Surviving the Death Road

After returning from Copacabana and Lake Titicaca our next adventure was to mountain bike down the old road from the Andes above La Paz at 17,000 ft. to the subtropical Yungas at 3,000 ft. We arrived at the tour agency at 6:30 AM, met the great group that would join us for the day, then an hour later were on our high end downhill bikes at the pass covered in snow. The canyons we descended rivaled Hell´s Canyon and the snow gradually gave way to tropical vegetation. During the section of the ride known as the Death Road vertical cliffs dropped away from the narrow, rough dirt road. Eventually we were Death Ride Survivors lounging at the pool of a hotel near the end of the ride. We drove back to La Paz on the new road that bypasses the section we rode, amazed at what we had just accomplished. Bolivia is a wild and exotic place, and in a few minutes we are off on an entirely different type of adventure. If you are interested look up Huayna Potosi. For the next two nights we will be staying at two different huts on the flanks of this great peak.