On the 9th of September, my beautiful niece was born. Her name is Helena Elisabeth (Elise), after my mother.
It was cold at the Cumbre, at 4700m where our bike ride down the World's Most Dangerous Road started. First, we got a safety briefing. Use both breaks at once, only look to where you want to go and not to where you don't want to go, et cetera. Then we could practice a bit on the highway we started out on. Great views brought out only one song in me: our God is an awesome God. It was great.
After a while, we got to the real Camino de Muerte, as it is called. Many people died on this road while trying to pass another vehicle in theirs. The rate of deaths dropped, however, when a new rule was established that everyone is supposed to drive on the left side of the road. This way, the driver can see how far his wheel is from the edge.
By bike, it is safer though. In the past years, seventeen people died, one third of them tour guides. One guide stepped back too far while taking a group photo.
Other people dropped over the edge as well. About halfway through, there is a monument for the 'Martyrs of Democracy' as they are called. They fought for democracy and were taken to this place and dropped over the edge. Whether they were alive or dead when they were tossed in, nobody knows.
But in our group, nobody even lost their balance or fell. It was a great ride. The sun was shining and the views were magnificent. At some point, we could hear the birds in the bushes, and see the butterflies. As the temperature rose, we got rid of more and more layers of clothing and we got in a better and better mood.
Down the road, in Coroico, we stayed at an animal shelter, where we could take a hot shower. This was quite necessary from all the dust and the mud we had encountered on the way. After the shower, we ate some great pasta and salad at the buffet. We could also play with the monkeys and the other animals of the shelter. The parrots weren't too friendly though, they chased us as soon as we passed by ;-)
So there we were, 5020 meters up on the Choro Inca Trail. The summit of the Wilimanquilisani. What a name for a mountain. That's something else than the Grebbeberg. We drank our matte de coca, looked around at the Illimani, at the mountain which will be climbed next Friday evening, at the city of El Alto, and at the spot where the plane crash had taken place in the 1970s, the latter being a site we were going to visit as well.
And so we moved down to a sheltered spot to eat our lunch, and we walked on over the loose stones, along the stunning sights and down to the rest of the plane wreck. Not much was left; the community of Chacaltaya, located down in the valley, took most of its parts to use for their shelter. All we could find were pieces of the motor, some wires, and a few pieces of clothing.
And then, pastor Rob read about something that happened in the time of Moses. A cloud was on the mountain, and the people stood at its foot. But also on the summit we could meet God. How beautifully was it all made. How we watched in reverence. We sang a song for our God and headed back. This was a harder walk after having rested a while and having gotten lazy. The fog moved in on us, and if we hadn't had Felipe with us as our guide we would have been lost. But we found our way back to the bus and journeyed back safely. We were tired and dirty, but the good spirits made the journey a pleasant one. Looking forward to the next summit trip!
We live near a little park, which gives some stunning views! Too bad it was already getting dark, that's why the photos are a little bit blurry sometimes. 
By now we have been in La Paz for five days. We have found an apartment in Sopocachi, a nice neighbourhood just south of the city centre of La Paz. Next Sunday we will move there.
We are now preparing for the meeting we will have tomorrow with David and Analise of Red Habitat in El Alto. Still finishing our research proposals, and it will probably change a bit after tomorrow's meeting and the other meeting we will have with a professor of the local statistics university.
Saturday, we hope to be going to Oruro for carnaval. The bus will pick us up between 3 and 4 in the morning, and we will be back at about 11 in the evening. I'm really looking forward to it, it will probably be very special!
We miss Marieke, Shan Kai and Eleni, who have left for Sucre and Cochabamba. We are also struck by colds or something. Maybe from the height, maybe from the many car fumes. But we are trying to keep up our spirits. The sun is definitely helping with that! The weather is really lovely, nice and warm during the day. Rain only falls at night.
I will try to post some photos soon. But I first have to take them ;-)
