Road of death
According to wikipedia:
Because of the extreme dropoffs of at least 600 meters (1,830 feet), single-lane width – most of the road no wider than 3.2 metres (10 ft) and lack of guard rails, the road is extremely dangerous. Further still, rain, fog and dust can reduce visibility. In many places the road surface is muddy, and can loosen rocks from the road.
As we descended the guide pointed out various places where bus drivers and their passengers, as well as fellow cyclists have met their end. At one time it was apparently one vehicle every two weeks. We were told that one girl made the mistake of wiping her googles mid-descend - enough to result in her going over the precipitous side. We also passed a lorry trying to ascend the road. We saw it at the bottom an hour so later, having turned around.
We did the entire descent of 3,450 metres in about 2 and a half hours (including breaks and a snack / lunch stop) and I can honestly say I don't think I've had to concentrate that hard on a road ever (not even when navigating the traffic around central London). It was intense, which made it very hard to take in the beautiful surroundings - the mountains are lush, green and very different from anything else on the Bolivian altiplano or the Patagonian wilderness. It's like something out of a Kenco ad and contrasts starkly with the black and grey rocks of the Yungas road.
They've recently built a new road, which in any other country would be pretty petrifying. In Bolivia, however, relatively speaking seems perfectly safe. Having done the "Old road" no one thought anything of climbing the steep inclines and crossing the cement bridges over huge gorges in a clapped-out van. In one section, over a particularly high pass, it was the closest you could get to flying whilst still in a car.
But I did it - I descended the world's most dangerous road and survived. And yes, I've even got the ill-fitting t-shirt to prove it.
La Paz
The fly-in into La Paz was spectacular and made a welcome relief from Bolivian buses (see earlier posts). The views of the Andes were stunning and seeing La Paz from the air is an interesting experience - half of the city is on the Altiplano - a huge expanse of flatness that goes off into the distance; whilst the second half falls off the ledge down into deep Andean valleys. The flight never deviated from level with some of the tallest snow-capped mountains.
Flying into La Paz
It was an unexpected highlight made sweeter by the fact that the bus would have been twleve hours through windy mountain roads from Sucre...and the airplane didn't smell.
It's an interesting place. The colonial buildings look more like the ones in Potosi than the ones in Sucre - grey and slightly rundown, rather than brilliant white. There's also a higher percentage of everything, ladies in black hats, Andean clothing that you buy and regret when you get home, restaurants, bars, etc. It's also a little more intense than anywhere else in Bolivia - more beggars lining the streets, tourists and people. The protesting here against the public sector cut-backs also are much bigger and uglier than in Sucre. The riot police are manning the corners in their dozens and firecrackers are going off all hours of the day and night. Even at 6am on a Sunday morning the protesters were out in force. It makes the student riots in the UK look like a tea party.
There's also more of the traditional / slightly morbid that can be found here. I'm talking about the witches market and the dried llama foetuses that line the streets.
Llama fetuses
I've also been laid out for a second time with Bolivian stomach bug no.2. Although slightly kinder than no.1, it still resulted in a day in bed watching knock-off DVDs from the market down the road.
PS - here's a nice little article about the Road of Death with lots of pictures - http://www.ssqq.com/archive/vinlin27b.htm
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