Although we got up really early in the morning and had planned to leave the school at 7:45 AM (school started at 8:30), we were truly surprised when the first kids started arriving at 7:00 AM sharp. Luckily we had almost packed everything and were only brushing our teeth at that point. But honestly, 7 AM?! I would have never ever even dreamed of being at school a spectacular 1.5 hours before class starts; let alone actually do it. We later found out that they still had to finish a project before school started. No matter at what time kids arrived, they all stared at us, kindly said hello, and then talked about us. One girl was the absolute sweetest though. She was the only one with the courage to properly talk to us and she even came back to us and handed us three cheese buns and three yoghurts for breakfast. How good-hearted and kind is that? We had already had breakfast though so we profoundly thanked her and promised we’d enjoy it for lunch.

And then it was time to hit the road. We cycled uphill for a very long stretch and it was quite exhausting but manageable. We cycled through amazing nature and enjoyed the view of the mountains, small forests and green fields around us. After finally reaching the peak of our ascent, we stopped for lunch at the only restaurant we could find where the men had pollo Milanesa and I had the only meat-free thing on the menu: chicken broth (nope, it wasn’t even soup, it was only broth) with potato. Very underwhelming and unsatisfying but at least it was warm and helped get my electrolytes back up after sweating so much.

We cycled on through more spectacular landscapes and even through clouds. The resulting thick mist made everything more quiet and wet but also gave such a special flair. It felt really cool! When it was time to call it a day, we found a beautiful spot close to the road which was sheltered from the strong winds and hidden from view relatively well. View from human eyes that is, as we were surrounded by cows who were looking at us very interested. We all washed ourselves and did our part in preparing dinner. I had hidden behind some bushes while I was washing and left the bottle there to quickly get dressed in the tent. When I came back out I saw the cow happily licking my water bottle… or was she trying to grab it with her tongue so she could eat it? I’m not sure.

While Jacques cooked, I went to the house on the other side of the road to ask for some water. And that’s where I met my amiga. Her name is Nuemi and she was super kind and cheerful from the get-go. We are almost the same age (she is a few months younger than me but has a five-year-old daughter. For the first time in my life I felt like a spinster for not having kids at 28) and we happily talked on and on as much as my little Spanish allowed me. She lives in the same house as her family, they are pretty much self-sufficient with fruit trees, chickens, geese, sheep, cows and vegetable fields, which she proudly showed me. We continued chatting until I was called that dinner was ready, but I promised that I’d come back and show her my bike, which she had asked for. While we were doing the dishes in the dark, I suddenly saw a huge spider crawling closely by Göran. And when I say huge I mean really big but not yet tarantula level. From that point onwards I was afraid to sit down and every time before I put on my shoes I shook them to be certain that no insects, i.e. spiders, were inside.

After the dishes were done, we returned to her house with our bicycles. Apart from being surprised by Jacques’ height, she was so happy to have both of us there and so were her daughter and niece, two little princesses who had put on beautiful dresses to impress the guests. While her little daughter proudly showed me all her teddies and other dresses, Nuemi showed me her impressive handcrafted blankets and shawls. We chatted as well as we could and after a bit I let her use my bike. I had asked Jacques to hold the bicycle for her, expecting that she wouldn’t know how to ride it, because many Bolivians didn’t know how to. But to my surprise she got on and effortlessly cycled away with skill and confidence. We cheered her on and she was clearly fully enjoying herself. All good things must come to an end though, and eventually we said our good nights and went to sleep.