La Paz and Death Road
I just wanted to start this post by thanking everyone for the comments they are appreciated - keep them coming.
La Paz is the highest capital city in the world (3600 meters above sea level)- quite an impressive place but very overcrowded - it took ages to get anywhere as there were serious traffic jams when we were there as there were parades.
The hotel was spot on with glass panel windows looking out over the city and hot showers!!
We took a city tour on the first day which gave a really good overview of the city - again there was a real contrast between the rich and poor parts of town.
We had lunch at Burger King!
There were alot of markets to look around - craft markets and copies of designer goods. There was even a Witches Market where you could buy all sorts of lucky charms and "special" ingredients - llama's embryos, armadillo's bodies or frog powder - exactly what I was looking for!.
There was even a section of market for booze where you could buy all types of Whiskey and Vodka for peanuts. They were even selling vodka in gallon containers for about 3 pounds.
We had lunch as a group in a restaurant called "Mungos" - the food was excellent
The next day was probably my best day of the trip so far - Death Road.
Basically it was mountain biking down the most dangerous road in the World - Death Road - descending from 4633 meters above sea level to just over 1700m in a couple of hours at break neck speed. The road is extremely steep narrow, muddy, and has huge drops of over 1000m. There have been many accidents and deaths on the road hence it´s name.
Well we hadn´t even made it onto Death Road proper before I managed to fall off - We were still on tarmac getting used to the bikes. Martin a friend of mine slipped on some oil and came slidding past scraping off layers of skin as he went as he had shorts on - I turned to see what was happening and took my eyes off the road - next thing I knew I was upside down in a ditch. I dusted myself down and got back on - I only realised how badly I had hurt my wrist at the end of the road - but no long term damage.
The views on the way down were incredible - I would ocaissionaly glance over the edge at the drops. The weather changed so much on the way down and there were even waterfalls cascading down onto the road. About half way down our support vehicle had to double back as a landslide had wiped out a section of road (landslides will become a recurring feature in this blog I think!!). We had to clamber over the landslide carrying our bikes - quite a task! When we got to the bottom we had a nice lunch at a hotel with a swimming pool. When we finally made it back to La Paz I was exhausted!
For those of you who enjoyed the yellow mining suit here I am sporting a cheeky red number, there´s also a view of Death Road.
La Paz is the highest capital city in the world (3600 meters above sea level)- quite an impressive place but very overcrowded - it took ages to get anywhere as there were serious traffic jams when we were there as there were parades.
The hotel was spot on with glass panel windows looking out over the city and hot showers!!
We took a city tour on the first day which gave a really good overview of the city - again there was a real contrast between the rich and poor parts of town.
We had lunch at Burger King!
There were alot of markets to look around - craft markets and copies of designer goods. There was even a Witches Market where you could buy all sorts of lucky charms and "special" ingredients - llama's embryos, armadillo's bodies or frog powder - exactly what I was looking for!.
There was even a section of market for booze where you could buy all types of Whiskey and Vodka for peanuts. They were even selling vodka in gallon containers for about 3 pounds.
We had lunch as a group in a restaurant called "Mungos" - the food was excellent
The next day was probably my best day of the trip so far - Death Road.
Basically it was mountain biking down the most dangerous road in the World - Death Road - descending from 4633 meters above sea level to just over 1700m in a couple of hours at break neck speed. The road is extremely steep narrow, muddy, and has huge drops of over 1000m. There have been many accidents and deaths on the road hence it´s name.
Well we hadn´t even made it onto Death Road proper before I managed to fall off - We were still on tarmac getting used to the bikes. Martin a friend of mine slipped on some oil and came slidding past scraping off layers of skin as he went as he had shorts on - I turned to see what was happening and took my eyes off the road - next thing I knew I was upside down in a ditch. I dusted myself down and got back on - I only realised how badly I had hurt my wrist at the end of the road - but no long term damage.
The views on the way down were incredible - I would ocaissionaly glance over the edge at the drops. The weather changed so much on the way down and there were even waterfalls cascading down onto the road. About half way down our support vehicle had to double back as a landslide had wiped out a section of road (landslides will become a recurring feature in this blog I think!!). We had to clamber over the landslide carrying our bikes - quite a task! When we got to the bottom we had a nice lunch at a hotel with a swimming pool. When we finally made it back to La Paz I was exhausted!
For those of you who enjoyed the yellow mining suit here I am sporting a cheeky red number, there´s also a view of Death Road.
posted by Phil at 10:48 PM
2 Comments:
This sounds like my sort of challenge! Also the red looks much, much better on you than the yellow ;-)
Jen
x
Alright Boss
Looks like they are keeping you busy!
Photos are class!
Gett'in a bit worried about your fashion sense though as……
Yellow Gimp suit was good.
However the helmet wearing, one gloved Michael Jackson impression is even better.
Can't wait to see your next creation!
Keep the Bloggs coming.
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