Death roads then and now

I was riding a bike. Which was great! How does that sound ?:
56 kilometers in two sections, start at 4670 meters, end at 1200 meters (across the climate zones from andin to jungle), so let alone roll for hours (well, rather slow down), the first 20 kilometers on asphalt (while overtaking the trucks ), then 36 kilometers on the gravel road. That's what's called Death Road.

Until 2007, the spectacular road was the main thoroughfare of La Paz in the jungle north. Always hard on the abyss leads the (rather single-lane) road along. If you are there, you can hardly imagine how it should have worked then. Well, it has also rather bad: over 20 accident vehicles and over 200 deaths, the road has required on average per year!
Now only crazy mountain bike groups (and their support vehicles and now and then an ambulance) on the way ... What the accident numbers have dropped back strong.
I never felt in danger, but like everyone else, I never drove more than 30km / h ... Plus you can enjoy it better!

The next day I drove down the (felt) "current death street", even if it is not sold as such. Actually it was about a trip to the 5435 meter high Chacaltaya (new personal height record, I survived it). The cheating: by car it goes to 5200 meters! That there is no highway should be obvious to me (it was me), but some others on the bus probably not. Not everyone was able to stand it. The panicked left the vehicle at the beginning of the critical part, most left it in panic screams. (As always, when others are even more anxious than you, I was fine.)
Actually, the drive was at least as entertaining program as the summit storm itself!

Finally, I was in the "Moon Valley" (on the outskirts of La Paz), which is so called, because it looks like on the ... Well, said the Neil Armstrong about it. And he could know it.