I just got back from a 3 day trek with Condor Trekkers exploring the area outside of Sucre. We hiked for 2 days, 16km each day and the first day was all down hill for half the day and then all up hill for the afternoon. It was a killer! We also did all of this with full packs on our back, it was quite a work out. We saw a couple beautiful waterfalls, one that we swam in and was freezing! We also climbed into a huge crater and slept there for the night and then climbed out of it the next day. There were some of the most beautiful mountain views I have ever seen. There were so many colours of black, brown, beige, green and red that mixed throughout the mountains to make it so amazing.

The second day of hiking our main destination was a set of dinossur tracks from 68 million years ago hidden in the mountains. They were so cool to see because they were out in the wild as opposed to in a museum somewhere. It was a pretty surreal experience and I think we had continued on our way by the time it set in that we were touching real dinosaur tracks!

The afternoon seemed to drag on but finally we arrived to the town we would be sleeping in. The two people who run the trekking company were in the town to greet us as they were presenting the graduating class in that town with t-shirts. They invited us to come to the ceremony where they would be presenting the t-shirts. They said it would be very informal but that the class had prepared a cultural dance to show their appreciation.

Let me just say that that evening may have been the highlight of my trip so far. They ended up opening up the local museum for us to view and for the dance to take place inside. The dance was very nice and the students made a few speeches expressing their gratitude (from what I gathered) for Condor Trekkers as they are a not for profit organization and seem to put a huge effort into the local communities. After they were done their dance they each came to grab a ‘gringo’ (foreigner) to come dance with them. It was their turn for their friends to take pictures of all the funny looking people dance! I felt so lucky to have been able to join in and it was just chance that we were there to experience it. The impromptu experiences always seem to be the ones I remember the most when im travelling.

I am now sitting I a cafe trying to arrange an overnight bus to Semipanta that sounds like a quaint little town that will be perfect for relaxing!