Hola amigos!
I am in La Páz, Bolivia, heading to Brazil tomorrow. We have been in Bolivia for 2 weeks, and have done lots of activities and made some awesome friends. Last I left off I was heading to Machu Picchu in Peru, so I will give you a quick update on Peru and then tell you all about Bolivia.
Peru was amazing, with Machu Picchu being the highlight. My friends Jason, Berkley, Megan, Ashley and I did a 4 day trek called the inca-jungle trip. It started out with a 40 mile bike ride down a mountain, which was great, other than the fact that it was raining for about 2 hours and we had to cross rivers by bicycle. The next few days we spent hiking (18 miles one day), going to hot springs, zip lining, and we literally crossed a raging river by sitting in a small metal basket about 50 feet above the river and being pulled across a metal rope (its hard to picture but was an awesome experience). We started hiking Machu Picchu at 4AM on the 4th day and were one of the first people to enter the park, it was incredibly beautiful but at the end of the 4 days we were exhausted and ready to head back to Cusco.
A few days later Ashley, Megan and I took an overnight bus to La Páz, Bolivia. So if Peru was cheap, Bolivia is dirt cheap. We pay about $8 per night to stay in a very nice hostel, dinner is anywhere from 2-6$ per person, and the internet is 50 cents an hour. The other night we splurged at a steakhouse, two bottles of wine, appetizers, salad, ribs, steak, and dessert for $15 per person. I broke my sandal and am having it repaired while I am online for 80 cents. So far we have been mostly in La Paz, Bolivia, doing tours of both northern and southern Bolivia but have always come back to La Paz, it is a beautiful city. In La Paz we did a 6 hour bike ride down Death Road (this crazy one way rock/dirt road that is 10 feet wide and overlooks a 700 foot cliff). This was the best thing I have done so far, we started at such a high altitude that there was snow on the path (5,000 meters) and ended at 1,300 meters above sea level. We had a great group of friends and it was an amazing adrenaline rush, I almost fell off my bike a few times but ended up safe :) After a few days in La Paz we did a 4 day tour of Southern Bolivia, starting in Salar de Yuyuni (the salt flats) and ending so far south we were at the border of Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia. We entered the national park and saw geysers, crazy blue and red lakes,
beautiful deserts, and best of all the salt flats. The salt flats were unlike anything I had ever seen before, everywhere you looked was white and a reflection of the sky above. We rode around the salt flats for a couple of hours on the top of a jeep, watching pink flamingos fly overhead and wondering how I ended up in such an amazing place. If you have facebook see my pictures.
Our tour of Southern Bolivia was awesome, except that very few roads are paved in Bolivia (I read a statistic saying 95% of the roads are unpaved). It's amazing, since they have so many beautiful things to offer, but Bolivia is a paradox- it is the country in South America with the most natural resources but is the poorest country as well. It seems backwards in many ways, one day I am sure they will turn things around but for now all their beautiful sights are very hard to get to as they do not have the proper infrastructure to allow tourists to access them comfortably. Once we got to the South, we stayed in terrible hostels- I showed someone a picture and they asked me if it was a photo of a prison. We barely had electricity (mostly none), no showers, and one bathroom for 30 people. We bathed in the hot springs, soaked in salt, and showered first thing when we got back to La Paz. However, our tour costs $100 including food, accommodation, a guide, and travel in a jeep. It was a good experience roughing it, really makes you appreciate the little things like hot water and toilet paper.
So now I am back in La Paz, heading to Brazil tomorrow. We had an awesome Saint Patricks day at the Wild Rover (the highest altitude Irish bar in the world) and have just had an amazing time in Bolivia. I am nervous to go to Brazil, since it is a new language, currency, and way of life, but we are so lucky to have someone to show us around when we first arrive. Yesterday we got a new dormate, and he happened to be Brazilian and lives in Sao Paulo, so tomorrow we will stay with his family in the city. I love staying at hostels since you have the amazing opportunity to meet people all over the world, he is a stage manager for music festivals all over the world and is helping us get tickets to a festival in Sao Paulo.
I hope everyone is having a great time at home! Here is a brief glance at what I have been doing the past few weeks. Send me updates, and I hope you enjoy mine!
Wish me luck in Brazil,
Love Janelle
