La Paz Bolivia (Day 2)

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Days 59 Today was a day we have been contemplating for a long time. Would we or could we take on the famous mountain bike trip down the road dubbed “The Death Road” and “The World’s Most Dangerous Road”. Most of this infamy was due to when two-way motor vehicle traffic occurred on the single track road but has now been diverted to an alternate new road and now taken over by adventure seekers.

The stars must have been in alignment as we agreed we could do it and the weather was agreeable. We chose Xtreme Down Hill as the tour operator as other Intrepid groups had used them previously with no adverse reviews. Intrepid give no advice on the trip & would prefer no one went. In the end I had the company of 6 other females. We had our own mini van, driver, guide & photographer/2nd rear guide. A fantastic group size as some of the others were much larger.

We were dropped off at Le Cumbre a high mountain pass (4700 mtrs) near La Paz where we kitted up into semi waterproof pants, jacket, full face helmet & knee & elbow protectors. The route initially descends down the new bitumen road descending 3,500 mtrs over 63 kms to Yolosa in the tropical lowlands of the Coroico valley. Starting in cold but sunny high altitude conditions at the top & changing to heavy fog, to fog & misty rain & finally to stripping down to swimming gear at the bottom.

Although the heart rate was up we cautiously gained confidence & speed as we descended in a single-file on the open road section following the pace set by the guide in front. We stopped for a much needed breakfast at Unduavi, a police checkpoint, where we re-loaded the bikes for an 8 km uphill section which is also now considered too dangerous for bikes before turning off the open road and on to the old gravel road section. This posed a whole new set of challenges for 2 of our group but who continued on with courage. It really wasn’t that scary unless you looked over the edge and realized a vertical drop of hundreds of metres loomed only a few steps away. I was looking to go faster & I got the opportunity when I got away from the rest of the group & kept sitting on the guides tail who saw the challenge & we had a bit of a race till the next re-group stop. We had a bit of a laugh but I'm sure he could have left me if he wanted.

The ride certainly offered stunning scenery when not focused on the road conditions as well as when stopping for all the main points of interest and a healthy dose of adrenaline. The main disappointment was we do not have any photos as too difficult to take a camera on the ride. Instead we have a DVD which is loaded with photos of us but we are not yet able to see.

The trip back to La Paz on the new road was long & more scary as drivers zipped in and out of traffic. We only had 30 minutes to shower & change to head out to a football international match between a top ranked La Paz team vs a top ranked Uruguay team. Fantastic atmosphere, steel drums, constant singing & croud involvement. The local team won when altitude eventually got the best if the visitors.

A very big day!

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