La Paz, Bolivia- Biking on Death Road and Threats of Deportation

Hello family and friends,

We are currently in Sucre, Bolivia where we will be for the next couple weeks absorbing as much espanol as we possibly can. We spent the last four nights in La Paz, the highest capital city in the world. It is also known for cocaine, but no pun intended. We were lucky enough to get to share some of our days with our new friends from Australia, Sean and Michelle, who we met on the tour to Uyuni. We immediately discovered that Bolivia was going to be a break on our wallets. Our first full breakfast with eggs, bread, jam, fresh squeezed juice and coffee cost us 3 USD. We will not be cooking for the next couple weeks. La Paz is also a great place to shop. There is a never ending amount of authentic products, such as alpaca wool clothing, at incredible prices. Unfortunately, we have to carry what we buy so our bags are now bursting at the seams

While in La Paz, we had a very enjoyable stay. We ate some meals with the Aussies, walked around the city site seeing and shopping, and took a bicycle tour down the most dangerous road in the world (a rocky dirt road 3 meters wide at points with a 600 meter drop)

We did however have a slight problem with our entry visas into Bolivia. When we crossed the border from Chile into Bolivia, the immigration officer did not want to process our visa. He kept telling us we could take care of it when we got to Uyuni. We told him if it was all the same, we would prefer just to get it done with him. He kept repeating that it was ok if we did it in Uyuni. We eventually gave up and moved on. Two days later when we arrived in Uyuni, it was Easter Sunday and the immigration office was closed. We didn't want to stay in Uyuni so we booked a bus to La Paz. We figured since we were already in the country, why would it matter where we get our stamp? Well, apparently it does matter. When we arrived at immigration in La Paz, they were really confused as to why we didn't have our visas. We explained the situation to them, including the lazy officer and the closed office. The gentlemen we were speaking with told us we had to pay a large sum of Bolivianos for failure to get our visa. We told him that we should not have to pay a fine as it was not our fault. At this point he told us that if we didn't pay he would have us deported. Most people get deported out of the US, but we were going to get deported into the US from Bolivia, a bit backwards but ok. Anyway long story less long. Mila karate chopped several police officers on our way out of the building. We are now hiding out in a anonymous location. Jk...

Please enjoy the following images and accompanying stories from our oxygen deprived stay in La Paz.

A view from above- La Paz is built in the middle of a mountain range. The houses are stacked on top of each other. The richer residents live further down in the city, a bit contrary to the way things work in the US
















Mila enjoying the view




This was a great spot to think about the things we have experienced in the last 10 months. Yes, the reflection has begun








You have to share moments in places like this because you may never be there again




We eventually left the mirador and saw this little guy at the bottom. It was a bit cold so he put on his jacket




We spent the rest of the day walking around the city streets observing and people watching

Most countries in South America, thus far, have not mastered efficiency with power lines. Two examples








Plaza Murillo












These pigeons were crazy. Some of the ladies had birds all over them




A few other pictures from our walk
















On a different day, we took a stroll out to another look out point which was at the end of a park








Weeeeeee!!!!!




One of the most beautiful things in Bolivia is the way some of the women dress. They wear very colorful outfits with top hats. You have to be careful taking pictures of them though, or at least ask for permission. These same women have a wrestling organization in the hills of La Paz called Cholito's wrestling. They actually battle it out WWE style. We did not attend because we did not find out about it until it was too late, but I bet it is classic
Sneaky...








San Francisco Plaza- near our hostel, a great location to stay




Many women carry their children in the pouches below




The witches market (we didn't name it)- They sell everything from authentic clothing to llama fetuses, quite strange. We will spare you the image of the llamas

One vendedor taking a siesta




Mila perusing for Bolivian products




Another interesting site in La Paz is the infamous San Pedro prison. For those of you who have never heard of it, it is a prison in the heart of La Paz, but with several irregularities. First, on the outside, it does not resemble a prison at all. It takes up a block of a beautiful plaza and you wouldn't know it was a there if you weren't looking for it. Second, there are no guards patrolling the inside of the prison. The inmates roam around and self regulate the prison. The police on the outside basically let anything go as long as they are getting paid. The inmates run shops, restaurants, and drug operations out of their rooms. The police know this is going on, but as long as they are seeing some of the action, no problems. Third, the inmates have to buy the room they stay in, food they eat, and so on. There is a whole real estate market inside the jail. Economics applies. When is the right time to buy and sell, etc? Fourth, the families of the inmates are allowed to stay in the prison with them. The children play amongst each other as if it were a regular neighborhood. And finally, tourists are (hush hush) able to take tours through the prison and they used to be able to spend the night as long as they paid the right people. All this is chronicled in the book, "Marching Powder," which is written by one of the "tour operators," and a tourist that visited the prison often. Mila and I didn't want to get too close but here is the front gate. We went closer and the inmates were staring out at us, a bit creepy




And finally el dia de la "death road." We booked our tour with Sean and Michelle using the most recommended company in La Paz, Gravity Assisted Tours. They have the safest, most qualified guides and the best bikes. We were told the bikes cost $2500.00 each not including a 30% import tax since they buy the bikes from California. With the guides and the bikes, we were ready to go. They call the road, "the most dangerous road in the world," because there have been so many deaths on it. It is basically a one lane rocky road that needs to fit two cars. Most cars have fallen off when trying to squeeze by an on coming vehicle. The biggest tragedy involved 106 people in a truck that tried to back up for another truck. The tires went over the edge and so did the truck full of people. There have also been many biking fatalities so safety is paramount when you do this trip
Our guide Raf making sure Mila was ready for action and the rest of the group getting mentally, physically and equipmentally prepared








The first stretch is on pavement and is a good warmup before death road. This was out first stop




Damn it feels good to be a gangster








Death road- it's pretty intimidating but everyone is allowed to go at his/ her own pace




One wrong move and its a long way down




Our crew applying sunblock. The weather changed from cold to hot as we dropped from near 5000 meters to 1500 meters




On this stretch, where the van is, we went under a waterfall on a very narrow portion of the road. We stopped our van off here on the way back up and the drop was impressive








Sean and Michelle in their matching pink shirts




Mila and I making sure we have plenty of potassium for the journey




At the end of our ride, Sean took a zip line head first (like superman) over the valley in this stunning skirt vest




The day concluded with a spaghetti dinner at an animal refuge with hot showers and lots of animals that have been rescued

A monkey greeted us at the gate




And some other creatures




Don't stare at him, it's rude








In the ride back up death road, our guide entertained us with stories of tragedies over the years. There have been many, but we are all safe with one more great experience under our belts. Thanks to Sean and Michelle for sharing this part of our journey with us. See everyone else next time from Sucre, the old capital of Bolivia

-Mila and Scott


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Location:6,,Bolivia