Back in La Paz - Day 2

"I need something equal to, or greater than, the Death Road" was my brief to the tour operator at the Bash & Crash. It was really half in jest as I didn´t think it was possible to beat the previous day´s downhill thrill.

"How about going uphill this time," was her response.

"Forget it, I can barely climb up the stairs here without getting a seizure." The idea of trekking Mount Illimani or Huayna Potosi was romantic but simply not plausible, and in the time I had there was no way of reaching the 6000M plus summit, defeating the whole purpose of the expedition.

"I didn´t say climbing," she said, "Quad-biking."  Eyebrows raised.

"How much will it cost?"

"350 Bolivianos for 2 hours. 650 for 5 hours. All with your own personal guide."

50 quid for five hours of burning petrol. "Sign me up."

10am, a half hour taxi ride from the hostel.

After 5 minutes of practicing circles around the shop, I was a fully qualified quad-bike expert. You can choose fully manual (which operates the same as a motorbike) or semi-automatic whereby the gears are controllable with your thumb. I also had the option of renting a motobike instead, but as this was something I had already done several years ago in Thailand, I went for the new experience. When the guide arrived, he took my camera and off we went into the valley of the Choqueyapu River.

A few nerves to begin with...

...and the penguin learns to swim.

I wish I had kept the camera for the part of the journey that falls in between these two photos because it was a stunning picture of contrasts. The 20 or so kilometres of the valley is the greenest farm country dotted with grazing cows, with half broken wooden bridges crossing the streams that irrigate the land. Really quite out of place against the arid Bolivian mountains. At some points the tracks were so waterlogged I didn´t think I could make it through, but the machine ate it all up with ease.
 

Mid-morning snack.

In this distance, Mount Illimani. That´s where we´re going.

From here, the guide shot off ahead to take photos.

That black dot is me.

There i am again.

Getting used to the corners now, although vertigo is starting to set in.

Seems like miles up but only half way.

Cool.

4200 Metres. As close as I´ll get to Illimani.

About 4500M. The high road to La Paz.

Leaving Illimani behind.

Suddenly, I´m in Baghdad. The one final steep climb...

To the top.

One of the best views from here.

On the left, Bolivia´s incredible mountain range.

On the right, La Paz.