Plaza La Paz

... the death road proper, I decided it was time to take my hands off the brake and let gravity speed me down the road, OMG it was bumpy thankfully the bikes had great shock absorbers, but this only worked so far, we could still feel the jolts pounding though our hands. We cycled though some stunning scenery and the road took us under waterfalls and around some tight bends and along narrow tracks all edged by deep cliffs... that really got the adreline going!!!

There ...

... and were thinking of taking a double decker bus in the afternoon to see the city sights. Frustratingly, despite picking up a 2009 guide book in a book exchange, the times listed were already out of date, so upon ringing the company to confirm the departure time, we were informed we only had 10 minutes to get to the other side of town. As we have so often discovered, you have to ask a question at least 6 different ways (no matter how fluent in English the person is) to ...

... We stopped every twenty or thirty minutes or so, and our guide kept taking loads of pictures, or would ride ahead and video us passing by on interesting corners; this was brilliant as it saved having to take photos ourselves and captured moments we couldn´t have done alone. Every time we stopped we were shedding layers; it had soon became really hot and humid, a far cry from the chilly air at the very top. Sometimes the road would widen out and become broad, before narrowing back ...

... Andean than western feel.

The pre-Inca ruins at Tiwanaku are an easy day-trip from La Paz. Although higher than La Paz on the altiplano, and freezing cold in the shade or the wind, as the majority of the ruins remain outside, either reconstructed or partially uncovered, we didn’t freeze too much! Highlights of the trip included a huge stone statue that the Spanish Inquisition had “exorcised” and a stone hollowed out ...

... my bar open for the wire....but it was too hard to bend :-(

By this stage it was getting dark and we needed another plan...did I say we were in the freezing desert?? I know 2 people will walk to the next village to get help and the other two stay with the car...what do you mean its a five hour walk to the next village? Grrrr

At this stage we were getting very very worried about six people spending the night in the car! Freezing!! But lo and behold a big ...

... did not seem unwelcoming, but all over the city there are spray paintings to the effect of "Yankees go home" and "U.S. are baby killers" and things like that. It didn't feel like a hostile environment or anything, but it was strange because I had never real seen overt messages like these in any of the other places I have visited in the world.
Overall, La Paz did not hold much interest for me. There ...