Sunset in Lima

"I fell in love at the seaside"

Sara and I have had many magical moments during our travels, and this was one of them.

This is how best things happen in life, without planning and as a surprise, without expectations. We weren't supposed to go to Peru, but we had a long long wait for our flight to Ecuador, so we decided to go out and we knew that we wanted to go directly to the sea. 

We went to the Miraflores beach, on a beautiful and safe area in Lima. 

We sat on the rocks on the beach and immediately got hypnotized. 

The beach of Miraflores is rocky, full of little, soft and round rocks. The sound of the waves crashing with those rocks was something I hadn't heard or felt before. The rocks made the waves sound strong but still very calm, it was something that just kept both of us quiet. We didn't need any words, I think we both knew what we were living and just wanted to enjoy the moment. It was perfect: surfers in the landscape, the sleek rocks under our bare toes and little water drops of the waves refreshing our skin. 

And when the evening arrived, and the sunset begun... It left us breathless and without words. One of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen.

The Death Road

Our last adventure with Sara in Bolivia was the "Death Road"!

The death road is a road that links between the mountains of La Paz and the tropical jungle of Coroico (a town I already posted about). It has been named the world's most dangerous road, because of it's narrowness, danger of rock falling, lack of guard rails, fogginess and muddiness on rain seasons. People die on this road almost every year. However, this is the "old road" (still in use though) nowadays there is also a new and safe one, but the old road has been an exotic tourist attraction of mountain biking for many years.

The biking starts in La Cumbre 4650 meters above sea level, one of the highest point in La Paz. Even though the first kilometers are easy, biking on asphalt, I was still freaking out. It was so scary, the speed was just uncontrollable and when we got to the part of the rocky road, I almost cried. 

Anyways after biking a while I got used to it and I could really enjoy the ride. In the end, I think it was awesome! 

After I could relax a little bit with the bike, I began to enjoy the views and every smell and feeling I got on the road. I felt the wind, the fresh andean air blowing to my face, I could feel the humid and warm air of the rainforest,  I felt the water drops of the little waterfalls, I felt the rocks under the wheels of the bike...

The sensation and adrenaline I got of biking on these crazy roads was amazing, at the same time I felt as I was going to to die but still felt more alive than ever! 

We were so on to this with Sara that we also did the zip-sliding on these mountains. It felt like flying, I almost felt like a bird, haha. It was incredible to see everything from above and actually feel free in the air, I loved every second of it.

© These pictures are not taken, but they are edited by me, the original pictures are from the mountain biking company Barracuda.

Sand, Sun & Fun

Our second destination with Sara was Santa Cruz de la Sierra! We were so excited to see the sand dunes, enjoy the sun and have a little bit of fun so we got Sara's friend Zac to join us too. This trip to Santa Cruz was like taking a little holiday from a holiday, it was all about having fun. For me, it was nice to take a break from La Paz, and just let everything go and enjoy the company of my lovely Sara and all the new people we were about to meet. 

We headed straight to the hostel Jodanga (best hostel I've ever been to and also has the best owner Gustavo!) that I discovered the last time I was in Santa Cruz, and it was no disappointment, the atmosphere in that place is just one of  a kind. 

The next day we went to the long-waited sand dunes, Lomas de Arena, to do some sand-boarding and drink some beers. The way to the dunes was the best, we got there in the back of an open van. The ride was so much fun, although it hurt my butt a little bit, haha. The landscapes on the way were also nice, the sun was shining strongly and on the way we saw cows, a little chicken family, a bit of the country side of Santa Cruz and the last part was just driving through this protected savannah area, all beautiful. 

Once we got to the dunes and found a good place, we started the best part of the trip: sand-boarding. At first, I was very scared of doing in it, but it actually was the easiest thing ever and so much fun!

In the end we were a little tired (or maybe it was the effect of the beer) and we just started to fool around, Zac doing some rolly-polling (maybe the best word I learned on this trip) and me and Sara just sliding the hill sitting on the board like two little kids, using James's words: it was genious!

After all the sun, sand and partying we did the two days, the last day was a little more chilled. We went to the zoo and saw these adorable sloths! They were so cute, might be my favorite animal from now on!

Copacabana and Lake Titicaca

The year 2014 started great! My dear friend Sara finally arrived to Bolivia and I'm more than glad to have her here :) 

Our first trip together was to the town of Copacabana and the lake Titicaca.

This place is told to be sacred, people go there to do traditional rituals to get luck and fortune in life, it was the perfect way to start the year. 

We climed to the little hill El Calvario. It was hard for both of us to climb up, because of the altitude, but we made it. The way up was also interested because to get on the top you have to follow twelve crosses that are each a momemorial of one of Christ's life events, the religious spirit could really be felt. Once we got to the top we lightened six candels, all from different colours which all had a different meaning. For example red for love, green for work, blue for study etc. Luckily we got help from two cute local girls who new all about the traditions and they showed us how to do it right. 

The views from El Calvario were amazing. The lake Titicaca is one of the biggest in the world and it really looks like a sea, because it's endless! The water was blue and clear, it was beautiful. We just sat on the hill and stared the view for hours, until we realized that we should head back before the last bus to La Paz leaves.

Sorata - Mountains, Clouds and Curvy Roads

An old saying became real to me on this trip: "It's not about the destination, it's about the journey".

The way to the town of Sorata is beautiful, full of mountains, clouds and curvy roads. This trip was definitely more about the way to Sorata and back than the actual town. 

People pasturing their sheeps and cows, little houses made of stones here and there, people wearing traditional clothes and children playing by the rivers, a really down-to-earth scene. Theese little towns and communities on the road made me think again how simply people can really live and how different my life is comparing to the ones I see here.

Also the amazing scene of the mountains of The Andes made me feel so small and I realized once again how much less you actually need to live and feel. I can not even describe how I felt driving and photographing in these amazing landscapes. This is the Bolivia that I really love.

The air in the mountains was fresh and cold, it felt like it almost cleaned my soul while breathing. The atmosphere was just so different. Taking pictures in nearly the highest point of the department of La Paz, felt like being in a different world..

Sorata was beautiful as well. It's located between big mountains, one of them known as the snow-covered Illampu. The town reminded me a lot of Coroico, it was also quite touristic and about of the same size, only that Sorata was a little bit colder on the weather, but I actually liked it better than Coroico. 

Oh, and we slept in this old colonial building that was turned in to a hostel. It was amazing, I could imagine how the Spanish people lived there with all the wealth they found in Bolivia...