BOLIVIA
SAMAIPATA, POTOSI AND CLIMBING ILLIMANI 6,438M (Sept
2007)
photos
I took
a night bus straight across the border to Bolivia.
Because of altitude reaching 4000m, it gets very cold and I
was pleased to receive a blanket. Only in the
morning, when I started to scratch, I realized it was full of fleas!
One might expect that the biggest border crossing between
Peru and Bolivia should be fast, but it is not so. The bus
got stuck for almost 4 hours. That day I arrived in La Paz,
the highest capital city in the world (officially Sucre is the capital,
but La Paz is the seat of the government). It's setting is
spectacular, thousands of houses fill the valley below Illimani, at
6438m the second highest mountain in the country. That's
where I wanted to go next.
Illimani 6438m
For the first time I joined an organized group, which consisted of 3
German guys and me. Because there were 4 of us, we
had 2 guides. On day 1 we arrived at the Base Camp.
The second day, we went up to the High Camp at 5500m, right
next to the glacier. The following night we started climbing
at 1.30am. We went in 2 groups, 1 guide and 2 clients.
It was cold but not windy, and we were making good progress.
The other group, however, decided to return soon after
setting off. I felt very well and was sure I could get to the
top, but unfortunately, after about 2 hours of walking, the other guy
also asked to be taken back to the campsite. In this
situation, we both had to go back! I knew that out of 4
people someone was bound to return, but we had 2 guides, so imagined I
would be able to continue with the second guide.
I said I didn't want a guide any more but obviously he couldn't allow
me to go alone. Contracting a guide means that he takes
responsibility for for his client until they get back. But I
just wanted them
to leave me alone and we started arguing. There was no way
for me to go back when I was totally capable of continuing on my own.
Ahead of us there was another guide with his Irish client.
I run after them with my guide and they agreed to me roping
up with them! To be honest, I didn't think the Irish guy was
going to make it to the top. He was very weak and we were
resting too often. At 6000m the wind picked up and I was
getting cold. We still had a very long way to go, including a
steep, 70 grades section of hard ice. But to my surprise, the
Irish guy stubbornly pressed ahead.
We were getting higher so the temperature was getting lower.
Strong wind was absolutely freezing, but the sky started to
change color. By the time we were walking on the ridge
leading to the summit, the sun rose up, illuminating the clouds below.
Soon after, I was taking photos of the huge Bolivian flag
which marks the top of Illimani, 6438m!!! I was overwhelmed
with emotions, because so many times on the way I was losing and
regaining hope of making it to the summit. It was pure
determination that allowed my Irish partner to reach the
top. He had altitude sickness, vomiting near the summit and
simply falling over on the way back. I was lucky to feel very
well. After a month of walking and climbing in Peru I felt
better then ever before. I needed strength that day, because
we had to go all the way down to the village. The following
day, we were happily back in La Paz.
Potosi
Visiting the silver mine of Cerro Rico is an unforgettable experience.
20,000 men work there, and the mine has changed little over
the last few hundred years. The miners work manually in
difficult conditions, using simple tools and dynamite. Tons
of ore are taken out through small tunnels by helpers using barrows.
They are paid $7 per day by the miners! The working
conditions are not going to change here, because the people are
suspicious of international companies and accuse them of exploitation.
That means no investment and, sadly, no change in the way
they
earn their living.