I’m a little bit in love with La Paz. This city sprawls through a basin ringed by the higher ground of El Alto, and it’s houses are fashioned around the lines of rock that still run through the city.
It’s noticeably more wealthy than the other Bolivian cities we’ve visited. There’s a thriving coffee and food scene (though more pricey than elsewhere), and some high rises and apartment blocks. Long teleféricos connect lower and higher grounds, and to me, give the feeling that this place is permanently celebrating (cable cars remind me of the Ekka) – which isn’t entirely untrue as it’s now Tuesday and this country is still celebrating Carnaval with fire crackers and foam fights and raucousness in the streets in the wee hours. Have we had enough yet?
Yesterday we got straight to it and joined a Death Road mountain biking tour. Death Road – the connection between La Cumbre at 4,700 m to Coroico and the start of the Amazon at 1,200 m – is no longer as dangerous as it once was, as a bypass has been built around the bulk of the narrow track (which once would see cars and buses pitched off the edge as they attempted to pass). It also means that today’s cyclists enjoy relative peace as the road is generally used only by them and support vehicles.
There’s no better demonstration of this than this picture of dust-covered Dan doing the same route with his brother fourteen years ago (pre-bypass). He recalls chaos – buses passing him as he flew downhill and trucks reversing so traffic could negotiate tight corners.
Nowadays, you’re kitted our with the works: jackets and pants, a full-face helmet, shin and elbow guards, and gloves.
The ride takes you through stunning landscape. At the start, the weather was bright and the landscape glistening. Soon, we descended into thick clouds which obscured a lot of the view for a few hours, before emerging into more sunny landscape. The road is carved into the side of a mountain and the valley views are spectacular.
The ride is 55 km, and despite being all downhill, utterly draining. After the too-brief paved section at the top, the remainder is rocky and bumpy. We were in a group of absolute riding superstars, and I brought up the rear the entire day by a substantial margin. I swear the rest of them (Dan included) didn’t use – or didn’t need to use – breaks. Yours truly prefers a degree of control and caution.
Our plan is to stick around La Paz for a few days and do a nearby hike before setting off for Peru. I’m excited that we’ve picked up a beautiful ukelele so Dan can embark on a music journey while I continue on my Spanish journey. He’s currently providing background music while I write this.
I’ll augment this post with more photos when we receive the guide’s. In the meantime, count yourself blessed if no one is going to foam you in the face today.
VRPS
[La Paz]
The Two Swords 