Breathless Bolivia part 2

Getting on and off a 6088m mountain, I thought I would be done with dangerous stuff in Bolivia. Well, I would have to guess again !!! This country has a whole lot more kicks in stock, but I just picked one more. Starting in La Cumbre near La Paz, at an altitude of 4700m, I biked down the 63km to Oroico, sitting at a nice and breathable 1750m. The road that goes that way is called 'The Death Road', because apparently it is the most dangerous road in the world. Well, one study back in 1997 determined this, since the road has about one fatal accident every other day ! It's a steep 3km drop from the misty Cordillera Real pass of La Cumbre to the lush setting of Coroico. On the way, the weather changes from foggy, cold and snowy to dusty and steamingly hot. Nice ! As promised, it was the kick of a life-time, and unlike any downhill mountain road in Europe you can bike, this one keeps on coming to you for more ! Since safety is a big concern on this road, I picked a company that really had excellent bikes, a radio guide and good knowledge of the terrain. If you ever want to do this, go with Eco Adventure Bolivia, they're the best. Anyways, after a shivering start at La Cumbre, we were quickly flying down over asphalt (only the first 15km are paved though), zooming by cars and trucks, all making their long way down to holiday resort Coroico. Since it was Easter Friday, there was a lot of traffic on the road, as well as other (reckless) bikers. Unfortunately, one Bolivian girl who attempted this road on her own and without a helmet slipped, crashed into the concrete and died. The road served its deadly honour. In our group as well, one older Bolivian guy neglected safety warnings and slipped, luckily going uphill, and had to be taken to the hospital for stitches in his face. Anyways, I wasn't thinking about all the crashing possibilities on the road, and just put the mind and body to the adrenaline test, which was great at 65km an hour. Together with a couple of bike-minded Aussies, we had put ourselves in the 'fast group', and by the time we hit the unpaved part, we were drooling on the 1km ravines right next to us. Every 100m we passed a cross of another unlucky soul, and from a far we could see the scars of numerous landslides that crashed cars and trucks in the deep as well. The road was getting muddy by that point as well, as several waterfalls just dump their water on the way. Nice and wet. After a couple of stops for the necessary food and refreshments, we hit the jungle part which gradually became hotter and hotter. By this time, our guide had a green light to go full speed again, and with no trucks or combis in sight (well we could hardly see them in the dust anyways) we were going full suspension on the rocks and stones, sometimes breaking for a curb or dog on the way. And after 3.5h of pure kicks we reached Coroico, where we could shower off the dust of our faces, get lunch and grab a cold beer with the kick ass view of the road we just did. If that weren't enough, the Hotel Esmeralda where we cleaned up let us take a dip in their pool, which was together with the warm sun the best treat ever after so many days at high altitude. No need to mention that after this trip, I was completely knackered and slept for 14h again. Bolivia gets in your system !So, after this week of kicks and dangerous undertakings, I am going to take it easy and wait until the Easter madness blows over before heading my way to Uyuni, where I hopefully join up again with my other Canadian buddy Kurt and drive around the Salares (salt deserts) for 4 days. Until then, ten cuidado and drive safe ! (no option in Bolivia)