Cables from Latin America: Following the Incas

The start of the trek didn’t start off fantastically. The girl who I had booked to go on the trek with had dropped out leaving just me and the guide. There were a few minutes during which I was debating whether I really wanted to go, but given that I had already paid up for the 3 day trip, figured I should and that I was probably just worrying too much anyway.

We left La Paz at around 8.45am, although the trip to the start was a slow one – public minibus to the bus terminal then a wait of around an hour before the bus left for the start which is only around 30km out of La Paz. Buses don’t run to timetable here, they just depart when full, which can make exact preparation a bit more difficult. The bus was typically Bolivia; seemingly on the verge of breaking down, full of people transporting all manner of things and a man preaching for the first 15 minutes of the journey about how he was saved by God from drowning in a mine.

The first 1km of the hike is pretty tough going uphill. This part is not actually the official Chorro Trek, but as we had taken public transport we had to get ourselves up to the highest point where the trek officially starts – El Cumbre. After this, however, the first day is a steady downhill for 5 or 6 hours along stones laid by the Incas.

My concerns about it being just me and the guide for 3 days were laid to rest when I bumped into an Australian family at the first stop we had in the afternoon. We had started a bit after them but my guide’s high-speed marching pace meant we caught up with them early afternoon, and for a few hours after lunch I put the hand break on the double time march and chatted with the Australians.

We arrived at the camp site at around 5pm, in time for some afternoon tea, camp set up and cook dinner. My guide was carrying all the food and tent (I just had my own personal belonging with me and the mattress). Dinner wasn’t bad – vegetable soup followed by some spaghetti Bolognese.

The camp site was pretty full the first night as there was a group of boys from a Grammar school in Kent doing a month long expedition through Bolivia and Peru staying there. It was nice to have some more company and I chatted with them and their teachers for a while. Bed was early at 9pm as there wasn’t much electricity and the camp site owner seemed keen to turn off the only light there was.