La Paz
Trip Start
Jun 15, 2008
1
15
102
Trip End
Jun 14, 2009
La Paz,
Bolivia
Saturday, August 2, 2008
We travelled to La Paz from Copacabana by bus. We seemed to be the only tourists on the bus which was full of Bolivians who judging by the smell didn't shower very regularly or possibly not at all. Half way through the journey the bus got a flat tire so we all had to get off the bus again while the driver changed the tire. When we eventually arrived in La Paz we checked into the Adventure brew hostel, the hostel is class it has its own brewary on site and has heaters in the bar (heating is a rarity in bolivia!). On sunday we went to the witches market where they sell dried llama fetuses, medicinal herbs and the like. Sunday evening we went to see a cholitas wrestling match which involved men and women beating the crap out of each other
Words most dangerous road- La Paz to Coroico
This was the most terrifying day of my life.. by a longshot! We left our hostel early and went to a cafe in La Paz to meet our group and guide. We then left La Paz in a minivan for the world´s most dangerous road. The world´s most dangerous road runs from La Cumbra to Coroico. It´s a narrow (3.2m wide) gravel road with rocks sticking up from it at certain points
World´s most Dangerous Road1
. The road stretches downhill for 64km and drops 3600m in altitude from start to finish. Basically you end up cycling downhill at high speed over rocks and gravel along the edge of a cliff (with no barriers whatsoever!) for several hours, while cars and trucks pass you on the inside (so that you´re forced to cycle closer to the edge of the cliff). Our guide did nothing to put our minds at ease and instead took great joy in describing in detail previous instances where people had gone over the edge of the cliff and plummeted to their death! So far this year, 43 people have died on the road and the annual death toll often reaches the hundreds. I was on the verge of tears at several points along the cycle and was convinced I was going to die! Dermot, on the other hand, has become quite the adrenaline junkie and enjoyed the experience no end! Eventually after a few hours of terror, we made it to the end, alive thankfully! At the end we received a free T-shirt and a free beer which completely made that torturous experience worthwhile.....NOT!!! 
