La Paz

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Bolivia is home to the world´s most dangerous road, a gravel death-path made famous from its 1000 foot drops and catastrophic accidents. Last Sunday, for example, a bus with 50 people went over the edge, unbeknownst to the sleeping driver who I doubt felt a thing. No one survived, and they were fishing the bodies out until Tuesday, lining them up for inspection along the side of the road as tour groups, travellers and truck drivers drove by. And why am I telling you this? Well...yesterday I did the road on a bike, with a tour company appropriately called ´Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking´. It wasn´t the stupidest thing I´ve ever done, in fact the road is much safer on a bike than in a car. I chose Gravity due to their stellar safety record, and their guide-to-client ratio. We started in La Cumbre, just outside of La Paz, at 4,700m above sea level. After 65km of some of the best downhill riding in the world, we arrived at Corioco, 1,700m above sea level. 6 hours of white-knuckled craziness, 3000m of vertical, it was a day to remember, and I suffered no injuries.
The title as most dangerous road comes from the Inter-American Development Bank, and is ranked at #1 due to the frequency of fatalities. A road in India comes next, but the numbers aren´t even close. I believe the road was built by Paraguayan prisoners, though I don´t know when and I certainly don´t know how. Most people that drive on this road do not have much money, and do not keep their vehicles in good shape. Further, drinking and driving, combined with the arguably more dangerous drowsy and driving, results in the weekly number of busses, trucks and cars careening off the road´s edge.
Local people volunteer at some of the worst corners, holding red and green signs to flag the drivers. In many cases, these people have lost their loved ones to the road, and are doing this job simple to protect the safety of their fellow humans.
For $75 US, the company provides a brand new full suspensión Kona, gloves, helmet, goggles, a buff, jacket, riding pants, food and water along the way, hot showers and a huge lunch at the bottom, two support vehicles during the ride, four skilled english speaking guides, a nice Tshirt, and transportation back to La Paz. For an extra 5 bucks I splurged for a CD of pics and videos from the day. If you´re in or near La Paz, DO THIS! The best part is they let you go at your own level, if you´re a pro, you and a guide can rock ahead of the group, if you´re a novice, no problem they will ride as slow as you need to.
Tomorrow morning I head out on a much safer and much higher journey. I´m going to climb my first 6,000 m peak, Huyana Potosí, a three day excursión with one other tourist and a very experienced guide. Wish me luck!
Tonight I´m heading to watch Bolivia´s most famous band, ¨Karkas¨ play at the La Paz theatre.

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Photos

spoiled
light, music and the smell of delicious food wafting through the terrace at officially the nicest hotel i´ve stayed at.

room with a view
¨witch´s market¨ below, and places to buy nice wool socks.

Kona Garbanzo Coiler.
The first half of the road is asphalt, then to gravel.

zoomed
this is a particularily bad part of the road, due mostly to the waterfall behind the truck that washes away the road. This is the dry season, no tour companies run in the rainy season, when accidents are much more frequent.

foggy road
dust, fog and smoke from fires in the valley below create an eery atmosphere. The photos are not great, but I hope you get the idea.

live music
lastnight a friend and I recovered from the ride at an oxygen bar, then afterwards saw some afrobolivian music, then some live jazz, then to a salsa club that was unfortately closed. great live music in la paz.

Comments

[Pierre]

Glad your still alive dude. we are going in a few months and think the biking option seems best......

[Daniel Conroy]

slightly jealous

[Alisha Rose]

The picture of your terrace is a poem in picture. It's lovely reading your entries...I feel whisked away into faraway lands and swept up into your adventures. Look forward to the next journey.