Finishing on a 5000m high!

It is our last day of cycling of the trip. We have found an adventurous route called “Backdoor to La Paz” which will both take us over a 5000m pass and allow us to skip the main roads into La Paz.

The day starts bright and sunny. We leave lake Tuni behind and head up past old mining villages and ruins and past more llamas. The view of Huayna Potosi is mesmerizing and the steep sided valley we are climbing beside is spectacular.

By 10 Alice is ready for a refueling stop before we tackle the steepest and roughest section of the day. As we pause we feel a few flakes of snow and then hear thunder chasing up the valley behind us. The climb up through yet more abandoned mines is tough and long and steep. Alain cycles most of it, and Alice (still wobbly although much improved) pushes. Its a long haul but we are progressing. The scenery is wonderful and we manage to stay just on the edge of the storm which now obscures the high peaks.

We have two passes today, the first is just under 5000m and the second just over. In between it is barren and lunar with barely any vegetation. Its very beautiful and very memorable. Such a wonderful experience to crown our trip. The track follows the crete between the two valleys and then skirts the hillside around to the next pass. It’s really hard to cycle at this altitude, and we need to stop and catch our breath every few hundred metres. Slowly and determinedly we progress. The snow clears to sunshine and we pause for some lunch just before the final few hundred metres.

Once over the other side, its so much easier. Down! Wonderful views, big mountains and across from us a huge red coloured mountain range at the base of which is the large deserted tin mining town of Milluni. It was the site of a military massacre of striking mine workers in 1965 who were opposed to the government and had their own radio station. The cemetery for the miners is a national monument.

From here we have a long hard gravel slog alongside a very contaminated lake. And then a steep long and very bumpy descent down into the city of La PazRead more