20/6/09 Cuzco to Bushcamp One

We left Cuzco early to start a hopefully long but smooth journey to La Paz. We are unable to travel on the road we came in on as it has road blocks and burnt out bridges. We started well on sealed roads with no problems ...or so we thought. Then the trouble started as we were diverted onto a mountain pass where the main road to Brazil form Peru was being constructed. We were heading for a place called Moldanado and kept following the signs for the diversion for miles. The road was an endless roadwork with ruts and uneven surfaces. We were all rolled about and had our bones shaken up.

We camped for the night in a quarry where no vehicles were driving to . It was pretty cold an uncomfortable as the floor was really rocky. we were warm enough and slept pretty well but the others pitched closer forward than us were woken by six buses who took a wrong turn and were heading straight for the tents!!!

21/6/9 La Paz road trip

Day two started well as we headed along the rough mud roads following the longest diversion in the world. Unfortunately we came to a stop at some more works. Ahead we could see a JCB up the embankment and some workers were chopping down trees which were landing straight accross the road ahead blocking the way. we sat for a while but after an hour with no sign of the road clearing Brendan went to negotiate in his best broken Spanish. After much gesticulating the JCB finally came and cleared the road so we could carry on. After that delay we continued through the Amazon forest roads where we all got really hot and sticky. Phil was playing cards and ended up sitiing in his pants as he was so hot!!! The views were really lovley but it was a really long and bumpy day. When we finally stopped to camp we had only driven 150km in 16hours of driving...nightmare. There were many sore bums.To top off a really long day one of the tyres burst with a really loud bang so that will need a repair in the morning...more delays

We camped outside the town where the main road could be joined again but we were at an altitude of 4800m so it was icy cold and again the ground was really hard. We were all so tired that we just crashed out for the night.

22/6/9 Bushcamp to La Paz

We awoke early to find that the fly sheets were covered in ice. Some of the others had been freezing but we were warm in our sleeping bags. We all got really cold putting the ice covered tents away but were cheered up by the fact that we should make it to La Paz today much to our relief. We haven´t had any washing facilities for two days so we are all pretty lovely in the stink department!!! After a short delay to get the tyre repaired we started on the sealed road,much to our relief, towards Puno. We passed an accident with an upturned lorry and were relieved that it wasn´t us. Brendan had spent the night waking up in a sweat as he had thought the truck was tipping over several times on the dodgy roads the day before. We ate lunch at Puno overlooking Lake Titicaca and headed for La Paz. We crossed the border into Bolivia at the border town of Copacabana without any incidents and the rest of the journey was pretty good and we arrived in La Paz at 10pm. La Paz is the highest capital city in the world (3660m) and we could feel the altitude in what seemed to be the worlds steepest capital city too. La Paz is crazy busy with cars and people bustling everywhere. We had planned to all have a big night out in La Paz but we were all in need of a hot shower, some food and a good nights sleep in a warm bed. We got takeaway chicken and went straight to bed. The showers were electric which sound´s straight forward until you get told the shower head and tap is live and onlyt to touch it with a flip flop or a dry towel!!!! The HSA would have had a field day!

23/6/9 La Paz After a very lazy start we headed towards La Paz´s famous witches market where there are many stalls selling potions and also offerings to mother earth, Pachamama. The offerings were all kinds of things from herbs and candy to LLama foetuses which are supposed to keep away evil spirits if buried beneath the front of your house. We bought a load for gifts so hope you like them!!! There were shelves full of little furry Llamas which was very weird but you will just have to use your imagination as photos weren´t appreciated. We then went on a guided tour of Iglesia San Francisco which is a church/monastery in the centre of La Paz. It was really peaceful there and we were taken to the roof and could see the bustle of La Paz below. The main road in La Paz was built over a river which separated the Spanish and indigenous populations. The monastery cloister was cut in half to make way for the road.....scandalous!! We then went looking for a new bag for Phil as his appears top be melting for some reason. We went to the Mercado Negro (black market) and were ripped off by a storeholder who saw the gringo money coming...never mind you live and learn. We all went out for dinner to say goodbye to a couple of the passengers who were leaving the tour in La Paz and had a pretty early night as Phil is cycling the DEATH ROAD tomorrow!!!

24/6/9 La Paz

We had a day apart for a change so you lucky readers get two versions of today

Phils day: Phil left the hotel for La Cumbre (4800m) to ride down the worlds most dangerous road...Liz had other ideas as she has fallen off her bike a few times and usually downhill! The ride is a gravity assisted ride down a road known as the death road. There have been an average of two buses a week crashing over the side of the road killing all the occupants as it is so dangerous. It is 65kms long and is only 3.5m wide at its widest point with very few places to pass. It has switchbacks and long sheer drops over the side as it has a vertical drop from 4800m to 1100m ! There was a new road built in 2006 but it has a toll so some vehicles are still using the more dangerous route. The guide briefed all the riders on the bikes and then they made an offering to Pachamama to keep them, safe. They poured moonshine on the ground, their tyres and then drank some. Phil said it was foul but he would give anything a try. The guide had explained the number of casualties as at least one a day falling off their bike, at least two a week needing hospital treatment for multiple injuries and at least two deaths per year!!! At this point Phil decided not to break records or bones but to get down safely. The first 20km were on sealed roads so Phil was feeling good but then the gravel road started and it all felt more scary. It was quite misty to start with which meant you couldn´t see all the drops but also meant you couldn´t see the road either!! If you misjudged the breaks you could easily get very close to or over the edge of the sheer drops. Along the way were many crosses marking sights of bus crashes over the edge, it was really difficult to look over the sheer edges as the drops were so huge...nasty. After three hours of riding they reached the bottom at Coroico (1100m) where they showered and ate before the return journey. The bus drove them back up the death rode and Phil was sitting over the sheer side and said it was almost as nerve racking as the ride as there were only inches between the tyres and the edge of the cliff. To calm the nerves they all drank rum on the way back and were exhausted but had really enjoyed it.

Lizzies Day:

Liz joined a bus tour of the city in the morning which was pretty average as La Paz isn´t the most interesting place. We stopped at a view point to take photos and had a great panoramic view of the canyon in which the city is built. The viewpoint was the highlight of the tour as you could see the extent of the massive city and to the mountains beyond. After lunch Liz went quad biking to the Valley of the Moon which is a collection of canyons and pinnacles just outside La Paz. We were all given a five minute demonstration and practice before heading onto the mainroads to travelto the valley. We negotiated roadworks and overtook some of the traffic in a convoy before reaching the virtually traffic free valley. We spent two hours driving through streams, farm tracks, villages and valley tracks and finished up covered in cow poo and dust!!! It was great fun. We headed for a Thai meal for dinner and Liz went to meet the returning Phil.

We went to get food for Phil to a local Gringo bar and ended up spending a few hours chatting to a couple Phil had met on the bike ride. We went to bed pretty late considering we have another early start tomorrow...This is not a holiday!!!