David's Here!

A Quick Summary

We spent a few more days in La Paz, where I unfortunately got sick again and didn't get up to much. After that, we took a bus to Uyuni, where we met up with David! We then did a 4 day tour through the Uyuni salt flats and Atacama desert to end up in San Pedro de Atacama, in Chile.

Highs and Lows

Mountain biking death road:

Before I got sick in La Paz, we had the opportunity to mountain bike down "death road" a 64km stretch of road through the mountains dubbed as the "world's deadliest road". The gravel road is cut into the side of the mountain with a cliff drop on one side, and at some points is barely wide enough for a car (only 3.2 meters)!

Our tour guide gave us a bit of history on the road: prior to 2006 when a different road was built, this was the only way through the valley. The combination of the massive cliff drop, two-way traffic, and the unpredictable mountain weather made it extremely unsafe; on average, over 300 people per year died on the road before the new one was built. Since this was the only road, for decades the locals were forced to drive this road despite the danger. It was very eye-opening and definitely made me grateful for the quality of the roads through the Canadian mountains. 

Death road

Nowadays, the road has been upgraded with a few guardrails, and is now primarily used by tourists for mountain biking. Normally when I mountain bike in Vancouver, I have to ride up the gravel road before getting to go down anything. This was a lot of fun to get driven up to the top and then ride down a road with the stunning mountain views the entire way! Thankfully, a bike is a lot smaller than a car, so I felt very safe and was able to stay well away from the cliff for my ride down. 

Biking the narrowest section

Cam on the side of a cliff

One of the many waterfalls we biked through 

At the bottom of the hill

Uyuni Salt Flats

There were so many great photos from this trip that I decided to make a separate post!

Reflections

On doing hard things

This trip, I've been trying to find a balance between putting myself in challenging situations versus familiar situations. On one hand, pushing myself out of my comfort zone was somewhat the point of this whole trip. Overcoming challenges is a great way to grow and it always makes for a great story after. But it's not always that fun in the moment, especially when something unexpected happens in an already uncomfortable situation. My underwear melting to my bag right before the choquequirao hike was a perfect example of this. It was funny afterwards, but in the moment I was still feeling a bit sick and worried about the hike, so fusing my underwear to my bag was the last thing I needed. 

On the other hand, I have really enjoyed the more familiar experiences, whether that's paying for a guided tour, eating at a western style restaurant, or exploring the touristy parts of town instead of the local markets. However, these moments can feel a little sheltered, as if I'm not getting to experience a place to the fullest. I'm learning that I prefer a balance of both types. I want to keep seeking out challenges to grow but it can get exhausting. Including familiar experiences can help me regain energy to face the whatever the next challenge may be. 

Other Notes

The extra post on the salt flats can be found here!

Extra Photos

 

David beating me at bumper pool

Another luxurious overnight bus ride

Exploring the Uyuni "train graveyard"