Mount Illimani

Illimani is the 2nd highest mountain in Bolivia, measuring 21,122 ft, and can be seen in all its glory on any clear day from La Paz. It is a mountain that commands awe from those who see it towering high into the heavens and holds legend in the minds of Bolivians and foreigner alike. May 1 is Bolivian Labor Day and apparently a very popular holiday around here (realized by us when we were serenaded by booming music a block or so away from dusk until dawn on Labor Day Eve). Since everyone has the day off, we hooked up with our adventurous friends James and Julie to take a drive out to Mount Illimani. I was praying for no clouds- they have a tendency to congregate right on top of the mountain, hence blocking our astounding view of the snow-capped peaks. We started from our end of town, weaving farther down into the valley, losing thousands of feet as we drove toward the mountain. The most exciting part of our trip was when we came to a river crossing and found a small Bolivian man running around in his underwear, attempting to free his car from the grip of the water and mud. Thankfully, our travel partners have braved many a river crossing much deeper than than one we were at and were able to encourage us in the ease with which we could take across our landcruiser. James first tested the depth by hiking up his shorts (at least he kept his pants on) and walking across to feel for large rocks. After we made it without a problem, we decided to test the winch on our car, which we've never used, in order to help our pants less friend (his wife sitting in the car looking less than pleased) make it out. We hooked on to his little Russian sedan and towed him to dry land. With a huge smile on his face, I asked him if he had crossed these rivers much..."All the time!" was his response with a laugh. "In that?" I asked, motioning toward his little, yellow vehicle. "Of course!" He then informed us that there was a deeper river just down the road and we could follow him so that we could pull him across that one too. Happy to oblige and enjoying the interesting stories that form along the way, we continued bouncing along the dry river bed to the second river. Here, a car had to enter a bit upstream, drive a few feet down the river, and exit on the other side. After successfully trying that once, we headed back into the river to hook ourselves on again. This time, we had to stop in the river, at which point our friend Julie noted that the car was starting to sink down bit by bit. This was slightly frightening to me, imaging nothing devastating happening, except the engine flooding and being stuck in this valley for a good long time until someone could help us out. Thankfully, we were able to attach ourselves in time and backed our way across the river with Pablo and his wife in tow. We exchanged handshakes and phone numbers at the end with Pablo's assurance that if we ever needed a mechanic (his profession), he was available to us. We continued on our way, climbing higher and higher to our destination. We finally ran across a small town where we decided to park the car, asked some young guys who were hanging out in the plaza if there was a hike to a good look-out for Illimani, and began our walk. It wasn't long before we came to a peak and found a great view of the mountain, although the majority of it was covered in clouds. We took the opportunity to snap a few pics of each other and then descended, all of us already tired from the 4 hour drive. The most memorable part of the trip for me was when we stopped to pick up a couple that was waiting on the side of the road for a bus. Country folk will take any mode of transportation available to get into the city. While we were loading their stuff onto the top of the truck, an elderly woman came up to my window to ask for a ride. I told her to jump in the back, but before that, she signaled to a group of others that none of us had seen, and they all came running down the road to hitch a ride with the gringos. Now there were about 7 trying to squeeze in the back seat of our car with their huge aguayo sacks, full and tied to their backs. We tried to tell them we only had room for 3, but they were already in and they weren't moving. Poor James, who was on top of the roof loading their stuff, was not left a space to sit. We asked them politely to get out, then we asked them a little more firmly to get out, than we told them we weren't going anywhere and started taking their stuff off the roof. "But there's only a few of us! We fit fine! We don't have that much stuff!" Oh boy! They only conceded to getting out of the vehicle when they saw their stuff sitting on the ground behind them. So, muttering prayers of thanks under our breaths, we continued on with the original couple and made it home with fun memories of a good day.