La Paz & Death Road

After seeing the bustle of Potosi we didn't know what to expect when we got to La Paz. We were playing cards and drinking wine on the truck when we got to the outskirts of the city, but the game was quickly abandoned as we all looked out of the window in amazement of the chaos that was outside. Nearly every vehicle on the road was a minibus packed full of people like sardines. Every street was lined with market stalls selling everything from fake designer knickers to fake DIY equipment. La Paz is the highest capital city in the world and is located on top of a mountain in a basin, so when we got up to the lip we could see spectacular views over the whole city.

Like Potosi, every street had a common theme of shops. Our hotel was on 'fancy dress avenue' and the shops sold brilliant home made costumes, handy for our fancy dress party when we finish the Inca trail. Our hotel was really cool and had doorways and windows painted into the walls with spanishy sea views through them. Unfortunately we were on the top floor and there were no stairs and our bags are heavy, but the views from our room were cool. We could look out of our window for ages at the activity just on our road, but we decided to brave the crowds and go for a little walk. There were very few tourists here and La Paz felt like a proper South American city with very little western influence. Unlike Buenos Aires, we felt like we stood out like a sore thumb. The people didn't hassle us though, they just waited patiently while we looked at the strange things they were selling on their little stalls.

That night we had a group meal to say goodbye to 2 of the travellers and then we got a taxi to a couple of clubs. The clubs we went to were quite westernised, but we had a good time. We danced till late in a club called Mungo's. There was a 6.3 foot gay guy who fancied me and he kept following me around, but I think Rikki was encouraging him. After me and Simon had a dance off, I needed some fresh air and we left the club at 4am.

The next day we didn't have any plans so we walked around town. It was Sunday, so most of the shops were closed, but there was still quite a lot of activity and market stalls open. Our hotel was near the witches market where you can buy dried llama fetuses to put in the foundations of your new house for good luck. There was also dried frogs, cats and plenty of love potions and potions to make you rich. We walked around for a while and Dee bought some new sun glasses for £1.50.

There is a famous downhill mountain biking road just out of La Paz that is known as Death Road that has taken between 200-300 lives A YEAR. It was the most dangerous road in the world but there is now another road which goes in the same direction which is a lot safer, so all the cars go that way. The old road is still there and now it is just for mountain bikes. A few people on the truck have been looking forward to this for a long time but the only company which we are insured with (the only one to have never had any deaths) was fully booked. This means we had to book a dodgy company with dodgy bikes and, worryingly, we weren't insured for any accidents.

The next day the dodgy company picked us up from our hotel at 7am. We had an included breakfast at a nearby restaurant (toast! For the first time in 2 months!) and set off up the side of the La Paz basin. After an hours drive we were at the top of a tarmac road. We rode for a couple of hours before we were at death road, but the road was downhill all the way and on this surface I was going faster than I ever had been on a bike before. Dee was left behind right at the back going at a speed a snail would call slow. She arrived at the bottom about 30 mins after everyone else.

There was 30 mins or so uphill and when we got to the start of the death road, Dee was in two minds whether to continue or not. We were up in the clouds still and it was misty. She decided to continue, and when the mist cleared we saw why the road was called the most dangerous in the world. There was a sheer drop on one side of the road to the rainforest beneath. It was like the beginning of Romancing the Stone when they are on that really dangerous road. Some of the scenery was breathtaking and, because I was with Dee the snail, I had plenty of time to get out my camera and take some photos of the spectacular scenery and waterfalls. After an hour or so of going at Dees pace (I could have walked quicker) the groups split into three - fast, medium and slow. I was itching to go quicker so I joined the fast group and Dee stayed in the slow group. I sped off and within 10 mins I had come off the road twice, luckily the side nearest the wall, not the sheer drop. The surface was loose and slippery and I learned that you can only break on the straights; otherwise the corners could be treacherous.

After another hour or so of manic downhill biking through waterfalls and past graves on the road where people have died, we stopped for lunch. As we were resting and admiring the scenery there was a loud explosion. Everyone jumped round to see that the front tyre on my bike had exploded! I was lucky I wasn't on a dangerous corner. This was why we aren't insured with this company. 2 other people came off their bikes but weren't seriously injured. Dee fell off once but I imagine it was because she was going so slow she'd started to go backwards. The guides who were with her just laughed as she had to pick herself up and get back on her bike. The tour company did treat us well though, and after we had finished at 2pm (3pm for Dee) we were taken to a hotel where we could use their pool and eat dinner. The return journey took 3 hours because we had to go back up on the new road and our minibus was struggling on the steep incline. We got back at 8:15, 13 hours after we set off, having started at 5000m, down to 330m and 65km later. All for only £22, including a free t-shirt and photos on a CD. We left La Paz the next morning to cross over into Peru. Bolivia has definitely been an experience and is much more how I expected the whole of South America to be.