June 20, 2007

Danny called from their 15000-foot basecamp on Illimani to report that they had a restful day in La Paz yesterday and that their hike to basecamp went well. They left La Paz this morning in a bus on what was supposed to be a new road to Pinaya, but it ended up being about "4 minutes of new road" so the bus had some interesting terrain for what is normally done in jeeps. Once in Pinaya, the town at the base of Illimani, the group went to Juan's (our bolivia guide) house and met his family. During the hike Danny reported "it was actually cloudy for the first time on the trip and sprinkled a bit on the walk to basecamp". But it had cleared up by the time he called, and he reported that they could see the city lights of La Paz from their vantage point. Tomorrow they will push to high camp at about 18,000 feet and the following day go for the summit. There was a promise of a Pachamama feast at basecamp when they return. The Pachamama feast is an ancient Quechua method of cooking meat and vegetables underground with heated stones. On special occasions in Penaya, the foods usually include lamb and a variety of vegetables.