August 30, 2007

Hola de Bolivia,

We have made it back from the Taquesi trek and are currently in La Paz doing a few logistics and getting ready to head out for a much deserved dinner. Everyone is doing well and feeling just a little tired from the trek.

Yesterday we left the camp below the pueblo of Tequesi and headed into the Yungas or cloud forest which was living up to it's name. It was cloudy with light rain on and off throughout the day. The flowers blooming were tremendous at these lower elevations along with the peach tree blooms in pink and white. We had some beautiful misty views of the steep vegetated hillsides when the sun managed to penetrate the cloud cover and highlight a hillside or valley. After about 6 hours and a descent of some 5,000 feet, we arrived at our camp next to the electric company building for the night. We were treated to a rainy evening with a bat flying in and out of the room we were eating dinner in and a show of fireflys outside the open windows to rival a fireworks display. We eventually retired for the day to the sound of rain on the tents.

This morning we enjoyed a yoga class instructed by Susan! It was great to work out a few early morning kinks. After breakfast we headed out the last of the trail to find the bus waiting for us at the end of the road. We spent 4 hours making our way through the Yungas back to La Paz and in route were treated to another condor sighting, a close up view of coffee beans on the branch, and fields of coca growing on very steep terraced ground. There was even fresh snow on the 15,000-foot pass we drove over just outside La Paz. The day steadily got brighter, and we enjoyed a pretty afternoon in the city.

We are all looking forward to a day a rest and logistics tomorrow before we head back out into the mountains on Saturday.

More later,

AAI guide Mark Johnson

Read more about the itinerary and ascents on AAI's Bolivia Trek and Climbing Expedition