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While we waited
for a voltage regulator for Karen's bike to be shipped from the states
we decided to visit Coroico in the Yungas. The Yungas is verdant
area on the eastern slopes of the cordillera. It is characterized by frequent
clouds and fog, warm temperatures, and almost daily rain. Leaving La Paz
one travels through a number of micro-climates. The pass, coming from La
Paz is more than 15,000 feet and the western slope features towering peaks
of stark and barren andesite.
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On the western side
of the pass ice is not uncommon in the shady areas, while within a mile
or two on the other side it begins to be replaced by moss.
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Aout 10 miles past the
cumbre
(the highest point), we get our first glimpse of the road down to the
Yungas, and the dramatic change of climate and landscape. The US State Department
has labeled this road "The Death Road." In fact there is a cooperative effort
between Bolivia and US AID to complete a new two-lane road to Coroico
a bit further northwest to replace this one-lane road. It is fairly
obvious that the motive in building this new road is for control of illicit
cocaine trade. The Yungas is the heart of coca cultivation (the leaves
are legal and widely used in Bolivia and elsewhere). This road has a few
short stretches where it is two-lanes wide, but the majority of it is an
extremely narrow one-lane that has traffic in both directions. The rule
here is a left hand traffic pattern with right of way going to the uphill
traffic. There are small spots every few hundred meters or so that are
wide enough to pull to the side so the uphill traffic can pass. The majority
of the traffic consists of trucks and buses.
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