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Other entries in Tupiza

Wild ride, riots, dinosaures.....

It´s been a long time since the last update but we have been in very remote places. Connection

here is so slow as well! I will update but will post photos when we get back to civilisation! Anyway, as we finished our visit of the mines, in Potosi, we left the Sunday 19th to go to Sucre, the constitutional capital of Bolivia. Sucre is a small town and reminded me very much the white villages of Andalucia. We had heard on TV that there were some troubles in town: studiants on strike, demos etc… but thought it would be ok. Apparently some government decisions in La Paz have sent people in Sucre on fire!

The following day we took the “Dino” truck to visit dinosaurs footprints. I expected to walk next to these tracks, but in fact, with continents moving over the last 65 millions years, the flat surface that once led to a lake was now a vertical wall! The observatory was several hundred metres away so it was not particularly impressive! The rest of the place was a tacky ”Jurassic Park” with real scale statues of Dinos. At least we were able to appreciate how big they were!

 The following couple of days we decided to chill out a bit. Sucre is much lower than Potosi and hence much warmer, it was also easier to breath than in the highlands. On Wednesday students started more demos in town, burning tyres at junctions and confronting the police special forces. Buses and trucks blocked all streets, the police started using tears gas and we retreated prudently to our hotel.

The following day we packed. It was time to visit Uyuni, and that meant to go back to Potosi for an overnight stop on the way. Unfortunately, demos and blockades were still full on. Leaving town was not as easy as planned! We had to get through at least 20 blockades. For most we managed by riding on the pavement or squizzing between the buses, however one was impossible to get through, fortunately the car owner moved his car to let us go!

We were back to the “cheerful” Potosi for one night. The further south we go the less friendly people are! People in the bolivian highlands have the reputation of being cold, and it is founded! In some places they are even openly rudes! In one hotel in Potosi one morning, taking our (included) breakfast, we sat at a table in the dining room for some time while the family was watching TV. After some time a girl came to bring the cups of coffees, I thought she was going to throw it to our heads to be honest the way she served us! And that´s in a hotel that makes money thanks to tourists!!! Unfortunately this type of behaviour is so frequent that I could write an entire book on it! I´m not warming to Bolivia, I can tell you that!

Anyway, after our overnight stay in Potosi (in a different hotel than last time but no more cheerful!) we took the nasty 220 km trail that leads to Uyuni. The road was badly corrugated, with frequent parts covered in deep sand (not ideal on a motorbike!). It took us 7 hours to make it. In some mountains parts, they put so much sand in the steep tight U- turns that I just couldn´t do it. In few places Alistair had to take my bike. I saw all that sand, the big precipice on one side, the steep, narrow U-turn, and I just froze! It was terrifying! Also the front wheel on sand goes all over the place and I end up generally going down!  I managed to drop my bike, on (you guess it!) a stretch of deep sand, but without damage.

Uyuni is a non-descript town. The only reason the get there is that it is the get away to the Salar de Uyuni, the biggest and highest salt flats in the world. We had a day rest in town to recover from the trail and made some enquiries about the state of some trails to various destinations. We visited the train cemetery, situated in the middle of what must be the local toilet (and general bin) for those who have no such facilities at home! Not a nice walk!

Originally we wanted to leave Bolivia by riding through the Salar, then south into Chile. We changed our plans. Talking to other bikers made me realise I just would not be able to handle these trails. They are just to hard for me! Little did I know then that I would be checking some of them one week later… Anyway, after various discussions with the police, soldiers and 4X4 drivers we decided to go back to Potosi (again!) and take the easier trail to Tupiza, near the Argentinian border.

The next day we packed and took the badly corrugated road that lead to the entrance of the Salar. It is important to use one of the official entry ramps, as the Salar is surrounded by water and riding over salted muddy water is not good for the electrics! The Salar is so huge it is difficult to orientate. We used the volcano on the north side for orientation. The surface is like tarmac, and we were able to rediscover our 4th and 5th gears!! Even riding at 60 mph you have the impression you are not getting any closer from any mountain top! After 30 minutes we saw a dark spot, as we got closer we arrived at the Salt Hotel. It is entirely built in salt, including beds, chairs and seats! We asked for directions to the Incahuasi Island, where we planned to stop for lunch. Basically ride West all along until you see a black spot! It grows little by little to a big rocky mountain. The island is actually the remains of fossil coral. It was impossible to find a place to sit in the sharp stones, so we had a quick lunch there, standing up, using a pannier as table. It´s only when we rode off and around the Island that we realised that there was a Hotel, café, picnic tables etc on the other side… Doh!

We spent the afternoon riding around, taking silly photos playing with the perspective and having fun. The Salar is the most amazing place on earth and definitely one of the highlights of our trip! We then went back to Incahuasi Island for a hot coffee. The Salar is at 3680m high and very windy, it was very cold. We then went to the other side to set camp for the night. Our attempts to set the tent on the salt itself failed after ruining 2 pegs. The salt is as hard as rock! We had to move the tent to the dirt next to the Island, after carefully removing all the sharp stones that may damage the floor. The wind was very strong and it got colder. We managed a dinner of coldish pot noodles and bread with paté. The night was freezing, my sleeping bag supposedly is ok for -6C and -15 extreme. Well not so! I used my foil space blanket wrapped around my sleeping bag. It made me look like a Christmas Crakker but it made the trick and I had a very warm night despite freezing temperatures!

The next day we went back to Uyuni, and (after an overnight stay) we took the same nasty trail back to Potosi! On the way we met with Nick and Leslie (www.pooleglobaltrek.com), the same couple we met in Cuenca (Ecuador) some time ago. They ride a big BMW 1200GS! After chatting there for about an hour, under the stare of the locals, we continued our ride.

Maybe was it dehydration or lack of food, but we found this trail much harder this time! Alistair dropped his bike once while checking in his mirrors that I was fine in a tricky part, then it was my turn to drop my bike in a stupid way. After getting lost on the wrong track, surrounded by lorries on a steep muddy road, we finally made it in town.

We found a different hotel (the 3rd we tried in Potosi!) for the night. The next day we left town late. We were very tired from the previous day. We were going to Tupiza, close to Argentina. The road started nice enough, with tarmac, for about 40 kms, then turned into a gravel road, then into a nasty trail! We stopped in village around 4 pm and found simple accommodation. As usual locals were very unfriendly. Not a pleasant place! We left quickly the following morning and arrived in Tupiza in time for lunch! The most annoying thing during this ride was that, for about 75kms, we could see a newly paved road, beautiful tarmac, perfect, but the traffic was not allowed on it! I suppose they will allow traffic once the entire paving is finished but it killed us to see that beautiful smooth surface while we were forced to ride a horrible trail, among massive trucks and buses. Every time we crossed one, it raised so much dust that we were unable to see anything for a couple of seconds!

Now imagine this: we are back in 1906, 2 cowboys are riding fast in a very “Far West” type of desert. They´ve just successfully hold up a company payroll, but 4 military policemen are getting closer. A gun fight follows and the 2 felons are killed. That´s how Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid ended, not far from Tupiza! I always thought they died in Mexico. They certainly went a long way south!

After a nice night sleep in a comfortable hotel (with the usual unfriendly and rude staff!) we went round the tour agencies. We wanted to rent a 4x4 to visit a Reserve. The trail is too difficult by motorbike, and without a guide we would get lost! Unfortunately the prices quoted were very high! The only other option was to do a 4 days tour by 4x4 that would include the reserve and the Salar! It was much cheaper that way and we booked that.

Coming back to our hotel we bumped into Nick and Leslie again, while they were checking in. Their motorbike was nicely parked next to ours! It was nice to meet them again and we went that evening for a nice meal. The next morning, after moving the bikes 3 times (the girl at reception was too lazy to tell us where to put the bikes but managed to tell us twice it was not ok where we moved them!) and leaving our luggage in the storage room, we left. The group was friendly: 2 french lads from the south of France and a French Canadian. The tour took us through stunning places (We will post some photos when we get back to civilisation, it would take forever here!) and we saw a lot of wildlife! We slept in villages: “basic accommodation” they call it! The 2d night was above 4600m and it was incredibly cold, but drinking lots of Coca leaves tea helped!

We came back yesterday. Today we are having a small rest, the tour was very tiring, terrible trails, it was slow going so we left very early each morning. The 4x4 also broke down few times but the driver managed to repair every time, although the direction was dead. Worrying in narrow mountain roads!

Anyway, that´s all for now folks!

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