Today was a very early start as I had to be at the Condor Trekkers office at 5am, this meant a 4am wake up after only getting to bed at 1am. Luckily I had packed my things the night before and so I was able to grab my things, head up to the kitchen, do a short 20 minute workout, have a cup of tea and then head to the office.The dorm room was actually ok and reasonably quiet, but the party crowd along with the lack of space I am not overly fond of and when I return I think I will stay in a cheap hostal instead of a jam packed hostel. I made it to the office by 5am and was rushed into the room to load my stuff into one of the companies backpacks - within 5 minutes they were in there telling me we had to go which was really annoying as I was told I would have plenty of time to pack and the fact I had come the night before to pack my bag and they had told me I would have ample time in the morning. Ohwell I had to remind myself to stay positive, I boarded the bus along with a Spanish couple doing a two day hike, their guide, my guide, the driver and Mark the Aussie volunteer. The journey out to our starting point was about 1.5 hours and incredibly scenic and Mark took the time to explain the next four days for me. My guide Roger seems like a really nice guy and only speaks very limited English but I explained to him to speak only Spanish and I would try my best to understand. Arriving at our starting point - a beautiful old chapel atop the ridge of the crater at about 3500m, the guides set up breakfast. Breakfast was an absolute treat to say the least: banana bread with nuts and chocolate pieces, got chocolate and fruit. The food for the next 4 days we would carry and it was all laid out infront of us and boy did it look good. We split the food all up among our three packs before having a little ceremony to bring goodluck to our walk. Roger explained a little about the area, the chapel and the indigenous people of the region - their religion being somewhat catholic but believing also in many gods from Mother Earth to various other protector gods of the other elements. At this point I realized I had a great guide who was passionate about his culture and this area and Mark was absolutely brilliant at translating what I couldn't understand. Roger showed me how the locals use the coca leaf in the mouth to give them protection against the altitude and energy for long walks, handing me a handful of leafs and then we were off. The first part of the hike was a slight incline up onto the top of the ridge before making out way around the topside, the sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky and the scenery unexplainably beautiful. Jagged rock cliffs, to deep valleys, crater edges and every form of rock formation you can imagine and the best part we were all alone, no other tourists and barely any man made noise. We stopped often and Roger explained the topography, the plants, the people and their lifestyles. It wasn't long before my knees started to ache with the extra wait on my back but I was able to not worry too much about with all the beautiful scenery to keep me preoccupied. After a couple of hours we came to a site famous for Rock paintings that are dated at around 7000 years old and from pre-Inkan culture. The rock art was in a deep cave at the top of one of the ridges we had been walking below, the artwork was incredibly well preserved and drawings of animals, the world and dancing people adorned the walls. Unfortunately some of the rock art had actually been stolen by things chiseling of huge chunks of the internal wall but for most part all the artwork was intact. The next stop was another side of rock art but a much more intricate piece with many dancing people drawings, hunters, seasonal calendars, death, animals and very interestingly the image of the Devil. For this Roger went into great detail and was able to explain the many images and how such an art piece is the way that culture was passed on through the generations. Fascinating how art, music and dance were the ways that people were able to transfer their culture over the generations. After another slight climb up onto the ridge it was then time to descend into the valley and what a sight the valley was with its little farms randomly placed and beautiful lush green crops all hugging the river bed. Around midday we stopped in a spot with some nice shade and we set up our picnic lunch; avocados, Tomatos, lettuce, bananas, roast vegetables (similar to ratatouille), bread, corn chips, cheese, tortillas and eggs. I had told Randall I couldn't eat the rice, pasta or bread and they had really gone to great effort to make sure there was a huge range of good food and basically that I wouldn't go hungry. There was far too much food and we barely were able to knock of half of it - a rate occurrence when your hiking. We sat around for the next hour chatting about Bolivia, the people and the culture and I was able to get some great tips about places to visit and things to eat. The next part of the walk was wonderful; trekking through the small farms and villages saying hello to the locals and just enjoying the peacefulness of our surroundings. We crossed this rickety old drawbridge and took some great photos before it was time for another stop and Roger whipped out the chocolate - another I don't eat but the Bolivians seem to love it here. Walking through the small villages we came across two workers hiding behind a digger and the next thing a huge explosion was shaking the ground and bits of rock were shooting in each direction and then a second blast; they were using good old fashioned dynamite to break rocks up for a new road. It was quite hilarious to see how rudimentary and dangerous their methods were but hey this is Bolivia after all, we greeted them a good afternoon and continued on our way. More beautiful scenery followed and I was able to have a really good chat with Mark who is an incredibly interesting and well travelled wanderer that with his wife is circumnavigating the world for the next 5 years on his motorbike. His story basically goes; since a young bloke he had been travelling the world, living and working in various countries, from a chef in Japan to a salesman working out of the United States to running a tapas restaurant in his hometown in Cairns. Mark sold his business and his house invested the money much like myself and is now living off the interest. His wife and him are slow travelling like myself, stopping and volunteering in places, camping and riding their motorcycle through all the parts of South America. I learned a little about the property market, stocks and bonds in Australia and gained some good ideas where I might invest my own money. Mark also having travelled throughout the world had some great advise and stories about his time on the road and gave me a heap of ideas for traveling through the rest of South America. We arrived at our accommodation at around 4pm and wow what luxury - a nice little bungalow equipped with a kitchen, toilet and cold shower. I decided to take the chance to do some yoga out on the edge of the beautiful garden. After my yoga I decided to jump in for a freezing shower - or more like a quick rinse and get into some warmer clothes. The lads cracked a few cold beers and I grabbed a cup of warm coca tea and we sat outside watching the sun disappear over the mountains. I realize that out here in the remoteness is where I enjoy being the most and from now on I want to spend less time in the cities and more time out in rural communities. Talking about volunteering reminds me of all the great times I had in Spain teaching English and how I want to get back into it here in South America. For dinner Roger cooked up an amazing feed with the Soy mince they had brought specially for me (as I don't eat rice or pasta). With some onions, beans, potatos, eggs, soy mince and tomato salsa he created one incredibly filling meal along with roast vegetables and salad - you would hardly think we are off trekking with food like this. After some more chatting and discussing the possibility of buying a motorcycle here in Bolivia and riding it across country it was time for bed. We had mattresses we laid out on the ground and a heap if pillows and blankets - absolutely perfect.