The highest big smoke
Trip Start
Feb 22, 2005
1
13
20
Trip End
Jun 22, 2005
La Paz,
Bolivia
Monday, April 25, 2005
After another long bus journey we arrived in La Paz. It´s the highest capital city in the world at 3660 meters above sea level, the steep valley that surrounds the city is covered with the poorest slums and snow capped mountains including the mighty Illimani. It´s a bustling city and most of everyday life takes place on the streets and narrow pavements. There´s no limit to the number of stalls selling everything from herbs, toilet roll and Cd's to socks, tools and bread. On the witches market they sell dried llama foetuses and armadillos.They believe it's good luck to have a dried llama foetuses under your house... souvenir anyone!
We wasted no time in booking onto a mountain biking trip down 'the most dangerous road in the world´according to some world road agency, which has has become the top tourist attraction in La Paz. The dirt road descends 4000m over its 63km it is extremely narrow in places with a sheer drop of some 1000ft in places into the bottom of the gorge
A. La Paz
. This turned out to be a piece of cake on a mountain bike, but looked a lot trickier for the lorries that rumble up and down the road. We had a wicked day out. I managed to get through three bikes and Alex (who was in the fast group she wants me to add) looked like she'd gone to rounds with a mud cannon by the end of the day. We managed get showers and a meal in a very nice hotel at the end of the trip. The lift back up the road at the end of the day was the scariest thing on the tip all day.On returning to La Paz we had a day off to rest our aching arms and then sorted out a trip to the jungle. Unfortunately we couldn't get flights down to Rurrenabaque (the town in the jungle), so yes we where on the road of death again. Putting our trust in the bus driver. eek!
