D119: Death Road biking! :-)

Death Road. The name sounds terrific and dangerous, isn't it?
Built in the 1930s, the road connects La Paz with the Amazon rainforest in the North. The section nicknamed Death Road is a 69-kilometre mostly-downhill stretch of harrowing turns with up to 600m drops on the side in some areas. There are no guardrails, the road is made of gravel, pebbles, and stones, and is often the width of one lane.

The van carrying the bikes

We are riding with Altitude, (the day-tour organizers), which sounds to be serious and providing all the right equipment as well as good bikes. We hop in the van carrying the bikes, and drive up to the starting point.

The drive to the start is actually quite long, a good 1h30mn, as leaving La Paz and its traffic jams is challenging.

They drove up to La Cumbre, standing at 4,650m, where we will start the paved section of the trip for about an 1h30, descending 1,600m lower at 3,000m, with probably 40 Km to ride I would say / estimate.

Getting geared is fun: they have amazing mountain-bikes, with front & back absorbers, and we will wear a full protection, with integral helmet, elbow and knee pads, wrist-guards... wow, feel well protected!



SECTION 1: PAVED ROAD
Once all geared up, we test a bit the bikes at the top and check bikes & co... well, at that high altitude, despite we've been high since 10 days, doing just a bit of paddling around is already much more exhausting than it should be, interesting to experience.
The panorama is nice, we are just close to the snow limit, with 6-7,000m peaks surrounding us. The temperature is cold... probably not more than 5°C, and it's windy so feeling is less. We're lucky as the day is gorgeous, with blue sky and sun helping to enjoy the day.

The 1st section is pretty smooth to ride down. Except the start where indeed altitude adds a challenge, most of the road is well maintained, so it is easy to ride. There are some crazy trucks & cars passing to watch-out, and amazing 180° sharps turns to handle with low-speed, but all is good.
The scenery is nice, with very dry and arid mountains: it contributes adding a special feel going down this lost road somewhere in Bolivia, in the middle of the Andes, I liked it.

La Cumbre lake & pass, from where we will start - 4,650m high

At the top just before starting, cheering!
Marina - Valerie - Nina - Dave - George - Andrew - myself

Top view of the paved road to ride the 1st valley

Break & briefing

Riding as fast as possible, of course ;-)

SECTION 2: THE DIRT, REAL "DEAT ROAD" PART
After some time riding down, we do a break and have a snack, then get up in the van another 20mn to reach the 2nd part of the road... which is the one which gave the name to the road, as this is an un-paved, dirt & rocks 1-lane width with no guardrails type of road...
From the start, we can see this tiny dirt road winding through a steep valley, with deep rainforest / jungle all around... we are now close to the Amazon, and around 3,000m, so the vegetation completely changed and is very lush.

We have another briefing to learn the rules on this dangerous road:
- drive on the left... i.e. where the cliff is!! oh, wow, ok... that means passing by the right, I got it ;)
- slow down / stop when trucks / cars are passing by... as they are not really driving safely
- be careful on the bike and always control the handlebar strongly: sure, makes sense!

From the start, I loved it. Our 2 guides are taking care of us well, with 1 in the front and the other one in the back, with the 2 vans on top being here to help in case of issue.
The ride on the road is not easy, but not as difficult as I was expecting. There are big rocks and holes to handle, while taking care of not falling in the cliff on the left, or hitting other cyclists, but once you're really into riding down, you do not thing too much anymore of the cliff, and just stay focussed on keeping the bike up and straight.

The views around are also very nice, with this lush rainforest, waterfalls, the full valley winding in front of us... many breaks are done to check everyone is following and to rest, which allows to enjoy the scenery.

We went down on the dirt road for a good 2h, where just before the bottom I follow a guide into a real mountain-biking track on 200m of descent... i.e. straight into the rocks, wow, so challenging but so fun and sporty! Not sure I can add another sport to all those practiced already, but I would like it for sure ;-)

At 3pm we are down, all alive and happy to move to a hostel / restaurant for 2h, where we'll get lunch then some good time in a pool... It's 35°C down here, super sunny, while in La Paz it's probably no more than 12°C... hehehe, this was a good day option choice ;-)

Overall, amazing experience to ride down this famous road I had heard about for years. I can only advise to do it, if you're not afraid of height and like adventure! And when conditions are ok, with rain and/or clouds/fog it is probably a bad idea doing it, too dangerous. Ride on!

At the beginning of the Death Road :)

At the beginning of the Death Road... view of the 1st kms

A sharp turn!

Me in front of turn with a steep (vertical) cliff on the side... smile! ;-)

The group taking THE picture on the steepest turn of the road

The last part of the dirty road... not as steep cliff anymore, and it's very warm!

Almost arrived... happy group, now it's 30mn down on a smoother dirt road, in 30°C

Yes, everyone is alive and happy to have done this ride! :)

Sunset on the Andes while riding back to La Paz

Hiking Putucusi to look at Machu Pichu

To get closer to Machu Pichu, we grab 1 of the famous Perurail train, to ride through the steep and forestry valleys of the Andes. The train rides directly from Ollantaytambo to Agua Callientes, the village built in the valley just before MP. 

Despite the very early start, the train ride itself is great, as I get good glimpses on the river winding through the steely hillsides of the mountains between few naps :). Arriving in Agua Calientes at 2,000m high, the city is quite ugly (more a stockpile of quickly-built houses along train tracks and a river), but the surrounding are -again- impressive with very steep mountains circling the city all around. 

The Perurail train parked in Agua Calientes

Andes mountains & river view from the train

The kitchy Agua Calientes center!

Freshly arrived at 9ish am, we dropped the bags at the hotel and most of the group is then coming to start a hike on the Putucusi hill/mountain peak separating Agua Calientes with the MP valley, and from where we can have a direct view on it. I am clearly thrilled by the idea of doing some activity, as well as having a wonderful view over the Machu Pichu site, so I can't prevent myself of walking in the front at a correct but active speed, so it is a bit sporty! ;-)

Clearly, the hike, after an easy 10-15mn through a classic rainforest, half-steep trail, is showing off almost vertical ladders to climb up to... wow, no mistake allowed there! Physically, as we are standing abover 2,000m high, and are at this altitude only since 3 days, our bodies are still weaker than usual and  we are looking for our breath often.

Surrounding mountain view through the forest at the start: yes it is steep!

The impressive 1st ladder to climb: at least 50m!

Andrew and the group climbing.. keep it up! ;)

Another vertical part of the trail, no ladder though here

Mid-view of the hike, the 2nd part will not be as steep, but still challenging

After a good 2 hours hike, the top can be reached... and WWWOOOWWW, what a reward! Not only it was quite fulfilling to be have complete this hike and arriving up there, but the view... wow, THE view!!
The Machu Pichu is just right in front of us, standing at about the same high (2,500m), and speading its nice ruins from the Sun Gate on the left to the Wayna pichu site on the right. Breathtaking!
Looking around at the incredible mountain scenery, I can also understand why the Spanish did not discover the site... it is indeed very tough to access it! And I would not have believed either that such a city could have been built on steely hillsides as they are. Bravo to the Incas!

Panorama view of Machu Pichu

Machu Pichu, with the very windy bus road on the left leading to it 

A close-up shot of this great site

Yes, we did it! George, Nina, Stevie and I, the 1st arrived at the top ;)

Almost all the group, happy to have reached the top :)

Spending time up there with the group admiring the views, Stevie, George and I are back down at 2pm to have a well-deserved lunch and few beers to hydrate... alone as the group spent much more time going down, as unfortunately one twisted an ankle on the way down. Nothing serious, but very bothering on this steep trail, watch-out and be prepared before to do it!

Later, we go to see the Machu Pichu museum... which is giving some history, background and details about how it was discovered and the various analysis and understanding that we have about it. Small but interesting, showing a bit how it could have been built, with tools and "technologies" used, reasons to build the various buildings, and what could have been the meaning of the site.
Not everything is fully understood and scientists / archeologists still work on the site and surroundings to understand more... a bit of mystery can anyhow only add to this fantastic city!

Ziplining on Costa Rica canopy

I had heard this area in Costa Rica had the longest zipline of Americas, and that doing a canopy tree in the incredible rainforest of this Central America area was amazing, so I booked 1/2 day with Santuario tours, and I clearly wasn't disappointed.

On the top of a platform with the group

Ziplining
They have an amazing zipline park, few kms North of Manuel Antonio, made of 11 zip lines including 1 of 1.6 km long!!!
So big I wasn't believing it until I did it... it lasted 1mn30s, impressive ;-) Another shorter (600m) but steeper line makes you go at 70-80 km/h... wow too!

With all the platforms and bridges between the lines, this was really a great way to discover the jungle and canopy.

Well, me ziplining..

The platforms and bridges are well organized into the forest, and are really the best way to discover the canopy. Clearly, you should not have heights / vertigo to do them!

The highest platform, standing at
60+m high!

Afraid to go? Never ;)

Fauna & flora
So, beside the fun of ziplining, this activity offers great inside views on Costa Rica rainforest, with so many various trees, plants, flowers, insects and animals. I cannot name them all, nor could post all the pics, but it is clearly very diverse and abundant!

View from a platform onto the rainforest

A sloth, or perezoso in Spanish
Lazy mammal moving so slowly... interesting

Few macros of flowers... no clue of the names, sorry!

From the high platforms, it is also possible to see the Pacific Ocean away:

There are some very strange palm trees, which are called "walking trees"! They do not have a fixed trunk, but a multitude of roots standing above the floor, which our guide explained us enable them to move few dozen cm per year pending the canopy light... Well, I was amused by this fact, but quickly looking on the web, this is a myth for tourists... ok, ok... still, this tree base is quite special!

The "walking palm trees"

Last but not least... the insects, particularly spiders: walking in the forest, you can see many, with even more spiderwebs. And let me tell you, the spiders are huge, you would not want to be bitten!

A huge spider. The body is, no kidding...
4-5cm!!!

Boquete and rafting in Panama

Boquete
After 2.5 weeks in Bocas, I moved to the green and hilly Boquete town, located in the center of Panama. While it is supposed to be lovely and very enjoyable, as greener and cooler than the humid & hot coasts, I was welcomed by rain the 1st afternoon there, and the atmosphere was very, very quiet.
So I just went to do some rafting the day after I arrived, and left the day after to Costa Rica.

my boat

Rafting el Rio Chiriqui

Another good busy day, rafting at the border of Panama & Costa Rica, famous for their abundant watersheds rivers providing a great environment for white river rafting.

The day was fun and sporty, as with all the rain of the previous days, we were rafting on class 3+ runs, which I had not done before. Just a pity the group wasn't as fun as expected... 1 Dutch family and 2 40+ ladies... everyone was friendly but it could have been more fun!

still quiet... not for long!

the fun is starting! :)

paddle harder he was saying

"in your face"... ;)

Let's fly?