La Paz and Death Road

The official Capital of Bolivia, highest Capital in the world is surrounded by steep hills. Almost anywhere you go in La Paz, you have to climb. That is what I do, I climb to a mirador overlooking the whole city. In the background you can see snow-capped hills, and on the other side, the road that leads to Camino de la Muerte… I stroll around in the streets, visit the Museum of fine Arts. There is a beautiful photo exhibition there: El Grito del Silencio, of the artist Katharina Muench showing women and their sufferings. I also pay a visit to the Coca museum, to learn more about these coca leaves I’ve been chewing the last weeks which is in fact the prime ingredient used for producing cocaine. Very interesting. From chewing the leaves in the antique time to using the distilled leaves as painkillers (cocaine) or as drugs… Evo Morales has allowed the use of coca leaves, for chewing. It helps against altitude sickness and supposedly helps concentrating. It certainly plays an important role in miner’s existence. Interesting fact is that most of the coca leaves produced go to the United States as cocaine where most overdoses are also found…

photos La Paz

Camino de la Muerte – twice!

68 km, 3600 m downhill, camino de la muerte is the world’s most dangerous road. It was opened in the 90s to bikers but cars would still drive there. Some years ago, a new road was built so now mostly bikes ride down, at a tremendous pace sometimes. An average of 2 deaths per year have been registered on the camino since then, bikers falling off the cliff, buses ending up in the 300m profound valley… The camino is full of little crosses commemorating the deaths and our guide Chello even calls the bends after the nationality of people who died there. A little morbid, I agree. Barracuda Bikes is the company I have chosen to survive the death road. They give us helmets, gloves, glasses and full outfit with the company’s logo, and bikes of course. The instructions are clear: stay close to the mountain, use both breaks at the same time, shout when you overtake someone and whatever you do, do not try to avoid the big rocks on the road, the full suspension will take you safely over them. The first part is easy and very fast on asphalt at maximum 70km an hour. I feel like flying. After it gets trickier as the road is full of rocks and sand. There is only one way to go, and that is down. It takes a while to trust the bike but once I do I can increase the pace. This is really fun! My arms shake, my eye can barely focus and I clutch the brakes and fly down to the jungle. Our group is very fast; we finish early and can go for a swim in the river near the restaurant. Check out the cool parrot I met there. We start the way back, uphill in the car this time, and on the new road. About ten minutes later though, there is a landslide on the road and people tell us it will take more than two hours to clean it up. Chello and our driver then decide to go back up death road!!! Actually, it is scarier uphill and in the van than on the bike and in control. What an adventure! Today I survived the death road, twice.

photos camino de la muerte