The Condoriri Tour in Bolivia

And so begins our second day of trekking! Today, the elevation changes and altitude are taking their toll. We cross our first pass at 5,000 meters, the Paso Jistaña, which then allows us to descend into the valley facing the Amazon. The heat and tropical vegetation are still far away, but the mist in the distance hints at a change in ecosystem and temperature.

We then crossed a second pass, the Paso Ilusión, at 5030 meters altitude, before beginning our descent to our campsite at less than 4000 meters altitude. We told you, there's a lot of elevation gain today!

The coca tea break upon arrival, the sacred and traditional drink that's excellent for combating altitude sickness, is always a special moment. We sit down, tired, with heavy legs, a hot drink in our hands. We relive the day's events and familiarize ourselves with our new surroundings for the evening. The excitement of what awaits us tomorrow builds, even though before that, we dream of our sleeping bags and a hot water bottle.

Waking up with the beginning of the thaw, we swap our sleeping bags for down jackets, and move from our tent to the carpa comedor (a covered picnic area) for a hot coffee. A routine is established: every morning, in the same order, we get ready, break camp, and resume our journey with our traveling companions and our caravan of mules. They lead the way, and we make our way along the scree slopes and narrow paths clinging to the mountainside.

Today again, we will have to cross a pass, at some 4500 m! We arrive in the afternoon in the Chiqapa Jawira valley.

Let's take the time to wake up and have breakfast, because we have a short day of walking ahead of us today.

We leave the valley and begin our gentle, zigzagging ascent along the mountainside. After a few hours and about 600 meters of elevation gain, we reach the Willa Lluxita pass. Below, we glimpse a valley stretching to infinity, plunging into the Yungas, a subtropical region we can only imagine...

We descend, gradually seeing large blocks of rock, a playground for climbers who sometimes come to this remote valley to train a little.

We quickly reach the river, our base camp for today. A few houses make up this hamlet, named Uma Palca.

It's certainly still early enough to bask in the sun, like a viscacha. The more adventurous can stroll through the valley, and perhaps even hike up to one of the high-altitude lagoons on the other side.

We ascend the Uma Palca valley and leave the small Santos refuge behind us. We settle into our pace, following the track, recently opened for mining.

The valley is immense, the slope gradual, except at the pass where it gets a bit tougher. After a few hours, we reach the pass at 5060m altitude. Time for a break, to catch our breath, to admire the valley we'll be leaving behind.

Let us also take the time to challar; that is, to offer an offering to Pachamama, Mother Earth: a little alcohol, some coca leaves, or a little sugar.

We then descend the valley, getting closer to the glaciers, which now surround us. In the middle of winter, we will see icefalls.

We pass the Allqa Khota lagoon, which in Aymara means "lagoon of two colors." From the lagoon, we climb gently and continue our ascent along the mountainside. We move slowly, at the pace of the Altiplano. We encounter a few shepherds and llama herders along the way, with the impression that they appear and disappear from nowhere. No houses in sight... the mirages of the Andes!

After a final pass at 5000m, we descend towards the Jistaña lagoon, nestled in a narrow valley dominated by high, sharp, rocky peaks all around.

We cross the lagoon and slowly zigzag our way up the mountainside, following the llama trails and passing into the parallel valley. Reaching the ridge, we discover the immense and splendid Jurikhota Lagoon below.

We follow the Jurikhota and climb a steep slope to reach the small Laguna Congelada (two glaciers literally fall into its frozen waters), a jewel set at 4900 meters altitude, at the foot of the Condoriri.

The walk is a bit technical with some rocky sections that we will have to avoid.

We decided to try something a little extra and climbed up to Pico Austria. It was a good workout, but reaching the summit breathless was well worth it. A breathtaking view of Condoriri, the Cordillera Real, and even Lake Titicaca unfolded before us.

On the way back down we pass by the Chiarkhota lagoon, the base camp for the ascent of Condoriri and Pequeño Alpamayo... we are a few steps away from putting on our crampons and roping up to climb on the glaciers!

We set off towards La Paz, leaving the Andes behind us. We then find ourselves back in the world of the bustling city, from where we can still contemplate the snow-capped peaks we just left behind.