El Camino de la Muerte - The Death Road
When I look back on some of these blogs, I realize I spend an exorbitant amount of time posting reports about vehicles and traffic. I apologize, should these postings prove to be redundant and make sleeping pills appear exciting by comparison.
It seems the differences in traffic between countries in the world can be summed up as easily as the difference between fast and faster or signs or no signs. Yet just when you think you've completed the exploration of the absurdity of cultural differences, you will discover that the barrel has another removable layer that enables Alice to look deeper into the hole.
Today we are talking about the North Yungas Road, El Camino De La Muerte, also often referred to as the most dangerous road in the world by several experts:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kx4fc5F7Wq1qzs32ro1_500.jpg
The North Yungas Road is a 40 mile stretch leading from La Paz to the Yungas region and the Amazon rainforest. Estimates have the number of dead at 250 per year. Now I am not one to mind paying toll on roads. I discovered early how these roadblocks with the glass booths would pop up in the middle of nowhere demanding a nominal fee for using their stretch of the road. I have paid tolls for the use of various turnpikes in the States, often grudgingly. Money is one thing to forfeit when using a road. I'm not sure I would like to throw in my life as part of the deal.
Also known as Grove's Road in English, the more proper name should probably be Grave's road. The road itself, on average ten feet wide, frequently needs to support a two way traffic. The producers of Jackass: The Movie have nothing on the experts who constructed this road.
The road itself ascends almost three miles high before its steady descent. Of course, all of this wouldn't be half as exciting and death defying if there were such nuisances as guard rails or street signs. One formal rule is that the downhill driver does not have the right of way and must move to the edge of the road. On this road, people drive on the left, for obvious reasons. It would be hard to negotiate passing a vehicle when you can't see where your outer tires are.
Drivers using Yungas Road to make a living can be given a pass. I'm not so sure about thrill seekers who wish to bike the entire route. The unofficial death count of bikers using the 40 mile downhill route is currently at 20.
To make matters even more absurd, the Discovery Channel's show 'Dangerous Driving' brought in American truckers to drive the scenic byways of Bolivia, foremost among them the North Yungas Road. In a rare display of showmanship and generosity, the producers offered any group, in particular the U.S. Embassy, free shipping for any loads they wanted transported. Not surprisingly, the Embassy told the producers thanks, but no thanks.
There is a new Yungas road, paved and two-laned, but hardly a sure thing:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtymNmGRMx5_UVsvU1HwzvOQuDC7C2z1htaWG5PdWjstCxn6mn4JXgFs80Dw1gFrjIC6g_FmCgFUCbmFUmjfqWWBhos3yO4jVLzb5wmXnxunhgjJC7Woqaj7xvdoi2ipKbyaf5P0xx2AE/s400/stelvio+italy-707474.jpg
I will also make a deal with anybody reading this blog. I will stop writing about traffic once people stop bending over backwards to win the ultimate price of cerebral shortcomings, the Darwin Award. For any possibility of that happening, look up the saying 'hell freezes over' in the dictionary.
It seems the differences in traffic between countries in the world can be summed up as easily as the difference between fast and faster or signs or no signs. Yet just when you think you've completed the exploration of the absurdity of cultural differences, you will discover that the barrel has another removable layer that enables Alice to look deeper into the hole.
Today we are talking about the North Yungas Road, El Camino De La Muerte, also often referred to as the most dangerous road in the world by several experts:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kx4fc5F7Wq1qzs32ro1_500.jpg
The North Yungas Road is a 40 mile stretch leading from La Paz to the Yungas region and the Amazon rainforest. Estimates have the number of dead at 250 per year. Now I am not one to mind paying toll on roads. I discovered early how these roadblocks with the glass booths would pop up in the middle of nowhere demanding a nominal fee for using their stretch of the road. I have paid tolls for the use of various turnpikes in the States, often grudgingly. Money is one thing to forfeit when using a road. I'm not sure I would like to throw in my life as part of the deal.
Also known as Grove's Road in English, the more proper name should probably be Grave's road. The road itself, on average ten feet wide, frequently needs to support a two way traffic. The producers of Jackass: The Movie have nothing on the experts who constructed this road.
The road itself ascends almost three miles high before its steady descent. Of course, all of this wouldn't be half as exciting and death defying if there were such nuisances as guard rails or street signs. One formal rule is that the downhill driver does not have the right of way and must move to the edge of the road. On this road, people drive on the left, for obvious reasons. It would be hard to negotiate passing a vehicle when you can't see where your outer tires are.
Drivers using Yungas Road to make a living can be given a pass. I'm not so sure about thrill seekers who wish to bike the entire route. The unofficial death count of bikers using the 40 mile downhill route is currently at 20.
To make matters even more absurd, the Discovery Channel's show 'Dangerous Driving' brought in American truckers to drive the scenic byways of Bolivia, foremost among them the North Yungas Road. In a rare display of showmanship and generosity, the producers offered any group, in particular the U.S. Embassy, free shipping for any loads they wanted transported. Not surprisingly, the Embassy told the producers thanks, but no thanks.
There is a new Yungas road, paved and two-laned, but hardly a sure thing:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtymNmGRMx5_UVsvU1HwzvOQuDC7C2z1htaWG5PdWjstCxn6mn4JXgFs80Dw1gFrjIC6g_FmCgFUCbmFUmjfqWWBhos3yO4jVLzb5wmXnxunhgjJC7Woqaj7xvdoi2ipKbyaf5P0xx2AE/s400/stelvio+italy-707474.jpg
I will also make a deal with anybody reading this blog. I will stop writing about traffic once people stop bending over backwards to win the ultimate price of cerebral shortcomings, the Darwin Award. For any possibility of that happening, look up the saying 'hell freezes over' in the dictionary.
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