El Camino de la Muerte

I am determined to finish blogging about the past several weeks of my adventure! I have to share these memories and visions that have been circulating through my mind and providing me with endless entertainment. I don't think I will ever be board again...every chance I get, every quiet moment alone, I find myself thinking back on some part of my trip...often with a smile, sometimes I laugh out loud, occasionally I cry or feel sad...but I am always entertained :)

Man! Let me tell you about the eight hours I spent on the world's most dangerous road (WMDR). The road runs along the absolute edge of a portion of the Andean mountains connecting the Altiplano terrain of La Paz to the Amazon basin near the city of Coroico. The road starts at 4650 meters of elevation and quickly drops to 1200 meters over the course of 38 miles. It's ability to boast an average of 200 deaths per year since it's creation in the 1930s earned it the official title of "The World's Most Dangerous Road" in 1995 by the Inter-American Development Bank. Most of the two-way road is no wider than 10 feet and the only guard from falling over the edge are the crosses and memorial shrines that can be noticed along every corner and dangerous mile!

The road was built by prisoners of war from Paraguay from 1932-1935 and, for a long time, was the only way to get from La Paz to Coroico and other parts of Bolivia. Most local people who have been forced to risk their lives on this road did it out of necessity...there was no other option. However, there are a few locos out there who make the conscious decision to brave this path for no other reason beyond pure thrill...I can now be included in that group of crazy people!

In my defense, I didn't know too much about the history of the road before signing up for the popular attraction. I figured it was more of a tourist trap and likely not all that dangerous...I did however take care to go with only the most respected agency that is known for it's quality bikes, experienced guides and general respect for the danger of the road. A lot of people make the mistake of going through a cheaper agency to save a few Bolivianos...big mistake! Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking (the group I went with) is the only agency with top of the line bikes, carefully thought out system of keeping tabs on the riders and guides who are trained in rope rescue (which can mean the difference between life and death, come to find out).

Anyway, despite having promised my Dad I wouldn't before I came to Bolivia, I decided that, being the athlete that I am (hmm...was), I simply couldn't leave La Paz without riding down the World's Most Dangerous Road!...

During the course of risking my life, I saw some of the most breathtaking views of my life...absolutely breathtaking! I was soaring past snow capped mountains trying not to focus on the fact that I was on the edge of 11,800 foot mountains going 40 miles per hour! As the elevation quickly dropped, the world around me changed before my eyes...the snow capped mountains turned into waterfalls, the vegetation became more abundant and tropical, layers of clothes began to come off...as we traveled from the freezing Altiplano to the warm jungle basin. It was fascinating!!

The hardest part was keeping my eyes on the road. Our guide strongly warned us ahead of time to ONLY LOOK WHERE YOU WANT YOUR BIKE TO GO! He told us a story about a man who recently fell off the edge of the road but, thankfully, survived. When asked what happened, he said that he was looking at a bird flying by and next thing he knew he was in the air dropping off the edge! Due to this warning, I was so focused on the road that I even missed a huge eagle that soared right over my head (as I was told by one of the other bikers who apparently was not heading the advice of our guide). The guide also told us to stay to the left (closer to the edge) due to the traffic rules of the road....ummmm, no freaking way! I stayed as far to the freaking mountain wall as possible...who was he kidding! Luckily, the traffic on the road is mostly support buses for the bikers since a safer alternate road had been constructed in 2006. Despite the new road, many locals do still brave the WMDR as it is a more direct route between La Paz and Coroico.

The 38 miles were split up into about 30 portions for our group. There was always a guide in front and guide in back of the group. We had to keep at least 75 feet between each bike and regrouped after each leg of the ride. I am going to admit that my competitive spirit was alive and well throughout this dangerous adventure. I didn't want to let the guide out of my sight and was determined to keep up with him and another impressive rider at all times...we often finished each leg looong before the other riders in the group. I did stay within my abilities but it scares me in hindsight to think of how fast we were going and what grave danger I was risking so that I could prove that I could 'keep up with the best of 'em'.

Anyway, the 4 hour bike ride was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! We ended near Coroico and spent the afternoon relaxing in a wildlife rescue in the jungle...eating, drinking, and talking about the ride. The rescue had all kinds of animals roaming around freely...birds, turtles, monkeys, dogs...all rescued from the black markets.

At this point, I was honestly considering moving to La Paz and becoming a guide for Gravity. Our guide, Darren, had moved from the US and was spending 10 months living in La Paz and taking groups of bikers down the road 5 times per week. I told him that it seemed like an exciting life and he informed me that they were in need of more guides! Score! I was all about it....until we took the bus ride back up the road to return to La Paz...

This is when Darren pointed out all the crosses and memorials along the edge and gave us some history behind the road and various deaths. Since 1998, 18 cyclists have lost their lives on the road and many more injured. One woman died as recently as 3 months ago! The deaths are brutal. Often, the people may have been saved if their guides had been trained in rope rescue (as my guide was). There was one story of a bus that fell over the edge killing 200 in one shot. Along our ride up the road, we came head on with other trucks twice. The majority of the road can only accommodate one car so the other trucks had to back up on this windy road until they got to a spot where we could squeak by and pass...ahhhh...it was horribly scary!

(This is Ariel almost getting hit by a crazy bus coming back from a picture...so freaking scary at the time but hysterical after).

The worst part of all...and the part that made me realize for certain that I do not want to be a guide or ever go on this road again...was when we passed a smashed bus that had JUST been involved in an accident on the road killing 13 and injuring 27 (I found out the details on the news that night). It was big news in La Paz and my "Bolivian Mom" and friends back in La Paz had been so worried that I might have been involved. Never again...I can't say that I wouldn't recommended it to others but I, personally, could not risk it again knowing what I do now.

Sorry to have put you through the worry Mom and Dad!! I told them the night before that I was doing it and my Dad was just like "Thanks for telling us" in a very dry manner as if to say "great now we are going to spend the next day worrying". Well, I survived and promise not to do crazy things like this again...or at least not tell you ahead of time ;)

Overall, my day on the World's Most Dangerous Road was one of the most memorable days of my life...I don't think I'll ever top the thrill. I learned so much about mountain biking too! Watch out Muddy Buddy 2011!





(this is a point of the ride back when the road was blocked with big rocks and we had to get out and throw them all off the edge so we could drive by)!