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Published: February 11th 2007
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Captain Danger and Triona
Triona was introduced to Petes alter ego- CAPATIN DANGER!! Captain Danger was going to show the worlds most dangerous road who is more dangerous....
Triona was more quietly excited.. Dear mothers, concerned relatives, worried friends, and everyone else, there is a reason why we didnt tell you before we did this and you will soon find out why.
Firstly the road known as the worlds most dangerous starts near La Paz at around 4600m and ends in Coroico at 1600m. The road is about 75km long and is mostly downhill, with speeds of around 70km/h being reached with realitve ease. The road was called, ¨the worlds most dangerous road¨ in 1995 as over 300 people die each year on the road. Which until 6 weeks ago was the main route into northern bolivia with 100s of buses and trucks all using a road only just wide enough for a car let alone 2 buses. Also the road is built into the side of a cliff meaning that if you go the wrong way in some parts a 100m drop awaits you, while in other parts the drop is 300m!
The lonely planet only recommends one company for the worlds most dangerous road, however they are closed for vacations. It also says to be ¨extremely wary of any companies offering this advenure during the wet season¨. However a quick
What can I say.....
Pete and I are in the group staring over the edge. This shows how we laugh in the face of danger.... look around and we found that all the companies are open, however you cant be wary of everyone so we went with a company called ¨Downhill madness¨. We chose them as they seemed to be the most used at this time of year and had better safety gear than anyother company, however it was also worth remembering that a helmet won´t do much after a 300m drop.
The day started with a bus ride to the top of the road followed by a safety talk a quick explanation of the workings of the bike and we were away. The first half of the road is all asphault and is pretty smooth, it isn´t long before you can just get as low as possible on the bike and just hold on. The road at this point is fairly safe however you reach some pretty high speeds and the fact that many of the old buses and trucks drop a bit of oil makes the ride at 70km/h that bit more exciting. It was at this point as well that Peter realised his new dream career of being a speed demon, while Triona admitted afterwards that she wished he had of
On the road
Triona can be seen riding last. Peter did not have the same overwhellming fear that Triona had about 300m plunges to your death been only a few metres too your left.... slowed down and not been the person riding 1st behind our insane guide. This asphalt part of the ride continues for about 30km with various bends and curves becoming a bit more exciting at about 70km/h. The only thing that could have been considered at all dangerous were some rogue cows who had decided that the road was a good place to hang out and this required some manouvering from Peter whilst when Triona went past 30 seconds later they had retired to the grass.
After a quick break and another more intensive safety talk we started our descent down the death road, This started fairly badly for one guy who was riding behind Peter and hit a rock and went flying into the embankment, thankfully he didnt go the other way and recieved a dep cut on his arm that required stitches, but it could have been far worse, following this he travelled the death road in a van. The ride down was a real eye opener it is almost impossible to describe how insane the road was. It was extremely narrow with blind corners everywhere and waterfalls that fell right onto the road.
Hopefully the photos
can explain some of what we saw, but it is really little wonder that so many people passed away with cars going down the road all day and night and in all weather conditions. The ride stopped a few times and the pointed out a few crash sites, at these sites the wreckage just sits in the jungle being overgrown however one of the worst was a few years ago when 47 people died in a bus crash. We also saw a few monuments along the road to people who had died mountain biking the road, these seemed to pop up just as you were getting a bit confident. However only 8 people had died in 5 years and none with our company compared to 300 per year in cars, buses etc. As I said there is really nothing that describes the road except for the word insane and the photos will give you a better idea than I can.
Triona also had an interesting dismount at one point, she likes to describe as an elegant fall however landing on your head can never be described as elegant, luckily beacause she landed on her head nothing was hurt! This
Kinda narrow...
Very scarey to think that up until 2 months ago this was the main highway connecting the North of Bolivia. Imagine two trucks trying to pass each other on that.... was because she was wearing a motorbike helmet that meant her head was the best protected part of her body and it was probably a good idea to stick it into the ground however she had slowed right down and this meant she was able to continue with the ride. Triona would also like to point out that she now laughs in the face of danger and will headbutt anything anytime!!!!!
It was without a doubt however one of the best days of our trip so far with the scenery being truly breathtaking and the road terrifying. While the level of safety with the company was great and the whole day was absolutely awesome.
The ride finished in hotel in a small jungle town called Coroico, we decided that we would hang out in the town for a few days and relax and from the view from our hotel room you can see that relaxing was extremely difficult!!!!
However we are now back in La Paz and are looking forwards to wearing our ¨I survived the worlds most dangerous road¨ shirts with pride.
Cheers
Captain Danger and Triona
P.S - For this blog it
Waterfalls
The waterfalls dont only run next too the road but at some points went over the road. is definately worth clicking on the photos as they enlarge and some of them are pretty wild.
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Andrew
non-member comment
Dude - now i´m jealous!
Looks like you found some good dudes to go down with! I´m a bit pissed i didn´t have a bit more patience and head down. Pics look awesome. Still in Cusco, Machu Picchu is breathtakingly awesome. When you guys make it here, make sure you stay in Aguas Calientes for the night and go up first thing in the morning. It has been pissing rain in the arvos, so if you go up from Aguas first thing you will get the site to yourself, an awesome view and no rain! Hike Wayna Picchu too, awesome, but quite steep. Take care, hopef to run into you guys again in some random place. AM