Blogs from La Paz Department, Bolivia, South America - page 232

Copacabana, yes like the song, sit on the shores of Lake Titicaca. This is an immense lake that sits at nearly 4000m on the border of Peru and Bolivia and is an immensely beautiful, if a little cold, place to chill out for a few days and recover from you Inca Trail experiences in Peru. It is considered the highest navigable lake in the world. The lake makes for really great sunsets. The main attraction is the supposed location of the beginning of the Incas (birth place of their first god), know as the Island of the Sun. Personally I was not that impressed as there was not a huge amount of ruins. Considering what they built in Peru it seems a little suspect that there was only one small building at their legendary birth place! ... read more

The worlds most dangerous road runs from La Paz to Coroico. It is only 70km long, but in one year 351 people were killed on it. On average 20 vehicles plumit over its shear edge every year. That number probably does not include foolish tourists on mountain bikes. Theres one bend where 9 tourists and 1 guide have met their maker. The road is lined with crosses and monuments to those who have perished. Anyway, having built it up, you'll be delighted to know that I survived. Thats despite the best efforts of mother nature which sent unseasonal rain storms - turning the normally dusty & rocky surface into a slippery nightmare. ... read more

Welcome to Bolivia! Having fully recovered from my biking accident a while back, I decided it was time to ´get back in the saddle´as they say. And what better way to get back into the world of two wheels than by a nice confidence building peddle. And what more terrifying way to relive past glories than by powering down the WORLD´S MOST DANGEROUS ROAD (as dubbed by the Inter-American Development Bank in 1995. Totally raving. Its a 60km descent, starting at a freezing 4,700m/15,400 feet. The first 20km is on a relatively tame tarmac road, giving you a chance to get used to the equipment, which to be fair was the best bike I have ever sat on. (Sorry, Rich is getting upset, the second best bike.) Anyhows, after cruising through a drug check point, past ... read more

Ahoj.... je rano 7:30 a my stojime pred cestovkou ktorej uz nazov napoveda ze sa nejedna o hocaky vylet.....Dostavame helmu, rukavice, nohavice, vestu a horsky bycikel, ktory sa nalozi na strechu auta ktore nas vyvezie hore nad La Paz do vysky 4630 m.n.m. kde nasa cesta 65 km dlha cesta zacina. Este posledna kontrola horskeho bycikla a ide sa dolu do dzungle..... Zaciatok cesty je asi 30 km po asfaltke ktora dalej prechadza do nespevnenej prasnej cesty miestami len 2 m sirokej.....cesta je lemovana krizmi ktore oznacuju miesta kde sa zrutil dolu autobus..... Cestou prechadzame cez 2 vojenske kontroly ktore si zapisuju nase cisla pasov. V oblasti s tak velkou produkciou koky nas to vobec neprekvapuje. Ako postupne klesa nadmorska vyska, otepluje sa a my postupne zhadzujeme veci do auta ktore ide za nami....cim ideme nizsie ... read more

Hola! I've done so much in the few weeks since my last entry. Here are some photos. Unfortunately there is a bit of a gap between Haucachina and Bolivia as I broke my camera sandboarding. I now have a nice shiny new one though, so the blog will continue. More photos to follow soon. These are largely of my tour of south west Bolivia, a land of thin air, cold and windy plains but above all of endless beauty. Big thumbs up. Bye for now. ... read more