Saturday: into Copacabana via La Paz

The road to La Paz is busy with taxis and minibuses carrying locals away from the polluted city to the fresh air of the mountains, although ironically many of them bring their thick black smoke with them.

As we near La Paz it appears in the distance. Seeing it for the first time is a strange experience as it looks as if someone has pixelated the terracotta mountain. As we get closer the pixels are in fact individual houses that dot themselves across the mountains that make up much of La Paz. The houses are relatively uniform in size and each a different colour but with the terracotta base.

La Paz, pixelated

We pass through the outskirts of La Paz and the traffic is almost as thick as the black smoke belched from the lorries and buses; my throat becomes sore once more. Apart from its mountain setting, La Paz doesn't appeal. Although Steve and Danny are briefly the centre of attention at a local wedding and brass band festival when we stop for a rest, and Danny gets invited to return - by the mayor no less!

We move beyond the La Paz and head towards Copacabana, which is more than 100km west of the capital, near the Peruvian border. The roads are once again good sweeping tarmac and we make good progress as there is little traffic. These roads would be fantastic to ride on a sportsbike, but they are still great fun even on our offroad bikes.

The temperature has dropped again as late afternoon approaches but we reach Lake Titicaca before it gets dark and cross the lake on a ferry.  One of the craft is called "Titanic"!  I hope not; in our bike boots and gear, we wouldn't stand a chance.

Martin adds a dash of style to Titicana ferries

On the other side it's another fun ride into the dark, but the conditions are easier on the good tarmac. There's a slight delay as one of the bikes runs out of petrol and we have to wait for the support vehicle to refuel it. (Three of the bikes are brand new Suzuki DR650s and their number plates have not arrived. This means some petrol stations refuse to refuel them). We roll into Copacabana after 7pm. It's been another long day but once again brilliant with a real sense of achievement. Now, where's Lola?
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