Well, I was both right and wrong. Leaving my La Paz hotel, I quickly caught a "Micro" mini-van to the Villa Fatima section that sits near the exit for the Yungas region, the sparsely inhabited subtropical region southwest of the metropolis. I luckily got to the Totai van service just 10 minutes before a 9 a.m. departure and reserved the last bench seat, four rows behind the driver.

The first hour and a half of the trip climbed out of La Paz to la cumbre, at 16,000 feet the snow-capped summit of the central cordillera range of the Andes. Along a paved two-lane highway, there were vistas of waterfalls created by melting snows with herds of llama and alpaca nearby.

The driver stopped at the "last chance" roadside stands for mid-morning snacks and it gave me an opportunity to meet my fellow passengers, both tourists and locals. I remember two couples from England in their seventies who had the most wonderful 'joie de vivre' and who always chose to go on these 'daft' trips to the consternation of their friends and family.

Back on the van, the road suddenly ended and we were on a narrow gravel route with switchback curves, spiraling down toward 2000 feet. The next two hours were an exercise in patience and humour. The back seat proved to be both a blessing and a curse. The blessing was that I had the poorest view and couldn't see how close we were to the edges with sheer drops to the valley floor; the curse was being over the back wheels and feeling every bump.

Along the way we saw roadside shrines to those victims claimed by this route. A couple of vehicles were actually anchored to the earth with iron hooks and literally hanging over the cliffs waiting to be salvaged or rescued. Road crews do clear sliding rocks off the middle of the road when they can.

After passing two smaller villages in the Yungas, we arrived at the most picturesque town of Coroico perched on a hillside - just made for 'rest and recreation'. I stayed three days at a restored winter residence of a former President, complete with 20 foot ceilings in the rooms, swimming pool and breakfast for about $12 Canadian . As soon as I arrived, a local advised me to book the return seat back at 4:30 p.m. and reserve the coveted asiento numero dos (seat #2 - right next to the driver) which I did.

It seems this road was once two-way and even with a few 'pullouts', I can't imagine it then. It is now one-way certain days or times of day, though there are occasional "lapses". The return to La Paz was much more comfortable and now I had a full driver's eye view of the road, and the passing of larger trucks and buses struggling up to the paved portion. The spirit of cooperation and camaraderie of the road was most evident: no "road rage" here, thank you. The driver, a Quechua-speaking descendant of the ancient Inca had his wife and baby on board which was very comforting.

Dusk quickly fell just as we reached the paved portion of the road. The sudden entry into the illuminated La Paz at night from the darkened altiplano was visually stunning. The return to the metropolis was a bit of a shock after four days in Coroico.

Though I sometimes fancy myself a middle-aged Indiana Jones, and am quite fatalistic, I wouldn't recommend this ride to everyone. However, it is always the hard-to-get-to places, away from the bus tours, that are the most rewarding and memorable. I hear there are plans to extend the paved route all the way to the Amazon basin in the future. If you're so inclined, get there now!

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our South America Insiders page.