Accounts of my travels through Bolivia.

Reflections of Bolivia

July 7-13, 2007
Day 647-653

My plan after getting back from the mountains was to rest a few days and catch up on some menial tasks. I washed my tent and all of my clothing, cleaned out my stove and pots, and bought a few small things I knew I'd need soon. I was… Read More »

Time to Head Back to the Big City

July 6, 2007
Day 646
Condoriri Climb Day 4

I finally got to sleep all night last night. For once I had a real breakfast, too. After eating only stale bread for breakfast the last two days, my bowl of instant porridge felt like a meal fit for a king. My tent was… Read More »

One Final Summit

July 5, 2007
Day 645
Condoriri Climb Day 3

I was delighted today when I got to sleep in all the way till 1:00 AM. The moon was no longer full, but it was still high in the sky this time of night, almost eliminating the need for a flashlight, and giving us… Read More »

The Head of the Condor

July 4, 2007
Day 644
Condoriri Climb Day 2

My alarm rang way too early at midnight tonight. I dragged myself out of bed after only sleeping a few hours and made myself a couple cups of coffee. I wasn't too hungry, but I managed to force down some stale bread for my… Read More »

There's no Bread in La Paz

July 3, 2007
Day 643
Condoriri Climb Day 1

I went to meet everyone at the tour agency this morning. Pedro was already looking pretty bad. He figured he had food poisoning from the night before. This was probably the worst day he could've picked to get sick, but he still wanted to… Read More »

Preparing for the Next Climb

July 1-2, 2007
Day 641-642

I originally wanted to climb Illimani, but I lost my ambitions after hearing about the number of deaths on the mountain. Several guides still tell me that it will be no problem if I go with them, and they probably are right, but I simply don't have the skills… Read More »

A Beautiful Climb (Again)

June 30, 2007
Day 640
Huayna Potosi Climb Part II Day 3

I got up at 1:00 AM along with everyone else at high camp and quietly started preparing to leave. I rented all of my climbing gear, but there was still a question of whether I'd be warm enough in the -10… Read More »

Relaxing Before the Summit Attempt

June 29, 2007
Day 639
Huayna Potosi Climb Part II Day 2

This morning, Nicolas went back to La Paz with some people coming back from their summit attempts. The first few people coming down had made it to the top, but they said that many others gave up when they saw the… Read More »

A Disasterous Beginning

June 28, 2007
Day 638
Huayna Potosi Climb Part II Day 1

Miguel was a mountain guide who was going to drive in my hostel's car with two clients to Huayna Potosi. He said there would be enough room Nicolas and I in the car, and agreed to take us along for a… Read More »

My New Mountain Plans

June 26-27, 2007
Day 636-637

Climbing Illimani seemed to be out of reach for me, both financially and geographically. When I told Nicolas, a French Canadian guy I met at my hostel a few weeks ago, about my options of either doing one more trek before going to Peru, going to Peru now, or… Read More »