Getting into Bolivia was an absolute doddle. No queues, no computers, just stampy stamp and we were away and into the tiny town of Copacabana for a couple of nights. Copacabana is on the edge of Lake Titicaca and off shore is the Island of the Sun, thought to be the location of the creation of the Incan empire. Some of the group went off to explore but most of the group stayed on dry land choosing to chill in the outdoor cafes, mooch the shops, recouperate or be ill in bed (maybe not a choice). After all the excitement of the last week it was nice not to have a lot to do and be able to charge the batteries.
We left Copacabana and headed to La Paz on the more exciting route which involved a short but choppy boat trip across a narrow section of Lake Titicaca. It was a bit nerve racking watching Ithaca heading onto the barge but it turned out to be a lot simpler than in Porto Velho. We turned up a very rainy La Paz at lunch time to be faced with road blocks and protests so we had to ditch the truck at the side of the main road after we couldn't get any parking. We headed to the hotel in taxis and Kirsten and Rogan would return later to find somewhere to park.
La Paz is the unofficial capital of Bolivia with Sucre being the official capital. La Paz was originally created as part of a trading route linking the south of Bolivia with Cusco, Peru. The city is expanding up the side of a valley with an altitude range of over 1000m leading to temperatures ranging 8 degrees from the top to bottom of the valley. The city doesn't have a nice main square and no visible main restaurant or shopping streets and is generally not very user friendly, so some of us took a morning city tour to see if there was anything more to the city. Our first stop was the Valley of the Moon. This is an area of eroded rocks into a moon- like landscape. It's a bit random but it was a nice stop. We also visited a city view point, a couple of museums, a very pretty street (the only one in the city I think) and also the witch's market where they were selling all sorts of natural potions and also dried baby llamas. It's thought that when you build a new house, if you bury a llama with the foundations you will have good luck!
About half the group signed up to go cycling down “Death Road” on the second day. This experience has been a must do since signing up for the trip and despite mum's concerns I did it anyway. The road has got a reputation from tv programs like 'Top Gear' and that truckers one for being “The world's most dangerous road” so for me I was curious to see what the road was actually like. We were picked up by our guide Marcus an Australian and kitted out with all the necessary gear to see us on our way which included a helmet, gloves, heavy trousers and jacket, a hi vis vest, and a downhill bike, built with full suspension and weight to go over anything in our way. Our journey would start at 4700m with snow on the ground around us and we would make our way to 1200m passing through 5 climate zones. The first 20km or so was on tarmac so riding was smooth and we picked up some serious speed sadly the weather wasn't playing nice and we had sleet bombarding our faces. We then had 8km uphill which we all jumped into the bus for before heading down the unpaved road. The unpaved section is “Death Road” and we headed down hill on a variety of slopes and road widths. At the narrowest, the road was 3m wide and had a 450m drop off the side. The bikes were very stable even when going over big rubble but it was quite scary to think that no one else is in control but you and it was easy to see how you could go straight over the edge. Rules say that if you are going downhill you need to cycle on the left side, nearest the cliff and I think at some times we were actually thankfull that the mist was covering the drop!
The road now is mainly used for bike tours and also essential vehicles to the small villages you pass. “Death Road” gets its name from its history of having so many fatalities from buses going over the edge. This was before the new road was built in 2008 so now the old road has been left for the cyclists. It was an amazing day, not just the thrill of cycling down the road but also being able to see the scenery change and the weather. The actual cycling wasn't scary but coming back up the road in the bus with a sound system, strobe lighting and when it's dark, and raining was!
We left La Paz whilst it was still dark to try and avoid road blocks. We encountered a 6 hour wait later along the way in a small town where taxi drivers had blocked the road, something about wanting pensions. The delay forced us to have a very cold bush camp and we arrived in Potosi a day late. All is ok itinerary- wise as we can make up time through a longer drive day later on so we still have the same amount of time to explore Bolivia
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