30/04/2011 (posted 02/05/2011)
First things first, the fact that you're reading this means that I survived the Death Road.
This is the nickname for the road from La Paz to Coroico, also known as the ´World's Most Dangerous Road' due to its sheer drops and narrowness. If you have seen the Top Gear Bolivia Special, they drive down it.
The day started by going for breakfast with the rest of the group. Many of them speak are Austrians or Swiss so I am regrettably burdened with their disgusting dialect for the day. German is just such an ugly language.
Ergh.
We started the ride at 4800m, which was very cold and my hands felt like they were about to fall off. In fact, they fairly quickly lost any feeling. The first section was downhill on a beautifully smooth section where I reached very high speeds and felt fairly safe. When this section finished, they company drove us up an uphill section as going uphill is obviously too strenuous for tourists to do.
We then started the really dangerous part. There was a lot of mist around, which made it both eerie and exciting. Throughout the whole road there were magnificant views and yes, on occasion sheer faces and fairly narrow stretches. However I would much less rather drive it than bike it - a lorry came down while we were on it and I have no idea how it negotiated some of the corners without falling off. Maybe it did fall off.
But what I'm saying is that the title 'Death Road' is very grand but, as you may expect, the experience was more one of beautiful scenery than terrifying. It was more bumpy than anything - by the end my hands and arse had taken a battering and were really sore.
We finished up at a hotel where we had hot showers and a buffet lunch, which featured horrific coffee and some disgusting sausages. There was also a pool table but with severe rips in the baize and a cue with half a tip. Shocker.
When I got back to my hostel, my arse was still in agony. Hopefully not for much longer as I have many bus trips ahead of me.
JG
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