Cycling Bolivias ¨Death¨ road

Well first thing first... don`t panic....although it has the name ¨death rd¨, its really not that dangerous anymore as there is no traffic at all on the dirt part since the new road has been built. So its now more a spectacular dirt/stone road with some big drops down the side into the valley, which is used for foreigners to hurtle down on mountain bikes... fun! Mind you, you definitely want your breaks and bike to work properly!

I went with a fairly new Bolivian company called b-side, who had great full suspension bikes and friendly and professional guides. You start up in the mountains above 4000m and ride down to Coroico which is about 1000m... I think... thru snow to start then rain, a few waterfalls along the way, and finally end up at the bottom where its warm and sunny and shorts and t´shirt weather.

Anyway great fun, pity about the weather obscuring the views. Actually I`m a bit sad about leaving Bolivia... I`ve really grown to like it and its chaos. Only a week in Chile, Easter Island and then home now.

Another thing to winge about... dropped the camera and busted the LCD screen, so although I can take photos framing them is rather hit and miss now.

So I´m not a mountaineer...

One of the things which you cant help but notice here is some of the lovely snow topped mountains. I got the idea that after having spent almost a month in Bolivia and most of that being about 3500m, with my highest point til then at 5000m, that perhaps I was acclimatised enough to try climbing one. Well Huani Potosi is just out of La Paz, climbable for novices with a guide and at 6088m its not to be sneezed at, so I signed up.

After collecting all the ice climbing gear at the agency, it was about a 2hr drive to the hydro-electric lake (that along with the others below it supplies most of La Paz`s power), that was the start of the walk. And then a 3hr hike up the mountain to the refuge at 5130m. Well I was puffing a bit but felt ok going up. Unfortunately things got worse not better, with sleeping at this altitude rather difficult. The hike to the top is supposed to take about 6 hrs and you start at 1am to summit at sunrise. I ended up walking for about an hour or so before being completely stuffed... puffing of course, but also feeling nauseous, dizzy and then starting to faint with everything going black... altitude sickness - I think about 5500m. So I went back down with my guide and climbed into my sleeping bag, leaving the others to slog their way up and down. Judging by their exhaustion it was bloody hard work (but beautiful), and from my experience I think I´ll stick to walking around the bottom of any mountains from now on! Great view when the clouds clear though.

Oh well, I can now say I´ve hiked up snow and ice with crampons and an icepick, and know enough to definitely say that those who climb Everest are NUTS!

Lowlands

Santa Cruz

I flew into to Santa Cruz and found myself sweating profusely in the bus into town... from pleasant mid twenties weather in Sucre to 38 and humid. Thats lowlands for you.

Santa Cruz is Bolivias biggest city, and also probably the most affluent one, and hasnt much in the way of tourist attractions other than a pleasant town square. So I passed straight thru on my first day, and came back for half a day later to explore before catching a bus on. Nice and tropical to wander around, too much traffic would be my summary!


Samaipata

Straight from the airport I went to a shared taxi service to visit Samiapata, a nice town with some impressive hilltop rock inca ruins about 3 hours out of Santa Cruz. While I was waiting for enough people for a shared taxi, my big backpack dissappeared from where I left it. Stress. I found out from a taxi driver that it had been loaded into a taxi along with the bags from a large family group... better than being stolen, but with no way to contact them, I was left hoping to 1) catch up with the taxi onway to Samaipata or 2) hope that they´d realise and leave my bag at the taxi centre. Luckily I shared the next taxi with a lovely Bolivian couple who chatted to me and kept my mind off my bag. Amazingly we did catch up with the taxi and bag just at the town entrance... So how freaky is that- chasing your bag across the country.

Samaipata is a lovely laid back colonial town, with friendly locals, good food and of course those mysterious ruins. I met these 3 girls, and shared dinner, a taxi and tour which was nice. The site is definitely atmospheric, but odd with all the carved grooves, seats and recesses presumeably for mummies or offerings. Also ran into Miles after last seeing him in Peru!

There was also a small zoo which I walked out to, and found myself becoming the climbing frame for friendly monkeys and other animals... stop licking my knee wild pig!

When it came to getting back to Santa Cruz, I was planning on catching a passing microbus, but got invited by two merry Bolivian truck drivers to share the ride along with three Swiss girls. Service with a smile, roadside peaches and unfortunately for me too many bends which made me a bit carsick.

Villa Tunari

Theres this wildlife refuge run staffed mainly by volunteers that has rescued large cats, monkeys, a bear and more, that I saw on the internet. To be a volunteer you need to stay a minimum of 2 weeks so with that out I decided to drop in and have a look for an afternoon instead. What I found was a small town on the side of the highway and a lovely refuge overrun by friendly volunteers. Two looking after a Bolivian bear (endangered), and many more looking after cats, monkeys and birds. I spent a few hours watching and playing with their monkeys, and chatting to volunteers.

Cochabamba

On to another major Bolivian city on my way back to La Paz, and this one known for its large sprawling market, and its palace built for a tin barron. I checked out the markets succumbing to another woven blanket-rug, lots of fruit juices, and nibbles too. The palace was stunning with a gorgeous interior and lovely gardens, and rather out of place in Bolivia as it wasnt colonial style... supposedly based on Versaille. But it really showed just how much money was made from mining here... all imported marble, furniture and statues, silk wallpaper etc.

A few more photos when I get a chance

Sucre

Sucre is a beautiful white colonial city, with heaps of churches, convents, a thriving market, parades and a lovely green town square.

Since I was staying across from the market, I adopted the habit of getting myself a delicious fresh fruit salad and smoothy to start the day. And couldnt help but be impressed by the hum of this busy area... open first thing in the morning, and a popular pedestrian strip come 9 or 10pm.

I loved Sucre´s weaving museum, had to go back after lunch, and went back a few days later to buy myself some amazing hand woven pieces. I also checked various other museums, most of which were housed in lovely buildings.

And for a change of pace I went to see some dinosaur footprints... yeah, the local cement factory were quarrying when they uncovered a whole slab of footprints going up a almost vertical wall. It used to be a muddy swampy area near a lake apparently, but a volcanic eruption covered it with protective ash, and the plates tilted rather a lot. Odd.


And just before I was leaving, I ran into a wierd parade around the town square... dancing teenagers followed by decorated cars..


And I decided to fly between Sucre and my next destination as I couldnt face another overnight bus, and a half hour flight sounded oh so much better!

Potosi - silver mines

Potosi is the worlds highest city according to my guidebook, and it also has an amazing history due to its silver mining. Yes, once the worlds most prolofic and lucrative silver mine starting in the 1500s, it grew by the end of the 1700s to be the largest and wealthiest city in Latin America. Yes, the spaniards loved their silver. And they ordered locals to work for months at a time in the mines, and then went on to import african slaves as well. Of course conditions were appalling (and still are) and with shifts of 12 -18 hrs a day and months at a time underground it was hardly surprising millions died. The church even went as far as to revoke its previous order that all coca leaves were prohibited due to pressure from the mine owners... workers needed coca leaves to work those hours.

Since its glory days, Potosi is now in trouble after 500yrs of mining the quality of ore is not great and hardly economic... it relies on tin and lead at the moment, and the forecast reserve is for these is only another 10 to 20 years.

Anyway I wandered round town, checking out the beautiful colonial buildings, churches, convents etc. (Nuns also led an odd life I discovered, being shut away behind wooden doors and only allowed to speak to family once a month and only hear them not see them then either) And the next day I went on a mine tour.

Well, first of all we got all suited up cos its dusty and dirty down the mines (quite probably poisonous too with the lead and arsenic...). Then we went to learn basic bomb making in the miners market... where anyone (yes kids, foreigners, anyone) can buy supplies of dynamite, ignition fuses and other materials that help make bigger bangs! Of course you can also get face masks, lamps and safety gear (although I cant say I saw that much in use). From there we went to get more presents for the miners... coca leaves and soft drinks. (Check out the lump in the vendors cheek... a lump of coca leaves) Then a visit to a ingenio where they grind and refine the ore a little. (Oddly they export the dried sludge, and don`t smelt any here)

Then down the mine for 2-3 hours, through the maze of tunnels that have been carved in the mountain. No real planning here... groups of miners follow mineral veins and prop where they think necessary... no big picture, no overall company controlling mine, no OH&S, minimal machinery with the majority being shovelled out of the mountain and put into rail carts. Groups of miners get paid according to the ore quality and quantity. Did I say it was hot and dusty down the mines...and at times only crawlable. It was a real experience to visit the place and see the conditions they work in, but let me tell you its hot, hard to breath and uncomfortable, a few hours and one shovel load was more than enough for me. But very interesting.

At the end our guide demonstrated how the dynamite works... so casually lighting it and then handing it round with a burning fuse for photos (see left... thats lit) before running down the hill to explode it somewhere safe! Yeah it went bang.

On a different note I caught a micro out to a wierd hot springs up a mountain in this beautiful valley. It was a little freaky cos I was the only one there, and the guidebooks warned about the dangers of swimming there. Its this round green pool, volcanic with really steep sides that just dropoff, and no ones quite sure how deep it is but it gets hotter the deeper you go. And bubble come up in the centre of the laguna. Now if thats not a setting for some wierd nasty creature from a horror movie I dont know what is... needless to say I swam but warily!

Tupiza...wild west?

From Uyuni I finally got to go on a Bolivian train - to Tupiza and to arrive at the very inconvenient time of 4am. So I had planned on sleeping in, and then a bit of a lazy day looking round the city and surrounding canyon.

What I discovered when I ventured out was that it was market day, so I spent a few hours wandering along looking, and sampling some of the saltenas (like pasties - mainly potato with a bit of chicken and spice), tamales (corn balls with llama meat inside), and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Then up to the lookout to see how the town is nestled between red and greenish grey spectacular rocky mountain ranges. And I couldnt help but notice how much warmer it is than La Paz or Uyuni... spose the lower elevation helps. I then decided to explore one of the canyons nearby, so I headed up this valley which narrowed with stunning red rock formations on both sides. It was fun following the canyon, discovering wierd formations round every bend. And further up the canyon got quite narrow, requiring a little scrambling over rocks to continue. And did I mention the cactuses... I guess its them which makes me think of the wild west ... plus the fact that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid died a few town along after robbing a payroll. One of the tourist attractions is to ride horses and visit the cave they hid in, the hotel they stayed in... wierd but it is lovely countryside. I would have spent another day exploring on horse and bike except there wasn`t any other tourists interested so no tour... so goodbye to cheap and friendly Tupiza and onwards to Potosi for me.

Salt flats, volcanoes, deserts, lakes and flamingos

I headed for the southern corner of Bolivia to Uyuni and its salt flats, and the amazing Eduardo Avaroa Reserve. Wow... the scenery is stunning!

After a bumpy overnight bus ride down to Uyuni (I had wanted to go by train in the day, but it was cancelled due to a blockage due to a political protest), I wandered round town, and bumped into Matt Fishbeck at the market!

I´d already signed up for a 3 day tour in a 4wd in La Paz, and I found myself in a very ¨international¨ car with 2 Canadians, 2 italians, a Columbian, and our Bolivian driver and cook. We headed out to the train graveyard, and then out to the salt flat and this small town that used to be a railway town but now barely survives refining salt. No shortage of salt of course, just its hardly worth enough to bother transporting it! So now carved salt souvenirs bring in a bit of money.

On to the salt flats and hardly surprising but its very white! Stunning and bizarre, with 4WD stopping here and there to let people out to take photos of salt piles, salt crystals, bubbling water pools etc. And onto the cactus island which I adored, with its juge cactii and stunning 360 degree view of salt and mountains in the distance. We left the salt lake, headed across the train track (that connects Oruru with Chile) Then onto a windswept small town (San Juan) surrounded by llamas for the night.

From there we went further south, into stunning volcanic high plains and deserts, with wierd rock formations, sand and stones. And wierd animals like rabbits but with bushy tails. And Vicunas eating god knows what in the desert... There are these spectacular coloured lakes, teeming with flamingos. Which contradicts all my instincts that flamingos live in tropics! We´re talking lakes of about 4000m altitude with temperatures dropping below freezing overnight (down to -30 apparently at times), but they don´t freeze due to their wierd mineral mix.

And a geyser and field of boiling mud at 5000m altitude, and a wonderfully warm hotspring for a quick soak before breakfast! Onto more lakes (and the most spectacular greenish blue one which may look pretty but is a poisonous mix of chemicals including lead and arsenic), and more wierd rocks before a long drive back to Uyuni. Unfortunately we had 2 flats on the way back and only one spare tyre... so we waited for another 4wd to help us out. They´re all quite friendly from the different companies, with drivers helping out on various engine/tyre problems.

So what a trip! Spectacular scenery, lovely people, good food... all i´d say is it would be nice to be able to spend a bit longer at some of the places! Next time hey... But I`m not as crazy as some who were riding bicycles across some of those barren deserts...

La Paz

I arrived in La Paz with a slightly dodgy tummy, had one good day exploring and then needed the next few days to work on keeping my food in. Oh well, its the first time i´ve been sick during these travels so i cant really complain. And i´m fine now, back to sampling local market food!

La Paz is certainly a sight as you approach from the highway and look down on the city, snuggled in this huge valley. Its got a rather higledy pigledy older part, and further down the valley in the newer suburbs it sprouts highrise. I started by exploring its markets (they are huge and sprawl through streets) and main tourist precincts (main squares and shopping streets), but soon found most things shut for the peaceful demonstration that was happening. Yes, the people of La Paz don´t want the capital to move to sucre, and there was a huge march which shut down the city. And everyone marching from pan pipe playing school kids, to bolivian women dressed in their traditional skirt, shawl and hat.

I also managed to take a tour of Tiwanaku, Bolivias most well known ruins. These are in a valley about 2 hours away, and now consist of a few large pyramids, square enclosures and huge stella, some with some intricate carving. While the Tiwanaku human shaped stella and decorations where a welcome change from the pure stonework of the incas, the site needs some imagination to see what may have been there... lots of stones were taken for colonial buildings.

I also checked out some great museums (loved the weaving and masks), walked up to a lovely look out, sampled their saltenas (yum)... so La Paz wasn´t a complete wipeout!

Lake Titicaca

From Cusco I headed to Puno on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca, taking a bus tour of a few archeological sites along the way for good measure (More inca work, and a few churhes). Stumbled upon a town festival with great costumes as you can see.

Puno

Lake Titicaca is huge... yeah I knew that before, but when you find yourself only looking at a portion of it and still struggling to see the other side it starts to sink in. Puno itself isn´t really anything to write home about, but its a base - a functional city perched on the side of the lake with little charm.

From Puno I took a trip out to the famous floating reed islands of Uros where whole communities of people live... very strange and touristy, and I suspect that it will dissappear after this generation (what would attract a young person back after being educated on the mainland?). They tie floating reed rafts together to make islands, harvest reeds to plonk ontop to make a more stable platform, and live in reed houses, fish, and sell trinklets/handcraft to the tourists. All very odd.

I also took a tour to check out some nearby rock towers that are pre-inca and inca burial monuments... They are perched on the edge of the lake overlooking a smaller lake and are quite distinctive and impressive. Curious considering there´s no known ruins of a settlement for miles... whats hiding under the surface of the lake?

Copacabana and Isla del Sol

From Puno, I crossed into Bolivia without any hassle, and chilled out in Copacabana - a quite little town, with a nice lake frontage and tourism being the main business. (Mind you getting money out is difficult with no atm!) Its got a nice main square, and a outwardly impressive cathedral, and a priest who blesses cars and trucks twice daily! I watched one car being decorated with flowers, and then the priest came out to bless it and sprinkle holy water on. Once he´d gone an old lady (shaman?) came out to repeat the process with smoke from a little brazier being wafted in and around the car.

Copacabana also has an awesome lookout from hill... once you´ve puffed your way to the top (altitude makes climbing hard work, with the lake being at 3800m), you get rewarded with a great view back over the town and bay, and out along the coast to isla del sol.

I decided to walk out the peninsula to get to isla del sol, rather than just catch the ferry. It was a lovely 4 walk along the main road (although with only a handful of cars passing its not really main!), past small villages with locals ploughing fields with cows, planting crops of potatoes and oca by hand, and working on trout hatcheries. And when I got to the end of the peninsula, I was rowed out to the island about 30min away, by a very healthy 72 y old local! (yeah I felt like I should be doing the rowing not vice versa!)

Isla del sol is according to Inca legend the birthplace of the sun, and accordingly it has a few remains of inca houses, terraces, temples and holy places. So I went poking round ruins, climbing in and out of maze like rooms. It looks almost mediterrean in many respects. Theres also a spectacular walk to get from the south to the north which goes along the ridges of the island and has awesome views of the islands hills, terraces, bays and the lake of course. And another route back which meanders along the coast through the various settlements. Anyway I really enjoyed my days walk, even if the sun did take its toll... little on the pink side now. And to finish off a relaxing ferry ride back to Copacabana.