Bolivia: 15th March - 21st March




Copacabana
 
From Puno we travelled along the southern shore of Lake Titicaca to Copacabana in Bolivia. The lake sits at an altitude of 3800m and is apparently the highest navigable lake in the world, whatever that means.
 
 
 
Isla Del Sol
 
From Copacabana we took a boat out to the Isla Del Sol, legendary birthplace of the Incas, and spent a night there.
 
 
 
Isla Del Sol 3
 
Sam, me & Bryce watching the sunset on Isla Del Sol.
 
 
 
Plaza Murillo, La Paz
 
Next stop was the world's highest capital city; La Paz which sits in a canyon at 3600m above sea level. This is Plaza Murillo, one of the main squares in the city. More pigeons than Leicester Square!
 
 
 
Bike briefing
 
A biking trip down the so-called "Most Dangerous Road in the World" was irresistible. Whether it was respectful, to ride for fun down a road that has claimed an estimated 200-300 lives every year since it was opened in 1935, is debatable. The trip started with an hour's ride in a minibus out of La Paz, up to a mountain pass called La Cumbre, at 4600m. The descent would see us descend 3600m on the 61km route. First was the all-important safety briefing.
 
 
 
Getting ready to ride
 
Here's me getting ready to ride. The first 20km or so were down the beautifully smooth main road out of La Paz, and we sped downhill at high speed, overtaking buses and trucks as we went.
 
 
 
Dangerous road
 
At a place called Unduavi, we turned off the main road onto the Most Dangerous Road in the World. It was built in 1935 by prisoners from Bolivia's war with Paraguay. Since then, on average more than 200 people a year have died, mostly in buses that have fallen over the edge down vertical drops of up to 200 meters.
 
 
 
Big waterfall
 
We had lunch in a lay-by on the road near this huge, impressive waterfall. This spot was actually the scene of the worst road accident in Bolivia's history, when a bus carrying over 100 people tipped over the precipice, killing all aboard. Since a new road was opened last year, there is no doubt that a lot of the danger has gone out of the Most Dangerous Road. Without the complication of lorries and buses coming unexpectedly from the other direction, the road is wide enough that for those who ride with any degree of care, there is little risk involved. That said, an Israeli backpacker had fallen off and died the week before we were there. Accounts varied as to how and why he rode over the edge. But as our guide pointed out at the bottom, only (only!) nine mountain bikers have died on the road in the ten years or so that tours have been running, and five of them have been from Israel. Go figure.
 
 
 
Biking group
 
The biking group at the end of the ride, elated at having survived the Road of Death.
 
 
 
Illimani above La Paz
 
If the altitude doesn't take your breath away in La Paz, then the views will. The mountain in the distance is Illimani (6438m). From La Paz, we intended to head south to the Salar De Uyuni. But when we arrived at the bus station on the morning after our mountain biking trip, we found that no buses were running due to some kind of blockade of the road south from La Paz. Information was very hard to come by, but it seemed that the campesinos (a term loosely referring to the people who live in the countryside) were blocking the road in four places to protest about lack of gas, or lack of share in the profits from gas, or something to do with gas anyway. Nobody was able to tell us how long the bloqueo might last; they are frequent in Bolivia (so frequent that this one wasn't even big news) and can last anything from a few hours to several weeks. We were all tight on time; I had only a week to get down to Santiago in Chile for a flight to Easter Island, Bryce and Rogers had the same amount of time to get back to Lima to fly home, and Sam had to meet his lady friend in Argentina. Not knowing how long we would have to wait in La Paz was frustrating. Sam & Bryce decided to spend a couple of days while the bloqueo cleared climbing a mountain nearby called Huayna Potosí; Rogers and I decided to wait another day to see if the bloqueo would be cleared and if we could get down to Uyuni. Next morning we said goodbye to Sam & Bryce, and returned to the bus station. Nothing had changed, so we decided to change our plans, leave Bolivia a little early and head straight into Chile instead.
 
Next page: Chile
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