Arriving to base camp!

We started off our day enjoying our final morning in La Paz, full of last minute cable car views, dulce de leche pancakes and Witches Market souvenirs. As we finally had research kit arrive, bloods and electrodes were in full swing as major components of the research studies were underway. Everyone was ready to head up the mountain!

We packed ourselves into our buses and enjoyed the views of La Paz as we said goodbye to civilisation for 8 days. As we drove along and asked whether every mountain we saw was Huayna Potosi, it finally came into view. We stopped for a classic APEX photoshoot, showing off our matching kit, and quickly realised it’s actually quite a big mountain.

After arriving at basecamp and settling in, we explored our new home for the next week. We discovered many unique features- being able to chat to your friends whilst sitting on the toilet, fetching buckets to flush the toilet, the refreshing taste of powered milk and somehow being able to fit 27 of us in one room.

As the temperature dropped, we headed for a much needed dinner, starting off with a warming soup. Clearly basecamp found out a herd of Brits were arriving as we had a classic spag bol for mains- exactly what we needed. After a tiring day, we tucked ourselves in our sleeping bags and cuddled up, heading off to sleep and dreaming of the adventures we’ll have up the mountain.