July 18, 2007

AAI guide Joey Elton called in the following dispatch at 1 pm from Illimani Base Camp:

"After a wonderful day of rest in La Paz, our group set out this morning for our final objective: the 21,201-foot summit of Illimani.

After driving from La Paz, we arrived in the village of Pinaya, where our Bolivian guide, Juan Churra, is from. Upon arrival, we were greeted by cheerful children, who had just finished school for the day. They were as curious about us as we were about them. We then had a great lunch in Juan's yard where we were introduced to his whole family - all of whom helped load up the horses to get the group going to Base Camp.

On our hike up to Base Camp, we came upon small farms with local people waiving a friendly hand as we passed by. An hour and a half later we arrived at camp. We are now settling in beneath the giant northwest face of Illimani. We will have a nice home-cooked Bolivian meal to feast on for dinner. This will prepare us for our big climb up to high camp tomorrow!