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Published: April 15th 2009
After Chile I decided to travel to Bolivia via a 3-day trek in a 4WD vehicle. My group consisted of 13 people riding in two vehicles. One of the best groups I've done an activity with. Different nationalities coming together and having a great time. Everyone was cool.
We drove from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile to Uyuni, Bolivia. Got to see amazing desert, colored lakes, beautiful landscape, geysers, and salt flats. We climbed to an altitude of 15,000 feet above sea level. Me, and some others got terrible headaches due to the altitude. They subsided after day 2.
Once I arrived to Uyuni, got a bus to Potosi. Sebastian (cool German dude who I met on the trek) and others from my group decided to also head to Potosi. The town was nice and interesting. It's believed to be the highest city in the world (altitude). Breathing was a bit difficult as we walked around the town exploring. Potosi used to be a town rich with silver until the Spanish came, of course. However, the mines in the town still render silver, zinc, and some other metal I can't remember. People (men only) still work in the mines.
Boys as young as 10 also are able to work. My group and I decided to take a tour of the mines. It was really cool, but kind of scary. We went 500 meters underground and got to see miners work. The tour was NOT touristy at all, so there was a bit of safety concerns, but we managed to survive. After the tour, our guide gave us an explosive demonstration with dynamite that I bought for roughly $2. That's right, two freakin' dollars!! It was awesome! One of the coolest things I've done. Only in pinche Bolivia!
After Potosi, Sebastian and I decided to head to La Paz. This city is not nice at all. It's a big dirty city with lots of traffic and smog. We explored La Paz when we first arrived. It sucked because almost everything was closed. All we managed to see was a museum of instruments (kind of cool). We decided to take a tour of the surrounding areas. So, the next day we trekked to a mountain that was 16,300+ feet above sea level....where there was SNOW! I was not equipped for the climb at all. While everyone had jackets and hiking
boots, I was in my sweater and sneakers. I froze my ass off, but the view was worth it.
The next day I decided to mountain bike in the outskirts of the Amazon and down "Death Road", which is believed to be the most dangerous road in the world. Over 200 Bolivianos have died on this road in auto accidents. As long as five years ago, 19 tourists have also died on this road....by falling off the edge while mountain biking. The road is high in the Andes mountains with steep drops over 1800+ feet. You could bike this road leisurely, but what fun is that?! I told my guide, Milton, that I wanted to blaze down the road and ride it like it was meant to be ridden. The road is made of gravel and dirt, however, it was also rocky, muddy, and in some areas, narrow. At times we were easily going 50 mph. Small rocks from my guide's bike in front of me were flying by my face. Total concentration was needed to ride this road. I would sometimes catch a glipse of the edge of the road from the corner of my eye. Gotta admit...scary
shit. I almost ate it one time. My heart dropped, but I was able to maintain control. Definitely definitely one of the craziest most fun things I've ever done. Happy I made it out alive!
Sebastian and I bid farewell. He headed to Argentina and I to Copacabana, which is on the shore of Lake Titicaca (snickering). Yes people, that's really the name of the lake. The town is cool, but a bit touristy. There's not much to do there, but visit Lake Titicaca and Isla del Sol, which are very nice. I hung out here for a couple of days checking out the scene. Took some photos...talked to some locals.
Now I am headed back to Peru. Not staying there long. Just passing by as I make my way up to Ecuador. Til next time.
abrazo,
alex
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PHOTOS LOST
Hey guys, sorry if you cannot see the photos. They were doing site maintenance and it wiped out all the photos I loaded for the Death Road entry. SUCKS!! Anyway, not sure if I'll have time to reload. If not, stay tuned for the next entry. alex