Hostelling International La Paz

... sac. Nous sommes tres peu dans l´avion qui est un Boeing 727 donc assez gros. Décollage all right, 50 minutes de vol, attérissage plus chaotique mais le détour vaut la peine avec une arrivée sur des montages et La Paz apparaissant dans une cuvette.<br>Arrivée stressée pour moi. Comment vais - je réagir a l´altitude? Nous sortons sur le tarmac. Seb m´avait gentillement conseillé de me bourrer la bouche ...

... rough unpaved road, the breaks were impressive and you really had to be gentle with them!!! or else you could lock up the wheels and that lead to &#8220;issues&#8221; After a quick off road section we arrived at the drugs checkpoint where we loaded the bikes back onto the bus, the next 7km was up hill and at 4000 meters 7km of uphill cycling was going to seriously suck!!!<br><br>We were dropped off for the start of the death road real... It was a series of fast turns with rock face on ...

... neighbourhood, just above the Witche´s Market, Laurie and I made for the hotel where we regrouped in the lobby. We were led by our tour leader Jesus to a nice local restaurant that would serve as our dinner spot. I don´t remember the name, but I do know that it was just along one of the key alleys that formed the Witche´s Market, a district of handicrafts and such.<br><br>Cerveza was first up, and the group made good use of ...

... Back then the road was in full use as the main byway between La Paz and the Amazon to the north. Nowadays a shiny new road has opened (mostly, there are still some bridge works meaning some traffic still uses the old road) and so it's safer to cycle down. Safer, not safe. <br><br>The ride began at around 4,700m above sea level on a dusty windy hill where we rolled out of the minibus. After donning all the safety gear, including knee pads and elbow pads and moto-x style helmets ...

... looked poorly treated just bored.  However the same could not be said for the horses outside the zoo where people were touting horse rides with horses that could barely stand.  <br><br>The highlight of today was going to see Brazil v Bolivia.  Even though Bolivia were not going to get through to the World Cup we were thrilled at the thought of watching Brazil play, albeit it was not their first team.<br><br>I will copy Fynns letter to his ...

... to know us very well!), Parque Central and many museos. There are few colonial buildings left, only the Plaza Murillo has formal gardens, a huge graceful cathedral and the presidential palace in Italian renaissance style. What makes this place so very different from others is the huge &#8216;black market&#8217; from which the whole city runs. The streets are swarming with sellers of absolutely everything you can imagine from mangoes to memory sticks, from ...

... the happiest man alive by the pidgeons that had now covered him to feed from the food he held outright in his hand. His smile toucked a nerve in me as he moved his arms around like a dancer, weaving the pidgeons around and laughing like a child. Life is much better kept simple.. <br><br>Here, I'll sign off for a few days as we're off to spend a night on a bus then 3 days in a Broken jeep exploring the worlds highest dried up salt lake, until then my friends. until then...<br><br>

... in Jim's estimation) this was not the prettiest sight we have encountered over the last year! Mind you, Jim reckons it made me cycle the last part of the road much faster! Luckiliy we have no photographic evidence of the bicycle riding Frauline.<br><br>Overalll, the road dropped more than 11,800 feet to the finishing point of Coroico some 64km down the valley. By the end, it was that warm that even the cold showers provided were a welcome finish to the day. <br>

... br>We arrived around 4pm, had a basic dinner of pasta, pasta and pasta and then slipped into our sleeping bags by 7pm in order to get some shut-eye before our 2am start in the morning. To say it was cold is a slight understatement. I stupidly didn't bother going to the toilet before going to bed. A couple of hours later my bladder was screaming at me to nip to the loo. No matter how hard I tried to put it out of my mind, the inevitable came when I had to don my head-torch, crawl out of ...

... despite not wanting to risk our safety, the price tag of 600 bolivianos per person was far too much, and after the recommendation and speaking to the bloke at the agency we were happy to use Free Bikes. We left triumphantly, having booked both things we wanted to.<br><br>Back at the hostel the girls just had a snack for dinner then watched a film, whereas I decided to go and explore the bar in the main building down the road and have dinner there. I met some nice Swiss girls and ...