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The South American Odyssey
  • The Craze for Travelling
  • The Craze for Travelling

The South American Odyssey

A 147-day adventure by The Craze for Travelling Read more
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  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Our van with the cycles
    Drove from La Paz to La CumbreStarting point of the ride (La Cumbre 4700 mts)

    Camino de la Muerte (Road of Death)

    October 22, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Today we did the Death Road near La Paz. Its a 63 kms mountain bike ride down the world's most dangerous road, also known as the Road of Death.

    Originally built in the 1930ies by prisoners from Bolivia's war with Paraguay, this narrow and winding road descends from the heights of La Paz ("La Cumbre" located at 4650 meters above sea level) to the forest region known as the Yungas at around 1200 meters above sea level.

    Before a new, safer road was built for use by vehicles, more than 200 people died each year on this “Camino de la Muerte” (Road of Death). Due to the steep descent, sharp turns and unasphalted road, the ride isn’t for the faint of heart and riders must constantly keep their eyes on the very narrow road which in some parts is only 3 meters wide. Most of the 80 kilometers long ride is downhill.

    Surrounded by mountainous terrain and terrifying precipices, this winding road runs among stunning scenery and the landscape changes from high snow-capped mountains to rainforest right before you eyes. It is gorgeous, and on a bike, its a pure adrenaline rush for 8 hours continuously.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    At the starting point
    1The curvy asphalted road for the 1st 20 kms2More viewpoints

    Death Road - Start of ride

    October 22, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    The first 21 kms of the ride are asphalted. This part is common between the old and the new road. The road like the rest of the road as well is quite steep downhill amd has a lot of curves. We continuously hit speeds of 50 kms/hr. There were 3 stops on the way to wait for the slow riders and to take pictures. It was a sheer adrenaline rush.Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Snacks time
    2It was cloudy on this side and we were above the clouds

    Death Road - Drive to old road

    October 22, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    After the 1st 21 kms of asphalted road that we had done in 1 hour (including the stops), we stopped for some snacks and water.
    From here we again sat in the van and drove about 5-10 kms to the starting point of the old Jungas Road (the actual Death Road)Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    2Starting point of the old Death Road2

    Death Road - The actual one

    October 22, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    When we started at the actual Death Road at Chuspipata, it was very humid and cloudy. Since we were still at around 3500 mts above sea level, it was still quite cold. It was a fantastic start to the actual Death Road.Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    4
    Mirador Balconsillo

    Death Road - Mirador Balconsillo

    October 22, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    The track was very rough dirt road with a lot of loose stones, wet and slippery in places where there were waterfalls. The road was on the side of very steep clifgs and sometimes less than 3 mts wide.
    We stopped at a few places to take pictures and enjoy the view.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    22Zip lining across the valleyZip lining2The 3 from the group that did the zip line

    Death Road - Zip lining

    October 22, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We continued down the road. The views were amazing and we managed to keep a very good pace going down.
    The next stop was for an optional zip line across the valley. 3 of us from the group opted for it. It was a very thrilling experience.Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    3

    Death Road - Down to Yolosita

    October 22, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    The last stretch of the death road was quite dust with a lot of loose sand and stones. We made it to the end by about 3:30 pm. The views even on this stretch were stunning.

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    43

    Death Road - Yolosita

    October 22, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We ended the trip at a resort in Yolosita. It was a very beautiful place with 2 swimming pools and some amazing variety of flowers. It was almost like walking around in a rainforest.
    We had our lunch there and then spent about an hour swimming and looking around the place.Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
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    22

    Death Road - end of day

    October 22, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We were at the resort till 6 pm. After a swim, we walked around the place appreciating the beautiful flowers and nature.
    The return journey was an uphill one back to La Paz. It took us 3 hours to reach back. It was very foggy and as it got dark, the driving became extremely difficult.
    We reached La Paz at around 9 pm. We collected our tshirts at the tour operator (No Fear), then we were back at the hostel to call it a day.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    2Managed to catch the flight

    Off to the Amazonas (Rurrenabaque)

    October 23, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    The next phase of the travel was to go down to the amazonas and explore the jungle and the pampas. There are 2 options to reach Rurrenabaque (430 kms away) a small town know as the gateway to the Amazonas.
    One is to fly. The flight is about 25 min in a small plane. There are 5 flights a day all flown by the same company Amaszonas. Since they are the only operator, the flight ticket prices are set as per their whims. The flight tickets on an average cost 550 b$. Which for Bolivia is a very high price.
    The 2nd alternate is to go by bus. It costs about 100 b$ but the journey is at least 18 hrs in best case scenario with the bus descending from the high altiplano to the sea level amazonas.
    We had not booked any tours in the amazonas so we decided to fly there in the afternoon flight. That would give us half a day to search for various options to take for our 5 days there. The thought being that the return could be done by bus.
    We booked the afternoon flight (13:15). Having nothing else to do, we took a relaxed morning and woke up late. Had our breakfast and were ready to leave the hostel by 11:30.
    We went nearby to the main road to catch a bus to the airport. We waited almost 30 min but only 2 buses went by, those too were full. Eventually, at 12 pm, it was getting quite a bit close so we decided to take a taxi. We negotiated the price down to 60 b$ which though quite cheap, was much higher than what we would have paid for the collective bus (3.80 b$).
    We managed to reach the airport at 12:40. We went straight to the counter for checking in the bags and were told to hurry to the gates as the boarding was already ongoing. After the security check we ran to the gate only to find everyone else had boarded. We ran on to the tarmac to the plane and managed to get in about 5 min before it started to roll.
    Then we were off to Rurrenabaque.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Our flightBuses to take us 20 mts to the terminalAirport terminal of Rurrenabaque

    Amazonas 1st sight

    October 23, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    The flight to Rurrenabaque was a short one and we soon were flying over the amazonas. The river Beni, one of the tributaries of the mighty amazon was visible below as we started landing.
    It was a tiny airport and we were offloaded on the runway. There were 2 mini buses to take us from there. There we actually saw the small terminal building. We took our bags and decided to walk the 3 kms to the village.Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    1

    Walk to Rurrenabaque

    October 23, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    It took us about 30 mim to walk to the town but it gave us the opportunity to explore the area around as we walked. This part of Bolivia, the normal mud brick houses from other rural parts were replaced with wooden houses. It was very green all around, a huge difference from the dry desert like arid region around La Paz.Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Carrying the banana plantains to the village
    Cashew trees22No vehicles had a registration plate

    Sights during walk to Rurrenabaque

    October 23, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    On the way to the village, we saw many fruit trees and some birds we couldn't identify. There was also a cashew plantation as well.
    One interesting thing we observed was that none of the vehicles, be it a truck or a car or a bike, none of them had a registration plate. I guess no one wants to pay the registration fee here.
    Another interesting observation was that all the girls in the village loved driving bikes. There were more girls driving motorcycles than we saw men driving them.
    Ever other shop on the main road to the village was a motorcycle repair shop or a vehicle cleaning shop.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    12

    Rurrenabaque checkin

    October 23, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We reached our hostel (El Churichal Hostel) and checked in. The rest of the evening was spent going from one tour company to another and comparing their offers and prices.

    We settled for the Escorpion tour agency and from tomorrow onwards, we are on a 6 day tour of the jungle (3 days) and the pampas (3 days) with no data or wifi.
    The next updates will be a week later with hopefully many exciting stories.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Starting the journey in our boat
    2Beni river (Amazon tributary)

    Into the amazon jungle

    October 24, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    As planned, we were ready by 8:30 am. The motorcycle taxis arrived a bit late and took us to the Escorpion tour office. After gathering the food and other stuff we'll need, we were off on the motorized canoes. The 1st stop was to collect our passes just across the river. After that it was a beautiful scenic ride deep into the forests on the rio Beni. The slight hum of the motor and the mesmerizing views were a perfect magical experience.Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Tobacco plant
    Having coca leavesThat's how the leaves are dried

    The jungle trek no. 1

    October 24, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Since we had just half a day today, the afternoon plan was a 3 hrs hike into the jungle nearby. After lunch we started with the trek.
    Just at the edge of the camp, our guide Miguel showed is the plant for tobacco and showed us how it is cultivated and then cut, dried and manufactured into cigars. The leaves are cut, then dried along the walls of the house. When the leaves dru and droop, then its ready to be made into cigars. The indigenous people then raid a honey bee hive to get the honey. The dried leaves are alternated with honey to make the cigars.
    We all had coca leaves with vehuco (chamairo liana) and sodium bicarbonate to keep us energized for the walk.
    A bit further into the jungle, we saw the flowers of Cijaja. The tea from the flowers is very good for the stomach.
    Miguel also showed us the Trestecapa fruit. The pulp and the seeds were like those of custard apple.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Ant hill halfway up the tree to protect itself from anteaters
    Ajo Ajo tree. The bark tastes and smells like garlicThe bark of Ajo AjoTiny coconutsCoconuts splitSolulo fruit

    More plants and their usage

    October 24, 2017 in Bolivia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Further in, we saw many more plants and fruits. We were shown how some of the ants built their ant hill up the tree for protection from ant eaters. There was a tree (Ajo Ajo) with the bark tasting and smelling like garlic. There was also a variety of very small coconut. We tasted them as well.
    We were also shown Solulo fruit a natural soqp. There's a big round black seed inside. After removing the seed, the rest of the fruit is used as a soap for bathing and even washing clothes.    Read more

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