More "near death" experiences in La Paz- Death Road and San Pedro Prison

La Paz is host to the road known as the most dangerous in the world a.k.a. death road, so obviously the ideal thing to do would be to jump on a bike to descend its 64km.

There are many agencies that run trips along the death road, we decided to go with one of the oldest and most trusted (its not called death road for nothing!) Downhill Madness. We set off at 6.30am, not ideal to be sleep deprived when you need full concentration for the ride! They provided us with some breakfast, gave us our gear, hi-vis jacket, trousers, gloves, and full face helmet, aswell as a t-shirt which says death road survivor, which to me was tempting fate!

We drove about an hour to the start of the death road, at which point we donned our gear and had a quick pedal around on our bikes, which were fantastic. They were dual suspension, which took some time to get used to, but for the road surface and the descent, they were brilliant. We set off on part of the new road which had a tarmac surface, this was pretty easy to navigate, although one idiot in the group (Madness took a group of around 40 of us) managed to fall off at the first corner! The start of the descent is at almost 4000m and at 9 o clock in the morning, it was absolutely freezing, I could not feel my fingers! The most dangerous part was the traffic that kept passing us, it was rather too close for comfort at times! We stopped after 15 minutes or so for a snack, provided by Madness, and then we got in the vans to drive to the beginning of the real death road.

Death road got its name because of the number of fatalities and accidents that happened every single year. It is not difficult to see why, the gravelly descent is hardly big enough for one car in places let alone two. Their is very little traffic on death road these days because of the new road being open, so their is nowhere near the annual casualty list as their used to be. That is not to say that it is not dangerous though. The last person to die biking on the road was in May, which highlights the danger on the road.

After a few minutes of biking we hit a wall of thick fog, which pretty much lasted for the entire descent.You could just about see the person in front of you, so tryed to hang onto them. Unfortunately Katherine managed to get two flay tyres and lost the rest of the group, so had to do this section, which was the hardest of the whole route, on her own! We stopped again for a snack, and finally emerged from the fog for the rest of the descent. It was not difficult, you just spent the large majority of the time on the breaks, except for the last half an hour or so, which was flat, and we actually had to pedal!

We ended at just over 1000m in the humid tropical climate, completely opposite to where we had started. Only in Bolivia! We grabbed a celebratory beer and headed to a nearby hotel for a buffet lunch. There was a pool there, but nobody swam, it was pretty grim. After refuelling, we jumped back in the vans, for the long 3 hour journey back to La Paz. This at times was scarier than the biking, as the van drove once again through the thick fog, and then had to navigate its way through the chaotic traffic of La Paz.

Death Road was one of my highlights of my entire trip, I felt completely safe the whole time. Though you can see that other companys do not abide to the same rules as Madness and were all over the road. As long as you listen to the companys rules and know your limits it is perfectly safe. As I said before you would have to be a complete retard to die on that road! I can now wear my death road survivor t-shirt with pride!

That night we had a pretty big night to celebrate our survival. We ate delicious asian food, first time I have had any the whole time I have been away. After we went to a popular spot called Mongos which was literally rampacked, you could not even move your arms, we decided to move onto a club called Blue, which must have had about one south american in. It was absolutely full of westerners. We stayed till about 5am, but it was full of pretty undesirable characters so we called it a night.

After about 2 hours sleep, we embarked upon another death-defying experience, trying to get into San Pedro prison. Anyone who has read the book Marching Powder will be familiar with the San Pedro prison. An english guy Thomas McFadden was incarcerated at the prison quite a few years ago, and during his time there he came up with the plan of giving tours to tourists to try and raise some money. Everything in San Pedro costs money, you have to pay 500 dollars to get in, then you have to buy your cell. Inmates set up restaurants and shops to try and make money, if you do not have any, you are effectively screwed. The tours are highly illegal and were stopped last year due to word getting out in the media about the activity. However, in the last few months the tours have started back up again, and so with apprehension we headed to the San Pedro Plaza to see if we could get in.

When crossing the plaza a woman approached us and offered to take us to the prison, it costs 40 pounds to get in, most of this is a bribe to the guards, and the rest is split between the organizers of the tours and tour guides. We were taken into the prison, and the guards asked if we had cell phones or cameras, all of which are now banned after the publicity. After this we were led through the gates of the prison where we met our tour guide Luis Felipe. He was from Portugal and spoke very good english. Flanked by two bodyguards, one in a grandad cardi, and a mouth full of gold teeth (who we believe was in there for murder!) we embarked on our tour of the prison.

From what I have already said you can tell that San Pedro is no ordinary prison. On top of this, families live with the inmates, the wives, and children are free to come and go as they please, the children even go to school and then come back. There was even one woman who had been to the prison every day for 36 years to sell her goods! The guards only enter the prison once a month, the prison is regulated by delegates who run each section, the rules are painted on the walls, and if you break the rules you are kicked out of the section. When we arrived they were setting up one of the sections for a big party for an inmates birthday, they were setting up huge sound systems, and a band was coming from outside to entertain them. It is the bizarrest place I have ever been, it is completely unlike a prison, it is just like being in the outside world. There are 7 different sections where the inmates live, some more desirable than others and so the price of cells are more expensive. The streets between the sections are lined with sellers of dvds, food, drinks or just about anything you can think of.

Luis Felipe was a very informative guide as he led us around each section, introducing us to inmates and regaling us with tales of the prison. He had been in the prison for 27 months for attempted drug trafficking, he was still awaiting trial, and he had no idea when this might be. The Bolivian system is extremely corrupt, so he might be waiting for a very long time yet. This is highlighted by the fact that you can pay 600 dollars to escape the prison in a bribe to the guard in the watchtower, two Americans recently made an escape.

The tour ended with us being taken into a darkened room to discuss the tip to the tour guides, after this we were led back to the gates, where we had to wait for what seemed like an age to be let back into the outside world and to regain our freedom, leaving behind the prisoners in their own little bubble.

We were really lucky to gain entrance into San Pedro and an insight into this world and the lives of the prisoners. We happened to go on a Sunday which is visitors day, and the only day you can gain entrance into the prison. It was a bizarre experience but again one I will never forget.

More forgettable was the Cholita wrestling in La Paz. Cholitas are the traditional indigenous women in Bolivia and Peru. I do not really know what we were thinking going to it, as it was a complete tourist trap. The Cholitas most of the time wrestled hideously unfit men, it just made for an ugly spectacle, it was faker than WWF, and is not something I would recommend to anyone, it is 3 hours of my life that I can never get back. The only good part of the trip was that El Alto offers a stunning view over La Paz and its surroundings.

La Paz is a crazy city and host to two of my favourite things I have done while I have been away. It is colourful, vibrant, chaotic but there are also beautiful aspects to it. The valley of the moon just outside the city is a peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of the centre. The southern zone where the rich people live is a complete contrast to the crazy packed streets of the centre. The main plazas and buildings, and also the oldest street in La Paz are really beautiful, and you would think you were in a completely different city.

La Paz was sadly my last stop in Bolivia. I did not get to do Potosi and the mines, but I know that Bolivia is definitely a place I will return to. I love it because it is so untouched by tourism and the western world, I hope that this remains the same when I return someday. I think pretty much all of the best things I have done on my travels have taken place in Bolivia, as well as some of the worst. It is the most stunningly beautiful country on earth, and each department has its own attractions and completely different feel. I am sad to say goodbye to a country that I have fallen for, but I hope that Peru can offer up more of the same.