El Camino de la Muerte

Last weekend, Manuela and I headed back to Coroico. You might remember from a previous entry that the old road from La Paz to Coroico is called “The Death Road“, and until recently (specifically, until they finished the new road), was considered one of the most hazardous stretches of dirt and gravel in the world. Well, to make a long story short, we figured that this sort of danger was just too good to miss, so we biked down the death road on the return trip to Coroico.

Turkeys in the Mist

Those who know me well or have been reading previous blog entries might well be forgiven for assuming that the title of this entry is:

a) a reference to some obscure joke (possibly from Gary Larson)

b) a way to introduce a goofy picture of me (possibly wearing a silly hat)

c) some political thing.

However, in this case, I really did see a turkey in the mist last weekend — I even have the pictures to prove it.

As it happens, Manuela and I were on the road again. This time, our destination was Coroico, a sleepy town about 3 hours southeast of La Paz. Coroico is known for a number of things in addition to itinerant turkeys. It is situated in a hilly jungle setting, midway between the arid altiplano and the dense Amazon basin. It is a very lush part of the country, with coca, coffee, citrus, bananas, and all manner of flowers growing in the surrounding area.