Adventures in Torotoro (Part 3)

Our second day in Torotoro, as well as our last, was the most tiring. Basically, we hiked all day. At the beginning of the hike, our guide pointed out dinosaur footprints of all kinds. There were numerous tracks, some disappearing under shelves of rock along the way. There's so much that the park has uncovered, and still has to uncover! It was amazing to think we were walking where dinosaurs tread so many centuries ago. After that, we got started on our real hike. At first, we walked mostly through rock and shrubbery, with the guide pointing out native plants and different effects of water erosion on the land.  

The trail of the giant, long-necked sauropod!

This is a clear theropod footprint. Theropods were

small, quick, and carnivorous. Where the footprints

of a herbivore are seen, a carnivore usually follows. 

Footprints all over the place!

Since when did Andrew grow so tall?!

He didn't; those are Jonathan's legs :)

Finally, we climbed up to a lookout where we had the best view of the park's canyon. At the bottom flowed a stream strewn with boulders; trees grew on the sloping ground. Vegetation spread over the reddish-brown cliffs of the canyon; the view was perfect. And scary from so far up! Eventually we hiked on, soon coming upon hundreds of stairs, cut out of rock, leading down into another part of the canyon. Once at the bottom, we kids had a blast climbing up all the larger-than-life boulders and crossing the deep streams cutting across our path. After some time, we all came to the end of the path. Water pours out of the cliff's side there, forming a small beach scattered with rocks of all shapes and sizes. Guess where all the water comes from. The caverns! After climbing, eating, and getting wet to our heart's content, refreshed and relaxed, we started on our way back up. This was one of the hardest, if not the hardest part, of our whole trip to Torotoro. Climbing almost a thousand stairs under the glaring sun was hard, and it seemed to take forever, but we all made it! After resting for a while, we took another path circling back to where we had started.

Speculating how deep the canyon gets!

 The view was beautiful, but it was not fun looking straight down!

At the canyon's bottom.

The path ends here, at the main attraction of this hike, 

the "Vergel," meaning the waterfall. The one you see

is just a small part of the many waterfalls found here.

Yes, this would be the getting-wet part of our hike!

Three dear sisters, two dear aunts, and one dear Mom :)

A view of Bolivian countryside! 

 After resting for a while, we took another path circling back to where we had started. A few hours later, we  had bought souvenirs, packed everything into a minibus, and were headed back home! Everyone was now glad for a six-hour rest! It might have taken a few days to recover from our adventures in Torotoro, but the sore muscles and weariness were worth it! We had a beautiful time seeing more of Bolivia and spending time with family.