BOLIVIA 2001 |
A short wobble round the Altiplano |
For practical notes on this trip click here
We explored La Paz a little in the afternoon. The city lines the sides of huge steep bowl, so most of the streets are either near vertical climbs or precipitous descents.
The next morning when I woke it was strangely quiet. It was still early, so I went back to sleep, expecting to wake to the usual din of the street below. But when I woke again at eight it was still eerily quiet; no honking of horns, no rattle of steel shutters as the shops opened. We washed and dressed and went out to get some breakfast. We walked down to the main street that had been choked with traffic the day before and it was empty, not a car nor any pedestrians to been seen. There were just a rather large number of policemen. The first thing I thought of was a coup. We got about a hundred yards down the street before we were apprehended by a polite policeman who explained it was the national census day and there was a 24 hour curfew. He esorted us gently back to the hotel, urging Rowena to slow down when she got out of breath. Our hotel didn't do food, so at lunch time we had to sneak around the deserted streets until we found somewhere open.
| On the road to Oruro |
La Paz to Oruro
We couldn't face pedalling up the long hill out of La Paz so we got a taxi to El Alto. It was a tight squeeze but we managed to fit the bikes, all our panniers and the two of us into the a small station wagon. The taxi dropped us at a petrol station on the outskirts of town and after loading the bikes we set out on the road for Oruro, 229km to the south.The road rolled across the altiplano, a sort of open semi-desert. We were feeling the the effects of altitude and every time we came to the least bit of a hill we ground to a halt. We managed about 60km before we decided to call it a day and camp in a gulley just off the road.
| Pipeline camp |
| Campsite near the lake |
| Caracolio sunday market |
After Caracolio we were faced with the longest, straightest, flatest road we have ever come across on any of our trips. For nearly 40km it ran across the desert with out a bend or gradient. Only the kilometer posts passing slowly by gave us any indication we were making any progress.
The regular grids and one way streets of Oruro made route finding a bit of a nightmare. Only after Rowena insisted I stop and ask someone for directions did we found our way to the Hotel Monarca.
We had planned to cycle at least part of the 330Km to Uyuni, but when we reviewed how long it had taken us to get to Oruro, it was clear we would use another five or six days of our time if we did. So, after two nights in Oruro, we caught the night bus to Uyuni. 80km after leaving Oruro the tarmac ran out and the bus set out on the track through the desert. As the bus rolled and swayed through the darkness it felt as if we were at sea on a black ocean of sand. The night was very cold and while the locals wrapped themselves in thick blankets we covered ourselves in our sleeping bags.
Uyuni and a tour of the South West
The bus lurched to a halt in Uyuni at about five o'clock in the morning. Luckily, the driver let us sleep on until after seven. Dusty, wideswept and empty in the early morning light, Uyuni had a distinct end of the line feel to it. The town slowly came awake and around eight o'clock the first cafe opened and we were able to get breakfast. Later, after we had found our hotel, we booked ourselves on a four day jeep tour of the Salar and lakes of the south west.| On the Salar de Uyuni |
| Isla de Los Pescadores |
After an hour of driving across the Salar, Isla de Los Pescadores appeared just like an island in a sea of white. We parked a short distance from the island and as we stolled to towards it felt as if we were walking on water.
| One of the salt lakes enroute to Laguna Colarado |
After crossing the Salar we drove for across a flat desert, arriving after dark in small mining town along way from anywhere. The next day we drove up into the mountains and visited a number a number of salt lakes teeming with pink flamingos.
| Flamingos on the salt lake |
| Fumeroles at Sol de Manana |
The next morning we were up at five, and after a quick breakfast drove up a steep track in to the mountains. We arrived at the steaming thermal vents just as the sun was rising. The grey pools of mud boiled and spluttered beneath our feet and the air was filled with the smell of sulphur.
| Laguna Verde |
After a long drive across the seriously wierd Salvadore Dali desert, we arrived at Laguna Verde, the far south west. Beyond the mountain is Chile. It was bitterly cold here in a freezing wind.
| Rowena by the stone tree |
| The train cemetery outside Uyuni |
Uyuni to Potosi
The day after our return to Uyuni we set out to cycle the 200km to Potosi. The dirt track crossed the scrubby desert behind the town, then climbed away into the mountains. Just before the the climb started in earnest we met our first Vicuna. We spend the whole day pedalling or pushing up the track, finally camping in a rather spooky deserted village. Early the next morning we finally reached the col, and started a very rough descent. A little way down the from the col we reached Pulcayao. It was once a bustling mining town, it's claim to fame being that it's train was robbed by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The mine closed in 1959 and it seems to have been dying a slow death ever since. But we were pleased to stop for a while and fill our water bottles, as the way ahead looked very dry.| Rowena on the track to Potosi |
The track was starting to take it's toll on us and the bikes, so the next day we resolved to thumb a lift if we could. Around mid morning, we spotted a bus coming our way and miraclously it stopped for us. It turned out to be an adventure tour party doing South America and they were happy to take us to Potosi. We were pleased with our decision as the track was very long and tough even on the bus.
In Potosi we stayed at the friendly Hostal Compania de Jesus. On of the most memorable things in Potosi was looking at the deep imprints that had been worn into the wooden floor of the Casa Real de la Moneda (the Mint) by generations of indian slaves. I also spent a morning in one of the silver mines above the city. These mine tours are definitely not for the claustrophobic. The tunnels are narrow, airless, hot and very dark. I was very pleased to emerge into the daylight. The tour ended with our guides clowning around with lighted sticks of dynamite.
After there nights in Potosi, we caught a night bus back to La Paz.
La Paz to Lake Titicaca
The bus dropped us off in a grey misty El Alto at about 6am. We had breakfast in cafe then set out for Lake Titicaca. The day did not go well. A little way out of town, one of Rowena's front racks collapsed into her wheel taking out four spokes. Later Rowena fainted on her bike. One minute she was pedalling along, the next she was sprawled in the middle of the road wondering what had happened. At that point we called a halt for the day and camped by a little way off the road by a small stream. It was good rest.
| Fiesta at Batallas |
The next day we set out in that rare combination of sunshine, a flat road and a tail wind. Motoring along in top gear it didn't take us long to reach the town of Batallas, just short of Lake Titicaca. It was good timing, a major fiesta was getting underway. A series of teams of bowler-hatted women in colourful dresses and men in wind bands, swayed and danced down the street and out onto a football pitch. Each group seemed more colouful and boistrous than the one that went before. Once they were all out on the football pitch some serious drinking go underway.
A little further on we turned a corner and caught our first sight of the very blue waters of Lake Titicaca. The rest of the day we enjoyed a good pedal along the shores of this huge lake.
| En route to Copacabana |
| Copacobana |
After breakfast, after a bit of exploring we found the wonderful Hotel La Cupula. Set on the hillside this is a wonderfully unique building of moorish domes and arches. The rooms are beautifully furnished and the showers are wonderfully powerful.
In the morning we took a boat across the blue waters of the lake to the Isla dl Sol. We landed in a at the far end of the bay where the water was an exquisite shade of turqouise. After climbing up to the ridge we walked along the dry rocky spine of the island back to the village of Yumani where we waited for our boat to pick us for the return trip to Copacobana .
The next day we spen the morning dozing in hammocks in the garden of La Cupula, before catching the mid-day bus back to La Paz and our flight home.
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| © All text and photos copyright Tim Barnes 2004 |