The Qhapaq Ñan constitutes an Inca integration route of some 23,189 kilometers in length, which integrates the territories of six countries.
The Colombian Simón Vergara has already traveled more than 6,000 kilometers from Colombia to Bolivia with his two mules along the Qhapaq Ñan road, an ancient Inca route in South America, and he intends to continue his journey until he reaches Argentina to conclude a 500-day trip.
What seemed an unlikely journey to complete, Vergara is proving that it can be achieved together with “Cimitarra” and “Pluma de Oro”, his two beloved mules who are his faithful companions on this adventure.
The three began this trip on January 9 and in eleven months they have traveled the roads of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and now Bolivia in order to cross the Qhapaq Ñan route, an Andean road system that was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2014, which passes through six countries in South America and is little traveled.
“The only way to give life to a road is by walking it, so this is my grain of sand, my support, to keep these roads alive,” Vergara told Efe.
The 23-year-old young man left from the municipality of Ubaté, in the Colombian department of Cundinamarca, and intends to reach the city of Jesús María in the Argentine province of Córdoba. Neither the covid-19 pandemic, nor some closed borders have stopped him from fulfilling his objective.
The Qhapaq Ñan constitutes an Inca integration route that was consolidated between the years 1450 and 1530 after Christ of about 23,189 kilometers in length, which integrates the territories of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
318 days of adventure
In the 318 days of adventure so far, Vergara along with the mules appreciated impressive landscapes, crossed rivers, climbed mountains 4,000 meters high, met people who helped them, while he told his story that amazed even the most incredulous who asked him. view photos or videos.
In various places along his route they saw him as the “weirdo” and they looked at his luggage where he has a wooden box in which he keeps some of the medicines for his mules and a few tools, but the villagers believed that it was a geologist who did mining studies and was looked down upon, he said.
In other places they confused him with a “guaquero”, who are people who seek treasures illegally, and he did not receive help nor could he buy food for the mules.
Despite these obstacles, the Colombian has continued with his adventure and found a way to keep the mules in good condition, which per day travel about 30 kilometers.
In the middle of his journey, when the team was in Peru there was a point where Vergara was already very tired from the road, so he thought about giving up on this great feat that took him at least three years to organize, dream and make it come true.
One of the biggest anecdotes occurred in the Huascarán National Park in Peru, in which “Pluma de Oro” saw a herd of wild horses and began to run behind them, moving at least six kilometers away.
Even so, he caught up with the mule and saw that the leader of the herd of horses rejected “Pluma de Oro”, so he returned to Vergara.
Mules
The Colombian has been a horse lover since he was a child and decided to carry out this adventure with his mules because it is a “very special animal” since it is the crossing of the donkey with the horse that makes it have a “hybrid vigor” that makes them resistant and adaptable. .
“It is a much more resistant animal than the horse, it is much more adaptable to changes in height, food, climates and for continuous work, so it is the ideal animal for these trips,” he added.
Thus, “Cimitarra” of 8 years, the most “spoiled” and “Pluma de Oro”, of the same age, were chosen. Both had to train and be in the best physique.
“Every time they are improving their level, now they are in their best moment of their life in physical condition, it really is incredible, the good condition of the mules is my priority, they are my darlings, so I am very aware of them and their diet”, Vergara emphasized.
In addition, the connection that animals have with the young becomes much more special, becoming like a family in which they already recognize each other when they move away.
Vergara and the mules are scheduled to leave this Monday for the city of Santa Cruz in a truck that will take them to that destination and then head to southern Bolivia and go to Argentina to complete the remaining 2,000 kilometers.
He intends to arrive in the Albiceleste country in January in the city of Jesús María, where an equestrian festival will be held, the largest in Latin America.
The young man documents his entire journey on “mule back” on his social networks and on that of the crossing @ 5tierras, which already has 16,000 followers. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
