Back to La Paz

                    Coming back from the Pampas, I wasn´t sure I was going to stay in La Paz for more than a day. But things changed. I decided to go to Tihuanaco with Aoife and her friend. We took public transport which was a lot like a roller coaster on the way back. If you go to the ruins without expectations or you haven’t seen the ruins in Peru these are good ruins. The main attractions to me, were the large statues that they had put in the center of the sun gate and this lower dwelling that had all these carvings of faces. Some of them were still so intact considering it is a pre-incan ruin.
                   The next day, Aoife and I decided to go on tour of Mount Chacaltaya and the Moon Valley. Mount Chacaltaya is a part of the Cordillera Real and is 5,421m above sea level. In the winter, it is the ski hill for Bolivia, however, due to global warming they only use it for about a month. On the tour, you are bussed up the mountain to 5000m and then you walk the rest. Even after bring in La Paz for a while I could feel the altitude. The buzzing in my ears, the rapid pulse of my heart, and the twisting in my stomach. It is amazing how much it can affect you. The mountain would give striking views on a clear day. But it is the rainy season and clouds were in sight. I still had a lovely time though and would definitely recommend it just for the different lakes and scenery. The Moon Valley in the La Paz was made from a lake. It is all silt that has been formed into craters. Originally, I wasn´t into going because of the moon valley tour I did in San Pedro. However, I am glad I did because their definitely is a stark difference between the two.

The Death Road

             

View of the road from further up.

       
   Since coming to South America, the Death Road was something I asked everyone about but was very unsure about doing. I had read about it in the memoir of ¨´The Good Girl´s Guide to Getting Lost¨´ and wondered if I had the guts for it. Until I arrived in La Paz, I was sure I was not going to do it, at least not without someone I trusted. Then, when I arrived with Hailey and the posters were everywhere and Tom was telling me about his experience, the idea that I could handle it creeped in. Then, when we ran into Aoife and Annelie and Aoife was pretty much set on doing it, I thought I´ll do it if you do it. I was committed.

 Drinking  96% alcohol for luck. 

                     Aoife giving some alcohol back to the Pachamama for a safe ride

The name itself is a lot more daunting than the actual ride. A new road from La Paz to Coroico was built a couple years ago and now the road is solely used for biker enthusiasts. If cars were still on it, there is no way I would ride that thing. Scary and a half. That being said, even without cars careless people still took wipeouts and one girl had to get nine stitches in her arm. Usually, you start somewhere in the mountains around 4650 m above sea level and then you make your 61 km descent down theYungas road into the cloud rainforest and end up around 1200m.

 Practice before hitting the actual Death Road. 

 Llama on...or in Aoife´s case rock on. 

There are cliffs up to 600m and the road is usually only the width of a single vehicle. We started a bit below where you are supposed to because of weather, but what an amazing experience.

 About half way done, right before we hit the part with the waterfalls. 

 Clearly our guide Eddy has said something very confusing. 

You barely have to pedal, you go under waterfalls, see all types of amazing vegetation, and breathtaking views. Definitely, glad I did not pass it up.

 Conquering the mountain! Clearly, Aoife has way more upper body strength than I do. 

 About a minute after this I got stuck in the water and had to run my bike out. 

The group we went with posted more photos to facebook. If you want to see them search Barracuda Biking La Paz and look under January 8th, 2014