While I am in the recovery stage of being sick and finding some pretty fast internet, I thought that I would add another post.  Two posts in two days, I know I´m getting carried away.  Unfortunately for me, being sick (congestion, cough, etc) is not a good combination with being at altitude.  This morning I was supposed to go by boat to Isla del Sol.  Being a baby, I stayed in bed and pouted to myself about being sick.  I´m just kidding about the baby part, but I did miss the trip.  In retrospect, it was probably a good idea to not go.  I am still not feeling all that well.  I plan on going tomorrow morning, pouting or no pouting.  Now that I am on my own, I have had plenty of time to think, write, read, and reflect.  I´ve found that it is always easier to be hard on yourself and be blind to your good qualities.  Like any other trip that I have taken, I have learned many things about myself, my limits, what I can put up with, and what I can´t.  This trip has been no exception.  It has been a fun and interesting learning experience.  Below are some pictures I took of yesterday´s sunset from the hilltop.  I really wanted to put pictures up from the bike ride in La Paz, but I have them on CD and I can´t get them up quite yet.  Take care and HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!
    

 

 

 

 

A few days ago, I finished the tour of Salar de Uyuni and the surrounding area.  We started in Tupiza and had four day/three nights in a 4x4 truck.  The scenery was completely stunning.  The land was so barren and harsh.  I have never seen anything like it before in my life.  The days were spent seeing deserts, lagoons, mountains, llamas, vicuñas, and many other things.  The nights were frigid.  We stayed in modest places with electricity for only a few hours a day.  The nighttime lows reached well below freezing.  Looking back on it, it really was not at all unbearable.  It just added to the experience.  I met some other travelers on the tour and I am now with them in Sucre.  We took a night bus from Uyuni.  They are two English and one Scottish travelers.  Really nice people.  I have been learning a lot about different expressions and vocabulary that I had never heard of . . . its been quite fun.  Tonight, we are heading to La Paz on a night bus that should take about 13 hours.  We decided to splurge a bit and get a really nice bus with fully reclining seats.  It should be much easier to sleep on this one than the bus from Uyuni. 

This is a continued post.  I have been HORRIBLE about updating everything.  Part of the reason has been frustration with not being able to get pictures uploaded.  After spending a few days in La Paz, I left my friends and headed to Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca.  It was a bit bittersweet saying good-bye.  They were extremely nice people, but I was also looking forward to a bit of time to myself as well.  In La Paz, we did some different strange things.  It is a very unique city.  One of the things that we did was mountain bike down the world´s most dangerous road.  It was definitely not as dangerous as it sounds, but it was a lot of fun.  It used to be much more dangerous as traffic went in both directions.  Now, they have opened up a new road that most of the traffic uses.  The views were spectacular and it was by far and away the best bike that I have ridden before . . . full suspension, front and rear hydraulic brakes, etc.  I started getting a bit sick towards the end of our time in La Paz.  I´m feeling a bit better, but recovering slowly.  I pushed myself to hike up a hill nearby to get some great views of Copacabana, but with a cold and the altitude it was really slow gowing.  I´m still deciding on my time frame, but I should be in Peru in the next few days.  Here are just a few of the many pictures I have taken. 

Train ride to Tupiza . . . 12 hours after a 3 hour bus ride=brutal

Lago Oruro on the way to Tupiza

Hiking around in Tupiza

Exploring a canyon on a break from horseback riding.

Going up and getting ready to come down on bike - Tupiza

Time for some fun.

It was definitely a more calm ride and not as nice of a bike as the world´s most dangerous road, but definitely worth it.

 

Locals at a small town of about 30 people of the way to the salt flats.

 

Raul . . . the most enthusiastic soccer player that I´ve ever met.

Freezing at about 15,000 feet.

 

The crew

Vicuñas in front of one of the lagoons.

 

Me on what looks like Mars.

One of the deserts we passed through (Desierto de Dali)

 

Another desert, standing in front of Piedra del Arbol.

 

Of course I couldn´t resist a karate pose.

Our wheels for four days.

 

Flamingos on one of the lagoons.

 

More vicuñas

 

KARATE

The crew take two

 

We made it!  Salar de Uyuni.

 

 

12,000 square kilometers of salt flat.

Island in the middle of the flat.

It´s so vast that it is hard to show how big it really is.

 

Of course the salt flats trick shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sucre

Sucre

 Sucre

Lake Titicaca

 Copacabana

 

I hope everyone is doing well!  Much love!

Bolivia has been a great surprise thus far.  I had read and heard some great things about the country, but it has far exceeded my expectations so far.  I am currently in Tupiza in the southern part of Bolivia.  Getting here was not an easy task.  We had bought train tickets in La Paz for the following day.  The train left from Oruro, which is a three hour bus ride from La Paz.  We decided to take the 11 o´clock bus in order to make it to Oruro in plenty of time to catch the 3:30 train.  Of course things don´t work the way that they are supposed to, so you have to be flexible.  The bus left late and the driver was extremely slow.  We thought that we were going to miss the train.  When the other passengers found out we had train tickets, they started giving us tons of advice to try to arrive on time.  They even started pounding the side of the bus and yelling at the bus driver to get us there on time.  It is a true testament to the kindness of the Bolivian people.  We ended up getting off and taking a cab.  We made it with plenty of time.  The train had great views, but 12 hours was a bit much for my legs.  So, in all it took us about 16 hours to get here, arriving at 4:30 in the morning.  It was well worth it.  Tupiza is really cool.  It is at about 10,000 feet (almost 3,000 feet less than La Paz).  The scenery is unbelieveable.  It is like a scene out of a western movie.  It is extremely dry with not a cloud in the sky.  I´ve had some chances to do some hiking, biking, and horse bike riding.  I couldn´t ask for a better place to explore.  Tomorrow, I´ll be heading on a four day tour of the salt flats and surrounding lagunas.  We´ll be reaching a maximum altitude of 16,500 feet which will be the highest I´ve ever been.  Temperatures at night will be well below freezing.  We´re going to stay in places that only have electricity for three hours.  My sleeping bag will come in handy!  I´ve been traveling with a German girl that I met in La Paz.  She´ll be on the tour as well and then we will probably split ways.  I´m desperately trying to upload some pics, but the internet is fighting me.  I´ll post this for now with the hopes of adding some pics later.  Much love and take care.  Cheers!

Just arrived today.  One word can sum up everything here . . . WOW.  The city so far is spectacular, but even better is the surrounding mountains.  They are really unbelievable.   My body is adjusting to the altitude.  At the moment I have a headache, itchy eyes, and breathing heavy after only walking.  It is amazing what altitude can do to your body.  I´ve met a fellow solo traveler from Germany.  We´ll be heading south to Tupiza tomorrow.  It really can´t wait to experience the train ride and the adventure of getting to Tupiza.  After a few more days, I´ll start to post some pics.  Take care!

With school ending a few days ago, it is time for some travel, relaxing, and new adventures.  With the closing of school, I had to say good bye to some really good friends that I have made.  They will not be returning next year.  It is amazing how close and how connected we became in such a short time.  I was really lucky to be able to share an amazing year with them.  I wish them the best of luck and success in the future!


Tomorrow I'm leaving to go to La Paz, Bolivia.  I'll be traveling around Bolivia and Peru on my own until July 17th.  Some friends will be meeting me in Lima, Peru to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.  It is going to be an amazing trip.  Some of the things that I hope to see include:  Salar de Uyuni (salt flats), Sucre, Tupiza, Lake Titicaca (on the Bolivian side and on the Peruvian side), Arequipa, Nazca, Cusco, and top it off with Machu Picchu.  Of all my recent summer adventures, I have planned the least for this one.  It is exciting and a bit frightening.  I know for a fact that I have a hostel reserved for July 17th-27th.  Before that, I don't have anything booked.  It should work in my favor.  I'll be able to be super flexible and do whatever I'd like to do.  I'll be happy in any hostal that is clean.  I'll be taking my sleeping bag as well because the places that I am going are pretty chilly at night.  I'm traveling pretty light.  My backpack is not completely full, which is a good feeling.  Is two pairs of pants enough for 7 weeks?? jaja  I'm toying with the idea of not shaving for the seven weeks.  We'll see.  I'll try to update my blog along the way.