We survived the Mines and Death Road!!

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Well, we have been off for a few days, mainly because of lack of internet speed or internet, but we surely haven't been slack in the adventure department!! We are currently in Puno, Peru (our last South American Country) about to head on Lake Titicaca for an overnight adventure in some local's house. But for now, we will update you on getting back to Potosi, an adventurous mine tour, arriving in La Paz, mountain biking down The World's Most Dangerous Road and now, arriving in Puno....a lot to look forward to!! 😊
Day 27 was pretty much a driving day from Uyuni back to Potosi. A definite highlight was stopping for lunch at the bridge, to soon be told that we had 20mins before they started to do some explosions nearby. Being at the bottome of a big hill, meant we finished up and headed back. Because we had seen it before, it was just a sleepy drive back, as Jess was starting to feel a bit sick. We made good time, so when we got back to Potosi, we had time to go visit the Casa de la Moneda de Bolivia (Mint of Potosi). This building was first used in 1574 to make coins for all over the world, as Potosi was one of the richest cities in the world. As the silver dried up, so did the interest in Potosi so now it gets it's currency from all over the world instead. Our guide was very informative (that's how we know this stuff), cracked a joke every-now-and-then but spoke English at Spanish speed. In the mint they have many coin collections, antique ingot presses, minerals and silver artifacts. Mischa was lucky enough to press his own coin as a souvenier. By then, we were both very tired so it was an early take-away dinner (pizza and pasta) and off to bed.

Friday, 29th October was a whole day in Potosi, but most of this day was spent underground visiting parts of the silver mines in the area. Our guide collected us at 9am, and after getting kitted out with mining gear, we headed up to the miners market. It is customary for tourists to purchase gifts for the miners to show appreciation for letting us intrude on their workplace. These gifts range from coca leaves, juice, cigarettes, alcohol (96%) and dynamite!! 😊 We purchased a few of these items, including the dynamite, as well as some masks for the dust. The next stop was a lookout point over the city at 4500m above sea-level, then it was time to desend into the darkness. 4 hours later, we emerged to bright sunlight after having crouched, crawled, climbed and walked our way through 3kms of tunnels. We saw many miners at work, including a team of 6 (standard) moving a 2.5t trolley of ore. We were fortunate enough to see the miners in action when the 2.5t trolley popped off the rails, so using nearby planks of wood, levered it slowly back onto the tracks. It was then a case of push and hold on as it went hurtling down the tunnel with 2 of them crouching onto the back. We also saw some of the gods they worship, heard some amazing stories of slaves staying in the tunnels for 6 months while working, and going to visit Alberto, a 34-yr old guy who has been working since the age of 14 in the mines. He is now considered a senior miner, able to prepare the dynamite explosions that happen each afternoon. 5 explosions actually went off outside, but we didn't even hear them!! To prepare the dynamite though, he uses a hammer and chisel, and pounds away for 3 hours in one spot to put a piece of dynamite into the rock. He then does this another 2 times in the day before he is finished. It is then a case of lighting the dynamite, and then climbing a rickety ladder (we did too!!) and running 50m in the space of 2.5 mins before it goes off!! CRAZY!!! By the time we got out, we were very appreciative of our jobs, workplaces and pays!! 😊 It was then our turn to hold a lit piece of dynamite prepared by one of the guides before she went running off to place it and then back. Unfortunately, we only got the smoke in the picture!! 😊 Then, it was tipping time, before a small shop at the local supermarket, lunch and then a siesta!! After that, a group of us hopped in some cabs to head up to a tower restuarant for dinner, where we had lovely views of the city as the sun went down, and then some interesting spaghetti and nice meat dish for dinner. The next day was a 6am!! departure, so we all crashed early when we got back to the hotel.

Saturday, 30th October was a llllooonnnnggg day on the truck to La Paz, the capital city of Bolivia, the Highest capital city in the world, with the highest International Airport in the world too!! But to get there, we travelled through some interesting little towns, especially one called Poopo where we had a toilet stop, and then Oruro where we drove around a protest happening in the street. Apparently theres 1 bus in 3 stopped in Bolivia from protests, and it was quite amazing to see police actually doing something at the protests!! 😊 We then entered into La Paz, beginning with El Alto. This was just another 'suburb' of La Paz before it grew to over 1 million people in 20 years. We saw while entering why the Lonely Planet described it as 'a city of mini-buses all pointing in different directions yet all moving!!' It was hectic!! But, we got through it, and then entered the 'bowl' of La Paz. La Paz sits at between 3100-3800m above sea level as it is right in the valley. It was once again a very rich and powerful part of South America, being a major route line between Potosi and Lima, but after Potosi died, a few wars were lost and Gold ran out, it suffered a major depression. Now, it is coming back because of tourism, but still a very long way to go before it reaches it's golden years. We got into La Paz downtown finally, checked-in and then went for a little 'orientation' walk. We soon realised why, as there were market stalls EVERYWHERE, not many road signs, and junctions of 6 roads all pointing different directions with different names!! It's also very hilly as you can imagine, so once finished, we headed back to the hotel, along the way picking up some souveniers and Mischa's halloween costume for the nights party ahead!! Very cool, adult sized Darth Vader for only AUD$25!! BARGAIN!! After a little siesta, it was then time to get dressed up (we were very awesome!!) to join the crowds. Everyone looked fantastic (not hard when it's so cheap!!) and we had a great time chatting, eating pizza and saying goodbye to 12 people that were finishing up with us. Lots of photos, a few hugs, no tears, and then off to bed, as tomorrow we were saying our prayers (just happened to be a Sunday) as we were going to hurtle down 'The World's Most Dangerous Road' on mountain bikes!! 😊

Sunday, 1st November. WOOHOO!! We are finally here. We made it to this day, and are happy, scared, nervous, tired, a little sick, anxious and excited about what lay before us!! The World's Most Dangerous Road on Mountain Bikes. Considering Jess hadn't really ridden a bike in 5 years, she was a far bit more nervous than Mischa. But, considering Mischa's reputation of staying on top of a bike, he was feeling a bit nervous (more excited I think) too....Our guide, Dazza, picked us up at our hotel at 7:30am, and after signing our life away in the bus ride up, we arrived at our start point. This is actually at 4700m above sea level, freezing cold, and 20km away from the actual start of the road. We had a safety briefing (stay on the bike, don't look down and have fun!! 😊 ) we hurtled down the bitumen road getting used to the bikes and riding again (for Jess). It was FREEZING!! We were wearing layers of clothes, headgear and gloves, and were still thinking our toes and fingers were numb!! We stopped a number of times to make sure everyone was still ok, before arriving at a toll checkpoint where we paid up. It was then offered to us two options, get in the bus to drive the next 8km uphill at 4200m, or ride it. Mischa chose the ride (AMAZING!! :· ) while Jess jumped in the bus. There were only 6 stupid enough to choose to ride, so off they went. At altitude, it was a killer!! But 30mins later, we all caught up with each other, half the group feeling great, the other half struggling to breathe!! 😊 It was then we arrived at the beginning of the Death Rd (our appreviation). It certianly was a sight. A winding road alongside a massive cliff, not knowing when cars, buses or trucks might come around the corner, wet mud and rocks and a lot of mist so visibility wasn't crash hot. But it was exciting!! The guides were amazing, giving heaps of information as we went down, but also allowing the crazy ones to ride fast (Mischa) and the sensible ones to ride slow (Jess). There were a number of checkpoints along the way, with a guide at the front and back at all times, and lots of drink breaks and stripping of clothes. The ride starts at 4700m, but finishes after 64km at 1100m, so it's a MASSIVE drop in altitude. Our lungs were loving the more oxygen, but our bodies were not loving the rise in temperature!! So layers and layers of clothing came off, until we were pretty much wearing what we would in Mount Isa!! The scenery changes were also spectacular, the photos don't do it justice!! But the sheer thrill of the ride is something you will always remember!! We eventually, after 4 1/2 hours of riding, arrived at our finishing point, and also our lunch spot. The place was called La Senda Verde, a refuge for sick animals including birds, snakes, turtles and monkeys. It was a beatiful place to finish, and with no accidents we headed joyfully into the lunch den to have some pasta and salad!! We also got our shirts and hand-shakes, had a shower and walked around to enjoy the animals!! Some of the monkeys were very playfull, even jumping on Jess to have a lovely photo taken! They were very gentle and were very entertaining to say the least!! By now it was 3:30pm, and so we jumped back in the trucks (all loaded with our bikes) and drove back UP the Death RD!!! It was nearly as exciting as riding down, as we got to enjoy the views that we missed out on, and even got the experience of passing some buses and trucks!! It was scary enough, and we were next to the hill!! Amazing drivers, but a lot of stories told us that there were many not-so-amazing-drivers!! There used to be an average of 26 cars go over the edge each year, thankfully a by-pass has made it a lot safer and we didn't see that much traffic!! 😊 At 7pm, when we finally arrived back in La Paz, it was high-5's all around for what will be an amazing day of our lives!! A small, quick bite to eat at a recommended restuarant was all we could stomach, and then bed.

We will leave it here, a day early, as there hasn't been much happen, but there will be in the next few days!! 😊 ENJOY!!

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Comments

[mum n dad G]

awesome
wow, so pleased you survived the death ride! thanks for giving us such an entertaining ride too! love you and getting excited about seeing you - less than 4 weeks to go!! xxxxxx