I Survived the Worlds Most Dangerous Road
Trip Start
Jun 12, 2006
1
72
172
Trip End
Jul 01, 2007
La Paz,
Bolivia
Sunday, October 22, 2006
The last couple of days I spent in Bolivia were in La Paz and Corioco. We left Copacaba late in the evening and got into La Paz around 10pm. Piss off and tied from the earlier 6 hour hike all we wanted was good food. The only we could find was greasy chicken, they wouldn't even give me a dough nut!!!!
The following day we went shopping as Bolivia is so damn cheap, 4 hats, gloves, a scarf, two tshirts and poncho later....i decided that I needed something to improve my luck, as again I had lightened my rucksack by losing my rash vest and towel. We went to the witches market, lots of fun with all sorts medicine, dried llama fetuses, monkeys and armadillos. I brought a voodoo dolls from a witch, how cool is that
Armadillo Anyone!!!
. But upset my Daniella, Peruvian and Catholic, she had to visit the church to cleanse her sins. Matt and me found this highly amusing but keep quite as not to upset her.After a day of shopping we went on the most dangerous road in the world. Its named this due to its decent from 4000m to 1500m. Try and imagine this as the pictures dont do any justice. Every two weeks is a fatal accident on the road and hundreds die each year. The road is single tracks and all traffic use it, from huge lorries to mountain bikes, our transport was cramped mini bus. The road condition is shocking, muddy road which is slippery, with waterfalls and rivers running through it in places and jcbs clearing the occasional landslide. The only way to pass each other are small lay bys, which have a 1000 meter drop on one side. Therefore when you get head towards a massive lorry, all the driver can do is reverse along a cliff edge!!!!
The ride down is nail bitting to say the least, on the way up its alot easy as you pass the modes of transport hugging the the inner side of the road. But on the way up you can see the wreckage of may cars, lorries and cargo across the mountains...scary stuff but by far the best journey I have take so far on my trip.
After leaving La Paz, I had four plane journeys and am now in very sunny and hot Brazil, let the samba begin.....
