Road of Death (snooze)

Hello from Coroico, Bolivia

Coroico sits at the end of the "Road of Death", a dirt road that wists and turns through mountains northeast of La Paz. To be honest I was a little disappointed in the road. It was on my short list of things to see in South America because of posts like this:

http://www.fundumper.com/weird/road-of-death.htm

Well it turns out the pictures on that page are not of the "Road of Death". The Road of Death in Bolivia is quite tame and, although scenic, pales in comparison to many other roads I have ridden on this trip.

La Paz was cool. The city covers a steep valley so it is quite surreal to look up at night and see the city lights climbing into the sky. It is also, however, one of the smoggiest cities I have been in. The valley traps the exhaust from countless vehicles stuck in non-stop traffic. After one day in La Paz I felt like I was a pack a day smoker and had a headache from the smog and non-stop honking which seems to be everyone´s favorite pastime.

To get to La Paz from Sucre I had to wind my way through multiple road blocks. Truck drivers all over Bolivia are protesting road taxes by blocking road access to major cities. It´s what they call a "contundente", which I think loosely translates to "show of force". The entrances and exits to Sucre, Potosi and La Paz were filled with a maze of trucks parked at odd angles for up to a mile. I was a bit concerned at first but found the protesters to be very civilized. The truckers were parked so that walkers or cyclists could easily zig-zag through and there were busses waiting on either side to pick people up. Often people would point me to the correct path for making my way through with my motorcycle.

Bolivia has a long history of direct action when the populace is unhappy with their government. Unlike other countries where people wait for months or years till the next election so they can feel like they are changing things by essentially electing the same politicians over and over again, Bolivians take to the street and demand change NOW. These tactics have led to a surprising 200 plus administrations over Bolivia´s 180 some year history.

I am off to Lake Titicaca today. Seems like I just arrived in Bolivia but I´ll
be leaving it soon. Oh Well … Machu Pichu here I come