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Published: September 22nd 2014
Hola amigos!
Bolivia, bolivia ... Where do I start? One minute I'm loving it, the next I'm praying for dear life!
It began with a 17 hour bus journey from Cusco overnight. Now I'd be one who considers the four hour round trip from Wexford to Dublin long but I honestly didn't blink an eye for the La Paz trip. The bus was unreal with reclining seats similar to first class on an aeroplane and blankets and tea was handed out to anyone who wanted them. 34 of the journey was gone before I even woke up!
When we did get to LP, the buss driver conviently (for him) dropped us in the middle of nowhere and the place was complete bedlam with traffic chockablock, protests or demonstrations every 2nd street + not a fellow tourist in sight. Took us 2 hours to get to our hostel by which time there was nothing left to do but call out for a bite to eat. Eating out here is less than half the cost in Ireland, you'd dine like a king for next to naught!
Our day two we did a 3 hour walking tour of La paz which
was unreal! Chief attraction was San Pedro prison in the middle of town. Why have a prison smack bang in town you ask? Short answer Bolivian society likes to do things the orthodox way making this probably the most unique prison in the world. In Bolivia you're basically guilty till proven innocent so those waiting for trial are sent here which given the slowness of the system can be up to 20 years! The prisoner s wife's and kids can live in the prison and each prisoner can set up his own trade to make money from the other prisoner s. The government allow this as it costs them virtually nothing to run the place with guards only working the perimeter.
We also discovered a lot of other interesting stuff about the city in particular how a physically strong woman is very attractive to the men (a lot are more stocky then the lads I noticed, theory of evolution Bolivia style 😉, the illegal live burial of beggars, ppl with drug / alcohol problems as part of religious custom when blessing big construction projects, the Bolivian love of protests (probably most politically unstable in the world) and the eccentric 81st
president Evo Morales. (Ireland has had 8 if you want to compare)
Day three was the infamous death road cycle. We went with a company called MADNESS and were told to be waiting at their office at 7. Everyone turned up except the most important, our alcoholic Norwegian tour guide Leo who showed up at 8.30 a bit worse for the wear. Remember that weird guy from school that 10 years later you wondered what ever happened to him..? Well this is the Norwegian version. He later proudly informed us that he'd come over to do as contract job 6 years earlier but had got a one pregnant and had to stay!
Anyhow enough about Leo... The cycle itself is 62km long starting at 4900 metres altitude and finishing at 1,200m. Throw in a few steep bends, a narrow dirt road with loose stones, a 300 m drop over the unrailled edge and at least 8 crosses at various sections of the cliff edge to commemorate the Bolivians and tourists who died and you realize Bolivia does not do health and safety. I was nervous enough truth be told!
However a few hours into the five hour cycle my
confidence was beginning to grow... I was keeping a good pace on what were trecharous enough bends. In my minds eye I could hear Jimmy Magee 'AND DAVE BERNEY WITH THE GOLD for IRELAND!!' All too late I noticed the 270* turn ahead.. BRAKE, BRAKE!! Oh shit, wet stones..!! I slammed the brakes but too hard and ended up being flung into the air and smacking into the side of the track (only one in the group it turned out) Quickly glanced to see had anyone noticed.. Just my luck as a group of about 10 had slowed up to take a few pics with me now the star attraction.. Fock!
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