God the Creator

August 10 I faced my fears of heights in a big way and mountain biked down the Yugas Road which was recently renamed ¨The World´s Most Dangerous Road.¨ Of course, I had very little idea of what I was actually getting myself into when I signed up with a friend. We signed our life away on a form but were told that the guides were rope rescue trained and we were in good hands. GRAVITY Tours is the way to go- they were the first to start the bike tours and they also have additional safety protocol that the other companies do not have. Although they were a bit more expensive, I figured it was money well spent.

We left La Paz at 7:30am. An about an hour later we arrived to our starting point, La Cumbre which is at 14,500 ft. We started riding down a paved main road with cars traveling in both directions. About 2 hours later we reached the actual Most Dangerous Road. When our guide announced that now we would be riding down the actual road, I realized that the previous 2 hours were just practice. This road is no joke. Barely 1 lane, no guard rails, no safety... just you next to a cliff. We were warned to keep our eyes focused straight ahead because looking otherwise could be deadly. Apparently one man followed a butterfly off one of the cliffs ( he survived). ¨This infamous narrow dirt road is cut precariously into the side of the mountain and descends 2,000m (6,500 feet). With 1,000m+ (3,300 feet) sheer drops off to our left and hulking rock overhangs and cascading waterfalls to our right, we ride through mist, low cloud and dust¨(from http://www.gravitybolivia.com/).

Terrifying but at the same time, absolutely amazing. Just me, my mountain bike and God. My heart beat was pounding at times and yet I felt at peace riding down 41K.

We traveled down the road as a group, making pit stops every so often. I passed many crosses along the way. Finally, 4+hours and 63K later, we reached our destination, La Sende Verde Animal Revuge. We ate some lunch and hung out with the animals for a bit before heading back along the same road on our bus. This part was almost more terrifying because at times, it seems the width of the road is not enough for a bus to travel on. Also our guide decided this would be a good time to tell us about several tragedies which occured no other than on the road we were slowly and cautiously making our way up. At several points a car was traveling down which made for an almost colision. We stopped to take photos at the ¨postcard corner¨and as our guide was taking a photo of me a bus started heading down toward me. I nearly had a heart attack- either the bus would run over me or force me off the edge of the cliff. Thankfully, not to the laughter of the guide and several others, I survived. We arrived back to La Paz 7:30pm.

Isla del Sol

With feeling a bit stuck in routine and bogged down... it made sense to take some time to relax and refocus. On Saturday, Aug. 21, I headed to Lake Titicaca for the 2nd time, this time to hopefully make it to Isla del Sol.

This time, wonderful weather allowed me and a friend to arrive to the island about 3pm. after an hour 1/2 boat ride. We walked (or rather climbed) the Incan steps to our hostel that overlooked the lake. It was so beautiful and peaceful. There are several villages on the island.

The way of life is so very simple but lacking nothing. Often we passed locals climbing the steps behind a group of donkeys carrying goods. In the early morning, men carried gasoline tanks filled with water from the fountain below and women with bags of bread and fruit. At 6pm We climbed a nearby mountain to watch the sunset. Children played hopscotch nearby.

At 6am we woke up to watch the sunrise. It was completely silent except for the numerous outbursts from the donkeys. Unfortunately there wasnt time to hike to the North end of the island, we needed to catch our boat back to Copacabana and then our bus back to La Paz. I was on the island for 19hours.. although short it was enough for me to rejuvinate for these last 2 weeks in S. America.