A road of deaths.....nice!

Something i had been looking forward to do since the beggining of the trip was to mountain bike down death road. We arrived in La paz and at 3500m above sea level, it is the highest capital city in the world. it is also the first capital city i have visited in south america as rio isnt the capital of brazil, and i didnt go as far south as buenos aires in argentina. the city of la paz cowers in a narrow canyon gouged from the high altiplano. on either side, the steep slopes of the valley are covered by the ramshackle homes of the citys poorer inhabitants, which cling precariously to even the harshest gradients. it has a population of just over 1 million, but still retains the feel of a provincial city.

joss gave us quick tour at 6 of the local area and through some of the markets, which are awesome! definitely doing some pressie shopping here! got back to the hotel at 7.30 to get ready, and left at 8.30 for a restaurant. yet again our taxi driver got lost, but got there in the end, after asking a policeman and over 5 different cab drivers!!!!!. after dinner, the restaurant turned into a bar / club, so had a boogie. upstairs, however, was the worlds highest oxygen bar, called ozone. as were so high above sea level, the air has less oxygen, and in this oxygen bar, you can breath in oxygen with different properties to heal or relax you. i tried the lime and strawberry ones! we left the place at 12, and got to sleep at 1.

i love la paz, the energy of the street life is amazing. there perhaps is an absence of green areas, but ive seen a lovely fountain in a well kept square. there is also the view of mount illimini, the mountain whose snow covered 6439m peak dominates the landscape. Our hotel is lush and we have the view of the whole city and the mountain from our room!

death road is the world´s most dangerous road (and much more aswell). few highways in the world have as intimidating a reputation as the road linking la paz with coroico in the north yungas. a rough, narrow track chicselled out of near-vertical mountain sides that descends more than 3500m over a distance of just 64km, it´s widely referred to as the world´s most dangerous road, a title bestowed on it by the Inter-American Bank. statistically, the label is difficult to dispute, every year dozens of vehicles used to go off the road, and with vertical drops of ip to 1000m over the edge, annual fatalities often reached into the hundreds. it used to be the only link between brazil and the pacific coast.

this is also one of the most beautiful roads in the world. starting amnid icebound peaks of the cordillera real, it plunges down through the clouds into the humid valleys of the yungas, winding along deep, narrow gorges, where dense cloudforest clings to even the steepest slopes. the road is often swathed in cloud, and in places, waterfalls crash down on to the surface. so spectaular is the descent that travelling the yungas road by mountain bike has become one of bolivia´s most popular tourist attractions - an exhilarating ride thjat takes a whole day. a new 2 lane road is now open, and the old road is now only open to mountain bikers (except for trucks transporting fruit from the jungle). this makes it a lot safer, apparently!!!

once we got to the depot, we signed our lives away, and then got kited up with trousers, a vest, gloves and a helmet. got on the minibus and it was a 1 hour ride to where we started our ride at 4655m above sea level. as you can imagine, at this height and at this time in the morning, we were absolutely freezing!! we got our bikes, had a quick practice, had a safety talk and off we went. it was so fast as it was downhill, but at least we didnt have to pedal! there were quite steep drops. but at some points there were barriers, so thought today would be fine - little did i know! we stopped every 20 minutes or so, and the guides were very well organised. the minibuses came down with us, so if ever we needed a break, we could just hop on. there were stunning views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. i was enjoying it . . . . . . . until, there was a serious uphill part! most of us had to get off out bikes and walk, as we couldnt catch our breath due to the altitude. its so weird being at altitude, i had no idea it would be like this. in between the uphill bits, we stopped for banana, chocolate and a water which was much needed. some wanted to get on the minibus at this point, but they said we only one uphill left, so we all carried on . . . they lied! it was pretty hard again.but pretty soon after, we arrived the start of death road!! the road went off to the side of the main road we had been on, and i wouldnt call it a road, more a dirt / gravel track. it was so bumpy, but our mountain bikes had really good suspension. ive never been mountain biking before, or ridden such a good bike - what a great way to try out the sport! we had to drive on the left on death road (unlike elsewhere in bolivia), so that any vehicles coming up cna be on the inside, near the cliff. it took me a while to be able to ride on the left side of the road, as the drops were ridiculous, and sometimes when i braked, i skidded due to the huge rocks in some places. i then realised that it was fine braking on smooth gravel, so when there were bigger rocks, i just went really really fast!! at one point, i was going so fast, i thought i was going to crash into the biker in front of me, so i had to brake, and i skidded quite badly . . . .managed to save myself from falling off tho, thank goodness!

i was in the middle group. decided i was too scared to be in the fast group, but i wanted a bit of adrenaline, so didnt want to go in the slower group! i think my group actually went as fast as the first group, its just they left first, as we needed to be staggered. on the way down, the guide stopped us every now and again to show us vehicles that had fallen off the side, and also where mountain bikers had fallen and died - not good! Certain corners were named for exmaple "french mans corner" and we were terrified that kath and i would be naming a welsh womans corner!!

at some points we drove under waterfalls and through rivers which was pretty cool. and the views were just awesome - when i was able to look away from the road in front of me! it was amazing as well how the vegetation changed as we descended in altitude. it was also strange in that we started off freezing, where we all seriously thought we were going to get frostbite, and then towards the end we were in strappy tops, sunglasses, and sweating!

towards the end, i was so confident, and it just seemed normal riding so close to the cliff edge!! if you dont look down and concentrate on the road it was fine! and we all made it!!! the road terminates in coroico, at 1200m above se level. we all felt normal again! alot of us have had a blocked nose and sore throat for a while, and didnt know if we were rundown or if it was the altitude - however i suddenly realised my nose and throat were totally fine, and were werent gasping for breath every few minutes! we had to drive up on the minibus to the hotel in coroico where we were having out buffet, again there were steep drops, but hey, if weve survived death road, we can survive this road! we had a lovely swim a pool with the most amazing setting, and then had a buffet. at 6 we set off back to la paz. it took 3 hours, but as we increased in altitude, it got so foggy, and also it was getting dark. we were so steamed up in the bus, and we have no idea how our driver could see where he was going. at one point he turned his lights off in a tunnel to scare us - and it worked! we got back safely, however my blocked nose and sore throat have come back, how annoying! we start the inca trail a week today, so it better have gone by then!

a few of my friends didnt want to do the mountain biking, so got a minibus tour down death road - looking back id have been way more scared in a minibus as in places its only 3m wide, so trucks and buses appear to lean out over prepices more than a km deep! at least on a bike i was in control of my fate!

thouroughly exhausted at the end of it, adrenaline highs, muscle fatigue pains, altitude gasps and 100% terrified drives back home in the fog. didnt eat just collapsed into bed! nonetheless though, one of the best days of my life.