THE DEATH ROAD TO COROICO......

The second weekend in Bolivian Kirk and I decided to sign up for “The Death Road” Mountain Madness bike tour to Coroico. Hailed as on of the most dangerous roads in the world that has claimed over 7000 lives. We’d be alright.
After a 2 hour bus journey to the starting pass “La Cumbre” where you begin at 4640m we mounted our full suspension steeds for the day, they weighed and looked more like motor bikes to be honest, more than a years wage for many a Bolivian I believe.
The start of the day was on asphalt where you were absolutely fleein down at top speeds with the odd gruesome uphill. After an hour and a half we hit the old road where the brown trousers came on and the fun would really start. 3 months prior to our arrival this dust track road was the main thoroughfare for all traffic going from Coroico to La Paz. Scary really, I mean trucks, cars, vans, buses, trikes, bikes, donkeys, lamas, people, the lot, all using this road hardly wide enough for a truck. Needles to say most of the lives claimed over the years were in majority from buses or trucks acting as buses laden full of people and in some cases the driver having had cerveza to many. The whole road is littered with many crosses and plaques to commemorate the poor victims. Seriously there is no way I’d get a bus up or down this road even now without all the other traffic.
The decent had some of the most incredible panoramic views I’ve seen to date with 300m drops at parts and waterfalls crashing onto the path giving a refreshing shower to speed through. Our main guide who led the group was a bit of a cocky guy from Nottingham and to be honest although annoying with his crappy jokes and loud voice he turned out to be a good guide who got us all safely down.
The majority of the trail was downhill from freezing conditions at the start to tropical burning sunshine at the finish, we all deserved a cold beer for surviving the death road. Lucky for us the Esmerelda hotel greeted us all with open arms, beers, buffet lunch, swimming pool and sauna. Agh well I think we may have to spend a couple of nights here then, especially for $10 a night including all food.
After meeting some other fine folk at the hotel Kirk, Morrisio (the son from Kirks La Paz family) and I went out to disco in Coroico. A small town maybe a bit smaller than Banchory, we ended up being invited to a local Birthday Party in a closed down club, oh yes and then of course feet o flames Fiddes got the Salsa Celtica moves out. Well something like that anyway. That night Kirk peed on the hotel room floor, you can take the man out of Antarctica eh, in his defence it may have been a delayed reaction to the fear experienced that day.