Today has been an unbelievably fun day, although the start could have been a little later.
Waking up at half past five we silently but quickly rushed to get dressed an head to our pick up for death road.
It was freezing and we were a little late but only to be told we were not getting the breakfast that we thought was included.
Jumping into the van it was just us two on an unintentional private tour. A drive up to the starting point and we got to try our kit and bikes. Abigail got given the Barbie helmet but Hulk bike while I was lumbered with a bike with an aristocat on. They both worked perfectly and after a quick double check we set off.
The start was on tarmac and all down hill twisting and turning our way down the mountain continuously wiggling our fingers so they wouldn't freeze. Out of no-where we cruised round one corner to see we were above the clouds and cycling down towards them gave a great feeling and a perspective of how high we were.
The speed that we could pick up going downhill was amazing and gave such an adrenaline rush. We arrived at the stop of point and were taken to the official death road, from that point on the nerves struck, adrenaline hit and excitement started. The road was a little gravel track incredibly narrow with a cliff face and drop of up to one hundred metres to the side.
It meant a lot of concentration but our guide was really helpful slowing us down in the dangerous places and taking a lot of photos too.
There were other groups of bigger amounts of people who seemed to be leaving people behind, with a girl falling off and had no guide to attend to her until the checkpoint so we think the right decision has been made. It was so much fun and would genuinely recommend it to anyone.
Afterwards, we went for lunch at a grim hotel where the swimming pool was unclean with a green tint to the water. As for the food it was under cooked and it didn't look trustworthy. We had a couple of chips before we realised that we were lunch for the mosquitos in the area. Coming up in blood lumps, which have got progressively worse throughout the day, we choose to wait in the van which was our not so subtle hint that we wanted to head back.
We thought the worst was over and that we had pushed our luck far too much already. Then our journey repeated itself only all up hill in the van. The worst of it being, when we booked to cycle down, we were reassured that the bikes were safe and most people died in vehicles instead of bikes.
Our driver looked as if he was trying to kill us on the way to the top taking every corner as wide as possible which gave us the best possible views but also giving both if us a heart attack. Despite the nerves jangling, it was interesting to go back up the route that we had cycled down. It not only gave us the sense of accomplishment that we had made it and how scary it was. Also it showed how focused we had been and only concentrated on the road in front not the scenery. We were able to see little waterfalls, 100 metre drops and a look at how dangerous the path truly was, which we had been completely oblivious to on the descent down.
Safely returned back in La Paz we received our CD of all the photos and videos that the guide had taken throughout the day. There is no where to watch it, which is making us wanting to see them even more.
With an early start and a physical day we were drained, so after food and a drink we headed back to our dorm. Here we were greeted by a guy who could talk for the whole of Austria. The fact that it was obvious we were going to bed didn't seem to deter him from informing us of where he had been and recommending places for us to go. He was actually a really nice guy and with advice from him and a couple of others we have decided to head towards Arequipa before Cusco.