La Paz and the Death Road

When we bought the tickets to La Paz the guy told us proud that they even have a toilet on board. We arrived at the Sucre bus station 45 minutes before and paid our terminal tax. Waiting for our bus we stepped out with our luggage as soon as the bus arrived.

But the bus driver didn’t accept our big backpacks since they have to be checked in to check out size and weight. That was a first time for us. Michael rushed up and down to the agency to check in our bags. Sitting in the bus with a 13 hours trip ahead of us we didn’t think of going to the bathroom before. Why, since there was a toilet on board.

When I wanted to use the bathroom it was locked. The guy told me that it is not working, great. The next opportunity would be at midnight in Potosi. Waiting for the stop we really had to concentrate. The bumpy road didn’t really help and unfortunately when we arrived in Potosi, the bus terminal was closed and no toilet around. So the bus driver told us the next stop would be in three hours. For sure we couldn’t sleep until 3am and where happy when we finally arrived.

Due to traffic jam in La Paz we had to walk to our hostel. After checking in we headed towards town and ended up in the Artisan Market. Big mistake since we couldn’t stop shopping and we ended up with an extra bag of 7 kg. Luckily we just have sent off a parcel from Chile with 5 kg and now we just added another 7 kg to our bag. Well, we won’t come back here.

The next day we went on the Mountain Bike Tour with Adventures on Wheels. It was always our dream to drive down the Death Road which was closed for cars since 8 years. 64 km and only 24 km paved the road winds down from 4700 down to 1200m.

What a blast, luckily we had been only a small group with 6 people and two guides. So Michael and I could chase down the road with one of the guides while the four guides stayed behind with the second guide. After almost 4 hours we stopped at a hotel to have buffet lunch, a shower and enjoyed the pool for one hour.

After such an adrenaline shock we came back to the hostel smiling. What a good way to continue to Lake Titicaca and the Sun Island.

Accommodation: Hostal Republica

Price: BOB $ 70 p. p, 6 bed dorm, shared bathroom, incl. breakfast

Comment: nice patios, friendly staff. They have a travel agency just opposite the street.

Tour Operator Death Road: Adventur on Wheels Bolivia
 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Adventure-On-Wheels-Bolivia/610339389045596

Comment: very professional and smaller groups, so you can really enjoy the thrill of the Death
                    Road.