Joe:

We had to get up early (6:20am) to meet at Alexandre cafe for 7:30. On the way to the cafe Craig was sick twice, once down my leg and the other over the road, i put it down to the amount of drink we had the night before but i was fine, Craig wasn´t gonna make it (lightwieght) so he headed back and i carried on, there was no way i was gonna miss on the oppritunity and the fact i paid 77 pound to do it.

We got picked up from the cafe and drove for 45 mins to the top, we went through all the safety regulations. Before we set off down the first part of the road which was an actual road (tarmac) we made an offering to mother earth which was a bottle of 96 % alcohol that u had to spill some on the floor some on your bike tyre and finally swig some, i was not up to it (fragile) but the guides said the last person to have denied "mother earth" fell of his bike and had 12 stitches in his head, im not one to complain so bottoms up (hair of the dog).

We set of down a long windie road with some breath taking views, snow capped mountains, streams , waterfalls, etc.. We got to one of our first check point (customs) we got of our bikes and walked through the customs bit , we got back on our bikes and set of again down the tarmaced road we still had a fair bit to go before getting to The worlds most dangerous road´. It was raining hard, i was completely drenched the guides had said that as soon as we get through the clouds that it would stop, we started at 5000mtrs above sea level. We had to stop to pay a road tax, again the customs were there checking vehicles for chemicals.

Finally we were at the top of death road, the guides gave us a quick briefing on the road telling us to respect the road and that it has a reputation for a reason. It wasnt long down Death road before coming to a sheer drop, luckily for me it was really cloudy so i coudnt see the bottom, the guides had said the this drop was the highest at 350 mtrs. As we started descending the scenery was changing quickly, it now started to look like more of a rainforest, it started feeling more like a rainforest too (humid) i think by this point we had gone down a thousand metres.

I cycled through many amazing waterfalls that seemed like they went on forever through the thick clouds. We stopped to get off our bikes to climb over a landslide that had blocked the road, our bus had to turn back around and go the long way round and meet us at the bottom. I had finally got through the clouds and was going through a tropical jungle, it was so hot and humid, it was strange to me that it was only a couple of hr ago that i was cycling through snow capped mountains and now in a tropical jungle, their was huge eagles, and colourful birds flying round, it felt like i was in the Amazon.

We got near to the bottom of our trip cycling through little cocalaro villages. We all got to the bottom of Death road safely, we got showerd and changed and had food, we also had time to check out the animal reserve which had lots of cool little monkeys running around, climbing on top of me and trying to steal my wallet out of my pocket. We had to leave to get back to La Paz which was 3 an a half hr away.

Hayley:

After having breakfast in the hostel bar, Vicky, Abbey and I headed out for the da, the sun was finally shining and it was hot so we decided to do the open top bus tour. The first tour went to Valle de la Luna.

Valle de la Luna (moon valley in English) is situated about 10 kilometers from downtown La Paz, in the Pedro Domingo Murillo Province, La Paz Department, Bolivia. It is composed of an area where erosion has worn away the majority of a mountain. Due to being composed of clay rather than rock, over the centuries the elements have created a somewhat odd work of art here, like a desert filled with stalagmites. It is similar to another zone of La Paz that is known as el Valle de las Animas (the Valley of the Souls).

The mountains surrounding La Paz are composed of clay. It is interesting to note that the mineral content of the mountains varies greatly between individual mountains. As a result, the sides of the mountains are different colors, creating very striking optical illusions. A majority of them are a clear beige or light brown color. There are also areas that are almost red, with sections of dark violet.

We drove throught the posh part of La Paz, i was shocked to see an Audi garage when its supposed to be a poor country! The guide told us that the richer people live at the lower altitudes and the poorer people live higher. We stopped here for half an hour then drove back to the centre, the bus had headphones telling us lots of interesting stuff about La Paz (but im really struggling to remember any info!)

When we got back to the centre we decided to stay on the bus to do the city tour, even though big black clouds had now covered La Paz! The city tour was good, it took us to the highest centre point of La Paz and the view was incredible, the whole city is built on a canyon and the buildings just cling to it! It was a shame that it was quite cloudy as if it had been clear the view would´ve been much better but we could just make out the snow-capped mountain in the background!

After the tour we headed back to the hostel and I anxciously waited for the return of Joe. He was late and I was getting a bit worried but he survived! His trip sounds awesome and i´m pretty gutted I didn´t do it now! We lazed for a while then headed to Oliver´s Travels for dinner and drinks, then went to the hostel bar and me, Abbey and Joe headed back to Mongo´s. 3.30am back to the hostel to bed!