Day 11 - The Trans-Apolobamba Trek (Day 3 - The Sunchuli Pass to Incachani)

I awoke at 6am as I could here Freddie clattering the pans again! When I stepped outside of my tent I was quite amazed at how cold it was, my water bottles that I'd left outside had frozen! For my breakfast I had the remaining cornflakes and began to wonder where Vincente's 50 dollar food budget went!

The Sunchuli Pass to Incachani (Cold morning!)

Shortly before we left Freddie came over and gave me a few chocolate bars, I wondered if they were some kind of bribe so I would carry some of his gear! I’d actually decided I would anyway. I packed his tent into my backpack and attached his sleeping mat to the outside of it. At least now we were both 'hands free', albeit my backpack was relatively light and Freddie's was the equivalent of 3 ovens!

We left shortly after 8am and it was a steady climb from the off before we reached a ridge. I actually slipped and my hands landed on the sharp slate. Freddie did not notice and it was here I realised he is a little deaf! We made our way over to Viscachani, which was a nice pleasant hike. I was a little tired today but Freddie seemed to have quite a bit of strength unfortunately!

The Sunchuli Pass to Incachani

The Sunchuli Pass to Incachani

The Sunchuli Pass to Incachani (Viscachani)

The Sunchuli Pass to Incachani

We soon reached the top of the 'Mil Curvas', which is a drop of about 500 metres on very loose scree. You had to be very careful going down as a slip would be a bit nasty I think. I would assume climbing up it would be extremely difficult, especially with a backpack. Freddie later told me many tourists have experienced difficulties with the 'Mil Curvas'.

The Sunchuli Pass to Incachani (Looking down the 'Mil Curvas')

The Sunchuli Pass to Incachani (The valley of Incachani down below)

The Sunchuli Pass to Incachani (Heading down the 'Mil Curvas')

The Sunchuli Pass to Incachani (Looking up the 'Mil Curvas')

We reached the bottom of the valley in Incachani by midday, and it was great setting up camp with Mt Akhamani watching over us. Once we pitched our tents, Freddie started cooking as usual and he brought over a tin of peaches and asked if I would like some?, I said yes if only to make his backpack lighter, he laughed! There was water above and below us in the valley but Freddie said the stream below was bad? I am not sure why, perhaps because of the mining that was happening all around us?

The Sunchuli Pass to Incachani (The valley of Incachani)

The Sunchuli Pass to Incachani (The valley of Incachani)

We both had an afternoon nap in our tents, although it was a little too warm really to get too comfortable. I later sat around the stove and watched Freddie cook. He's quite a guy, he will hike all day (with a ridiculous weight on his back), then unpack all his gear, go collect some water, cook, serve and finally wash up, the guy is a legend! The meal consisted of soup followed by rice and some fried sausages and mayonnaise which was all very filling and just what you needed after a day’s hike. It was great just to sit and watch the mist come down; Freddie looked at my map of Bolivia in my guidebook and told me all the places he had been to. He also told me tomorrow would be a tough day as the climb out of the valley is a steep one and will take about two hours.

Early in the evening I was disturbed by a group of horses that came to say hello, right next to my tent! Also during the night somebody walked passed near our tents carrying a touch and playing thier radio (which is a typical sight in the rural areas of Bolivia), Freddie shouted out my name (well... 'Markey' as he calls me!) as I think he may have been concerned about me! It would have been some local walking from one valley to the next late in the evening, usual behavior in Bolivia!

The Sunchuli Pass to Incachani (The valley of Incachani)