Surving the Death Road and Volcano Country

It feels great to be sitting in front of keyboard right now. Aside from keeping all of you wonderful people updated on the progress of our trip, blogging has also allowed me to appreciate this experience in real time. Writing about the adventure has given me a perspective and understanding that I may have otherwise missed, and for that I am very thankful. Unfortunately, circumstances(lots of inter-city travel, electricity blackouts, etc) in the last few days have made it impossible to spend more than a few minutes on a computer. Naturally, there is much to catch up on, so kuddos to those of you who manage to read the whole thing :)

Ill start where I left off...

We ventured east from the Titicaca beach community of Copacabana destined for Bolivias largest and most modern city. La Paz was a bustling, dirty, yet somehow endearing mess that kept us on our toes at all times. We were warned by books and fellow travellers alike to expect an elevated level of danger compared to previous locations. Thankfully, we emerged unharmed with all possessions in tow. Inner-city La Paz has much to offer, but we found the most exhillarating experience in the region to be a plunge down The Worlds Most Dangerous Road about sn hour out of town. We were picked up early in the morning by two guides and a few fellow thrill seekers, each of us anxious to find out what lay ahead. We left town in the rickety old vans and climbed to about 15,300 feet, the top of La Cumbre Pass and the starting point for our downhill mountain biking journey. The World´s Most Dangerous Road, also known as the Death Road, has earned its nickname a few hundred times over. The road, if you can call it that, is a very rough dirt path about 8 feet across that boasts exposure to waterfalls, wildlife, and sudden death dropoffs from its guardrail free ledges. Before an alternate route was completed in 2006, WMDR was the only overland link between Bolivia´s northern jungle regions and its capital city. Throughout its 80+ years of use as a vehicular transport route, it is said that Death Road claimed an average of 300 lives annually. It is much safer now, as commercial traffic has been banned, but it remains a terrifying mountain bike endeavor nonetheless. We began the 35 mile, 10,000+ foot decent amidst thick cloud cover, which proved to be a bit of a mixed blessing. Sure, I could only see a few feet in front of me, but the thick clouds also kept me from peering to the bottom of the 1000 foot drop that lay menacingly over my left shoulder. Once visibility improved, reality set in and my heart began to race as I plummetted over boulders, under waterfalls, and through mud. Had I fallen to my death, my last views would have been of a remarkably beautiful rainforrest landscape; Im happy to have survived, but there are certainly worse ways to bite the dust. Having reached the bottom, we were greeted by the lead guide, enthusuastically proclaiming ¨you survived the worlds most dangerous road!¨. This was definitely an experience that tested my limits, and one that I will not soon forget.
From La Paz, we made our way via 11 hours of bus and train to to the dusty town of Uyuni. Uyuni is, in all honesty, a major dump, but it serves as the launching point for three day Land Cruiser tours of the strangest and most otherworldy landscape I have ever seen. Day one of our tour, guided by a local named Andres, was to Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world. The Salar´s uniqueness and attraction does not come from its massive size, but rather the 4¨ of water that blankets it during the rainy season. The effect of the flood water is such that the ground creates a perfect mirror image of the sky, resulting in a truly hallucinogenic experience for visitors. A picture can explain this effect far better than any description, so definitely take the time to google ¨salar de uyuni in the wet season¨. I had been looking forward to seeing this for months, and it did not disappoint. It truly felt like being on another planet.
During the second day of the tour, we winded our way through Bolivia´s rugged and unforgiving southern desert regions. The surreality continued as we witnessed wild volcanic rock formations, a red lagoon, wild llamas, and endangered flamingos. That night, eager for excercise, myself and two friends went for a self guided hike of the area surrounding our lodging. We unexpectedly stumbled upon a small canyon and, making our way to the bottom, hiked along its bed for about an hour. At one point we found the strewn remains of an alpaca that had clearly been hunted and killed by a fellow canyon animal. I opted to hang on to the skull in order to give the girls a good scare later in the day. Walking the rest of the distance with an alpaca skull was not exactly pleasant, but the scare was tremendously hilarious and we managed to get it on video. Watch for it on Facebook when we get home :)
We woke up around 5am on the third day to watch the sunrise from the top of another active volcano, the surface of which was littered with steaming crevases filled with boiling sulfer water. I was surprised that we were permitted to walk around on such a volatile surface, and pleased when my clumsiness did not cause me to trip and fall into the depths of the earth. Shortly after the volcano, we descended in the Land Cruiser to a natural hot springs on the edge of a lagoon where we bathed and ate a hearty pancake breakfast. The rest of the day was spent in the car making our way back to Uyuni.
That night around 3am we departed on another 11 hour journey to the vibrant city of Cochabamba, my present location. Our three days in Cochabamba are sandwiched by the rough and dirty Uyuni tour and Carnaval in Oruro, which begins tomorrow. For those of you who are not familiar, Carnaval is a party of epic proportions celebrated in various cities throughout South America. I have not doubt that the next three days will be among the wildest of my entire life. I cant wait to tell you all about it! Anyway, we have been focused on only one thing in Cochabamba: relaxation. We are splurging a bit by staying in hotels instead of hostels and eating fancy dinners in a few of the cities finest restaurants. Thanks to Bolivia´s remarkably advantageous traveller economy, living luxuriously is still extremely cheap. This is the calm before the Carnaval storm, and a much needed opportunity to unwind and enjoy hot showers and fantastic food.
Watch for another entry on the 16th or 17th and, as always, thanks for reading!

Responses to comments-
Mom- You will be relieved to know that I just bought a large bottle of sun block. No more sunburns for me!

Lindsey- We are having the time of our lives. I will be sorry to part ways with the girls in a few days, but Im sure you are excited to have them home :)

Hilda- Thanks for keeping up with the blog! Im looking forward to getting together for dinner sometime when I get back

Katie- I miss you guys! Give all of the kids a big hug and kiss for me. I havent been able to get any of my pictures up on facebook, but Im looking forward to giving you a slide show when I get home!

Kyle- thanks for reading buddy. Cant wait til March when I can hang out with you in the Fort.

Barbara- Thanks so much for reading. You are a very special person and one that I am very pleased to share my experiences with. And thanks for the Rick Steves comparison, he is my hero :)

Ryan- Hey buddy, how is school going so far? I think you will be a great history professor, Indiana Jones, or anything else that you put your mind to. I cant wait to see how you decide to use that wonderful brain of yours!
The salt flats were so cool, it is a great spot for you to ride your bike. And yes, I saw HUNDREDS of flamingos .
Thanks again for your comments pal, they make my day.
PS- I DO NOT LOOK DORKY IN A COWBOY HAT :)