“The Road of Death”

Standing on one of the cliffs of the Death Road

This past weekend I had the opportunity to do some bike riding.  But this was no trip around the block; we descended down the Death Road (El Camino de la Muerte).  It was a 60km trip that started in the Snow covered mountains of The Cordeal Real and descended 3000m in elevation to the lush green valleys of Coroico in the Yungas.  It was an amazing trip!  We started the morning having a small breakfast before gathering all the gear we needed that would hopefully keep us safe.  We then loaded in a bus and headed up to the starting point.  Once there, we put on our equipment and checked out our bikes to make sure they were good.  Next, we hopped on our bikes and started making our way down.  The first part of the road is paved and winds down through the valleys between the mountains.  With the assist of gravity, we reached some very high speeds.  I had never been so fast on a bike before.  Hugging the curves as we went down, I think I may have reached speeds of 40 mph.  I could hear the rubber of the wheels humming against the asphalt.  It was amazing but pretty cold!  We soon reached the checkpoint where we took a break for a snack.  I had to switch out my bike because somehow the sprocket connected to the rear wheel for peddling became, well, broken…

The Journey started in the snow covered peaks

First part of the Road

Me about to hop on my bike

Flying down the Road

So with my new bike, we made our way to the beginning of the famous Death Road.  It is a winding dirt road that makes its way around the edges of steep mountain cliffs as it winds down to the Yungas.  You may ask how it got the name.  Well, years ago it was named the World’s Most Deadliest Road because it had one of the highest death toll counts in the world.  This is very evident today as you can see many cars that have fallen over the cliffs and also the many crosses that line the side of the road.  As we sat at the beginning road, looking over the cliff, the fog began to clear and you could make out the road going off into the distance.  It was a beautiful sight though a little terrifying.  After fixing a flat and checking everyone’s brakes, we set off.  This road is not paved like the other one was but consists of much dirt and many rocks.  It made for a very bumpy ride.  You have to pay much attention while you are riding and also watch your speed or else you might find yourself over the edge.  I learned this the difficult way.  No, I did not go over the edge, but I found myself a little too close a few times.  Also, there are many big rocks in the middle of the road and if you are going to fast then it is hard to avoid them.  I hit many, but one almost sent me over the handle bars as my back wheel came off the ground.  I managed to maintain control and continue my way down the treacherous road.  There are a couple points on the road where you have to pass through waterfalls that run over the edges of the cliffs above.  They are very refreshing because by this time on the road things are starting to warm up.

 

Waiting while the flat got fixed and the breaks were tweaked on everyones bikes

As the clouds cleared out you could begin to see Death Road

Us posing by a Waterfall

 

Death Road

A couple hours later, which seemed a whole lot shorter, we found ourselves looking across the valley at Coroico.  It was extremely hot by now and we were looking forward to finishing soon.  Not to mention my rear was getting pretty sore from constantly hitting rocks and bumps.  With not much road left ahead of us we slowed down a bit to enjoy the final part of the ride.  We had to pass through 2 rivers that got our feet drenched but I wasn’t complaining; it felt great.  Around the last couple of turns and down the last hill, we were at the finish line.  It had taken us about 5 hours to go down the whole road.  Before going on this trip, I thought to myself that maybe the Death Road was a little over exaggerated, but after my experience, I have a lot more respect for this road which has claimed so many lives.  It was amazing time and quite an adrenaline rush.  If I find myself with some spare time in the future, I may just give it another go….

We managed to do a jump picture at the end

Me and David high in the clouds

I almost fell trying to take this picture

The Yungas with Coroico up to the right

Reflecting Back and Looking Forward

A view of La Paz from one of our families homes

So today makes 7 months that I have been living here in Bolivia.  A long time, but in truth, it has passed by way to fast.  I feel like just last month I was flipping pizzas at Domino’s and fishing in the pond.  Then again, it feels as if I have lived here for years; it feels like home.  Thinking about leaving and going back to the states is very difficult for me.  I am torn now between my two homes.  I miss my family and friends back in the states.  I miss driving my own car down back country roads.  I miss fishing and hunting.  I miss my small town life.  On the other hand, I’m going to miss my family and friends here in La Paz.  Some days as I walk around I feel like I am back in Hillsborough because every corner I turn I see someone I know.  The other volunteers here and the Hope team have become like family as well.  Before moving here I lived alone.  Everything was quiet and peaceful.  Now, I am living in a house with 10 Germans.  Who would have thought that I would have 10 German brothers and sisters?  I think back to Thanksgiving and Christmas, about how everyone was missing their families who were thousands of miles away, but we had our little family here.  It was so fun spending Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner together just laughing and having a great time.  Also, I am going to miss how everyday is like an adventure here.  You never know what to expect!  There may be a bloqueo and you can’t get to work.  Or you may have an opportunity to discover a new place that hardly anyone knows about.  There is so much history and culture, as well as MANY people to get to know.

 

Children from one of the families alone while the mother is in the hospital hours away having another baby

Working and living here has been no easy task.  First of all, living in a country where you have to learn a different language to communicate and survive can be very difficult.  My Spanish is not perfect, I am still learning with everyday that passes, but it blows my mind at how much I am able to communicate.  When I left home I could barely hold a conversation in Spanish.  I understood more or less what people were saying if they spoke slowly enough, but now I am speaking Spanish all day.  I have had conversations that have lasted over an hour.  I am able to express how I am feeling and all my dreams in Spanish.  Even when talking to people who understand English, I default to Spanish in our conversations.  The scary thing is that a lot of the time I can think of a word in Spanish but cannot even remember the word in English.  I am excited to see with 6 more months to go, how much more Spanish will I be speaking and how much more English I will forget?  I hope that when I return I can find a way to use this new found talent. 

 

Bedroom from one of the families.  Many people cram onto one bed at night to sleep and keep warm

The second difficulty about living here and working here is some of the things I see.  There have been times where it was very difficult to hold back the tears.  I have seen many things that are a little difficult to take in while working here.  Every day I am in the houses of many of the poorest families here in La Paz and El Alto.  I wasn’t very wealthy growing up, but I never went hungry or went without.  I’ve seen mothers who haven’t eaten for days so that their kids will have more to eat.  On the other hand I have seen kids who haven’t eaten because their parents decide to be selfish and not share.  I have seen kids struggling in school because their parents can’t afford school materials for them to learn and their parents have very little education themselves to be able to help with homework.  Many parents can’t afford the proper health care for their kids as well as themselves so many of them suffer.  I see people hurting from cancer and tumors, people who aren’t able to work because of the pain from arthritis, and I see may people including kids from the age of 5 who have rotten teeth and missing many in between.  Part of my job includes going to these people’s houses and seeing how they live and asking the hard questions that you know will make many cry.  Many of these houses are constructed out of Adobe and only consist of one room that usually anywhere from 5 to 12 people sleep.  Normally they have one or two beds that everyone crams on to so that they don’t have to sleep on the floor and so that they can keep warm.  Many of these families are lucky if they have a toilet.  Asking many of the families during our visits where their bathroom is they point down the hill.  Some families still have to cook over a fire using scrap wood and boxes they find to burn.  I see many people digging through the garbage everyday living off the things that other people have thrown away. 

 

Many families still cook meals over fire

Houses made out of Adobe

But those are just the things you see from the outside.  Within the families usually there are many things that happen that just bring tears to your eyes and break your heart.  Many of our families are broken and shattered.  Most of our families only have one parent who takes care of them.  There are many mothers or fathers who have passed away and the other has to take up the slack trying to provide for the family.  Or there are many situations where either the mother or the father has abandoned the family to fend for themselves.  These families are full of pain and confusion.  There are many cases where kids have run away from their families to live in the streets with other runaways to escape the poverty of their family.  Many resort to using drugs and stealing things to make money to eat.  The families are left in pain because they have no clue why family members continue to abandon them.  In other situations the children are beaten or sexually abused.  I have heard parents say out of anger or a drunken state that it was their kid and they could kill it if they wanted to.  I have seen a family where a girl is the mother of her own brothers and sisters.  The father had raped and abused her many times.  These kids are psychologically damaged and confused.  They grow up thinking they have done something wrong and not knowing how to raise a family of their own.  Many children in these situations try to escape the family and turn to a life in the streets.  These are only a few examples of the many saddening situations there are.

 

Inside one of the houses

Many families dont have bathrooms.  Some are lucky to have a hole in the ground

My eyes have seen and experienced many things here in this short amount of time.  I’m sure I haven’t seen it all though.  I know that returning home to the states will be difficult after many of the things I have seen here.  How can my life not change after my time here?  I am left with many questions and also with many answers.  If you have questions about what poverty looks like, I have answers.  If you have questions about what it is like to spend every day with broken families and trying to give them hope, I have answers.  The questions that I am left with and am continuing to search for the answers are: how can you really help the poor?  How can you give hope to these families that are broken to pieces?  How can you encourage these kids to escape this cycle of poverty that has consumed so many?  I am beginning to understand these topics more and more everyday but I am still without the answers.  I am hoping that one day I will figure them out no matter how long it takes.  My goal is that when I return I can continue to search for more understanding.  Also, that I can take from my experiences here and use them to help open the eyes of others so that they can see what I’ve seen.  We can go through life with our blinders on and never see the people right next to us who are struggling to get by or who are looking for a shred of hope.

I hope that these final 6 months here will continue to open my eyes and challenge my thoughts as the first 7 have done.  I hope that you who read this blog can see what I have seen and decide to help make a difference big or small, whether it be the family down the street, across town, or on the other side of the world.  There are many kids in this world who have no hope or encouragement.  They just need someone to care and give them the time of day and the hope of a future.

Sleepless in Peru

So these past few days I went to Peru.  It was quiet an adventure…  You may notice the title of this blog is “Sleepless in Peru”.  Continue to read on and you will see why.  Oh, and I have many photos.  I had to choose the best from the over 600 pictures I have.  So go to the bathroom, grab something to drink, take a seat and kick your shoes off because this is going to be a long one.  Hope you enjoy!!!

Me sitting at the Border of Peru and Bolivia with Lago Titicaca in the Background

Friday after work we went to meet our bus that would take us to the border of Bolivia and Peru.  It was about a 2 hour ride and we had no clue what we were getting in to.  Once at the border everything was so hectic.  We had to get out and walk to the Bolivian immigration office and pay to leave Bolivia.  Once done there we had to walk across the border.  It was the eeriest thing I have ever done.  I was alone walking into a place I had never been in the middle of the night looking for the Peruvian immigration office.  We all had to hurry to get there because the border was about to close.  Eventually we were all standing in line to enter Peru.  Then the doors shut behind us.  We had made it just in time.  After filling out a paper and getting our passports stamped we were in Peru.  We then had to walk to the Bus terminal that was about a mile down the road.  Once there we waited for our bus that was to take us to Arequipa.  We loaded on the bus and settled in for the night in hopes that the next morning we would arrive in Arequipa.

Main Plaza and Cathedral in Arequipa

After an 8 hour bus ride and little sleep we arrived in Arequipa around 5:30 in the morning.  We left the bus terminal caught a minibus and made our way to the Plaza de Armas in the center of the old city.  The city is also known as the “White City” for the numerous white houses and buildings lining the streets.  Once in the plaza, we found an empty park bench and took out our bread and liverwurst and had breakfast.  We then went to the huge cathedral to take a look around before it got to crowded.  It was pretty amazing inside.  We then proceeded to venture around the plaza some more until we came across a McDonalds and decided to stop in for a bite to eat.  I hadn’t had McD’s in over 6 months, well over due!  Afterwards we went on a tour of the city to see all the amazing sights.  My favorite part was the volcanoes that are around the city.  They are so big and look like ghosts shadowing the city.  I could not get over how beautiful they were. I’m not even sure that photos even do them justice.  Afterwards, we stopped in a small restaurant to have a traditional plate for lunch.  We ordered Ceviche Mixto.  It is a combination of raw fish, octopus, and some other time of sea creature, smothered in onions and lime juice.  The lime juice actually cooks the fish a little bit.  It was very strong but I really enjoyed the meal.  I was very surprised at how much I liked the octopus tentacles.  After finishing our meal we went to the Monasterio de Santa Catalina.  It was a Spanish convent built in 1579 that served as a residence for cloistered nuns.  Young girls would enter at the age of 12 never to return home to their families.  Their whole life was devoted to the Convent and God.  It was an extremely beautiful place with dark red and blue walls everywhere.  I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this place.  It was a city within a city.  Upon leaving the Monasterio, we made our way back to the main plaza to go to Starbucks (Yes Starbucks!) to have a coffee and charge our batteries.  After enjoying a relaxing coffee, we headed back to the bus terminal to catch our next bus to the big city of Cusco.

I was so excited to see a McDonalds

Volcano outside of Arequipa that looks like a ghost

Ceviche Mixto (YUM)

Red walls from inside the Monasterio

Blue walls from within the Monasterio

Me enjoying a White Mocha Late at Starbucks... (Heavenly)

Early the next morning, after another grueling bus ride with little sleep, we were in Cusco.  Standing there in the bus terminal, still groggy, we were hounded by many people trying to get us to stay at their hostel.  It was very overwhelming and quite annoying.  Eventually, we made it past all of them and caught a taxi to the main plaza.  It was raining a bit so we found a nice dry place to sit down out of rain and began fixing some more breakfast sandwiches.  We sat there for awhile deciding what exactly we wanted to do.  We came to the decision that we would go find a hostel and then go explore the city.  So, that’s just what we did.  We found a hostel nearby and negotiated good price then went exploring.  We made our way through a few plazas around the city and then we split up.  Sonja and I decided to go horseback riding on the outskirts of the city and through some ancient Incan sights.  Cusco was the center of the Incan Empire at the time when the Spanish Conquistadores came to South America.  So there is very much ancient history and Incan ruins all around the city.  While on the horses we made our way to some Caves where some Incans lived.  After exploring the caves we made our way to some Ancient Incan ruins that over looked the city.  It was a very interesting trip which I really enjoyed even though my horse had a few issues with the other horses.  Afterwards, we walked to the giant Jesus statue that overlooks Cusco before we made our way down to the main plaza to meet up with the others to enjoy a quick lunch (McDonalds).  We then went to Qorikancha, (The convent of Santo Domingo Del Cusco).  This convent was built on the top of the ancient ruins of the Incan religious temple.  The Incans and the Spanish Conquistadores had many problems with one another as the Conquistadores forced them out of their cities and began hunting them down.  The history is very interesting and I think I will find a book because I would love to learn more about the Incan history.  Afterwards, we went back to our hostel where we watched a bit of the Superbowl before dinner.  We went just down the street to a small restaurant to have a traditional plate from Cusco.  We all ordered Cuy, an Andean rabbit (also known as Guinea Pig).  It was an interesting taste, not bad but interesting.  May have been the seasoning, but I think I would prefer it if it was fried.  Afterwards we went back to the hostel to sleep because we had to be in the Main plaza at 7 in the morning to go to Machupicchu.

 

Main Plaza of Cusco

Me standing above Cusco looking down at the city

Me exploring caves.

Me riding a horse

Incan Ruins outside the City

Jesus looking over the city

Me sitting in the main plaza enjoying some McDonalds with the Cathedral behind me

Cuy (Guinea Pig)

We woke up early in the morning to have breakfast (McDonalds) before catching our minibus.  We loaded in the bus and set off for Machupicchu.  The ride went off through some of the most beautiful countryside that I have ever seen in my life.  We were surrounded by farmland that was framed by snow covered mountain peaks.  The sight was breath taking.  Soon we began winding up a valley turn after turn after turn.  It soon turned into a car sickening ride through the mountains.  We continued winding up the beautiful mountains trying our best to keep from throwing up with each turn.  Soon we were over the mountain and had to wind our way down the other side.  After a few more hours we were skimming around mountain cliffs that overlooked a treacherous river below.  It was maybe the scariest road I had ever been on!  Finally, after 6 hours of nearly vomiting, we were in Hidro Electrica where we had to begin our walk to the small city of Aquas Calientes.  There is no road to this city, just a train which is very expensive.  We began our 2 and a half hour walk down the train tracks.  The views of the mountains surrounding us were amazing and the river that was gushing by had a low roar.  The whole time we had to carry our rack sacks on our backs with all of our things.  The walk was exhausting, but we finally arrived in the main square where we met our guide.  He then took us to our hostel where we would stay the night and have dinner.  I was excited that we would hopefully get some sleep that night, but the guide broke that excitement when he told us we needed to meet him in the plaza at 4:30 in the morning…  So we enjoyed our dinner and bought some bread and fruit in the local market before going to bed around 10 or 11 that night. 

 

Train tracks we had to walk to Aguas Calientes

The alarm came early in the morning as we slowly rolled out of the beds and packed our stuff so we could meet in the plaza.  We were told that we had to carry all our stuff with us on the hike because we would not be coming back to Aguas Calientes.  So I threw my 30-40 pound sack on my back with 2 big bottles of water and we made our way down the trail to the bridge that would take us across the river to the base of the mountain. Still pitch black outside; we began our climb up the more than 1,650 some stairs that lead to the top of the mountain.  It took about 1 and half hours to climb up all the stairs.  I thought that I would never make it, but I kept pushing on until I reached the last step.  Once on top, we waited for the main gaits to open so that we could be the first ones in the ancient city as the sun was rising over the mountains.  We scrambled down the foggy paths trying to find the city.  Finally, the clouds cleared off a bit revealing the ancient city.  We stood there in awe admiring the city and then soon thereafter it was shrouded by clouds again.  We then met our guide who took us on a tour of the city and explained all the history behind it.  It was amazing!  The city survived the Spanish Conquest because many Incans did not know the city was there and the Conquistadores could not find a road that led to the city because the Incan roads were in the mountain tops.  We ran around taking many photos of the stone ruins.  We then walked up the Incan road to the adjacent mountain to the ruins of Intipunku.  It is a small temple that overlooks Machupicchu.  From there you can see the face of PachaMama (Mother Earth) in the mountains.  The mountains of Machupicchu form a face that looks up into the sky.  It was cloudy but every once in a while the clouds would clear and you could see it.  Running out of time, we quickly made our way back to the city and out the gate.  We had 3 hours to get back to where our bus dropped us off in Hidro Electrica.  We then made our way back down the stairs, across the bridge and down the train tracks.  Finally, with our heavy backpacks, we were back to our bus.  We then set off again on our 6 hour sickening bus ride to Cusco.  After we arrived, we went to get some quick dinner (McDonalds) before heading to the bus terminal to catch our late night bus home.  We were so excited because we had a cama bus (the chairs are almost like beds) for the return home.  So we got cozy and set in for our 12 hour bus ride home hoping we would get plenty of sleep.

 

Stairs leading up to Machupicchu

First to Machupicchu as the clouds clear. (I was still sweating)

You get an eerie feeling when everything is shrouded in clouds

Our group picture from above Machupicchu

Yum Tabasco double cheeseburger

Happy in my Cama Bus

So I woke up the next morning and noticed the bus was not moving.  I thought that maybe we were sitting at the border waiting for it to open so that we could cross.  So I dozed back off for about another hour.  When I woke back up I noticed that we still hadn’t moved and it was about 7 o’clock.  Eventually, the bus driver came up and made an announcement.  It wasn’t good news.  He said that there was a road block ahead and that there was no way that we could pass it or turn around.  He then said that we could wait a day or two on the side of the road for the road to clear or we could walk through it to the other side and find transportation to the border.  We were somewhere in Peru in the middle of the altiplano (the middle of nowhere).  After translating the news for a few weary tourists me and the guys grabbed our things and threw them on our backs and started walking towards Bolivia.  We said heck it is just a bloqueo.  We have them all the time in La Paz so it is nothing new for us.  It may have been the best bloqueo I had ever seen.  These guys had put a lot of work into this thing.  There were huge rocks, broken glass, telephone poles, and fires scattered all over the road for about 3 or 4 miles.  Then there were large groups of people protesting but they seemed to be no harm to us.  Finally, an hour later, we were on the other side of the bloqueo and found a minibus to take us to the border.  We hopped out and went through immigration very rapidly.  We had never been so happy to be back in Bolivia.  I never realized how much I loved Bolivia until I traveled to another country in South America.  Once across the border we took another minibus to Copacabana on the Bolivian side of Lago Titicaca.  I had been wanting to go back to Copacabana but I had no clue it would be this week.  So we went to the beach and had a plate of Trucha while looking out across the water.  After we finished eating, we hopped on our bus back to La Paz.  We hadn’t planned on going home that way but the important thing was we were heading home.  We finally got home last night around 6 o’clock in the evening.  The first thing I did was took a shower then went to my bed.  The trip was like the title of this blog “sleepless in Peru”.  I was so happy to finally be in my warm cozy bed where I was soon fast asleep.

Leaving our bus behind starting to walk

Center of the bloqueo. (Notice the protest)

Rocks and glass bottles were everywhere!

The sign in the middle of the bloqueo clearly says not to throw rocks in the middle of the road (maybe the people couldn't read the sign?)

Looking out over the lake as we wait for our lunch.

i Love Trucha!

Us sitting in the Ferry crossing the lake to go home