Bolivia to Salta, Argentina

Bolivia - lake Titicaca and riding the worlds most dangerous road

Another long bus journey, again the bus description was nothing like it said on the tin, to the point that the lady gave us some money back. After surviving the bus ride we arrived at the Bolivian border. You have to be thankful of holding a British passport...........

......Me, smiling at the Border having been stamped in with no problems......

....The Americans, Jason and Dan being bent over and robed of 130USD. In all fairness it is because the US do the same to the Bolivians, any many other countries in the world but i did feel sorry for them.

We skipped lake Titicaca on the Peru side and headed straight for Copacabana on the Bolivian side. This was going to be the perfect place to rest up and take it easy.

Traditionally regarded as the highest navigable body of water in the world (though there are higher lakes in Chile and Peru), Lake Titicaca is immense: its dimensions measure 233km (145mi) from northwest to southeast and 97km (60mi) from northeast to southwest, and it features an indented shoreline, 36 islands and exceptionally clear sapphire-blue water.

A remnant of an ancient inland sea, is deservedly awash with gushing clichés. Nestled between two hills and perched on the southern shore of the lake, Copacabana (Copa) is a small and enchanting town. The snow-topped peaks of the Cordillera Real complete the magical landscape.

View from the Hotel, it was a lot smaller than i thought and there really wasn´t that much going on but it was pretty and we had great weather.

If you ever wondered what happens to all the pedalos then here is the answer, Oz was desperate to take a ride in a swan but instead....

We opted for a sail boat and two fishing rods. There was no wind and no fish, hmmmm......

Jonathan steering with Brian trying to catch fish and Dan rowing in the backround.

The next day we took a trip out to Isla del Sol. The scenery on the way was incredible.

The Island of the Sun is the legendary Inca creation site and is the birthplace of the sun in Inca mythology. It was here that the bearded white god Viracocha and the first Incas, Manco Capac and his sister-wife Mama Huaca (or Mama Ocllo), made their mystical appearances.
With a population of around 5,000, Isla del Sol is dotted with several villages, of which Yumani and Cha'llapampa are the largest. The island's Inca ruins include Pilko Kaina at the southern end and the Chincana complex in the north, which is the site of the sacred rock where the Inca creation legend began.

The snow topped mountains in the backround.

There was lots of life on the Island, Pigs, sheep, chickens all just running around unaware of the fact that they will soon be in a pot!

Very cute kids but Oz made the mistake of giving them pringles. Luckily it took them as long to eat one as it took us to eat the whole packet so when they asked for more there really was no more, i think it is we that are the pigglets!

The terrain was quite diverse, beaches, moutains and cactus.
The totora reed boat is an ancient craft used for centuries around Lake Titicaca and the prehistoric Andean world.

This couple were untangling, what looked to be, hundreds of meters of fishing net.

Sunset over the lake.

The bus ride from the Lake to La Paz was breath taking.

The first glimpse of sky-high La Paz will (3660m), literally, take your breath away. The city's buildings cling to the sides of the canyon and spill spectacularly downwards. La Paz is best savored over time, not only to acclimatize to its well-publicized altitude but to experience its quirky beauty.

View over La Paz, a large and crazy city but extremely cool.

Located amidst the lively tourist market, the Witches' Market sells mainly herbs and folk remedies, but also a variety of ingredients intended to manipulate and supplicate the various helpful and harmful spirits that populate the Aymara world.

The most prominent product available in the Witches' Market are dried llama fetuses, which are quite sizable and can be moderately disturbing. These are always buried in the foundations of new constructions or businesses as a cha'lla (offering) to Pachamama. The llama sacrifice encourages the goddess to protect the workers from accidents and bring good luck to the business. The fetuses are only used by the poor; wealthier Bolivians are expected to sacrifice a live llama to Pachamama.

What you are about to read is probably the craziest thing i have done on my travel, would i do it again, NO!

For and adrenaline rush at altitude you can take a ride down the wolrds most dangerous road, named so becuase it has the most deaths on it per annum. We are ten at this point and organise our own group. Our guide was Dale, we had actually met him on the Salkantay trek in Peru. He was ex Navy and so for some reason i trusted him, along with the fact that he had done this about 200 times and not killed anyone yet!

The bus ride up to the top. There were a few nervous people, i was probably the most nervous as i hadn´t ridden a bike for a long time and have really only been on road, rather than off road.

The start point, a car park at about 4880Meters. These bikes were top of the range with front and back suspension. I was even move afraid, we had seen a video clip of a girl that had just used the front break and flpped the bike, lost her teeth. Must remeber to use both breaks! A few times around the car park and we were just about ready to go.

Final breif. The instruction was excellent, i really did feel that any errors were going to be down to me, they really had covered everything.

As busses and cars pass on this road they slow down, throw some alcohol on the road and then drink some. It is a little ceremony to keep them safe but with 100% alcohol it is probably what causes the most acidents. We just poured some on our bike wheel and wet our lips, that was bad enough.

On the move, i had no idea what lay ahead but as i hit about 50kmph i wasn´t sure whether my screams were that of joy or total fear. The adrenaline had kicked in and i felt like my body had been possesed by someone that was prepared to throw themself off a cliff at high speed.

This is the long dowhill section of the ride, it was about 22kms on the main road. We were passing cars and lorries. The boys were hitting up to 60kmph and the girls about 50kmph.

Smiling faces, everyone was doing really well and starting to get more confident with the bikes.

This is the number for a local hospital, just in case!

Incredible views but i have to be honest and say that i didn´t see any of them. I was concentrating so hard on staying on the bike and not killing myself.

This is it, the worlds most dangerous road. It is uneven, rocky, stoney and very very narrow. It is also about45kms long with steep drops of a few hundred meters, in places.

Deep in concentration, Elly, Glen, Kat, Jason, Jonathan, Sara, Brian, Oz, Dan and Michelle. We had 17 stops on the ride. Each stop we were briefed for the next stage. This included all the previous acidents and deaths. You can see all the rubble, this was the road the whole way down.

Not looking two happy, starting on the WMDR, extremely nervous, worried about loosing teeth or even worse, falling off the edge.

The whole group getting briefed for the next stage

This is the shot used in all the advertising. Shortly after this there is a memorial where an Israeli girl just flew off the road. It was recorded as suicide, her insurance didn´t pay out, very very sad.This is what the view, round the corner. This is the memorial stone.

This is another memorial. This was for a family that went off the road in a lorry. The father was drunk so he let the 15 year old son drive, He drove off the road killing his entire family and some people getting a lift in the back. There was another incident close by where 128 people returning from a football match went off the road in the bus.

As you hear these stories on the way down you can´t help but think, WHAT AM I DOING! However it really was breathtaking scenery. Lots of waterfalls, some of which your cycle through.
Dale, he has done this over 200 times, he pulls a few stunts along the way, personally i think he is crazy!

Still hanging on, i am definately more confident and picking up speed.

We all made it, not a scratch on us. It was a great day out and we were all ready for a shower and a beer.
Sara and Dan with dirty bottoms. Dans is definately mud but mine, well it really could be anything. The most terrifying thing i have ever done, but somewhere along the way i started to enjoy it.

The place we finnished at is an animal refuge. The boys had a visitor whilst they were showering, may have been one of these cheeky monkeys!

We took a vote on which road we would take back. There is a new road but the vote was to go back up the road we had just come down. I was more scared going up it, although in a few of these pictures you may find that hard to belive. Adrenaline was still working overtime!

Enjoy........

The steep drop offs

Dan, dangerously close to the edge

The long and winding roads

Some crazy woman hanging out of the bus whilst it was moving

So close to the edge you can almost see the bottom!
Waiting to pass

Next we hit the salt flats in Uyuni but not before going on an eating rampage in La Paz. These boys can eat, and whilst i know it is not compulsary how can resist when the food is soooo good.

xx