Bolivia - Never Stop Pushing Yourself

I've only been in Bolivia for two weeks now and I'm already in love with this country. The juice ladies are genuinely happy to serve you, the food is unique and tasty if you know where to look, and overall the country is just as diverse as Canada if not more so. Jungle, mountain ranges, amazon basins, silver mining towns, and incredible topography. 

Railroads to Nowhere

I'm quite freaking in love with this country. But more so because it represents a Challenge to me than anything else. I`m that guy who looks at a mountain from the base and see it mocking me all the way up until I`m the one laughing at the top. I've completed 20 hours of Spanish lessons to help bolster my fledgling skills, a full day of cycling down Death Road including doing my first single track, and in about an hour I'm off to begin a three day climb to summit Huayna Potosi at 6088m.a.s.l. So what do I really mean by a Challenge?

Have you ever taken an intensive Spanish course? Some of you travelling would have for sure so you'll understand. Four hours a day you get drilled with dozens of new words, verbs, grammer and different rules to string it all together. All while the teacher is mostly speaking in Spanish. Because why not? One of the more frustrating things I've ever done because I struggled. Big time. Mixing up verbs, switching up conjugations, not being "imaginative" with my sentences.. Spending hours after class attempting to do homework but mostly finding ways to fill my stomach with snacks. I became utterly frustrated with the entire language. I made excuses - What a stupid decision to learn this language, this language makes absolutely no sense, should have never done this, etc. Until I finished my classes and got thrown into the real world again. All of the sudden I could understand heaps more, my sentences came out the way I actually intended them to, and people actually started to understand me. It was mentally exhausting, but it was something I set in front of myself that I'll never regret tackling. 

Spanish 101

Death Road. It used to be The World's Most Dangerous Road for simple reasons. It has blind corners, it's barely one lane, and if you go off the road and off the cliff, you'll disappear about 300m below into the jungle. Many drivers have died this way until they constructed the new road, and now many tourists have gone over cycling. Including a French lady about two weeks ago.. Rest in peace. That being said, this was one of the most intense and exciting things I have EVER done. Hurtling down a thin gravel road on a full suspension bicycle with tight corners and sheer death waiting for me at all times. I loved it.

And then I fell.

Not too badly, and into the mountain and not over the cliff. But enough to shake me up a bit. Enough so that when I was given the green light to attempt my first single track (a steep and rocky path meant for one rider at a time) I was quite hesitant. However life isn't meant to be taken through the eyes of a coward. I honestly can't remember the last time when I've genuinely been scared about my own personal safety. But I choose to nut up and go for it. I'm alive, it was epic, and I'm proud that I choose to step up to the plate instead of taking the easy way out. 

Death Corner

Huayna Potosi. I love to hike. I love to climb. And I absolutely love being outdoors. I`m also Canadian and I never get cold taking my pet penguin for sleigh rides around the neighborhood. I've done my fair share of hiking back home but what I've never attempted is trying to climb a mountain above 6000m. Lucky for me that Potosi is 6088m above sea level. The most difficult thing about climbing mountains like this is that there is barely any oxygen in the atmosphere at these heights. Meaning that even in La Paz at about 3600m, I was winded walking up a two minute hill on my first day. With about 12 hours of hiking, climbing, and scrambling ahead of me, I`m pretty damn nervous. While I'm not exactly in my peak condition, I understand how Altitude Sickness can crumble my goal of summiting with a throbbing headache and full body exhaustion. One step at a time right? After all it`s all about getting that photo anyway!

I look at most things in life as a challenge now. Not because I`m a competitive asshole, well not all the time anyway.. but a competition and a challenge are quite different anyway. But mostly because everything is brand new, difficult and well.. challenging. I visualize myself conquering something and I set myself to it. That's just how I live life though. If it's not a challenge, why am I even doing it? 

Why would I continue to ride the path of complacency when I can push myself in all disciplines and simply become a stronger person?

Always keep pushing yourself towards your goals, never stop running the race that you set before you.

Channy

Instagram & Twitter - itsnathanchan

October 8th - Wild Rover Hostel, La Paz, Bolivia