Totora, Central Bolivia 25-6-2010

 

 

 

 

Totora, Central Bolivia 25-6-2010

Odometer: 8290.8 miles

The roads in Southern Bolivia continue to be amazing. We have now left the desert feeling of the Altiplano and have entered into green valleys. Most of the altitudes are still over 3000 meters, but there is real change. The roads remain difficult to drive. They are a mixture of sections of pavement and dirt. The dirt parts have changed to new hazard of clay dust. The dust is finer then powdered sugar and sometimes 3 to 6 inches deep. The bike sort of skates through it and is very hard to handle. Every once in awhile the clay dust will have some water mixed in it near the rivers that cross the road. This is more slippery than ice and we slide all over the place. I would rather be on ice. The dust is everywhere and gets into everything. At the end of the day when taking a shower you find crevices you didn´t know you had. The amount of dirt in your nose is beyond gross. The bloody pancakes of crud keep coming out of your nose for hours, days.

But the most entertaining hazard of the day is the hornet that stung Fernando on the lip. At first it is only funny as he says he has never had an allergic reaction and we give him some anti-histamine and drive on. After a while he stops to have me look again. After about an hour and half his face continues to swell, crossing mid-line and down into his neck and up into his eye and back into his ear. From what I can hear his voice has not changed and from what I can see with sun light, his throat remains open and symmetrical. We move on. About half an hour later, we stop again. The swelling is worse. We move on. Finally we find the small town of Aiquile, it has a hospital. He gets a shot of steroids in his tuckus. That stops the process. We move on to Totora.

The road from Aiquile to Totora was only 48 miles, all cobble stone. Amazing. The road was cobbled in 2002 and it only took 8 months to complete. It is in very good shape. There are a lot of trucks on it. It was a pleasure to be on the cobble stone and off the dirt. The views are increíble

Though Totora is a small indigenous village it is swinging when we get there. It is the 134 aniversary celebration of the city and the place is packed full of people having fun. We decide to stay. The local hotel owner is at the party. The hired help thinks there is room, but they are not sure. We are told by his sister-in-law to go up the town square and look for a fat old man, his name is Don Felix. She says he will be easy to find. Just to be sure, I ask if he has dark skin and speaks Spanish well. She assures me he does. I find that a relief. We go up to the main festivities and find hundreds of people having fun. They invite us in and we have great time. By night fall you can tell they have all had a bit too much to drink and before something happens we head back to the hotel. We never find Don Felix, but his help has found us room. It is the nicest place I´ve stayed so far. The cost: $7.00.

Uncle Walter

Sucre, Central Bolivia 24-6-2010

 

 

 

 

Sucre, Central Bolivia 24-6-2010

Odometer: 8154.8 miles

The road to Sucre climbs up and over the Andes before it starts it decent into Sucre. It is the first time in a long time that the majority of the way was tar, and a real pleasant relief. Our bikes were held hostage in Potosi´ by the place where we had parked them. The agreed upon price was 85 cents/day. She doubled it. No one really cared about the money, the part that hurt was she left for over 2 hours and had locked the gate so we couldn´t go anywhere. Another person with a feeling of power and entitlement. I asked her if she worked for the local shipping company or for US customs. She said no and would not open the gate until she was satisfied the Boliviano we gave her were real.

Sucre is a nice city, but it is modern with little indigenous feel to it. We decide to leave after just one night and continue to head north.

Uncle Walter

Happy Birth Day Uncle Skosh!!!!!

The mine, Potosi´, Bolivia

 

 

 

 

Keep studying kids!!

Uncle Walter

Potosi´, the world’s highest city, Bolivia 22-6-2010

 

 

 

 

Potosi´, the world’s highest city, Bolivia 22-6-2010

Odometer: 8058.4 miles

Altitude: 4060 meters

The road from Uyuni to Potosi ´continued to be wonderful. There were plenty of llamas along the road to dodge and take pictures of. In order to get to the final elevation of 4060 meters we actually descended into the city. Our highest elevation was unknown. La Poderosa ran very well all day, though a bit sluggish. Not one of the KLR´s had too much difficulty with the altitude. No one had to pull their air filter, adjust their carbonator or place pealed onions in the air chamber. The local truck drivers and motorcyclists all swear that the clean slices of onion increase the O2 concentration into the carburetor and make the engine run better. I asked if there were any snipe around. They just looked at me funny.
We took a tour of the local mines. Before entering the mines we stopped to buy some dynamite. You can but it at the local market for cheap. It is sold without restriction. We only bought one charge, which was a shame. It made a nice boooom! In the above picture the fuse is lit with about 1 minute 30 seconds left.

We only went about 2 km into the mine. The mountain has been mined since 1545 by slave labor, both indigenous and imported African. The mines, though now depleting, are still worked by 1000s of locals. The conditions are harsh; the base of the mountain is at 4200 meters, the shafts are dusty and narrow, there a very few air shafts, the only lighting is by head lamp. The rail system is poorly done and the cars, both empty and full derail often. It only took about 10 minutes before I had a head ache. I don´t think Uncle Walter would have lasted full day. After 3 hours we were glad to be out.

Uncle Walter

 

 

 

 

Salar de Uyuni, day 3 21-6-2010

After having a comfortable night’s sleep in the Hotel made of salt we were up early and out the door long before sunrise, the Wenner W just above the northern horizon. We got out onto the Salar de Uyuni to catch sunrise and take some great photos. The wind came up so I tried flying, that was kinda fun. Then Sami had abdominal pain, so I had to perform a physical exam. My skills are a bit rusty. And just for CoookieO and her little studio I did some yoga poses. After all that hard work I had a nice cold beer. Ahhhh, what a fun day on the salt flats.

Uncle Walter

 

 

 

 

Day 2, tour across the altiplano and Salar de Uyuni 20-6-2010

More lakes, salt flats, Altiplano, passes over 5000 meters, and fun.

We stayed the night in a hotel made completely of salt; the walls, the tables, the chairs, the beds, everything. The atmosphere was warm, the crowd was festive and fun was had by all.

Uncle Walter

 

 

 

 

Out on to the Salar de Uyuni 19-6 to 21-6-2010

Day 1

For the first time this trip I a hired guide. He took us on a 3 day tour of the world’s biggest salt flat, La Salar de Uyuni, and its surrounding beauty. The first days travel took us up and over several passes of 5000 meters and more, to several toxic lakes, salt flats, and thermal baths. This part of the world is fantastic and the camera cannot capture it´s true beauty. We stopped at one thermal bath and had a nice dip in the hot water and watched the sun set. We spent the night in an unheated shelter at 4500+ meters. The night was cold and crisp. The stars were brilliant. I was up early enough to see the Wenner ¨W¨ (that would be Cassiopeia for those of you who read books written by scholars who don´t know much) in the northern sky. It was very low on the horizon, but recognizable. The two pointer stars in the Wenner W pointed toward the North Star, which still is hidden well below the horizon. The Southern Cross had already set.

Uncle Walter