From San Pedro de Atacam we rode towards the border with Argentina, on perfect asphalt. It would be the last paved road we would see for 6 days, as we turned off north for Bolivia. Ahead, over 500km of serous off-road along the Bolivian stretch of the Andes. We took on an extra 15L of fuel and two days worth of food. We didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into. Previous reports talked about about the ‘worst road in South America’ and about total high altitude wilderness requiring a guide and/or a GPS. It turned out the route can be easily ridden and has relatively clear tracks due to it’s popularity amongst tourist groups in 4×4 convoys. It’s actually one of the things that does make the trip challenging - it has become 90% washboard!! And there’s no escape from it. Dozens of tracks have been made by the multitude of trucks that pass daily, each seeking a smoother ride, but none of them easier or ‘washboard free’. Throw in some sections of deep sand and passes of over 5,000m and it becomes very difficult on both bike and rider. That’s not to say the scenery wasn’t worth it…

On the first day we reached Laguna Colarada and camped about 3 meters from the shore. It probably wasn’t the best idea, as the resident flemingos decided to pay us a noisy visit during the night, followed by a pack of lamas. We awoke to a bitterely cold morning (our bottles of juice had frozen stiff), but were rewarded with an incredible sunrise amongst hundreds of flemingos.

We packed quickly, to avoid the first tourist 4×4’s (we’re not sure if camping so close to the lake was exactly legal), and conitnued our bumpy ride north. Eventually the road got a little better and by the end of the day we reached the village of San Juan. The high altitude combined with rough road conditions, meant that all the bikes consumed a lot more fuel than usual (around 6.5L/100km). Kamil’s Africa actually ran out of fuel 500m short of the village. Talk about cutting it close!
The only available accommodation was at Hospedaje San Juan. US$3 per person for a very simple room with a bed and lumpy matress. In general Bolivia is VERY cheap. Petrol costs around US$0.50 per litre and a full lunch (soup and main meal) costs US$1.50. Oh yeah, and a bag of coca leaves (the stuff cocaine is made from and legal in Bolivia) costs US$0.80

In the morning we met a local ‘Boliviano’ who told us about the route to Salar Uyuni and offered us some specialties found on it’s ‘islands’. They were “Pasakana’s” - the fruit of a particular cactus. They were sweet and tasted a bit like kiwi fruit with poppyseed. We tried to find some more while on Salar Uyuni itself, but it seems its not that easy. For one they grow on very tall catcus trees. And when we did manage to get some down (with the help of our fishing rod), they were either not ripe enough or empty, because the local birds had beaten us to it.

Salar Uyuni is the biggest dry salt lake in the world. Riding on its super flat surface feels like gliding on air. The freedom to go anywhere and as fast as you want is liberating! After whizzing around a couple of the many islands, we pitched our tents for the night on the salt itself. We had heard that sunsets on Salar Uyuni are amazing and we weren’t disappointed…

Salar Uyuni sits at about 4,000m above sea level, so once the sun set, the temperature dropped quickly and we were in for a very cold night. Sunrise was almost equally impressive and we watched it eagearly, waiting for the first rays of sun to warm us up.

On the way off the salt lake, we managed to find the most popular island - “Incahuasi”. It might have more cactus growing on it than other islands, but it also has just as many tourists as well! Tourist rules apply also = get as much cash off the ‘gringos’ as you can (eg. a visit to the toilet costs US$1.50).

Off the salt and in Uyuni village, we stop for lunch of grilled lama with corn and soup from the hooves of a bull. If you didn’t think about it, it tasted great
In general, Bolivia has a much greater variety of exotic street food when compared to Argentina and Chile. Here we’re finally getting a ‘taste’ of the South America we’ve been dreaming about!

Next, it was through some more mountain passes and into Potosi - formerly one of the richest towns in the world due to its deposits of silver. We decided to check out a real working mine to get an idea of the conditions the miners have to endure. Kitted out in full miner apparel, we walked/crawled around the mines for about 2 hours. At times it was cold and wet, then hot and dry. Choking dust was a constant companion. An interesting experience, but probably not one we’ll want to repeat soon…

From Potosi we passed through the ‘europeanised’ town of Sucre and onto the village of La Higuera - the place where Che Gevara spent his final moments and was executed. From La Higuera (via Vallegrande) we again joined the tarmac and cruised passed Bolivia’s financial capital - Santa Cruz - and onto Trinidad, the last major town before the jungles of the Amazon Basin. In reality, Trinidad is already considered part of the Amazon Basin and the sloths that roam around its central plaza are testimony to it. Yes, sloths!!!

From here, it’ll be onto La Paz with a few detours into the smaller roads of the surrounding jungles. We plan to fish for some pirahna and hopefully see an anaconda or two!!

Today marks our 2 year anniversary since leaving Singapore! Coincidentaly we also passed the 100,000km mark. We never expected to travel so long and so far. Our original plan was to finish 9 monts ago (after Africa). However, we have well and truly caught the ‘bug’ now and are loving the fact that we are in South America…. and still on the road. There is no denying that extended trips are a totally different experience to 2-3 week getaways. You see the world in another light and you become part of the suroundings you’re traveling through. One of the things that appeals to us most and that keeps us going, is the fact that we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Where will we sleep? What will we eat? The spontaneity is addictive!!

We have to say a BIG THANK YOU to all the people that have supported us througout the trip so far (via email or otherwise). To our families and close friends and to the people who have fed us and provided a roof over our heads.

So what will happen next???
Only time will tell…