In the first week of November, Tim and I had one week off school. It is the only break we get off school between the beginning of August and the end of December, because the winter break is so long. We really wanted to get out of Cochabamba, and I had my friend Claire coming to stay with us for the week, so being the thrill-seekers that we are, we headed off to La Paz to bike ride down the world’s most dangerous road.
Why is it so dangerous? The road from La Paz, down to the Yungas (a rainforest area about 3hrs from La Paz) is a winding, dirt, mostly one lane road. It has been the scene of the worst road accidents in Bolivia, the worst being when a truck, carrying 100 people in an open container, fell off the edge, killing everybody on board. With no guard rails, this road sometimes has sheer cliffs of over 600m off to one side and traffic goes both ways.
The Death Road
However, these days, there is a new, much less dangerous road, with guard rails that people can take and so the death road is left with hardly any traffic and is now mostly used for bike riders like ourselves. The road is 65km long and bike riders start, surrounded by ice-capped mountains, at an altitude of 4600m, descend 3300m over four hours and finish in rainforest at 1300m above sea level.
Tim and Michael ready to go
I am not a hard-core mountain bike rider, so needless to say, I was a little nervous. I also had bad dreams that my friend Claire, after coming all the way to Bolivia to visit, might sail over the edge into oblivion. I had once peer pressured Claire into riding down a steep hill on a small and inadequate bike, only for her to fall off and skin her knees badly. She retains the scar to this day, and this death road adventure had a faintly familiar feel to it. However, there was nothing to fear. The bike ride was amazing. We went with a great company and were equipped with really good gear. We could ride at our own pace and were amazed as we left the ice-capped mountains and headed down into the Amazon basin. After 65km, we finished the road and in a mini-van, headed to an eco-lodge in the jungle to stay for three nights. This was probably the most dangerous part of our journey, riding in a mini-van, on a one lane road, with sheer cliffs off one side and cars coming head on. However, we survived.
Me, cruising the death road
For the next three days we went white-water rafting, zip-lining, hiked to a water fall and relaxed by the pool. It was a truly amazing and very remote place surrounded by rainforest covered mountains. The perfect way to spend a week long holiday from school and to appreciate God’s creation.
A waterfall near our eco-lodge
The best way to enjoy the jungle
