Blogs from Coroico, La Paz Department, Bolivia, South America - page 8

This is basically the town where the death road finishes.......A well deserved swim in the pool and sweat it out in the sauna with the view attached all for US$9 a night. God we get ripped off in Britain... read more

Después de mascar polvo y transpirar adrenalina por la ¨carretera de la muerte¨ decidimos concedernos un extra y alojarnos en uno de los mejores hoteles de Coroico, el Hotel Esmeralda. La habitación matrimonial con baño privado costaba 7$ por persona. El hotel esta situado en lo alto de una colina con vistas al valle. Disponía de una piscina, sauna, un increíble buffet gastronómico y estupendos coktails ¨margarita¨ en happy hour. Sylvie y yo nos mirábamos con cara de extrañados por la buena organización y funcionamiento del hotel en un país como Bolivia. Mas tarde averiguamos que el propietario era un alemán…. (sin comentarios) Que dura que es la vida de reptil, del sol a la piscina, del agua a la sauna y de la sauna a la terraza del bar. Y cuando estábamos hartos de vagabundear, ... read more

Well, this entry is difficult to write because of the controversial topic that it contains. If you know anything about Bolivia, you may know that the World's Most Dangerous Highway is located here and it is actually quite close to La Paz. At the other end of the highway is a spectacular little town called Coroico, which is a weekend getaway for many Paceños (what people from La Paz are referred to as). I will give a brief description of why this is considered to be the world´s most dangerous highway. The highway is unpaved, mostly single lane (ie. very narrow), contains no guard rails and there definitely exists no shoulder. Going off the road and death are pretty much synonymous in the case of this road. On average, 26 vehicles a year meet their fate ... read more

After a couple of days resting in La Paz, experiencing the craziness of the street markets where you can buy anything from dried llama foetuses to a new toilet, we bit the bullet and signed up for the infamous downhill mountain biking experience along the world´s most dangerous road. Everybody we´ve met who has the t-shirt recommended Gravity Assisted in La Paz as the company to go with. Excellent bikes and the best guides. As well as a great safety record. They certainly were a splendid organisation. We went for the full package. Top notch full-suspension Kona bikes, protective clothing, goggles, etc. But nothing quite prepared us for the madness of the ride - over 60 km downhill almost all the way. We started out at 4,700 mts and descended to 1,600 mts - from snow ... read more

I really believe that one of the best ways of making friends is by actively doing the things you enjoy. I had read about a three day trek from the mountains near La Paz to the forested Yungas in the valleys below. I made various enquiries at agencies in La Paz but at first I was having trouble finding anyone else to trek with. Then the agent at my hotel heard of another girl looking to do the trek and took me across the road to another agency. In fact there were two more ´chicas´waiting and we instantly found a common goal. The agent spoke good English and offered us a reasonable deal for guide, tents and sleeping bags plus a porter. So early on a Monday morning Shiobaun (Ireland), Helena (Sweden), myself and a late ... read more