Driving the Yungas Road

In one year alone, almost 30 vehicles of all shapes and sizes plunge off the road. It's not uncommon to see drivers sometimes stopping to pour beer into the dirt at the side of the road in an act intended to beseech the goddess Pachimama for safe passage. Almost 70% of all Yungas Road deaths occur after nightfall when a broken headlight or an overtired bus driver might mean a death sentence. There are stories told of truckers too tired or too afraid to continue to pull over for the night hoping to wait out the darkness so they may travel more safely by day.