Cerro De La Calavera, La Paz San Dunes
I didn’t want to leave La Paz and the desert views without doing any hiking, but there wasn’t much I could actually do while using public transport. One “mini hike” that I could get to was Cerro de la Calavera, which was supposed to take around twenty minutes to get to the top, and according to some people online it is so easy it can be done in flip flops. It was said that the top of the hike is great to see the sunset, which I didn’t care for, but one of the volunteers in the hostel who wanted to join me said it would be better to go in the late afternoon. I didn’t care much for the time of the day, so I agreed to wait.
When we got on the bus, due to the driver forgetting to stop (as far as I could understand), we ended up at the wrong station, further away than where we were supposed to be. As a result, we had a bit of a walk to the starting point which was El Coromuel Beach. My companion from the hostel was eager to show me around, and somewhat reluctantly I agreed to have a look. Then he expressed his concern that because we were dropped at the wrong stop, we might not be able to make it to the end of the hike and back down to catch the bus back to the city, which meant we’d need to walk all the way back. I was excited for a boring walk around the city, but I had no intention of giving up on the little excursion.
We took a look around El Coromuel, which looked nice and possibly more crowded than El Tecolote, but we didn’t stay there for too long. We needed to get to the starting point of the hike, in a bit of a race against the clock. This part wasn’t particularly interesting, mostly a nice coastal walk without much to it.
Eventually, we got to an intersection, and beyond that we could see a few people climbing up a dirt path. We made it to the start of Cerro de la Calavera. The dirt road wasn’t difficult, although a bit uncomfortable with the flip flops, for about a minute or two. And then it changed quite rapidly, going up and requiring some dexterity to make sure I don’t trip over loose stones or a small cactus. After looking around me a few times, my companion was either a bit tired or simply decided to take his time, as I was unintentionally getting further away from him.
The dirt path had turned into a steep rock path that was quite tricky to climb. Flip flops don’t have great grip to begin with, and mine were quite worn at that point, so I had to be extra careful. Somewhat along that section I lost my companion and didn’t see him again until the day after the hike when we were both back at the hostel. When the path became a bit manageable I stopped for a moment and looked around me, I had a nice view of the city and the nearby area, but I wasn’t at my destination just yet. From the pictures I’ve seen on Google, there was a cave somewhere which would have marked the end of this hike. My feet were not happy in flip flops, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. It was a mistake which I came to regret fairly quickly.
A little while later I got to what looked like an improvised cross with a motivational quote written on it. Next to it there were a few people hanging around, but there was no cave, and no sign that told me I’m in the right spot. It was an open space, and not a cave, and the view was slightly obscured in parts. Ahead of me I could see the path kept going, and there were people walking along it, so I did too.
I walked along a fairly easy section of the dirt path, and passed a few more people, went down a little rocky section, and then I saw not only the city, but also the mountains. That was the first thing I’ve seen in Mexico that made me say “wow”. There was something quite special about it that made me stop and have a look around.
However, there was no sign, no cave, and the path kept going. I resumed my walk and saw less and less people around me. In hindsight, it should’ve been a warning. At some point I looked at the time, and it seemed odd that I didn’t get to the end. I couldn’t see any trails on Google Maps, but I could see that Cerro de la Calavera was behind me. I somehow managed to pass it without realizing. When I looked on Maps.Me, the path I was on just kept going for more than a kilometer, and ended in two viewpoints. Curious, I kept on going.
As I did so, the sun was slowly setting behind me, and I started to question my decision. It was a weird struggle between the conscious and subconscious mind, but my curiosity led me further along, looking for a viewpoint that will make this hike extra special. Every now and then, I’d take another look at my phone to see if I’m in the right direction, although I tried not to do it often as I didn’t have a lot of battery left. I also saw in a few places painted arrows, which were very reassuring to me. Just as I was thinking about giving up, I saw some people coming across me. As they had to come from somewhere, I wanted to see what that place was.
I kept going, until eventually I decided to give up. It was already getting dark, the smartphone’s battery was not doing well, and I really struggled to find the path at that point. I started to realize it was a genuine risk, and I turned around. At first, I did my best to trace my way without using the smartphone, but that was a bit too difficult. Every few minutes I’d check the map, and when it got too dark I had no choice but to use the flashlight function. If earlier in the day I raced against the clock to catch the bus, now it was a race to go down before the smartphone would run out of battery.
It was more challenging than I thought it would be, and I kept thinking I should’ve turned around earlier. It was difficult to see where I was, and without proper shoes I had to move slower than I wanted to. For the first time in a long while, I was scared, wondering if I’ll be able to get down unharmed, or at all. I could feel the panic, and had to try really hard to not let it take over me.
When I was the painted arrow once more it was a big relief to me, a proof that I am indeed going back in the way I came. It wasn’t without any problems, and occasionally I did manage to get into a dead end. Between the plants and the rocks, the main thing I could see was the ocean to my right. As long as it was there, I was heading in the right direction, more or less. I was wondering if at some point I won’t be able to see, and in this case I’d be in even bigger trouble.
Thankfully, that didn’t happen. After clearing a lot of the road and getting to an easie part of the path, as I went down I could hear, and then see, a group of people who were having a campfire. I had no idea what kind of view those people got, as I just kept going on my way, thinking it’s probably better if I don’t bother them.
Seeing other people on the path made me feel considerably less scared, but I still had no idea how much further I needed to go. Then I climbed a little rocky area, and was back at the cross I’ve seen earlier in the day, which according to google maps was the point of Cerro de la Calavera. From there, I had the night view of the city, glowing in artificial lights and looking different. It was relaxing, and mesmerizing in a way. It made me feel something I was not able to describe, not necessarily good or bad, but different.
Then, for the last section of this hike, I had to go down the way I came up, along a very steep section. And with one hand holding the smartphone to shed light ahead of me, it was quite a tricky thing to do. A big part of it I spent sitting down on the rock and carefully sliding my way down, until the road started to level again. A few minutes later, I was safe back down.
From there, I had to walk for about an hour or so until I got back to the hostel. It was at night, but it was still a coastal walk. It was nice, and might have been better early in the day, but there was nothing on it that really got my attention. To be fair, the only thing on my mind at that point was to go back and get some food.
My time in La Paz was about to come to an end, when I got the chance to go to the sand dunes and try sandboarding. I joined a small group from the hostel, and we all took a ride to the dunes together. After walking uphill for a little bit and enjoying the view, it was time to do what we came for.
There was no need for much instruction, it was simply a matter of getting on the board and trying to slide down the hill. Trying being the keyword, as it was more challenging than it first appeared. The board quickly covered in sand and came to a halt, every single time, until I finally chose a different path to try and go down (as suggested by one of the other guys), which went better, until I lost control and fell down on the sand.
The others had a similar experience, struggling to make their way down and stopping at various points along the sandy trail, although I think I’m the only one whose face was planted in the sand. But the real difficulty of the whole experience was going back up the steep dunes.
We took turns with the boards, as we only had two of them, so after going uphill we had a chance to rest and catch our breath before having another go. After a while we took a break from the dunes and walked over to the nearby beach, which was completely empty and we could hear the sound of the waves very clearly. It was a very relaxing spot, and a nice stop during this trip.
But the day was not over yet, and before our ride back to the city showed up, we went back to the dunes and to the sandboarding experience. By the time we finished, I successfully managed to make it all the way down with the board once or twice, but for the most part I stopped somewhere along the way. When our ride showed up, I had quite a bit of sand all over my body, although it didn’t ruin the smile on my face.