Still Alive

Emas, Abas, Mamas, Papas, Brothas, Sistas, Kiras, and Coopas,

We finally got around to writing about all our adventures (i.e. we´re taking it easy because we´re riding down ¨The World´s Most Dangerous Road¨ {a 10,000 foot decent on a one-way road with two-way traffic and sheer cliffs} bright and early on a tin-can bike with foot-brakes). If you don´t hear from us in the next few days it´s probably because we don´t have internet - if you don´t hear from us in the next week, we´re probably dead or in Bolivian jail (more on that later).

The trip started rough in San Jose, Costa Rica where we got lost in the pouring rain for 2 hours on the first day - perhaps not so much for the lack of directions as our inability to keep our eyes off the road with all the potholes. Apparently, the crackheads in San Jose steal them at night, and then melt them for crack money-- God I love recycling.

Needless to say - we couldn´t wait to get out of San Jose. We hit up all the highlights of Costa Rica... MonteVerde Cloud Forest, Arenal Volcano and Natural Hotsprings (no we didn´t pay $80 to get into the resort pools - we climbed down into the jungle and sat in the real thing), White Water Rafting on the Paquare (where Don gave this Spanish girl a much needed impromptu nose-job with the butt of the paddle -whoops), Puerto Viejo, and Tortugero.

We decided that no Latin American trip would be complete without a pitstop in Miami. I.e. the cheapest flight to South America was San Jose to Fort Lauderdale, a bus to Miami, a 20 hour layover, and then Miami to Quito. We went out in South Beach, but walked around all night since the entrance fee to a bar was equivalent to a week´s travel.

We knew South America was going to be awesome when our first lunch in Ecuador cost $1.50, although Yoav is pretty sure it was roadkill. We learned to Salsa on our Hostel´s terrace while viewing the whole city at night. We went to the equator and watched Japanese tourists take 1000 photos of a line. We followed suit. Next the guide mesmerized a group of tourists by informing them that at the equator.. an egg can be balanced on the head of a nail, you lose all your strength, and 1 foot to either side of the equator the water rotates in different directions. Probably the funniest thing in Ecuador. The coolest city was Montanita, which is a cross between Tortuga from Pirates of the Carribean and Never Never Land from Peter Pan, and where all the stoners were amazed at all the energy we had.

After a 26 hour bus ride, we found ourselves in Lima. We´d never been whistled at by girls before - a nice change. Yoav whistled the Star Spangled Banner back at them, but for some reason they walked away. It was Peruvian Independence day/week/month and everyone said all the buses out were booked for weeks. We got tickets from another company later that day - lazy Peruvians.

We stayed in an Oasis in the desert called Huanchaco but didn´t go sandboarding because it looked ridiculous when everyone stood up, went 5 feet, fell on their face, and rolled down the hill. The Nazca lines virtually epitomized the Incan Empire - they´re underwhelming, discovered by non-Peruvians, and contain rocks. We could have built a better "wonder" in 5 hours - the tour guide strongly disagreed and we offered to demonstrate but apparently they´re protected by landmines. Colca Canyon in Arequipa, which is 2x as deep at the Grand Canyon, was awesome and we saw several condors just cruising around on the thermals looking for a snack - Don made sure to hide Yoav.

We headed to Cusco, Gringo capital of South America, and booked the Salkantay Inca Trail Hike about 12 hours before departure. The families that booked 4 months ahead for 2x the price weren´t happy. On the first day, we hiked up to a huge snowcapped mountain and crossed a pass at 13,000 feet with a wad of Coca leaves (for energy) cutting our gums. That night, we had our first good meal in South America, but froze that night, even in our -15 degree sleeping bags. The next few days were hikes were pretty much the same except for the new Jungle scenery - wake up too early, hike too much, get too many mosquito bites, and drink too much Coca tea (which the guide informed us cured stomach aches, altitude sickness, sore feet, and AIDS). Every dinner Don tried and succeeded in finishing all the food so the Chef wouldn´t slack off - by the second day, the other campers started emptying their unwanted food into his bowl.

The 5th day and the hike to Machu Picchu was the hardest physical 36 hours of our lives. We woke up at 7, hiked up 3000 feet, descended the other side, hiked down along a river, and up a train track to Aguas Caliente - the staging point for hikes to Machu Picchu, described by our book as "the ugliest, most overpriced, small town in Peru." Itching to get out of there, we left 4 hours before everyone else with some British lads, climbed up to Machu Picchu, and broke in before the guards arrived. We felt our way through the ruins in the dark (most of which, including a drainage ditch, we found out later was roped off and off limits) and hopped the second gate to the highest point on the mountain, Huaynu Picchu, to catch a glimpse of the ruins during sunrise. We proceeded to climb the nearly vertical mountain steps in the dark to avoid detection. No one died and it was all worth it as we had incredible views of Machu Picchu by ourselves for 2 hours. Surely one of the most memorable moments of our lives. We definitely enjoyed our hour long massages afterwards... for $6

We navigated a boat on Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, and walked on some floating islands/houses made of reeds. We had to get out quickly though because eventhough there was 10,000 people in the town, there was no ATM. Yoav got his backpack stolen off the bus as we left Copacabana so now we´re down from 5 credit/debit cards to 1. I guess there´s more $1 meals in our future - in fact today we ate dinner for $0.80. Can´t wait for the all-you-can-eat Argentinian steak houses.

We balled out today and got custom tailored Kashmir suits for under $100 each - we´ll be running up the corporate ladder. They´re done in two days but we probably won´t we wearing them because we´re going to jail - literally. The jail in La Paz is extremely corrupt and you can pay certain inmates to bring you into the jail as their "guest." So we´re going to visit.

We miss you guys and we´ll be back with more great stories. Enjoy the warm and sunny Southern California weather because it´s freezing here in Bolivia.


UPDATE:

Somehow we made it through the worlds most dangerous road and prison without a scratch or any convictions. The weather during the bike trek was absolutely crazy. It was a blizzard and the road was covered in ice at the top - the owner of the company said it was the worst whether he'd seen in five years. The prison was... interesting... it's basically a frat house for convicts except they can't leave. They had television, liquor, an indoor soccer arena, and even their families inside. check it out: www.marchingpowder.com

The president was facing a recall last Sunday, so all transportation was cancelled. That didn't stop us. We convinced a taxi driver to drive us to the Potosi silver mines (16 hour round-trip) for $65. He agreed but apparently his car didn't. At 1am a few hours our of La Paz in the high desert, we broke down. We slept in the cab for a few hours in the middle of nowhere and then somehow caught a bus to get us to Potosi. A few hours before we were supposed to arrive the bus broke down. The company forgot to put gas in it, so we waited for an hour until another car arrived and the driver sucked gas into our bus through a hose. We'll never forget when a women on the bus looked at us during the ordeal and said "welcome to Bolivia!".

We got to Potosi and toured the silver mines just in time. It was incredibly cramped with no ventilation and all the miners were still working. Afterwards, we bought 10 sticks of dynamite, lit the bombs, took a few pictures with them (soon to come) and then blew them up. Zero safety precautions.

Salar de Uyuni was a 3 day trek by 4WD land rover through the Martian desert. We saw green, white, and red lakes, a salt desert, a triangular rock standing on the point, and boiling hot geisers at 17,000 feet. Now we're about to hop in a 24 hour bus ride to Santiago...



Love,

Yoav and Don