Tunari or Bust!

                                    I have always wanted to hike to the top of this mountain.  

                                        The twin peaks on the right are called Mount Tunari. 

  Mount Tunari is 16,480 feet high. This mountain isn't even on the list of the top twenty tallest mountains of Bolivia!

On Wednesday morning we loaded up our wonderful, almost 4X4 truffi (ha, ha), with 12 people, a sack lunch, and a guitar. We went up the same road that you see in A Drive Through the Andes, but this time we turned off and took a very treacherous and difficult road.

The Car

The Road

                                                            The Group (L-R: Jimmy, Michelle, Clara, Gina, Joe, Myles, Clancy, Emily, Ruth, Danyelle, Isabelle. Daddy took the picture)

                                     We had to stop here or we might have gone off the edge.

After parking, we started walking up the road. Thankfully, we were very close to the "trailhead" (if you could call it that). Man, it was hard to breath up there!

                 There were beautiful lakes all around. From the summit I could see seven of them!

The Lake

                                  Myles led the way! This mountain climber left us in the dust!

Clara found a really cool fossil which started the rest of us looking. We found several but I didn't take any pictures.

Clara the Fossil Finder


Myles and I were asked to model for Tunari Apparel's hoodies that may be for sale soon! They are in the process of figuring out a pattern and working on styles.  (If you like them please comment. We would love to have your opinion!) Personally, I think they are awesome! They are warm, not too heavy, they block the wind, need I say more? Our friends, Joe, and Jimmy, took the pictures for our photo shoot. They did a great job!

Jimmy worked with the lighting. He used the back of our small white board! 

Michelle, Daddy, Joe, Myles, Clancy, Jimmy and I decided to go up a bit higher. Well it turned out that, Myles, Jimmy, Joe and I decided to just go to the top since we were "so close".

 "And let me tell you, mountains are deceiving!"

I thought we could make it to the top in half an hour, but Joe made a more accurate guess of 40 minutes. I thought I would die! It was all shale, so for every step you take you slide down a bit, and trying to stay breathing at 16,000 ft is a challenge! But it was well worth it. The view!-it was spectacular: the ranges of mountains, the city far below, and the sky! Who could doubt that God is the Creator after seeing that!

                                                               On top of the world!

                                                                 Me and my "not so little" Bro!

The rest of the trip was rather uneventful, except that some of us had bad headaches and the jolting of the road did not help that at all! 

I neglected to put sunscreen on and got the worst sunburn I have ever had! Oh, how I've suffered! Mama told me to put sunscreen on, but there wasn't very much left in the bottle and even though I shook it three times, nothing would come out. Plus, I don't like sunscreen.... I know, excuses, excuses! Mama has reminded me when I complain that I should have listened to her...

A very burnt but satisfied,

I told you I was red! 

Emily jo

Promise: Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Pictures courtesy of Joseph Lawrence