Tackling Bolivia's Death Road

The jungle heat stuck to my body like the mosquitoes that I so eagerly wanted to avoid. Huddled under a tin roof I watched as skinny stray dogs fought over scraps from the local chicken house, the hunger making them rabid as they growled and tore through the bones.

Suddenly a bus rumbles towards me jolting me back to reality. I look up at the old rickety wooden structure and I secretly pray that this wasn’t the vehicle that would take me over the Andes. I speak in broken Spanish to a few locals and ask if this was the bus back to La Paz. They nodded quickly and moved towards the bus, throwing their luggage and live stock in the compartment below.

I push my way through the crowd as I scan for my seat. Women calm their screaming babies, rocking them on their knees as old women charge through the busy alley way selling last minute peanuts and meat filled pastry from baskets that are balanced on top of their heads. As I hear the last shouts of the tickets touts, the engine roars to life and I lay my head against the dirty window pane taking in the last glimpse of the village that hid in the depths of the Bolivian jungle.

Much later I wake up to loud hooting from somewhere in the distance. Peeling my eyes open I look around and wonder for how many hours I had slept as I look out into the thick black night. I can hear the heavy rain pelting against the window and I realise the noisy engine had stopped. We were no longer moving. I could hear aggressive hoots from every direction but I decided to sleep through and wait till morning. As morning approached I was happy to wake up from my restless sleep but gasped in horror as I look out the window to find the back of the bus was hanging over a 1000ft cliff drop.

The bus was stuck in deep mud from the torrential rain. I prayed as the driver who smelt of hard liquor started the engine again. Quickly, I fastened my shoes and put my backpack on, clambering to the non cliff side of the bus! The locals around me were signing crosses to their gods and murmurs’ of prayers filled the suddenly silent bus. As the engine roared the bus flung from side to side, each judder sending the vehicle closer to oblivion. The contents spilled from the racks on top and frightened children let out frantic cries.

Minutes seemed like hours and each jolt felt like the last, but by miracle the wheels pulled away from the mud and we were free. Relief unburdens me as we leave the muddy graveyard of cars and lorries behind us. Fear turns to awe as I take in the views, looking above and seeing waterfalls cascading over the blankets of rich green mountains that surround us. I had narrowly escaped death on Bolivia’s most notorious road and I thought at that moment how ironic that a place which has claimed so many lives could also be one of the most beautiful and tranquil spots on earth.

Discovering the hills of San Francisco and having a near brush with death at the Budget Inn Hotel!

The first thing we did when we arrived in San Francisco was put the top down on our mustang and head towards the Golden Gate Bridge. It was like fulfilling a lifelong dream as my hair tussled with the strong, cold winds. We headed to the view point but saw nothing except thick fog that swallowed up the bridge almost completely. Disappointed tourist forced smiles for the photos that would sadly not have the bridge in it. We were in San Francisco for 3 days so we hoped that it would eventually clear for us when we visited again.

Michael had booked a hotel on Market Street in the heart of San Francisco for $65.00 a night which was very cheap. We were happy with our bargain and we also managed to find a good rate to park our car for 2 days at a garage just around the corner on 7^th Street. Pleased with ourselves we took out our luggage and headed to our hotel.

You wouldn't believe it but walking down Market Street was like entering the set of Ken Kasey One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. About 90% of the people around us were absolutely bonkers. People were ticking and shouting random words as they rocked back and forth. The homeless congregated on the pavements huddled over stolen shopping trolleys that they held all their worldly possessions. This was not the San Francisco I expected to see and it saddened me. It made me realize how lucky the British are to have the healthcare to look after the mentally impaired, here they were left vulnerable and exposed.

We spotted our hotel and as we walked towards it I peered into a group of people sat on the floor to see them injecting needles into their arms. Horrified we marched through up some tall, dark steps and the smell of disinfectant to cover smell of smoke and urine hit you as soon as you walked in. We then went to reception and we were greeted by a man behind a bullet proof glass. This definitely made up our mind that we did not want to stay here. The man told us we could not refund our money and pushed our room keys under a tiny hole in the glass adding that they had a shared bathroom system.  Reluctantly we decided we would look at the room and had to climb another set of stairs covered with carpet stains. We walked down a long hall and read signs on the door like “PARTY PAD,” and “I JUST SELL DRUGS BUT I DON’T TAKE IT, I LEAVE THAT FOR THE NIGGAS,” and so forth.

Dismayed, we located our room and pushed the door open to find a bare walls and dirty sheets. We then heard coughing and realized that our window looked directly onto another person’s room. Not wanting to stay a minute longer we left our luggage and took our valuables and decided we needed to find somewhere else to stay for the night. Luckily we just had to turn the corner on 7^th Street and we found Good Hotel. It was a lovely looking hotel with a boutique feel but the downside was it was going to cost $180.00 a night. We decided to treat ourselves and stay the 2 nights, we felt so relieved to had gotten out of our nightmare. Safe to say the man at Budget Inn was not surprised when we returned to get our bags and check out.

After a dismal start we were thankful to find that San Francisco did have a brighter side. We hopped on the tour bus and covered all interesting spots like, China Town, Union Square and Fisherman’s Wharf etc. We even went to Alcatraz which was really good and something I would highly recommend. We ended up having a lovely time. Please follow a link to an article I wrote for more about our time there at http://myfriendslike.co.uk/san-francisco/

Here are some pictures.....

Cruising on route 1 to San Francisco

Driving on this road is a real treat and everyone should do it at least once in their lives. The winding road with a hill top view over the coast makes this route an amazing ride. The vista views are out of this world.

We also stopped by an elephant seal view point along the way. You cant miss it as it is well sign posted and it is definitely worth the stop. You can look out onto beach and watch the male elephant seals fighting from above for free, its incredible.

As you drive up you notice less palm trees and more pine trees. The terrain becomes more mountainous as you approach north California. We drove most of the day to finally reach Redwood Estate Park where we camped for the night. It is a couple of hours from San Francisco so it is a perfect spot to rest for the evening. Once again camping was cheap costing $20.00 for the night, thereare toilet facilities with showers (normally run by a machine that charges 50cents per 10 minutes).

We stayed at Redwoods for one night before waking up early for San Francisco where we had a hotel book in the centre. Here are some pictures:

Add caption