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So i was knackered when i got up and i grabbed my stuff and made as much noise as possible as i was well pissed off from my lack of sleep, i headed down to the cafe and sat with Andre a swedish guy and two aussies and we ordered breakkie and we all had omlette sandwiches.
After a little while Matt our guide and several other guides turned up and checked people off and assigned them to a group, we had a run down of the day and what bus we would be on. The bus'swere fairly decent compared to what rthe other companys offered as you could see the other companys on the road up to the start point of the trip.
The was 15 in our group when 4 others eventually turned up on a taxi as they had missed us at the cafe, the were 8 english including me, 3 aussies, 3 irish,one swedish guy, we got givern out bikes and helmets etc and had chance to ride the bike on some waste ground and we were givern info and tips on how to ride etc and then we had alcohol to have a sip
and cover the bike in an offering to pachamama or in english mother earth, we had two guides, Matt a kiwi and cesar a local.
The first stretch was on asphalt and was split into sections and the bikes we had were full suspension Kona bikesm so very good bikes, we had to keep a certain distance from the person in front and any overtaking had to be done correctly, the first bit came and gone and it was fun hammering down the road and then we stopped for photos and another breifing and then onto the next section and then we had to walk our bikes through a police checkpoint, it was a drugs checkpoint as this area is the major cocaine area of Boliva.
We then wizzed through the next section and in the meantime we were kept topped up with water which was good and it was getting warmer as we had started at attlitude and so we were strupping layers and putting them on our support bus. I staid at the front the whole day as i was having so much fun, so of the other companys looked really bad and unsafe and re_affirmed
why id picked gravitiy. We then hut a point were we had to pay a 24 bolivanos entry fee for the road, they dont miss a trick....lol.
We then got to a point were it was uphill and only 4 of us including me did the uphills, the others sat on the bus, so i can at least say i did the whole thing. We got to a point were the road then turned to gravel and this is the worlds most dangerous road proper.
We stopped for snacks and had our bikes checked and Matt guided us on how to tackle the gravel and which side of the road to use, as it changed for the gravel section. We then headed down on the gravel and the speed and views and sheer cliffs were amazing and we stopped every so often for pics and to recroup and for more advice on certain sections and we then stopped for a buttie and some juice and saw a gilr in another group nearly get flattened by a truck coming up the road. We then went under waterfalls and tricky sections and weaving through boulders and through some rivers and
stopped at certain points to hear of storys related to the road and we evenually we got down to the Corrico and we grabbed lunch and some beers at a lovely wildlife reserve were the were lots of wildlife that they were protecting and we got a shower there and then back on the bus to go back to La Paz and we stopped at shop and got beer and drank it on the way back and some of the others wanted to meet at 10pm at Olivers english bar.
By the time i had eaten and dranken alot more and played cards with Jimmy and friends it had gone past 10pm and i was pissed and headed off to bed....lol.
La Paz does seem to offer much other than San Pedro Prison, the worlds most dangerous road and some markets, most people seem to come here to get loads of cocaine which really aint my bag, i have two more days to kill here and so i had givern my_self too much time. I just want to get to Oz now.
Got up earlish this morning woken by the Isralei guy packing up and i took
my washing to the Laundry place up the road and 28 bolivanos for 4 kilos which i think is great as i paid 38 bolivanos for 1 kg in Copacabana.
I hung out with some travelers and watched movies and played cards and went to some markets and then the following day i planned to go to the prison but the guys i planned to go with did not materialise and so i went got pressies at the market and i changed my flight to Oz to the 10th May. So i now have this evening, one evening in Chile and part of a day in Chile and then onto Oz.
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