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Published: November 24th 2007
18/11/07
Not one of the most sensible things I´ve done but it just had to be done! The worlds most dangerous road had been calling ever since we got to South America and how cool was the ride. We went with Gravity Tour Company which is one of the best for safety and equipment (safety first). The road is approx 64km long and in places is only 3.2m wide. 11 cyclists have been killed riding it but its got its name from the number of vehicle accidents with one of the worst accidents where 120 locals were killed when there (drunk) driver went over the edge after a football match. There are plenty more stories like that and plenty of crosses along the road as a reminder.
The first 22km were on asphalt so pretty easy going and then the good stuff. I´m not gonna lie and say I wasn´t scared. It was hard not too when the guide pointed out every cycling death on the road as you went along! First thought that came to mind was ´Don´t die, don´t die, don´t die, don´t die, cos living is good, and dying is not so good...´ (Seinfeld quote).
But it was a very cool day. Typically, whenever our guide pointed out a specific section which was quite dangerous and we should be extremely careful, the heavens would open up just to spice it up a bit. Not even the goretex shoes could withstand this amount of torrential rain.
But it was sooooo cool! It has to be done.
The only casualty to report on the day was our very own guide who spent the whole day telling us ´its not a race´ and ´people die when they start racing´..... blah blah blah. Then she herself had a one on one race with one of the other guides at the end and she ended up with a broken ankle. Great example honey!
At the end of the ride, not far from Coroico, we showered and ate at the local animal shelter which had rescued monkeys, parrots, cats, dogs and even a boa constrictor. My first question was, ´Was the boa constrictor in cage?´ You are probably thinking this was a stupid question as the owner assured us it was. But when the keeper went to get it from its cage, it was no where to be
seen.... excellent.
So after 10 minutes of searching they found it curled up behind a chair right outside the womans showers and toilets. OMG! I was just there!
In the end, the boa was pretty harmless and fairly placid.
3.5 long hours later, we were back in La Paz.
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Paul & Jo ... Confident & Cocky 
