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Published: December 1st 2012
Welcome to the adventure cyclist's paradise - BOLIVIA
A Bolivian Landrover with a nice spare-tyre cover in one of the side streets.I will begin by telling you that this is a "Memorablog", meaning it's not happening right now. So don't try and catch up with me on the road because this cycling trip started 1st December 2011.
My name's Andy, I'm 48, I run an English language school in Düsseldorf, Germany. But somehow I still manage a few months out there on my bicycle on the wild roads of this planet.
After watching a programme on German TV about a couple of motorcyclists going through South America, my Dutch girlfriend suggested that I do another trip before... I get too old. I didn't waste any time and booked my flight that week, also I put a notice on the Lonely Planet Thorntree site looking for a cycling buddy. I found one, James, 20 years my junior and ready for his first bike adventure.
This is a photo journal of that trip. I took my old bike and no electronic devices, just a small book to write down all the events and happenings in. James took his mobile devices, a new bike, a certain naivity, and no knowledge about how to write and send a postcard! How on earth did
My bike at El Alto Airport
Everything arrived safe and sound at La Paz El Alto International Airport, the higest in the world. A great downhill into the city awaited. we get on together on that trip? Or did we fall out? Was the generation-gap too big?
The following entries are copied word for word from the book I wrote in every day - nothing is missed out. For cyclists, I hope this journal will be an invaluable source of information, the mileage and other statistics are very precise. For others, I hope that you enjoy the stories and the photos. ANDY
THE ROUTE:
BOLIVIA: La Paz, El Alto, North Shore of Lake Titicaca to Puerto Acosta and the Peruvian Border.
PERU: North Shore of Lake Titicaca, Juliaca, Puno, Moquegua, Ite, Pacific Coast to Chilean border.
CHILE: Arica, Irquique, Pacific Coast to Tocopilla, San Pedro de Atacama, Paso de Jama.
ARGENTINA: Susques, Abras Pampas, La Quiaca.
BOLIVIA: Villazon, Tupiza, Uyuni, Oruro, La Paz, Coroico, El Alto.
THE FLIGHT THERE: Düsseldorf - London - Miami - La Paz.
THE FLIGHT BACK: La Paz - Santa Cruz - Miami - London - Düsseldorf.
NOTES FROM THE JOURNAL OF ANDREW JOHN GANNER - SOUTH AMERICA BIKEPACKING TOUR 2011/12
Day 1: Thursday 1st December 2011
The
James at El Alto
James had arrived a few days before me and his bike around the same time as me, so he met me at the airport with the idea of cycling downhill into La Paz. beginning of a new bike trip - it's been a long time since the last one, 2008, and now with some trepidation I'm setting off for South America. Elke came to the house last night to pick up my little dog, Elfie, at 7.30. I'll miss my little hound companion. I called Cindy in Gambia last night, and also this morning. She'll be very sad and lonely for the next two months, and of course, I'll miss her, too.
I awoke at 6am, did some final things in the house and for the house, and at 8am set out on my already packed bike for the airport. It's kind of lucky living almost next to a big international airport - through the forest it's only 20 minutes by bike. I checked in and didn't have to pay for my bike! Everything was checked right through to La Paz.
It was a normal flight from Düsseldorf to London Heathrow, terminal 5. I breezed through and ate my cheese butties. The flight to Miami was on a big Boeing (double decker), watched a couple of good films on the flight; Cowboys and Aliens, Tinker Tailor, and Blackadder's Christmas Carol. Was
Bike damage!
James used a bike bag on the flight... the problem with these is that baggage handlers throw them about and load cases on top... the result was this! a long flight and I arrived at 6pm in Florida and had long waits at what seemed like a third-world airport. Had another 4-hour wait for my American Airlines flight to La Paz, so I killed time eating a pizza slice with a Budweizer. I was feeling tired as I boarded the flight and my companions were a Jehova's Witness couple from Kent. The service on American Airlines was abysmal and really disorganised - sacks of chickens in the aisle wouldn't have been amiss, and despite the cramped leg-space, I managed to get asleep.
Day 2: Friday 2nd December 2011
Awoke to see snow-capped mountains out of the window, some peaks higher than tthe plane. We were approaching El Alto, the highest international airport in the world. The terrain below looked desolate and unforgiving. It was a smooth landing and all went easy at passport control where I saw my bike waiting for me on the other side of the glass divide. Everything had arrived safely and I put my bike together in 30 minutes, cleared friendly customs, and entered the small waiting area in the airport. I visited an ATM and withdrew 1,500 Bolivanos with
La Paz
The impressive view of La Paz from the rim of the crater at El Alto. my Bank of Scotland VISA card and then sat in a cafe with a maté de cocoa and a cheese toastie.
After that I went outside and met James. He was on top form, happy and pleased to see me with my packed bike. He had to pick his up from the American Airlines desk because they had lost it 2 days previously, but when he removed it from its bike bag the front forks were twisted over like crossed fingers - it was totally unusable! Disaster strikes.... James had to take a taxi to where we were staying and I cycled down the autopista the 5 or so miles into the city. The air was thin and the temperature was good. And the views were super!
La Paz is the highest capital city in the world at nearly 4,000 metres, set in a cratered valley and overlooked by a snow-capped volcano. As I rode into the centre, map in hand, I had to become more and more defensive as there were taxis and mini-buses hurtling in all directions. Of the three usable traffic lanes, the middle one was the easiest and because it was all downhill I
Casa de Cyclista
Arriving at the casa for bikepackers in La Paz. managed to keep the pace. Where the road went into an underpass I had to take the pavement past the university building where Harvey and I had demonstrated with students back in 1989. I found the hostal nearby, the unofficial "Casa de Cyclistas" and was welcomed in. It's a place just for rough-looking bikepackers... like me, I suppose? I settled in, James arrived later. We did some shopping but I felt really crap after the big flight. I had a headache and just felt shit so I rolled out my Thermarest and settled into a restless sleep. I tried to drink water to re-hydrate but was up loads of times pissing and feeling very sick. The nice letter from Elfie and little photo book from Cindy helped cheer me up.
Day 3: Saturday 3rd December 2012
It was a big day - we took James's bike to be repaired at Gravity, a bike shop, they said it would be expensive, then we wandered around the city through a park and to the stadium. Then, when heading towards parliament square, we got caught up in a local street party with dancing and music, and loads of folks
Hilly La Paz
Typical early morning scene in the old part of La Paz. in traditional costume. We sat on stools by a friendly vendor and drank a couple of beers while we watched.
After that we did a bit of sight-seeing around the old government buildings and wandered the streets through the markets, drank fresh fruit juice, went to the cafe of the people who own the "Casa", ate a nice quiche, chocolate cake, used the (slow) internet for free, and arrived back at the casa late. It had been a day full of impressions and my first full day with James, who I can say now, will be a worthy and fun travel companion.... well, time will tell.
Day 4: Sunday 4th December 2012
Had another rough night's sleep but felt much better today. James and I were up early and went around the city which was much quieter than the days before. We had new faces at the hostal and many stories were told. La Paz is much more different that I remembered it from my trip here in 1989 with my old school-friend, Harvey. It seems more friendlier, safer, and people don't stare at you any more. There seems to be more wealth, posh cars,
La Paz
Women preparing for a carnival-style event in the suburbs. people sporting mobile devices, and so on. There are not so many old-style Latin American buses left, they have almost all been replaced by Nissans, some even with Chinese script on them. Things are not as cheap as I'd imagined either. Food and drink is comparable with Germany, if not a little more expensive at times.
I bought a big bag of Maté de Cocoa from the supermarket and boiled a big pot of water, added some teabags, and let it cool down to fill my 2 big two-litre bottles to help us to climb up the road out of the city and onto the Altiplano - maybe this will help too with altitude sickness? I noticed that my bike had a crack in the stem near the handlebars, what can you expect from a 1990 Fisher mountainbike! I temporarily fixed it with a hose clamp and tie-wraps. James's bike had been welded into shape but this, we felt, had considerably weakened the forks. Gravity will look for the parts to repair it and hopefully we will be cycling soon. We want to get to Lake Titicaca and cycle the un-touristed north shore.
Day 5: Monday
La Paz
Beautiful young woman taking part in local celebrations in the suburbs. 5th December 2012
New cyclists are coming and going at the casa including two likeble gay French guys, a French Rasta, and also Carlos from Colombia who makes wooden toys to sell on the streets and in the markets to finance his bike travels in all of Latin America. After breakfast, James and I went by taxi to The Valley of the Moon. The taxi fare was BS40 and the entrance to the valley was BS15. Now, a touristy hot-spot, I remember it was an insider secret in 1989 and free. We wandered around all the interestingly wind and rain sculptured rocks and pillars, and shivered at the thought of slipping and falling down one of the dark and deep crevasses.
It was interesting, but un-inspiring. We walked a long way down the road to the "Rio Piss", the stenching shit and piss filled stream that runs down from La Paz city, and nearby James ate some non-descript piece of meat with rice. Afterwards, with a dodgy feeling in his guts, he suggested that it might be a good idea to be veggie for the rest of the trip. We wandered uphill past a military academy which turned
La Paz
Enjoying local celebrations in La Paz suburbs. out to be, believe it or not, the Bolivian Navy... at 3,500 metres above sea level in a country with no coastline!
We flagged down a mini-bus for the rest of the way up to La Paz centre for a mere BS5. At the casa's cafe I used the internet to write to Cindy, still no message from her. Then we bought some veg from the market and headed back. For tea, I made spaghetti with a nice pasta sauce while James fiddled with his MSR cooker which wouldn't work properly. Jerome, a French traveller, said he had one with the same problems and thought it was the altitude causing the problems. So, I guess we'll be using my Trangia for on the road, there is good alcohol available to use in the burner. Before going off to bed, I opened my bottle of "Killepitsch" herbal liquer I'd brought from Düsseldorf, and poured everyone a glass. Prost!
Day 6: Tuesday 6th December 2012
Got up quite early again. James is pissed off about his bike and wants to get on the road, and so do I. But I'm not pissed off with him, it's not
Crumbling La Paz
The charm of the old part of town for travellers - the reality for the locals. his fault. We walked up to Gravity to pick up his bike because we had decided to risk taking it as it was. Gravity said they wouldn't be able to get parts till Thursday, and then they couldn't be sure that they were the right parts. The guy we'd been dealing with the other day wasn't there and we'd have to call back later. It was a bit chaotic.
I came up with a fork strengthening idea for the front forks of James's bike. We wandered through the industrial backstreets of La Paz to find some steel that would do. We purchased a small lengzh of 'L' section steel and found a blacksmith and explained what we needed and he made it before our eyes. It cost us BS35. With the new pieces in hand, James set off back to Gravity and I went back to the hostel on the way to the immigration office.
We needed to get our exit stamps in La Paz because there is no border control on the north shore of Lake Titicaca at Puerto Acosta. Carlos, the Colombian guy, went with me and introduced me as his "amigo", then the immigration officer
The Bolivian Parliament
A much policed place in the city of La Paz, the Parliament building. became suspicious and I thought, "What is he thinking now"? In the end, we ended up getting our exit stamps, and Carlos had to pay BS80 for overstaying. Went back to the hostal to chill, and James arrived later, with a fixed bike! He had new forks, and the Tubus rack was fitted with hose claps and an old inner-tube... hope it holds? We went off to Luisa's Cafe in Linares and chatted a while, I emailed Cindy again (no messages).
Back at the hostal we prepared out bikes for setting off tomorrow morning, ready for an early start before the roads get busy. We were going to cycle the north shore of the worlds highest navigable lake - Titicaca. Nowhere on the web had I found a detailed account of the route and the condition of the road... we were well and truly going to be heading into a region rarely travelled by foreigners.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Welcome back to blogging...
I look forward to reading about your adventures. I appreciate you taking the time to write about your past travels. I know how it is because I spent all of 2011 scanning 5000 slides and prints and writing 170 blogs (175,000 words) for all my travels since I was conceived in China in 1949. I did it as a legacy for my family, but soon discovered that my Travelblog family was more interested than they were. Perhaps someday they will appreciate the effort.