Dan came up with the title. Don’t blame me.
And while the walk was magical in unexpected ways, at least for the first day I wasn’t sure it was ‘incredible’ in the classic sense. We were promised incredible views of towering mountains and sweeping valleys and instead, after an unexpected and very slow 600m ascent to the pass at 4,700m above sea level, we were gifted with clouds all day. Not up-in-the-sky clouds. We were in the clouds, surrounded by not-yet-raindrops wetness and unable to see beyond 20 meters in any direction.
There are costs and benefits. Maybe the costs outweigh the benefits. We were deprived of amazing views, but we did get to experience a world full of edges because everything came to an abrupt stop before a wall of white. It’s all rather mystical, because you don’t know what’s in store beyond a few meters ahead.
It was a quiet day – the only humans we saw were two farmers and even the village of Takesi seemed empty. But my favourite part was the streams and rivers. This area experiences the wet season in a way Australia doesn’t – it gets predicably and very rainy and the river swells and takes out half of the bridges each season. We were fortunate to avoid heavy rain, but we did get to enjoy the crystal clear waters of the streams and creeks. Nothing like La Paz’s extremely toxic, extremely brown (more so than the Brisbane River), putrid river.
And – before I continue – I should explain the title. The Takesi trek is a trail laid by the Incas (in the same style as the one to Maragua near Sucre). Some sections are wide and beautifully laid, but most are overgrown and muddy, with streams running through them.
Anyway, this is the view we set up camp to.
And this is the view we woke up to.
The second day of the trek was significantly more rewarding, with most of the day spent with clear views. It was only in the chilly morning that the clouds both ascended and descended on us, like the compactor from Star Wars IV, for a few hours of white, edgy walking.
For most of the day we were able to see the giant valleys we were traversing, and could spot our path ahead. It was an extraordinary, but extremely long, walk. I met Dan the Passionate Botanist for the first time, who skilfully took pictures of all the different bright wildflowers. The ones below are the tip of the iceberg of his digital bouquet.
Today featured descent into the lush, humid, hot and dense rainforest, and wild river crossings. Two of our three major crossings had lost their bridges sometime earlier in the rainy season, so we were left to find a section that could be safely rock-hopped. On our second crossing, we had to carefully wade through quasi-rapids. Dan made it look as easy as making a bed. I, on the other hand, was full of adrenaline.
We have made it to Yanacachi, where we’ve pitched our tent on the overgrown football pitch, still under the watchful gaze of the mountains. Here’s to going to sleep sore, and no doubt waking up even more so…
VRPS
[Yanacachi]
The Two Swords 