20th of April - La Paz to Coroico in the Yungas
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Nice and relaxing ride, though some assholes on the road.
From La Paz to Coroico one crosses a pass of 4.400m...cold.
The reward on the other side of the pass: Trucha, still on 3.400m :-)
Big face :-))
We passed by the entrance of the "Camino de la Muerte", the world famous death road. In the past the whole traffic incl. buses and trucks had to go this earth track winding thru the mountains on steep cliffs up to 800m high. As a consequence hundreds of deaths per year. Now a tourist attraction, mainly for guided downhill mountain biking with tour operators. I still wondered if we should go this way back to La Paz....
Coroico on the mountain in the back. The last 9km up from Yolosa to Coroica a shabby dirt track. In Coroica steep cobblestone alleys with humidity and some clay on top are the hell on earth; you get hardly hold with your boots on the surface. In Coroico as well small flies which bite like Mosquitos or worse…
...but after searching and searching for a bit nicer Hostal our beautiful Hotel Esmeralda with a view over the whole mountain scenery from our room.
Down there at the pool these small flies waiting for their victims :-(
nice views from our room
again with snake detector on our small hike...also here these small flies hiding
Coffee
"Off" (anti mosquito spray) while servicing the bike :-) (with rain pants on)
and some "Singani" desinfection :-))
The next morning the decision: Death road yes or no...yes.
First a local came towards us on the wrong side, then also mountain bikers which surely were instructed to drive on the left (the only road in Bolivia where you have to drive on the left)
Really beautiful...lots of water from the rain forest above
Some mountain bikers testing the height. Should one do this, playing with the devil?
This is a place where it drops down approx. 800m...one cannot see
This gives a better impression
This was the only dangerous section I would say. Good that I had no time to think when we crossed over. The rest depends on whom you meet on the road or careful they are. A hundred mountain bikers we met on the way and all the supporting cars. The drivers of the supporting cars were really careful and gave space.
On the normal road again and again a trucha before heading into the chaos of La Paz
After La Paz a gas station where initially they didn't want to sell us gas...often a matter of negotiation in Bolivia for how much a foreigner would get gasoline
« Back to journal
Nice and relaxing ride, though some assholes on the road.
From La Paz to Coroico one crosses a pass of 4.400m...cold.
The reward on the other side of the pass: Trucha, still on 3.400m :-)
Big face :-))
We passed by the entrance of the "Camino de la Muerte", the world famous death road. In the past the whole traffic incl. buses and trucks had to go this earth track winding thru the mountains on steep cliffs up to 800m high. As a consequence hundreds of deaths per year. Now a tourist attraction, mainly for guided downhill mountain biking with tour operators. I still wondered if we should go this way back to La Paz....
Coroico on the mountain in the back. The last 9km up from Yolosa to Coroica a shabby dirt track. In Coroica steep cobblestone alleys with humidity and some clay on top are the hell on earth; you get hardly hold with your boots on the surface. In Coroico as well small flies which bite like Mosquitos or worse…
...but after searching and searching for a bit nicer Hostal our beautiful Hotel Esmeralda with a view over the whole mountain scenery from our room.
Down there at the pool these small flies waiting for their victims :-(
nice views from our room
again with snake detector on our small hike...also here these small flies hiding
Coffee
"Off" (anti mosquito spray) while servicing the bike :-) (with rain pants on)
and some "Singani" desinfection :-))
The next morning the decision: Death road yes or no...yes.
First a local came towards us on the wrong side, then also mountain bikers which surely were instructed to drive on the left (the only road in Bolivia where you have to drive on the left)
Really beautiful...lots of water from the rain forest above
Some mountain bikers testing the height. Should one do this, playing with the devil?
This is a place where it drops down approx. 800m...one cannot see
This gives a better impression
This was the only dangerous section I would say. Good that I had no time to think when we crossed over. The rest depends on whom you meet on the road or careful they are. A hundred mountain bikers we met on the way and all the supporting cars. The drivers of the supporting cars were really careful and gave space.
On the normal road again and again a trucha before heading into the chaos of La Paz
After La Paz a gas station where initially they didn't want to sell us gas...often a matter of negotiation in Bolivia for how much a foreigner would get gasoline
