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This morning we wake just before the alarm clock rings. Does this mean we have recovered from the jet-lag in just 3 days? So today we have plenty of time for a large breakfast in the hotel's restaurant. 8.30 is the departure signal to start driving to Chataquila: the starting point of today's walk.
The trip follows a small and difficulty mountain path. But with great views and several photo stops it does not seem to last three hours. Finally we are near the small chapel, just below the pass, on an altitude of 3600m (800m above the city).
First we visit the chapel and get some explanation of Arizona (our female Bolivian guide). And then it's time for our real first hike in Bolivia. It should be a warming-up trip for the future treks and a familiarization to altitude: descending to 3000m in 3 hours is quite easy. The path follows an old pre-Inca route along the edge of the Maragua crater, but due to the construction of an unpaved road this path is not frequently used anymore. Arizona tells us facts and stories about the surroundings, (medicinal) plants, ... The explanation is in Spanish, but Willem translates it into Dutch. From time to time he needs a little help, but that's rather due to its (decreasing) knowledge of Dutch and not his Spanish. Spanish speaking persons, however, get the complete private life of Arizona (ask Veerle).
If the bus picks us up, we drive a little further to the river Chaunaca. Here we have a picnic in the shade of a steep rock wall. We also get the company of a Bolivian little girl who is skipping class. The cultural difference are apparently not so big...
Afterwards we return to Sucre (by bus of course). Firstly a long climb to the point where we started the walk. With all the hairpins the road is even more spectacular then this morning. On one point we even have to get off the bus to drive though a waterfall. It takes 1.5 hours to reach to top. In total we will have spend more time in the bus then we walked.
At 5.30 pm we arrive in the hotel. We definitely deserved a drink! The patio of the hotel is the ideal place to recover. Since the recommended restaurant "La Plaza" is closed, we enter a "simple" pizzeria. And by 8.30 we enjoy a crowded Plaza the Armas and make some entries in our diaries.
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