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La PazThe rest before the stormWe arrived at the Hotel Calacoto and checked into our room, knowing that a nap was the first order of business. After that, we knew that it was time for some lunch at Alexander's, the sidewalk coffee bar and cafe that could be counted to serve the best fries that I've ever had in South America. We walked up the familiar street, passing the sights and sounds of high end La Paz and found the place we were looking for and settled in for lunch. With that primary need covered, it was time to meet with Dr. Berrios to flesh out the details for the two weeks of climbing to come. We found a table in the Calacoto bar and walked through the details, menu, foods we wanted and those we'd rather pass on, when we would head for the hills and what hills we would head for. Hugo was ready with the details and we soon had a plan that called for another day of rest in La Paz and then a move to the Condoriri and the familiar camp on the far end of Lago Chiar Kota. After a week of climbing and acclimatizing in the Condoriri, we would return to La Paz for a two day rest and then move to the base of Illimani to take on that 21,000 foot peak. With the planning aside, we knew that THE time had come to head for the El Asador for a dinner of Argentine beef. Our next day was spent resting up from the trip to Bolivia and doing what gear sorting was needed to cut the weight of our loads to the Condoriri to a minimum. We would stash some stuff at Dr. Berrios place but in the end, we took most of it with us, thankfully on the backs of mules. We also took a a few more walks around the neighborhood, taking in the view from higher up the hill on our first jaunt and then the art market and the river, creek . . . oh what the hell . . . open sewer that sweeps through the bottom of the canyon in which La Paz lies. At the close of our second day, we were ready, our shopping was done, our cook was lined up and we looked forward to heading for the Condoriri the next morning.
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