The 5 Riskiest Vacations Floridians Go On
While modern day Evel Knievel’s may take a more laughable form in the Jackass team, there is no other true daredevil of Knievel’s statue publicly roaming the world. However, bits of him may appear in various “thrillist” tourists.
These kinds of people are fabulous risk takers- and according to some interesting cases by Daytona Beach Personal Injury Attorneys, Bundza & Rodriguez, these are some of the most dangerous places their clients are off adventuring to.
Bolivia: Death Road
“Adoringly” called Death Road by locals, the North Yungas Road killed three hundred people annually in its prime…while maintaining its status as a prominent tourist attraction, especially among mountain bikers. Going more than 15,000 feet up into the mountain, the road is slightly wider than a single car allowing the driver and any daredevil passenger to look down at their potential future grave. If that’s not nauseating enough, wait for a car heading your direction- local law specifies the downhill driver must move to the outer edge so the uphill driver may pass. New roads have led to a decline in local traffic, apparently over the “thrill”, making room for a surge in thrill seeking mountain bikers since the 90s. And while bikes may allow for more passing room, at least 18 cyclists have died on Death Road.
Colombia: Tejo
There’s a game causing explosive reactions throughout Colombia, literally. Tejo is an ancient sport where players throw a disk (tejo) at a tube surrounded by bags of gunpowder, making a huge boom. The person who detonates the most explosive, wins! The little boy inside all of us will want to play this after a few sips of some strong Colombian coffee; but remember not all travel insurance covers throwing bags of dynamite around.
China: Guoliang Tunnel Road
This dangerously narrow road was carved out in the Taihang Mountains by 13 local villagers in 1972 after their pleas for a road to connect their isolated town to other places went ignored. Five years later the 16 by 13 foot tunnel was open for transportation. Dug by hand, it doesn’t meet many, if any, pillars of road safety- or follow a “roadmap”. Selectively carving their way through the weakest rocks, the multitude of twists and sharp turns is now a popular tourist attraction, but not for the claustrophobic or easily-nauseated ones.
Nicaragua: Cerro Negro Volcano
Cerro Negro is the most active volcano in Nicaragua, erupting 20 times since 1850. Extreme sport lovers flock to this pebble covered volcano for a relatively easy 45 minute hike to the top, and a 50 mph sandboard or sled ride down to the bottom. Styled like a child learning how to rollerblade for the first time in the 80s, it’s obvious prepared riders know if you fall, the landing won’t feel like crashing into a pile of snow.
Mexico: La Quebrada
Acapulco’s gorgeous cliffs stand almost 150 feet tall above the ocean, making it home to some of the country’s, possibly the world’s, best cliff divers. Professionally, these men are expert divers called La Quebrada Clavadistas. Throwing themselves off these cliffs since 1934, the youngest now have superb trainers- necessary considering the depth of the water varies from a deadly six feet to a safe 16 feet in matters of seconds. Winding up in a Mexican hospital would be lucky for any tourist attempting these “tombstone” jumps.
