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Ciclismo Andino
After a couple of days relaxing in Sorata, it was time to move on. The reason I went to Sorata in the first place, was that I planned to do a trip from Sorata to Rurrenabaque. A five day trip, organized by "Andean Biking" in Sorata. (www.andeanbiking.com)
We started out driving up to about 4800m, at the northern end of Cordillera Real, which I was mountaineering in a couple of weeks ago.
From here we started our two days long downhill adventure.
The dirt road we followed is plunging down from the Cordillera Real and passes tiny villages, most of them based on gold mining.
We started off in sunny weather, and biked for a couple of hour before our guides made lunch in spectaculare settings.
After the lunch we headed down through the clouds, and discovered a nice valley with Inka ruins spread around the hillsides.
On a ledge on a shoulder from a peak on the other side of the valley, Aucapata is situated. From here you can reach Iskanwaya, which someone has named "Bolivia's Machu Picchu".
The area is really a great place for downhill biking, and the owner of the company,
Travis, has a lot of other routs in the area as well. Everything from singeltracks to steep scree.
In the bottom we had an hour and a half with a bit peddaling before we arrived in the village of Consata.
20 years ago this was a village full of life, and some good money, as the gold mining was on a top. Today it's a quit little village with no tourists, and few inhabitants.
To Mapiri The second day was less downhill than the first, but we followed a beautiful valley and could enjoy the diverse scenery down towards Mapiri.
Here the biking ended and our driver packed up and returned to Sorata.
We met up with our "boat-man" and was served some fresh fish from the river, for dinner.
The next day we went on board on a typical riverboat and cruised down Rio Mapiri.
Our first stop was Guanay, a proper wild west gold mining town, and a good base for visiting some of the mines along the rio Mapiri and Tipuani.
We just stopped for some lunch and to meet another guide, Ruben, for the 3 day boat trip. Ruben is a
man of the jungle and was a good resource during the next days.
A bit further downriver we picked up the rest of the group for the boat trip, coming from Coroico.
Gold Mining Gold mining was the big business in the area many years ago. It has been a little quiet period, because of low prices, but it's starting up again these days, when the prices are fairly good.
We could spot mines all the way from the mountains and down to Rurrenabaque. Everything from "normal" mines to the good old way of staying in the river searching for gold in the sediments.
You could also spot the sign "compro oro" (bying gold) in the villages. The prices nowadays is 200 Bolivianos per gram (27 USD) and can give a average inhabitant in the valley a pretty good monthly salary if he's lucky. The minimum salary in Bolivia is (or should be) 600 Bolivianos per month (83 USD).......
River cruise in the jungle The next three days we drove downriver against Rurrenabaque, our final destination.
We camped on the riverside and did some treks into the jungle.
It's pretty tricky to spot any
animals when we are a group og 15 people, but we visited some nice waterfalls, which was perfect for cooling down a bit.
And the river transportation is a great way to explore some of the Amazon life.
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David
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imponert
Hei igjen Magnus. Jeg må si jeg lar meg imponere av hvordan du tar deg tid til å dokumentere reisen din, etter så mange innlegg som dere har laget, er du fortsatt like ivrig!! Kjempejobb. Meget fine bilder også Magnus. Det kribler i magen når jeg ser alle opplevelsene du er med på. Nå begynner det vel å lyse litt i tunnelen også, på tide å vende en lett solbrent nese nordover vel? ;) Gleder meg til å høre fra deg face2face Magnus. Vi sees Take care David