Bolivia continues to awe and inspire - it's beautiful! We have decided that we should probably slow down a bit and take it easy if we're to avoid burning out too early. Okay, but for Matthias, relaxing means waking up at 6AM and heading out on an all day hike by 9:00! So, I sent him off by himself today, to climb a mountain for some pretty views, while I use the Internet and laze on the hotel terrace. Unfortunately, it's raining today, but the weather here changes mighty quickly, so it could be sunny by noon.
We are in Coroico, a beautiful resort town north of La Paz. We have splurged on our hotel (US $12.50 per night!) but have beautiful room with a REAL hot/warm shower, huge terrace overlooking the mountains, and a swimming pool with greenish water. Wish I could share pictures, but they probably wouldn't do justice to the scenery. Each morning, the fog fills the valleys, then rises up to cover the town, which is on a plateau. (one good reason to get up at 6AM is to witness this.) The ride down here was an adventure in itself - down what's known as the world's most dangerous road, which is a dirt road only wide enough for one car. The scenery was fantastic, but I was a bit too scared to enjoy it. Going up should be better, as uphill traffic gets to take the inside track when passing cars/buses/trucks coming down. I wish I could describe this better.
Yesterday, we hiked along a mountainside to some cascades about 5km away. The waterfalls weren't too fantastic, but the walk was wonderful. We passed through jungle-like areas, saw a hummingbird, butterflies, toucans, coca fields and spectacular valley views. We also had two stray dogs as guides...they traveled with us to the end of the trail and back. Minor injuries to report: I walked into a rock and got a monster bruise on my leg (duh!); Matthias got bit by one (or more) mountain mosquito(s) and his arms are covered with itchy welts. Oh, and my bottom lip has sprouted an unprecedented number of herpes sores (probably from exposure to the sun.) Otherwise, we're feeling fine. I can't blame the altitude anymore for my lack of ability to hike up a hill without stopping to rest...we've descended to an altitude of 1750 meters above sea level (okay, guess that's still pretty high.)
Not sure what our next step will be. Either back to La Paz for a bus to Arica, Chile, or down further into the valley. Guess we'll decide tonight over a bottle of wine on the hotel terrace. :-)
Thanks to everyone for your fun comments and emails!
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