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A Bit Casual?
David gets comfortable with the World's Most Dangerous Road
- Image © Gravity We hadn't done anything dangerous for a while so it was time to boost our adrenaline levels with a spot of biking. Just outside La Paz was the perfect opportunity, a 70km downhill charge from 4700 metres above sea level down to a mere 1100m on the
World's Most Dangerous Road.
To make it all feel safer we had two guides, one a former womens' downhill coach and the other to act as "truck bait" at the front. We were given helpful instructions, such as "don't crash" and were reassured by one of the guides that she'd never lost anyone in her time doing the route.
Before we set off there was time for a bit of superstition to be observed. Each rider had to offer a few drops of alcohol to Pacha Mama and also a few to themselves to help with any last minute nerves. Sounds like fun until you hear that the alcohol was 96%!p(MISSING)roof. Although still a better alternative to the traditional blood.
Like our skydive, it's hard to explain the mixture of feelings as you find yourself hurtling downhill at 50km/h over rocks and gravel with, well, nothing separating you from a sheer drop
a few feet to your left. It certainly focuses the mind.
Of course if it all gets too much you're welcome to get back on the support bus, but to be honest given the track record of the road it probably wouldn't be much safer.
Our group had a mix of confidence levels from the Italians rocketing to the front and giving the lead guide a run for his money, to the South African who admitted that bikes and him simply didn't mix and was happy to let his girlfriend (and everyone else) lead the way.
We were somewhere in between, David's greater bulk (ahem) giving him more momentum once the brakes were off, and 4 months as a postman meaning he could stay on the bike for the 6km that go uphill while Carolyn was to be spotted puffing away on the bus with the rest of the girls after 4km.
We can truly say "been there, got the t-shirt" now as we were presented at the end of the ride with our freebies and a nice cold beer.
With just two months left it remains to be seen whether we can squeeze in
Church
Potosi any more 'scare your mother' moments.
High society We thought by now we were used to this whole altitude thing but climbing the five flights of stairs to our dorm with our packs on put paid to this idea. Potosi is the highest town of its size in the world sitting as it does at over 4000 metres. Believe us, we felt every one of them.
It didn't seem to bother the locals though as we watched them going about their daily business. Which in some cases consisted of a brisk trade in toilet brushes and cheesegraters. From the same stall of course.
So enthralled were we with the locals, we spent a good hour in the main plaza trying to avoid being spotted as we made our attempts to capture them in their traditional dress.
As well as being famous for its height the town is also home to the silver mines utilised by the Spanish to mint their first coins. Conditions today down the mines are not noticably better than they were in colonial times. Ironically these days Bolivian coins are minted in Spain (and the quality is considerably less than 100%!s(MISSING)ilver).
Second city? We stopped off in the pleasant, if disputed, city of Sucre on our way to La Paz. The dispute centres on whether or not Sucre is the rightful capital of Bolivia. The locals were vocal in their defence of Sucre's claims with marches and protests in the main square. The kind of sight we were to become accustomed to in Bolivia where protests are an important part of daily life. Once we convinced ourselves that the loud bangs were only fire crackers and not over enthusiastic members of the local constabulary we were able to stand back and enjoy the spectacle, cursing only occasionally at the impossibility of walking in a straight line.
Although the locals are colourful the city centre itself is not due to the tradition of painting all the buildings white. We helped to paint the town one night when we met up with another couple of Glaswegians, one of whom happened to be a Dundee Utd fan. Such a rare event meant that a celebration and singsong was in order.
Bye Bye Bolivia We polished off our time in Bolivia with a visit to Lake Titicaca (yes, that's a real name) and
Biking Mad
Our Gravity Group
- Image © Gravity Isla de la Sol, home to the Inca creation theory. For the trip to the island we based ourselves in Copacabana, and couldn't get Mr Manilow's dulcet tones out of our heads for most of the time we were there.
Although the Inca Ruins weren't the most impressive sight we've encountered, the island itself was very pretty and we had a nice walk from one end to the other on the former Inca road. We had to make way for the odd beast of burden as the islands current inhabitants haven't quite caught up with modern farming techniques, still employing llamas and donkeys to do most of the heavy lifting.
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