Sorata

Oh the fresh air again! Sorata is a magical little jungle town at the foot of the high peak of Illampu on the otherside of the Cordillera Real and on the edge of the Yungas. We ended up staying in this place for almost a week and could've stayed longer but had to move on due to friends coming in. Our first adventure was walking along a dirt road surrounded by 20,000 ft peaks, beautiful blue river below, and saw a circus monkey on a rope, where we ended up at a bat cave, which was Kristin's favorite part (NOT)! Inside was a big lagoon complete with paddle boat for 5 bolivianos per ride, and we wasted no time hopping in and paddling around.
Second adventure, we hired a guide with a mule and hiked to Lago Challata and camped out among Incan Ruins and soaring condors. Monica had an alien in her belly and so could not move onto the higher lake, Lago Glacier, with Soren and Kristin.

Kristin & Soren
At sunrise the next morning, we moved on the submit and reach Lago Glacier, which is a little over 15,000 ft. We both managed the hike extremely well considering the high elevation and occasional steep inclines. When we reached the top we had lunch while enjoying in the breathtaking views of Lago Titicaca and the face of Mt. Illampu. When the clouds starting to roll in when headed down the mountain to check on our little friend with an allen in her belly. Pobrecita!

Because our guide had a futbol game early the next day, his 60 or 70 year old father hiked up in sandals to meet us and guide us down the mountain. Tired, hungry, and exhausted, we arrived back into the little town of Sorata and fell into our beds to reenergize ourselves and enjoy the rest of our stay there. We were told that the father was the first guide in this area of the Cordillera Real range! This family are descendants of the Aymara culture, which is still a thriving community. They spoke the ancient language of Aymara all weekend, which is only one of the 30+ national languages spoken across Bolivia. To the ear, it is very beautiful and sounds almost like a native american langauge.