On World's Most Dangerous Road

These were moments I understood my life was little else than dust in the wind.

This road doesn’t belong to heaven, nor does it belong to hell. Shrouded in gloomy fog, it wiggles through countless serpentines incised in unstable soil and rock, immersed in fog and running along perilous cliffs and abysses. Bolivia’s capital La Paz depends on this road. It links the barren, almost desert altiplano with the fertile Yungas, were vegetables are grown, and sheep flock green hills. Yet this road became a curse for many. Built in back-breaking manual work by war prisoners during the early part of the 20^th century, it achieved a legacy of death right from the very begin. Paved with cobblestone, a solid wall protects it from gliding into the precipices. Yet there is hardly ever space for more than one bus or truck. Passing traffic arriving from the opposite direction is a maneuver that requires courage, and good nerves. It’s true brinkmanship, in brief.