8-22
We have stowed Bici in the hold of the bus and for $8 all three of us are on our way to Oruro about 220 km up out of the La Paz canyon and out onto the altiplano. As we bused up, we recalled the fun we had blasting down the autopista for 11km watching the city appear below us out of the plug of humanity at the top in El Alto. We enjoyed La Paz, a vibrant city with many tourist amenities including some really good restaurants serving beef and very nicely spiced meals! Our hostel was located near the San Francisco church and plaza and in the area of the witches market. Here they sell amulets and do small rituals for improving your health, love, wealth, etc. The most unusual sight were the booths selling llama embryo, dried frogs and armadillos for use in potions plus.
La Paz
1. Witches Market
2. Street scene |
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In La Paz we located a bike shop to properly tension the wheel we had rebuilt. The shop was located in a very exclusive area, Cotacata, several kilometers south of central La Paz. The hills were covered with extremely large homes and the commercial area consisted largely of upscale shops and the shoppers were beautifully dressed and coiffed. If it weren’t for the need to repair our beautiful bike we would not have enjoyed a day in La Paz’s “Rodeo Drive” area. We spent time in the museum where the exhibits were presented, lit, and described beautifully – probably some of the best we’ve seen on our trip – surely in South America.
Out hostel was a refurbished hacienda with lovely patio areas. Although large, with hot water as we described earlier, the staff was not surly but not very attentive, never stepping foot into our room to clean during the entire three nights we stayed. I have to admit I am a little weary of the Cold altiplano, Art and I both suffer from sore mouths and lips caused by excessive exposure to sun, wind and cold. The pharmacy suggested a little bottle of liquid to paint on. We hope it helps settle the problem. Zinc oxide (white) lips haven’t been enough to counteract the exposure problem.
8-24
A bus gave us a 230 km lift out of La Paz to Oruro across the altiplano. We found a nice hotel near the bus station with loads of hot water. We took a Tuchi (a minivan) downtown to buy supplies for our next 330km ride to Potosi. There are only small towns on the altiplano. Oruro was a mining town, the economic powerhouse of Bolivia for much of the 20th century, losing its fortunes when the price of tin dropped in 1985. It enjoys several lovely plazas and a large number of industries outside its city limits and a huge distribution center for trucking goods. In the morning, after a good breakfast and directions out of town, we left Oruro with a gentle wind at our backs across the altiplano. Art said if he took a picture every 20 minutes the pictures would all look the same. We began our day about 8:30am and ended in the town of Challapata 124km/75m at about 4:30pm. The only break in the long miles was a great lunch in Poopo, a mining town, still operational.
Bolivia
1. Altiplano
2. Challapata
3. Road from Oruro
4. Road colors
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The “hills” are dotted with mine holes and tailings. There are many circular structures which we believe were ovens for lime production or heating and separating other mined products. Most of these structures were in disrepair, sitting next to a pile of mine tailings.
In Challapata, a fairly large pueblo, it was difficult to find a place to stay. We asked and looked, finally taking a bed with private bath for about $6. The bed sank to the middle; there were no showers – heck! There was no water after 8 pm or in the am, either! At least it was warmer than a tent and we both slept well.
Today, we rose later and off about 8:30 for breakfast. We were on the road by 9:30, climbing into the mountain range of the Corderilla Oriente. Today had many more contours than yesterday, but still a tail wind. We saw flamingos, brown and thicker than the tropical variety – after all, there is ice on the water and snow in the crevices of the mountains. It drops below freezing up here. I spotted a ‘wild’ guinea pig: grey and not as decorative as the domesticated variety, scurrying through the rocks. We spotted a number of beautiful birds: Kestrels, Hawks, a black and white crow-like bird with red markings around his eyes, quail without the top knot, a number of small birds, too. In Peru wee saw a lot of black Ibis dipping into standing water with their gracefully curved bills. And today, we rode through miles and miles of grazing alpacas!
By 3pm, the wind began to change and we had been wording hard, climbing so we stopped at a UNESCO site, complete with school, clean latrine and water from a spigot. We set up camp, cooked and turned in to read and write. We had only a small audience today, three children who live next door in a grass roofed, mud hut. The oldest girl, about 8 years, had care of the baby, who was bound on her back with a colorful shawl.
The wind is gusty. A storm is approaching from the southeast. Hopefully we are able to stay warm tonight.
8-25
We awoke to snow! We heard the rain and were certainly cold enough, but what a surprise. When the sun hit the tent we had no dripping, the wind chill was such that everything just stayed crystallized, and so we picked the ice off to put everything away. We rode the whole day with layers of polypro under our Burley rain jackets, hats and gloves. Even uphill, which there was A LOT , we stayed bundled against the cold and shifting winds.
1. Snow covered mountains
2. Mud village |
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Getting tired after only 64k/40m, we set up camp at about 3:30 in a stadium near a medical center. This is an outpost in the wilderness, a desolate location comprised of several mud buildings, outhouses and a couple of finished community buildings including the medical facility. The stadium is rather out of place. No people lived at this location, but down a dirt road in a mud village in one of the protected canyons.
We added a few layers of clothes since last night. We are at 4500m altitude, according to the Doctor at the center who felt we should ride to Potosi instead of sleep out in this high, cold place.
Hills and mountains, although difficult due to the climbing, are rewarding. The vistas can be spectacular, as today, with many deep canyons in the valley and the mountainsides colored every hue imaginable. Turquoise, greens, reds, grays, rusts and of course, lots of white with the snow, a thin cover, but still terribly cold.
8-26
The three season tent was buffeted and blasted by gusts of wind all night. The tent vents that we so appreciated in the deserts or in the sultry Mexican tropics, even was ok in the Ecuadorian Andes, served to blow sub 30 degree winds in over our hated heads! But with enough clothes on we stayed warm and the dry winds left no dampness, so we were able to roll everything up early and were off by 8:30.
The day began with about 35 km, 3/4 of which was downhill with gloved fingers stinging from the cold and the remaining 8-10km some of the most grueling uphill riding. The beauty of these mountains is unsurpassed! Color rivaling anything we’ve ever seen as the many minerals sit on the surface as green or red. Huge columns or spires of red soil have been eroded out of the hillsides by wind and water. Up and down, through canyons, we ride by small pueblos with little viable means of support: few animals and little indication of agriculture. After all, we are over 4,000m! As one native woman angrily told me: “there is not much mining, tourism doesn’t help everyone. Bolivians are poor!” These poor pueblos had no food for us except for pop and a few oranges. We existed on our cookies and the fruit, not knowing we had a 21 km climb into Potosi – an extreme up for two old folks who had just fought two nights camping in the bitter cold, existing on not a lot of food, with three to four days of pretty exhausting riding conditions.
Naturally we limped into Potosi to find the city in full swing – Festival Time!! Streets clogged with vendors, parading, costumed dancers and 10000’s of people blocking our way to the center of town and the tourist accommodations. After some detours we found the hotel I selected from Rough Guide: the Santa Teresa. Oh My!! $40US p/n!! Art said ok, it was our 11th wedding anniversary and this hotel has heat, carpeted floors and unlimited hot water with a shower door. No more cold, wet bathroom floors. And a Big plus: drinkable water from the tap. We gathered together all of our laundry (7.5 kilos) and went to drop it off and to eat too much food. Sitting in a warm, comfy bed, watching TV, the heater cooks our room. This must be heaven?!
Road to Potosi |
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These past few days have been a little rough. When the mountains are steep we ask each other “Where is Bill Brannon?” for the welcome push he would give us from time to time. As we rode uphill, into the wind with sleet pelting our faces we repeated Dan Strong’s phrase: “It doesn’t get much better than this!” And when the wind was so fierce that it tore our tent away from the anchor rocks and blew it over, we thought of Jim Williams who would say “the only good thing about this is in the telling!” Our friends are never far from our thoughts.
8-29
Enjoying Potosi involved a great Fiesta. Two days of dancing in the streets – parades of hundreds of people dressed in wonderful costumes who created a lively and colorful spectacle for the 1000’s of observers to enjoy. The crowds line the streets, stacked on bleachers and sitting on every hillside and bump on the landscape to see.
Potosi Fiesta |
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Today, we visited the cooperative mine of Candelaria in the Cerro Rico mountain just south of Potosi. It was one of the most memorable experiences on our trip. Not only were these mines begun by the Spaniards slaves in the 1500’s, they are still using many of the same methods to build the tunnels and extract the minerals: lead, tin, zinc, and silver. We scuttled, wedged and crawled through dust filled air, slogged through water, climbed up and down steep wooden ladders with broken rungs repaired with wire, slid down wooden slides hardly complete. The men and boys suffer under the worst working conditions possible, with life expectancy of 42 years. We endured the horrid conditions for 2.5 hours and can’t imagine how one could work for 8 hours a day for 20-30 years! The fact that OSHA would have a field day doesn’t take away the terrible fact that 12,000 men tolerate this in order to feed their families. It is amazing that tourists are allowed into these mines, with all the dangers and without any prior knowledge as to how exposed they are. There was no test as to whether one was fit enough to undertake this expedition underground. It is astonishing there are not more injuries – or maybe there are many, just unreported!
