Deadly Downhill

G'day Viewers!
In the last week I have entered and exited Bolivia, in the process seeing some of the most incredible and diverse landscapes in the world. But before that... I rode down Yungas Road, the worlds most deadly road.
Starting in La Paz, I was unaware that Bolivia was one hour ahead of Peruvian time, so from the offset I was slightly behind the eight-ball. We got to the starting point at 4700 meters above sea level and had a coca tea and talked about the day ahead.
We were to ride about 62 kilometres along the road that has claimed the most lives out of any. In the process we would drop to a lung-filling 1200 meters.

So off we went, with very light heads and very numb extremities. Hurtling along the first part of the road faster than any of the cars was an experience. The first twenty kilometres is sealed road, and all guides seem to think that their passengers are Cadel Evans, so they set a mean pace along there.

Fairly happy to have stopped at this corner

Once we'd reached the real stuff, the pace slowed down, but the 100 meter vertical cliffs made sure that there was no drop in adrenaline. With the mountain on the right, and turning to the right, there was always a small feeling of "I'm gone", but you get used to it. The guides stopped periodically to tell us where some of the notable deaths had happened, including 12 people on mountain bikes in the last twenty years. The worst ever incident was when two tour buses collided head on and 102 people died. Our whole group made it to the bottom injury free, which now seems more impressive since I was told that another group that day had six stacks, including one from the guide.

What better way to debrief than with some out of date and warm Bolivian beer

The Death Road in Bolivia was an incredible adrenaline rush, and something definitely worth doing while in La Paz. Having said that, the road was not as dangerous as I had envisioned. The roads were wider than Top Gear might have you believe, and the cliffs are steep and high but there are rails in most of the worst spots.

How'd ya go Zac?

Old Mate getting some cheap giggles

The next day Steph and I boarded a lovely little bus, completely suitable for the unsealed and heavily potholed roads to Uyuni. This was the launching spot for the salt flats tour. Talking about the salt flats involves a lot of photos of me generally being a dickhead, and I know that that's exactly what you all want! So it is another post for another time. Stay tuned!