Oblivion ??? ….. Bolivia !!!!

Friday night, the 20th, I left on a 10:30 pm bus for La Paz. The heat was working, which I wasn´t expecting. Someone a few rows in front of me had a good snore going, and I was able to sleep with my iPod at full volume listening to Van Morrison concerts - until the police got on the bus around midnight to check identity cards and passports. Later, around 2:00 AM the bus stopped at a roadside restaurant and snack stand for a pit stop - a welcomed stop. I arrived in La Paz about 6:00, and hung around at the bus terminal for a coffee, a turn in the Internet cafe while waiting for sunrise. Took a cab to my hostal, checked in getting the same room as last visit, and got the remaining few hours of my night´s sleep.

Awake and pretty familiar with the neighbourhood, I set out to wander around. The streets here are mainly up and down some pretty steep hills. While I was sitting and catching my breath in the main square - Plaza Murillo - I was approached by a “gentleman, a tourist from Mexico”, who asked me to take his photo in the cathedral across the street. Seemed harmless, but once inside we were approached by another man claiming to be a plain-clothes policeman who wanted to take us to check our passports. This is a familiar crime  in this country. The Canadian Embassy sends out bulletins and never fails to mention “the white car scam” in which tourists are taken in a white car to a so-called Police Station and held until they withdraw all the possible funds from their bank & credit card accounts. I had a similar encounter one day in Cochabamba. I used a couple of “un-church-like” words and left them behind.

The rest of the day was more relaxed. I visited Gravity Assisted Tours and got my final instructions for Sunday s bicycle ride, wandered some more, had dinner, and early to bed.

Sunday began with a 5:00 AM wake-up call and a walk down the Prado to have breakfast at the meeting place. They had about 50 people in several groups for their rides. About two dozen were divided into two bus groups to be taken up to La Cumbra ( another 1000 feet ) for the final orientation and the start. We were given our bikes, warm outer clothing, a dust buff, gloves, goggles, a safety vest and a helmet - no parachute. We drank a toast and spilled some on our tires in an offering to Pachamama.

The ride is 64 Kilometers in length and a 3660 feet drop in altitude. The first half is on paved highway on which we were to ride 30 centimeters from the white line on the right. This is where I got (close) to going “60 when I am 60.” If I had my racer with the skinny tires, I would have made that. But considering it has been about 7 months since my last ride, and first time on a trail bike, I was not disappointed.

Then we got to “The World s Most Dangerous Road a.k.a. The Road of Death”.  Here the instructions changed because we were now on a dirt & gravel surface - we were to ride in the left side tire path (when you could see it) making sure you did not go off the cliff on the left side. The ride was sectioned into a dozen, or so, lengths. The guides explained each interval of the road that we were about to ride - highlighting the particular risks. There was a thick mist in the valley, and it was mostly impossible to see the extent of the danger - a 600 foot cliff if you went off the road !!!

The next few hours had to be the most thrilling of my life - with both hands ready on the brakes; trying to manoeuvre to stay on the tire track and out of the gravel; and trying NOT to gaze at the incredible scenery, through the fog - whizzing down this road. WHEEEEEEEEE !! WHAT A THRILL !! And the best part was getting to the end in one live piece.

It was easy to see why so many bikers, cars, buses & trucks have gone over the edge over the years. Parts of the road were that narrow ! It was hard to imagine that every vehicle did not go down. Nevertheless the ride ended in Coroico - a nice tropical town. Our destination was a resort/wildlife reserve for showers and a buffet dinner. On the way, one girl fell knocking out a front tooth and had to be taken back to La Paz. It being Sunday, and the Summer Solstice holiday, no replacement bus was available, so two bus loads crowded into one bus for a very uncomfortable ride back to La Paz. The guides bought a case of beer to appease us, which mostly worked until we had to start making frequent pit stops.

We got back to La Paz about 10:00 pm and I headed right back to the hotel for a well earned sleep - happy that I now had only 99 more things to do on my “bucket list”.

The news today was of the arrest of two men, with rifles, in Santa Cruz suspected of plotting to kill the President. But a local prosecutor ordered the men freed hours after they had been detained, citing lack of evidence. My question is whether he is left leaning supporter, or a right-wing opponent ???

 On to my Inca Trail…..