My blonde moment (which at least ended happily with some cheeky monkeys)

Note: Mum and Dad you may want to skip this post…

Everyone has blonde moments, or in my case violet crumble moments (I may be brunette on the outside but there’s a little bit of blonde there in the middle). After completing a bike riding expedition on the ‘Death Road’, also known as the most dangerous road in the world, I must say I did have to question my intelligence. The road’s reputation isn’t a beat up. When the road was open, some estimate that 200-300 people died on it yearly. The worst accident was in 1983 when a bus ran off the road killing 100. Accidents still occur.


A quarter of the 68km ride was on a paved road, which gave us breathtaking views of snow capped mountains, some of the most beautiful I’ve seen. The trucks that hurtled by only metres away were, however, a slight distraction from the picturesque surrounds. The real challenge came when we hit the gravel road. Not only was it a mere 3m wide, but the loose rocks meant you could skid over at any time, I nearly did on many occasions. Oh, and don’t let me forget to mention that the rules of the road meant we rode on the left hand side, inches away from the sometimes 1000m drop into the lush valley below – particularly scary when approaching blind corners. Putting these factors together with the fact that I can’t remember the last time I rode a bike, let alone went mountain-bike riding, you can imagine how terrifying it was. The muscles in my hand definitely came off second best because of the force and constancy at which I was gripping the brakes. Having said all that, it was an amazing morning and I didn’t fall off once. Our tour guide had said that, on average, the company sends two people to hospital weekly, so I was quite proud of myself for not becoming a statistic and suffering two hospital stints in one week.

Some footage was taken of our trip on the day and below is a video I complied which includes some pics (along to Billy Idol for dramatic effect so pump up the volume). In most of the videos I’m second from the end in the white top with the look of terror on my face; Bec follows behind.

We were all very relieved to reach Los Yungas, which sported a great view of the gorgeous Coroico perched above on the opposite hill। A real treat came as part of the package, where we had a pasta lunch at the Sende Verde animal sanctuary in the jungle at the bottom, which also boasts some comfy accommodation. Here, volunteers work hard to rehabilitate various species of animals, and visitors are able to play with many of them. I got to cuddle a very cute coatis who loved nibbling on my ears (romantic), and I also had fun with three very cheeky little monkeys who
nearly stole my camera! There were macaws, boa constrictors and a bear, and I made sure I had a photo with Boris the Golden Retriever, which made me miss my Golden, Lily, back home.

I’ve always been an animal lover and although we only spent two hours at the sanctuary, I got a lot out of it. There was one special monkey, Manny, who made me think I might volunteer myself some time along the way. He’d obviously been domesticated and his owner had abandoned him after first crushing his little fingers with a hammer. The volunteers were working to alleviate his constant fear of doing the wrong thing and also to re-socialise him with other monkeys.