Quite a Raspberry

It's often referred to as Death Road, The World's Most Dangerous Road and, officially, Yungas Road. They say that the scenery is so beautiful (it is) but that you can't truly enjoy it because, if you take your eye off the road, chances are you become part of the it. Point is, yesterday I conquered this road and am alive to tell the story. I'll get to it in a minute.

I arrived in La Paz last Wednesday and have had a great time here so far. I checked in to my hostel in the center of town only to be immediately greeted by a couple of cracked out Irish accusing me of stealing their cocaine. Please, don't tell them I actually did steal it (Mom, I'll hook you up in Buenos Aires). I spent two nights at the hostel before deciding it was too hardcore for me and I checked into a new one: the Chabad House. I went there on Friday for Shabbat and, no huge surprise, I'm still here. Shabbat was really cool, as close to 50 Israeli travelers shuffled in for their piece of lots of food, alcohol and atmosphere. It wasn't quite what I had been expecting (thanks to Chabad Brandeis, all other Chabad's have a high standard to live up to) but still pleasant. There were also four other Israelis and two Europeans staying here and we became friendly and hung out a lot over the following three days. Since Monday night was Purim, we were asked to stay in the house and help prepare. I've never seen such strictly kosher people in my life [and for that matter, totally religiously extreme - let's just say they like the Rebbe in this house, a bit too much]! We spent two full days cracking eggs checking for blood (6 out of 300 were kosher, if you can imagine the amount of manual labor that went into getting those numbers), checking lettuce for dirt and bugs and sort out rice. The end result was impressive, over 1,000 Hamentashen and a house that was fully ready to host 200 people. Unfortunately, only 60 or so showed up but we still had a wonderful time and I was very happy to have somewhere to celebrate Purim. On Sunday, by the way, we took a 4x4 ATV tour of the Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) which was excellent, but probably wasn't smart because it got my adrenaline and overconfidence pumping for my upcoming death road adventure.

The day (Tuesday) started early. I woke up and left the Chabad house around 6:30 and had breakfast with three fellow riders at some little place in the center of town. They then bussed us to the top from where we embarked on our crazy journey. I apologize for not having any photos yet - the tour company took hundreds and I have to go to the office and get them later (maybe I'll post a couple here later) but believe me, the scenery was phenomenal. And realizing that the distance between you and that beautiful abyss is, well, close to nothing, is pretty scary. The first half of the road is paved but fairly steep and we went fast. I hadn't ridden a bike in a very long time and didn't feel totally prepared for what was in store for me. But I made it to the start of the gravel road in one piece. This was the hard part. And it took its toll on me. About halfway down the gravel part I hit a big rock and came crashing to the ground. Luckily, it was at a fairly wide part of the road and I wasn't very close to the edge, but I still had a pretty nice bruise on my leg (and, thanks to the excellent protection gear, nowhere else) and could hardly walk. I went most of the way down in the van but really didn't want to reach the bottom in the van, so at a certain point I told the guy I wanted to continue. I couldn't really pedal, but it's mostly downhill, so pedaling isn't terribly important. And it felt great to get back on the bike and finish strong. The other riders welcomed me warmly after I got back and, the best part, we ended at a hotel with a nice hot pool and warm food! All in all a wonderful experience, I'm happy I survived and I have the T-shirt to prove it. Finally, a quick shoutout to Sep who, on our tour, became the first man ever to unicycle down Death Road. This man is extremely dedicated to what he does, which is extremely difficult, and thanks to my injury I got to spend more time chatting with him (unicycle goes a lot slower than bicycle), hearing about his crazy life.

Tomorrow I'm either off to Uyuni, Bolivia or Santiago, Chile, I'll decide later and today I am going to spend time with Julie! I am really excited that it actually worked out and that we're going to hang out - I'll check back soon. Hope everyone is doing well!

Lots of Caca, Not As Much Titi

Lake Titicaca is said to hold mystical powers - legend has it that never has one of its inhabitants suffered from cancer. As the ancient spiritual center of the Aymaran people (I am actually not totally sure of the history here, but I encourage you all to look it up and become more well versed), the lake, which is split nearly equally between Peru and Bolivia, emanates a calm radiance unlike any other, or so they say. I cannot comment on the historical aspects of the lake because, as I mentioned, I am uneducated, but I can definitively say that I have been touched by the special powers of Lago Titicaca. I haven't strayed more than, say, 250 meters from the banks of the lake in the past four or five days and it has permeated my soul, or at the very least rejuvenated my spirit! I'll explain further down.

Before I get there, however, I'll keep you updated, as always, with my trip! My bus from Arequipa to Puno was fine and I happened to be on the same bus as an Irish girl I met in Arequipa, with whom I proceeded to travel until today. Puno itself is a pretty gross town (Puyes would have been a much more apt name) but it lies on the beautiful lake. During my only full day in Puno I took a tour to the Uros floating islands, which are a series of manmade reed islands. Though their beauty is outstanding, it only temporarily hides the depressing realization that hese islands now totally cater to (or perhaps were created for) tourists. There is nothing like a 4 year old kid asking for money to hinder a beautiful, isolated island. Either way, that night was the final night of Carnaval in Puno and the silly string carnage in the main street was appalling.

The next day I took a bus to Copacabana, Bolivia, which is significantly more beautiful than Puno. From this side, the lake is absolutely magnificent. We got a room at a hostel directly on the water and from there proceeded to book a trip to Isla del Sol, the Sun Island, the location at which the ancient Aymara god reportedly created the sun, the moon and the stars. I had originally planned to take the boat to the north tip, hike to the south tip and then take the boat back, but the laundry lady had other ideas. She had promised to have my clothes ready by last night so I gave her all my socks. Of course, they weren't, and I was thus forced to go to Isla del Sol in sandals. It worked out aright, the island was great, and I had a great time! I spent last night watching the Miami Heat game (great game but heartwrenching defeat) in some restaurant with DirecTV which, if you could see this place, you'd realize how odd that is. All in all, my trip in Bolivia has started perfectly well and I can't wait to get to La Paz tomorrow!

Now back to the magical powers of the lake. Those of you who have been in touch since I started my trip will know that there have been days when I wasn't sure I should have gone on this trip. Traveling alone is quite the unique experience and there are lonely days. It's during those days that one begins to wonder if he made a mistake and whether he should just go home. I can't pinpoint a specific event during which this turned - which is why I'm convinced it's the lake's doing - but I've become completely ecstatic about everything. Last night, while trying to fall asleep (and the Irish girl's snoring didn't help), I couldn't stop replaying everything that I have to look forward to in my head! This happens to me from time to time, when I'm really excited about everything, and I started thinking in excrutiating detail about my trip to the island today, my life in New York this summer, spending time in Buenos Aires and, of course, everything in between. I had to resort to a tactic that I've been using since I was very young - every time I have a nightmare or just want to force myself to fall asleep I make myself visualize a nice, plain vanilla ice cream cone. I know it sounds crazy, but it works - try it sometime. I want to give a lot of the credit to Marni whose messages and help getting ready for Buenos Aires has gotten me super pumped up and even planning to arrive there early!

Finally, I know there is a small army of people out there reading this blog and I absolutely love it. And for the handful of you who have been commenting - and I mean some sort of deformed, fingerless hand, maybe Franky Four-Fingers style - keep it coming. I just wanted to say that I would love to be able to more obviously see the pulse of my readership, so please! Feel free to leave comments on my blog! I don't even care what it is, I just want to know you're alive! Emails, by the way, are good too.

I think that's all for now, I'll check back from La Paz, most likely after I've succesfully biked down the World's Most Dangerous Road! Ciao.