Dean and Gillian's World Tour: La Paz

After the tranquility of Copacabana and Lake Titicaca it was time to head to the Metropolis that is the Capital City of Bolivia : La Paz.

We were a bit apprehensive about the place: crime, drugs and the Infamous San Pedro prison from the TV show "Banged up Abroad".

However we couldn't have been more wrong. It was a fantastic city set in a set among huge snow capped mountains. If we thought Cuzco was altitude we discovered La Paz was tough going very hilly and 3700M high !!

Entering The City of La Paz.

We stayed in a very comfortable Hostal in a central location and soon found out lots of cool things to do.

We spend a day in the City and went to visit the Coca museum (and how you make cocaine !!) and the witches market. The market sold all manner of weird things including Llamas foetus' (used as a good luck gift amoung Quechans).

The Witches Market.

There was lots of adventurous activies to do around the city and no self respecting Member of the Corstorphine Adventure Activites Club could pass up the chance to Mountain Bike down the worlds most dangerous road.

The road from the Cumbre Pass 4700M descending down 64K on an old dirt road to the Jungle at Coroica at 1800M.

The road used to be very busy with traffic and the 1000M drop off at the edges was the result of many fatalities over the years, giving it the title of the "Worlds most Dangerous Road". However these days the Bolivian authorities have been a new road for the main stream of traffic, and now the road is a mecca for thrill seeking tourists.

To be honest if you are fairly competent cyclist the road posed no problem. The day we set off down the road it was a true scottish day foggy and raining, so unfortunatly the full effect of the massive drop offs were lost on us. However by lunch we fog and rain lifted and we enjoyed some serious shredding down last jungle sections of the road.

Ready to face death !!!!

Its down there somewhere !!!!

Safe after our brush with death !!!!!

The ride finished at an animal sanctuary which was great to see lots of rescued monkeys and parrots.

Parrots at the animal sanctuary.

Next day we took at trip upto Chacaltya Mountain, which is Bolivia's premier ski resort !!!. Unfortunetly we were in the wrong season, but there was a few patches of snow to have a snowball fight in. Due to global warming there Chacaltya glacier has dissapeared and the skiing all but gone. It was really sad to see a once busy ski field become deralict. We has a very slow hike up to the summit at 5400M. I was definatly feeling a bit quesy on the way up but it was worth it for the views.