We arrived in La Paz by a small plane, the 40 minute flight was a good alternative to the 14 hour overnight bus journey. La Paz is the highest capital city in the world at 3800 metres (that's pushing 12,000 feet) and you feel it immediately, your breathing becomes laboured and ordinary tasks suddenly seem much more difficult. The city has a reputation for danger but we kept aware and luckily nothing untoward happened to us (it might have livened up the blog a bit). The entire city is built in a valley and climbs in all directions, given the base level is 3800 metres asl, you can imagine how exhausting walking around might be.

We took a walking trip with a local guide, who took us up to El Alto (technically a separate city) which sits at over 4000 metres asl - The guide books and sensible advice tell you not to go there (too dangerous) but our local man took us anyway. It was a different place, mainly shanty buildings, Shaman burning Llama foetuses in the witches market to make sacrifices for their followers etc. The place held a palpable edge to the atmosphere - It felt dangerous, not a place to visit by yourself and definitely not at night.

Heather's father had visited La Paz in the sixties and for her it felt like a pilgrimage to her past had been completed. After the churches, museums, markets, restaurants and bars (some with genuine Bolivian dancing and singing) had been exhausted, it was time to move on. Dan decided he wanted to cycle down the MDRW (Most Dangerous Road in the World) a title it received because its death rate over a 40 kilometer stretch was on average 350 a year - The locals call it "Camino de la Meurte" - The Death Road. So we stayed an extra day.

On the morning of the ride Dan met the rest of the group at 07:30am and they were ferried to a point just short of 5000 asl (about 15000 feet - Ben Nevis is 1344 metres or 4409 feet).

We were kitted in safety gear (helmet, padded trousers and jacket) then a safety brief and finally after a bike check we were ready.

The ride began at wind-swept La Cumbre (4,700m/15,400 feet) with fantastic views of a number of snow-covered peaks, including Huayna Potosí (6,088m/19,973 feet). From here we descended rapidly down a twisting asphalted road among mountain peaks, grazing llamas and alpacas, tiny villages and a drug check-post (?!). We stopped for refreshments, photos, and rests along the way -- all the better to give us time to take in the scenery: towering cliff faces, dramatic drops and ever greener vegetation... while preparing ourselves for the next breath-taking section. We descended further, and after a brief undulating section of road we entered the jungle itself and the most challenging part of the ride. We turned off the paved road onto a narrow gravel road, … "Gentlemen, Welcome to Death Road" our guide said "and remember don't pull your front brake suddenly - you will go over your handlebars ….. Don't pull your rear brake suddenly - you will skid. Ride safely and Good Luck!

This infamous narrow dirt road is cut precariously into the side of the mountain and descends 2,000m (6,500 feet). With 1,000m+ (3,300 feet) sheer drops off to our left and hulking rock overhangs and cascading waterfalls to our right, we ride through mist, low cloud and dust. The scenery was the most spectacular mountain scenery I have ever seen, although I did not spend a lot of time admiring it and my emotional edge might have enhanced my appreciation.

As we neared the end of the ride it got progressively hotter and dustier and by the time we arrived at the bottom in Yolosa (1,100m/3,600 feet) we are all tired, hot, dirty and exhilarated.

It was an unbelievable feeling when we eventually passed the finish line and had a well-earned beer, we had descended about 3600 metres (almost 3 times the height of Ben Nevis) and ridden over 64 kilometres - A day to remember!

Guess what? - after our meal we had to drive the same way home (the new road suffered a landslide and was impassable) it was in the dark and totally out of my control ….. This was going to be worse than the cycle ride but the guide supplied an anaesthetic in the form of Cuba Libre (Rum & Coke) and all was well (Mas o Menos).