).

Start of the hiking trail.

The trail often looks like the Great Wall in China.

The second toll gate on the trail, 15 Soles.

My hotel on the Sun Island.

Sunset over the Sun Island.

The outstanding "La Cupula" hotel and restaurant in Copacabana for the next night

(picture stolen from the internet, as my camera was again out of order).

My hotel room

(picture stolen from the internet, as my camera was out of order).

Copacabana view, from the hotel.

(picture stolen from the internet, as my camera was out of order).

From Copacabana to La Paz

Copacabana is like a Bolivian enclave inside Peru.  To reach the mainland of Bolivia the bus has to cross a part of the Titicaca lake.

The crossing of the lake (+- 1km) is quite pitoresque, and scary.  The bus passengers go by boat (lacking safety vests and equipment), while the bus and the driver cross separately on a wooden raft.

The rafts used to transport the bus and the driver over the lake,

while the passengers take another boat (on the top of the picture)

(picture stolen from the internet, as my camera was out of order).

Embarking bus

 (picture stolen from the internet, as my camera was out of order).

(Click to return to the home page)

Querulpa

Monday 23/7 - AREQUIPA
Dinosaur Footprints in Querulpa

This morning I took the microbus to the bus terminal, and then the Immaculada Conception 9:15AM bus with destination Aplao.  After three hours, the bus driver dropped me along the road in Querulpa.

I thought I would have to ask and search for the dinosaur footprints...
Instead, I found a kind of Disneyland with two gigantic dinosaur models, and finally also the famous footprints.
It gave me a very special feeling to be at this historic place, near to these huge footprints!

The bus dropped my here.  Right in front of the mountain.

Not exactly what I expected.

This one (Diplodocus?) looks very kind.

The second model is so cute too (Tyranosaurus?).

After klimbing a steep path for 15 minutes it becomes more interesting.

Best marked footprints,

unfortunately observed with vertical light (it was 12:30PM).

The whole scenery decoded (not by me).

Some literature about these footprints:
http://dinohuella2.free.fr/querulpa.htm
http://app.pan.pl/archive/published/app57/app20100119.pdf

View on the green Rio Colca valley, and the desert behind

(as seen from the footprints area).

(Click to return to the home page)