The trip from Copacabana to La Paz was quite eventful. Firstly I think
the whole of Australia is here in Bolivia because we were on a bus full
of Australian tourists, I've never seen so many in one place outside of
Australia. Secondly, we had to cross Lake Titicaca so we all got off the
bus and it went on a barge that looked like it was going to sink...it
was on quite an angle, and we got on smaller boats. Amy and I were
sitting inside the boat and I said it felt as though we were
refugees.lol We arrived in La Paz in the afternoon and got a taxi to a
hostel....it is a really cool place to stay. There is an Irish pub so of
course there are so many Irish people staying here, but the reason it
is so good is that it is really well run. You get your bed and a
wristband that has your number on it and you just run a tab at the
restaurant and bar and pay it all at the end. So thus far I haven't
really spent any money, but I'm not looking forward to getting my bill
at the end!
On Friday Amy and I went mountain biking down the most dangerous road in
the world - Death Road. It was one of the funnest things I have done on
this trip. Amy said that it was the best thing she has done so far, but
I cant really compare it with white water rafting...they are too
different and I loved them both. Firstly we got driven up to 4700 meters
above sea level and it was so cold! We got kitted up and given our
bikes then started off down the hill, but still on a functioning road
with cars and trucks and everything. That was a little scary and it
wasn't even the death road part. We were going so fast because we were
still on the asphalt and we were even overtaking trucks! Then we had to
get back into the car for a little uphill bit and that took us to the
start of the Death Road. Back before the new road was built, there was
something like 100 deaths per year on this road giving it the adequate
title, but now most of the cars use the new road and this part is only
for a few trucks and of course the mountain bikers. This road was all
gravel and you can definitely see why they call it the Death Road...the
cliff simply drops away from the edge and for the first hour of the ride
it just plummets down hundreds of meters! We kept riding past crosses of
people who have come off the edge and died and that wasn't a real good
feeling, but you could go as fast or as slow as you wanted so there was
no pressure. You can probably guess which of the 2 I chose
though....fast. It was the biggest adrenaline rush I have felt in a long
time and the view was amazing; I was in my element! We stopped a lot to
take photos with the amazing scenery behind us so I cant wait to see
what they look like. In all the ride took about 6 hours but it didn't
feel like that at all. At the end they took us to a hostel that had a
pool and we all had a swim and some lunch then it was back to La Paz by
around 8pm. It was a solid 12 hour day and I was so tired by the end and
a little sore also. Amy stayed up that night but I went straight to bed
after possibly the best shower of my life! (That may be exaggerated a
little).
There is so much to do here in La Paz...not all of it my cup of tea
though. Amy loves it; with the worlds first illegal cocaine bar, route
36 (this place changes location every so often to avoid detection),
wrestling women, and a tour of a functioning prison, she is having a
ball. For me though i'm not really into drugs and that scene and ive
seen my fair share of prisons and i hate wrestling....but I don't mind
hanging out at the hostel catching up on writing and stuff. We met a
couple of people from Sydney at the hostel and spent a lot of time with
them. We went to the Coca museum and learnt all about the history of
coca in the region and how it is still used today. There is only a
certain number of farmers that are allowed to grow it and only a certain
number of companies that are allowed to buy it. Coca Cola is still one
of these companies...no wonder coke is addictive! At night La Paz turns
into the party place. I wasn't feeling so good both nights we were there
so I had early ones, but amy went out and partied a lot. It's in a
place like La Paz where you begin to hate the fact that y are staying in
a dorm room....I was in a girls dorm of only 6 beds, but some English
girls didn't get in until about 7am some mornings! It's crazy, I might
sound like a grandma but I need my sleep to function and I don't know
how they can stay out so late.
The day we left La Paz we were both not feeling the best. I had a
stomach bug and Amy was hungover like she had never been before and we
had a 15 hour bus ride ahead of us to Sucre. It actually wasn't that bad
fr me, I slept most of the way next to a lady who smelt like a llama,
but that was ok I shoved my head under my sleeping bag to mask the
smell. The night buses are great here, its good to arrive at a new place
during the day and not have to look around for a hotel in the dark. We
found a hotel near the plaza and had a little wonder around. Amy was
really hungry, but apparently the food places here don't open until
about 11am which is weird. We checked out the tourist agencies to see
what we could do here in Sucre and there is so much on offer from
mountain biking, to hiking to, paragliding, to motorbiking, and so much
more. We decided to have a think about what we wanted to do the next day
and went back to the hotel for a kip. I must have been tired because I
slept in the afternoon, something that I don't normally do. Then when we
went out for dinner at an Italian place, I was on skype and so was
April...it turns out that she was in Sucre too and was just down the
road in another restaurant, so we went and meet up with her.
The next day we went mountain biking, hiking and boating in the secret
canyon. It was one of the nicest things that I have done. First of all
we got driven into the mountains that you can see from the city, then we
started the bike ride down this dirt road. The scenery was amazing and
it was so nice and warm...perfect weather. We rode downhill for a while
then came to this little town in the middle of nowhere. The guide told
us that a dog had given birth to puppies 1 month earlier right on the
side of the road and then when we rode a little further we saw the
puppies.....it was the cutest thing I have seen in ages. There were 6
tiny little pups and they were all wobbly still, but curious. The mother
dog was gorgeous too and really friendly. We got to hold then and pat
them it was definitely a highlight of the day. Then we had a little
uphill section of riding and my legs are surely going to feel it
tomorrow. Its good though, I feel that I am getting nice and fit with
all this adventurous stuff that we are doing. I really like mountain
biking and I think I'm actually going to buy a bike when I get home. The
ride ended with a long flat section along the edge of a canyon with a
chocolate brown river beneath it. Then we started the hike. It wasn't
hard, just a little rocky. We wound our way down to the river passing
abandoned houses along the way. I cant believe people live out here. The
guide said that it was about an 8 hour walk into town to get supplies
and its so rocky and barren; beautiful though. The people all seem
really nice and friendly nd its funny how a simple wave or "hola" to a
little boy can put the biggest smile on your face...and theirs.
Now I don't want anyone to be mistaken when you look at the photos of
this place....we are not in Central Australia....we are in Bolivia.
Honestly this place looks exactly like Kings Canyon (if any of you have
been there). There are gum trees everywhere and little creeks running by
and the smell of eucalyptus really bought me back home. After about an
hours hike we came to the start of the canyon and we stopped and had
some lunch. At the start of the hike the guide said that the water was
running a little too fast for us to row up the canyon, but when we got
down there he started pumping up this tiny little dingy, so we guessed
that it was ok. And when I say tiny, I mean tiny...thins thing was barely 2 inches above the waterline!! Then we went one by one into the
canyon and it was really cool! There had been lots of rain the past few
days so the water was really muddy, and you could see how high it
reached up the canyon walls; it was about 5 meters high. We both had a
go it the boat then walked back to the car that had been following us.
There we picked up 2 young girls that had started the long walk into
town accompanied by their loyal dog. That's the thing I love about
Bolivia; they love their animals and actually take effort to look after
them. The drive back to Sucre was really nice, while Amy slept I was
watching the wonderful landscape of Bolivia pass by and I even saw some
kind of Eagle being hassled by 2 tiny little sparrows. The land out here
is so dry and its hard to think how people farm anything, until you
turn a corner and there is a lush, green oasis filled with crops
stretching out in front of you. It's a beautiful sight!
