I might be speaking a little too soon with the title "I survived" but we only have 5 full days left in Bolivia and it looks like I might pull through. My fellow remotes have come down with all sorts of random diseases down here in Bolivia: Mono, Giardia, the flu, Salmonella, you name it we've got it. We've had one surgery here for a shattered collarbone, a broken arm and we have a man down for 2 months recovering from breaking her foot in 5 places. This place is EXTREME and the local hospital now knows us pretty well. Did I take caution and lay low? Nope ... the last 11 days have been action packed and as of right now I'm living to tell the tale.
I'll start with "the safe". We had an amazing meal with 10 remotes at Gustu bar. For those foodies out there, it's owned by world famous chef Claus Meyer of Noma in Copenhagen (voted 3x best in the world). His goal is to only cook with local ingredients (Bolivia is filled with tons of unique fruits, vegetables, and wildlife) and hire locals to teach them life skills. I put a little photo collage of our tasting menu that was pretty incredible.
Now to the unsafe....
Don't worry, I made it. This is me climbing back up after the jump.
It poured the whole rest of the day but we were so happy we survived that we pulled over to take a picture with this cool waterfall. It's not dramatic, if you saw the pegs we were standing on and remember we're in South America where there just aren't safety regulations you'd be happy to be alive too.
Also, took a selfie with a llama. Why not?
Finally, yesterday, we decided to bike down death road. The most famous downhill road, and longest in the world this was the most extreme thing I've done. An average of 350 people die per year on the road and I can see why.
This is me on death road! At 43 miles long, most parts are only 3 meters wide and filled with pot holes. Every pit-stop we took to unclench our fingers (and something else...) our guides would point out crosses showing where people fell off and died. Reassuring... While it completely kicked my ass, I couldn't be happier I did it. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I got a tee shirt to prove it! I'd be lying if I said I didn't sleep 12 hours and eat my dinner while soaking in the bathtub after we finished.
I'll start with "the safe". We had an amazing meal with 10 remotes at Gustu bar. For those foodies out there, it's owned by world famous chef Claus Meyer of Noma in Copenhagen (voted 3x best in the world). His goal is to only cook with local ingredients (Bolivia is filled with tons of unique fruits, vegetables, and wildlife) and hire locals to teach them life skills. I put a little photo collage of our tasting menu that was pretty incredible.
Now to the unsafe....
Last weekend we let our friend Rik (pictured above with the ladies) convince us that we should do an extreme activity course. This was us getting suited up into the harnesses that held our lives in their hands for the next 5 hours....
We started off repelling down the side of a mountain and clipping right into this Tibetan bridge. Not shown is us climbing up a mountain, zip lining, and repelling again. That's all shot via go-pro helmet cause when your life is in the hands of 2 caribbeaners you put the camera down.
This is me literally jumping off the side of a mountain. Even scarier, it started raining about 10 minutes before we jumped so everything was slippery and the fog crept in.
Don't worry, I made it. This is me climbing back up after the jump.
It poured the whole rest of the day but we were so happy we survived that we pulled over to take a picture with this cool waterfall. It's not dramatic, if you saw the pegs we were standing on and remember we're in South America where there just aren't safety regulations you'd be happy to be alive too.
During the week we took a ride up to El Alta to see some of the "Cholet" houses they're building in this young city. The bottoms all hold stores because they "bring the money", the middle is where families live, and the top is saved as a room for the Gods. They informed us the style is "very Modern Western"...I think they need to visit Manhattan. Or any city really that's considered Western...
Also, took a selfie with a llama. Why not?
Finally, yesterday, we decided to bike down death road. The most famous downhill road, and longest in the world this was the most extreme thing I've done. An average of 350 people die per year on the road and I can see why.
Some of the ladies in our stylish windbreaker suits. The start of the ride is cold, early, and really windy. While I don't think we'll be seeing these this Fall Fashion week, they did come in handy.
This is me on death road! At 43 miles long, most parts are only 3 meters wide and filled with pot holes. Every pit-stop we took to unclench our fingers (and something else...) our guides would point out crosses showing where people fell off and died. Reassuring... While it completely kicked my ass, I couldn't be happier I did it. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I got a tee shirt to prove it! I'd be lying if I said I didn't sleep 12 hours and eat my dinner while soaking in the bathtub after we finished.
Me, Emily, and our awesome guides that lead us safely to the bottom celebrating with some cold ones. Cause if you can't trust a guy named Wolf to lead you safely to the bottom of death road who can you really trust in this world...
We wrapped up the day by swimming in some rapids in a river down in the amazon and having a delicious meal cooked by some of the locals. I'll have more pics from death road on my next/last post from Bolivia. If I can make it another 6 days that is...
Which one is Wolf? Can he come to Cusco and take us to Machu Picchu?
ReplyDelete