La Paz - WMDR & Fiesta

Fiesta!
see all photos »

Saturday 28th July – La Paz

We arrived into La Paz at about 7am. Feeling a little tired from the journey, we soon found our bearings and decided to walk the 2kms or so to our Hotel. The bus station is at the top of the hill so you basically just need to walk down the main street which leads directly into central La Paz. As we turned to go up the street in the direction of our Hotel, who did we bump into to? Yes the Yanks, (Carlos and Kate) getting out of a Taxi. They explained to us why they had not turned up for dinner, (after a 12 hour bus ride neither of us could really be bothered hearing about it!) but said that we will surely bump into them again while in La Paz. We walked up the steep street to our Hotel and checked in. We could not check into our room for a few hours so feeling a little hungry we headed to a little Cafe for a buffet breakfast which included muesli, yoghurt, bread, jams, fruit and eggs for Leigh. Well would you believe it, there again were Carlos and Kate with there traveling friends so we joined them, but still tired could not be bothered engaging in much conversation. We finished up, said good bye and set off to explore La Paz.

Naked Man scaling church
see all photos »

A common thing in South America is fiestas! We arrived the day of a massive long one in La Paz that ran down the main streets of the downtown area. There was such a great vibe around the city which made it heaps of fun just to walk around. There were lots of market vendors, heaps of locals enjoying lots of food and drinks, all before lunch time too! We had to get to the Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking office, to pay for our ride for the next day. We received all our registration pack, rules etc and headed back to the crowds very excited about our upcoming adventure. This was around 11.30am so we headed back to the hotel to check in. We had the choice of 2 rooms - one on the first floor were it was rather quiet or one on the top floor with amazing views over La-Paz. We took the top room and were just blown away by the view! We had a panoramic view over the city, the surrounding neighborhoods clustered on the steep hills and a shot of the snow capped Mount Iilmas proudly over looking the city. We paid a bit more than usual for this Hotel so were stoked at the view it made the extra cost worth while. We freshened up with cold showers, arghh and hit the fiesta again, with the locals becoming more drunk by the second! It was cool to explore the city with all the goings on but things had got to much for one gringo. He had decided to climb San Francisco church naked, with around 2000 onlookers he was providing as much entertainment as the fiesta. Several attempts to get him down were unsuccessful. The Bolivian authorities were very un-prepared to handle such a problem, but eventually sent down an abseiler. The drunken man then climbed onto the slack of the rope... well it was not pretty from here! The men on the roof started pulling the abseiler and the naked guy hanging on the rope up to the top of the church when at about 2 stories high, the drunk man let go of the rope and plummeted to the ground! This all happened in front of 2000 people, while Jo had turned the other way as she knew he would fall. We were right at the back and saw him land on about 10 again unprepared Police men who just happened to be standing underneath him.

Mountain view from our hotel
see all photos »

We rejoined the crowds, exploring the little markets everywhere. La Paz is such a great city and just so cool to explore. Due to the early start we had the next day, we had a early dinner at a middle eastern restaurant, recommended to us by the mountain bike company, and headed home.

Sunday 29th July – La Paz – Worlds most dangerous road!

The alarms sounded at 6.30am, unfortunately Jo had been sick through the night so was not feeling the best. We had to meet at the Cafe at 7.30am and managed to get there on the dot and in time for roll call and met our tour guide. His name is Alister, the owner of the company and also from Wellington! He has lived in La Paz for around 9 years! We boarded the bus and headed for the start of the ride. We climbed to almost 5000 metres before stopping at the top for what was the best day of our traveling yet...well maybe ever! We all got issued our gear, and it was soon apparent why the company we choose is so highly recommended and is the price it is. Even though we took the budget option and were the only ones that did, the gear is top of the line and the emphasis on safety is amazing. We looked at the other companies and they really did look like cowboys, there safety brief was less that half of ours! The ride comprises of a 26km ride down an ashphelt road, before turning off onto the "worlds most dangerous road".

On the edge...
see all photos »

The ashphelt road is the main highway, so there were trucks, bus and anything on wheels riding down the road. We started above the clouds and rode in a single file with 1 guide at the front, 1 at the back. The best thing about the Company is it lets you ride at your level, so it was not long before the two of us were booming down the road at the front of the pack, hitting speeds of at least 60km, overtaking trucks, steering through sweeping corners amongst some of the most spectacular scenery ever! Well one of the major rules are keeping 2 bus lengths apart, did Leigh listen? After the 2nd stage he was given his first waring from the Guide, not to get to close! How it works is the first waring is polite and the next is a bollocking and put back on the bus! Taking on board the criticism he extended the distance but it did not deter either of our speeds! We passed through 2 checkpoints, one for drugs, the next to pay some dodgy tourist tax which we are well use to now.

Having fun on the WMDR!
see all photos »

We continued the paved road for another hour before turning off onto the what we will say is the most exhilarating thing you can do! We stopped at the top of the road and was given our next briefing accompanied with a banana and chocolate bar. We then set off on from what will be a gravel road for the rest of the ride. Heading around the first ridge we were both gob smacked. The road was extremely narrow and dangerous, chiseled out of the hill. The best thing is this road is still in use, so we had to keep in the back of minds that around the next blind corner there might be a 600 meter drop on the left, and an on coming truck. Did we mention that you HAVE to ride on the left tire track? That is the track nearest to the edge! Well as it goes the two of us were at the front, (yes two bus lengths behind the guide) but with all the danger around we were going at a great pace, every now and then you take a corner and see it just disappear under you pedal! The ride is completed in about 4 stages. It is paced really well and the guides are always checking the brakes, tyre pressure etc. What added to the drama of it all were the points we stopped - memorials either for a truck or cyclist that had gone over the edge! Half way down we stopped for a sandwich and a few tales of the road provided by our guide. We continued down, both of us just loving every minute of it, corner after corner, straight after straight, it was just THE BEST!.

Postcard shot
see all photos »

As it goes the fun must end, we got to the bottom, dusty, wet (includes 2 river crossings) but with biggest smiles ever! What is cool is the tour concludes with a free cold beer, a hot shower and a Pasta buffet at an animal sanctuary. We enjoyed our ride so much and it was a great place to relax. We got on so well with our group and all exchanged stories throughout the afternoon. Well just when you think it is over... it's not! We held a group vote and decided to drive back the way we came, i.e. along the WMDR (world's most dangerous road)! We must say that it really sunk in what we had just accomplished. We looked at each other and could not quiet believe that we had been down there so fast. I think that if we drove it first we might well have gone ½ the speed! We arrived back to La Paz at around 9pm, tired and still on a massive buzz. It was sad goodbye to everyone, not only had the ride been good but so had the people we did it with. We went to bed, I think both of us were still smiling about it as we slept. P.S Barbs and Rosemary, we have left a few stories out which we will tell over dinner...

Monkey at the animal sanctuary
see all photos »

Monday 30th July – La Paz

Today was very much a recovery day after all the excitement from yesterday. So we decided to wander around La Paz. Leigh thought it would be a good idea to get the DVD of the bike ride so we went down and chatted to Alistair (the owner) and organised to pick up a copy later on in the evening. We then went out for lunch, which was terrible as we went to Burger King as there was a nice balcony in the sun and it meant Jo could have a salad... which aren't to be trusted at too many places! We found out there was a jail – San Pedro prison in walking distance from town i.e. Very close which is a little scary, so we wandered up the hill to this jail. There are signs out saying that tourists can not enter so without knowing anyone in there, we couldn't get in, but we did see the courtyard where they are all allowed there 10 mins or so to greet their family members from the outside world. Staring with fascination and taking a couple of sneaky photos we moved away as the guard with a massive machine gun was giving us the dirtiest looks.

Leigh, Jo and Kelly after being the front runners of the ride and surving!
see all photos »

By this stage of the day it was getting rather hot and it is so easy to get dehydrated from the altitude, so we had to sit down in our hotel for a while before embarking on the Black markets. We spent an hour or so just wandering through these markets which sold everything, especially illuminous pink and green wool for knitting some funky clothes. After not much haggling at all, Jo purchased a grey lama wool poncho for just over 2 pounds. It is super warm and makes you not look so much like a gringo! Quite funny as there was a point when Leigh couldn't find Jo in a square outside the cathedral as she blended in so well! We then popped down to pick up our DVD after stopping in a chocolate shop (yum!) only to find out it hadn't been done. So after much discussion, they paid for a taxi for us to go and pick it up from a house. On the way back we saw a Japanese restaurant so jumped out of the taxi, which was pretty cool as it was another side of town we hadn't visited before. This restaurant ended up being closed, but Leigh found out where there was another one. So we wandered a few blocks and found it, empty, as it was only 6pm, but we have been eating so early it's strange!! We were both so glad we went there as we splashed out and had the freshest sushi, chicken terriyaki, beef noodles, rice, miso soup, veges etc.. all for a very expensive 8 pounds. On the way back we stopped at most of the little stalls that sell lots of things, particularly chocolate bars for very cheap. So we thought it would only be fair if we bought from almost every stall and get to sample all the yummy chocolate unique to Bolivia. P.S. Dee would be in heaven here, as all sweets, chocolates etc are super cheap!!