{"id":2823,"date":"2026-10-12T14:19:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T14:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spokesandshoes.com\/wordpress\/?p=2823"},"modified":"2026-10-14T10:42:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T10:42:01","slug":"day-355-2026-10-11-above-the-devils-molar-navigating-the-vertical-labyrinth-of-la-paz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spokesandshoes.com\/wordpress\/2026\/10\/day-355-2026-10-11-above-the-devils-molar-navigating-the-vertical-labyrinth-of-la-paz\/","title":{"rendered":"Day @355 – 2026-10-11 – Above the Devil\u2019s Molar: Navigating the Vertical Labyrinth of La Paz"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Intro<\/h3>\n

The ride officially kicked off at 08:19 from the telef\u00e9rico station Irpavi under a mainly clear sky, the air a sharp 9.8\u00b0C that bit at my ears as I transitioned from the cable cars to the saddle. Sunday in La Paz has a specific gravity, a mix of religious quiet and the frantic energy of people trying to escape the basin. My route today was a vertical puzzle of cobblestones and dirt, aiming for the jagged rock formation known as the Muelle del Diablo.<\/p>\n

The Hum of the Cables and an Egg Sandwich<\/h3>\n
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  • My day didn’t start with a pedal stroke, but with the mechanical hum of the telef\u00e9rico grip passing a pylon. At 07:20, I was suspended in a blue cabin, watching the red-brick sprawl of La Paz unfold beneath me while catching up with a friend back in Germany. It\u2019s a surreal way to commute to a group ride\u2014floating over the traffic while the morning sun hits the Illimani mountain. I swapped to the green line at 07:35 and finally touched down at Alto Obrajas by 08:00.<\/li>\n
  • The meeting point was the San Miguel Arcangel church at 08:30. I arrived with a fried egg sandwich I\u2019d scavenged on the way, but the Alpaz cycling club was nowhere to be seen. I sat on the curb, peeling a mandarina and chewing on a few nuts while the church bells competed with the wind. Only one other cyclist showed up briefly before vanishing. Then came Guido at 09:00, late because of a snapped chain. He pointed me toward the Muelle del Diablo, a steep, jagged molar of rock looming over the southern district. I loaded the route on Komoot, saw the elevation profile looking like a heart monitor, and started the climb at 09:15.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Api, Pastels, and the Solitude of the Ascent<\/h3>\n
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    • The gradient didn’t waste time. I was grinding up steep suburban streets that eventually gave way to a mix of pavement and dirt. By 10:15, I needed a second breakfast and found it at Apimania. The tiny shop was thick with the scent of hot purple corn and fried dough. I sat among locals, nursing a glass of hot Api and a cheese-filled Pastel. It\u2019s a heavy, sugary fuel, but necessary for the 774 meters of climbing ahead.<\/li>\n
    • As I pushed higher, the city noise began to thin out. By 11:00, the houses were replaced by scrubland and dramatic clay formations. I passed a few runners coming down the trail, their breathing the only sound besides the crunch of my tires on the gravel. At 11:34, I reached a vista point where the ‚Devil\u2019s Molar‘ finally revealed itself\u2014a massive, weathered monolith standing guard over the valley. I briefly ran into Guido and a few others who had taken a different route; they gave me some quick directions for a back-way descent and then disappeared, leaving me in the silence of the high Altiplano.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      The Molar and the Austrian Connection<\/h3>\n
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      • The final push to the parking spot at 12:15 was a lung-burning effort, but I wasn’t alone for long. Just as I leaned my bike against a rock, Marco, a young cyclist from Austria, rolled up. We reached the literal end of the trail together at 12:35, standing right at the base of the Muelle del Diablo. By 12:55, the sky was a deep, uninterrupted blue and the temperature had climbed to 17.6\u00b0C. The wind was picking up, whistling through the rock crevices.<\/li>\n
      • We spent some time navigating the vertical labyrinth of the summit, talking about gear and routes while looking down at the miniature version of La Paz. There is a specific kind of solitude you find at these heights; even with someone else there, the scale of the landscape makes you feel tiny. We decided to tackle the alternative descent together at 13:00, a rattling plunge down a different ridge that dropped us back toward the city limits by 13:35. We swapped numbers and parted ways near the telef\u00e9rico\u2014him back to his hostel, and me toward the promise of a massive lunch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Peanut Soup and the Sugar Rush<\/h3>\n
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        • By 15:00, I was at El Tenedora near Mercado Achumani, staring down a four-course recovery menu. The highlight was the Sopa de Man\u00ed\u2014a thick, creamy peanut-based soup topped with tiny fried potatoes\u2014followed by rosemary trout. I was so focused on the food that when the couple at the next table left their two sealed flans behind, I didn’t hesitate. I snatched them up before the waiter could clear the table. A high-calorie victory for the day.<\/li>\n
        • The ride officially finished at 16:48 as the clouds started to roll in and the temperature hit a comfortable 22.5\u00b0C. After a 50 BOB haircut that I desperately needed, I took the telef\u00e9ricos back to the hostel to plan the next leg toward Sajama. But the day wasn’t quite done. At 21:00, I walked down to Brosso. The place was a four-story circus of families and birthday parties. I ordered the Copa Para\u00edso, a mountain of fruit and cream. The sticky texture of the melting Oreo ice cream ran down the sides of the glass faster than I could eat it. I sat there until 22:15, buzzing from the sugar and the altitude, finally heading back to sleep at 23:00.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Overnight<\/h3>\n

          I stayed at my hostel in La Paz, spending the late evening hunched over maps of Bolivia and the Sajama National Park while the sugar from the Brosso sundae kept me wide awake.<\/p>\n

          Reflection<\/h3>\n

          A 774-meter climb on a Sunday morning is the only way to truly understand the scale of La Paz’s geography.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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          Route summary<\/h2>\n
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          • Date: 2026-10-11<\/li>\n
          • Distance: 24.91 km<\/li>\n
          • Elevation gain: 774 m<\/li>\n
          • Elevation loss: 778 m<\/li>\n
          • Duration: 8 h 29 min<\/li>\n
          • Time in Motion: 2 h 58 min<\/li>\n
          • Average Speed: 8.4 km\/h<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n
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