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After our terrifying bus journey from Potosi to Sucre, we decided to treat ourselves to a short plane ride of 1 hour to La Paz, as opposed to a 15 hour bus journey. We found a relatively cheap airline TAM (Military airline) and hoped we were in safe hands. Another Bolivian journey to remember! We boarded the plane which flew to Cochabamba first and then connected onwards to La Paz. As the plane was descending to the first stop of Cochabamba, the cabin pressure dropped! It was the strangest feeling, as if my head had shrunk into my neck and was incredibly nauseating. Luckily, the cabin pressure adjusted to normal fairly quickly, but the guy sitting behind us needed an oxygen mask for the rest of the flight. The air stewards asked us all to wait until he disembarked first and was taken away on a stretcher! After that experience, we were dreading the fact that in 20 minutes time, we would have to do it all over again and fly to La Paz. Thankfully, we didn’t have any problems on our connecting flight and we arrived safe and sound in the capital city of La Paz. Dizzying in every aspect,
from the view of the steep city to the altitude sickness it provokes. La Paz is like no other, with Bolivian women in traditional dress with babies on their back, darting across to the city to their next destination, to collectivos (minibuses) cramming people to the brim before driving at top speed through the capital.
Having been turned away from the party hostel, The Wild Rover, because there was no room at the inn, we decided to check into a quieter hotel across the road. This meant we could take full advantage of the bar at the Wild Rover but enjoy a night of undisturbed sleep after a night of madness. We spent a lot of our time in La Paz partying and then recovering. The World Cup had just started and we decided to join in the revelry despite Ireland not being a part of it this year. My team of choice was Brazil, mainly because we had such a fantastic time in that country and partly to do with the football team being so good!
When we began our travels back in April, I resolved to do things I wouldn’t normally do. As I have gotten
older, I have become more of a wuss and shy away from adventure sports and this was something I was determined to change during our travels. So when we got to La Paz, the idea of cycling down the ‘Death Road’ loomed largely. The ‘Death Road’ is a narrow, 69 kilometre road that runs from La Paz to Corico. It is legendary for its extreme danger and in 1995 was christened ‘the world’s most dangerous road’. One estimate is that 200 to 300 travellers are killed yearly on the road. After our death defying bus journey from Potosi to Sucre, I figured I could handle the ‘Death Road’. We signed up for it and I was ready, or so I thought! The night before I couldn’t sleep, filled with fears of losing control and falling over the edge of the clifftop, lost forever into the Amazonian rainforest! We got up at the crack of dawn and were whisked away to begin our day long journey. We went with the tour group called Vertigo, who were excellent. There are so many tour companies to choose from, so we chose at a mid price range, that guaranteed top safety equipment, the only
reason for it being a bit cheaper was because it hadn’t been established as long as some of the other tour agencies. We began our cycle down the paved roads on the mountains leading up to the ‘Death Road’. At the time, I thought I was cycling on the ‘Death Road’ thinking to myself, this isn’t so bad, I’m doing so well! But little did I know, this was just the lead up to it. Our guides stopped us to inform us that we were now approaching the ‘Death Road’ and gave us instructions on how to overtake vehicles and who will have right of way on the narrow road that was coming up. When we began to cycle down the ‘Death Road’, I immediately noticed that the once paved road that was so easy to cycle down, was now a gravel, dirt road and remarked to myself how easy it would be to lose control, so I concentrated on what I was doing. At first, I was so busy concentrating, that it took a while for me to notice the immense, fascinating and threatening view of the Amazonian rainforest that came before us. We cycled through waterfalls, stopped at
immense drops for some token photographs and stopped to have our lunch with the beautiful scenery as our backdrop. The end of the journey, took us down a steep pathway, which was lined with trees, so we could let rip here and zoomed down to the finish line in Corico. We were then treated to dinner in a small hotel which had a swimming pool, where we could soak our weary bones after our arduous, terrifying but thrilling journey. The exhilaration of doing the ‘Death Road’ was unforgettable and is one of the highlights of my trip. A must if you go to La Paz.
Otherwise in La Paz, we wandered through the endless markets, most notably the Witches Market, selling llama fetuses which apparently brings good luck and protects your house, if you bury it under your front porch in your home! We went to the Coca Museum and took in some interesting facts about the Coca leaf and how cocaine is made. We took in the sights and sounds of the Musical Instruments museum, displaying some wonderful and weird Bolivian instruments, including a five sided guitar. We went to the Cathedral, which has a fantastic mirador (lookout)
at the top, where you can get excellent pictures of the city. And finally, Simon bought a little guitarra, which we have taken full advantage of playing since his purchase.
Next stop, Lake Titicaca.
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