Foreword : if you've read the Dutch version on my website (www.henkvinkisopreis.web-log.nl) , this will bring nothing or little more. So wait for the pictures. If you are a foreign reader: this holiday was until the 5th of August. So, you could either wait intil the full text is ready, or read what is on and come back every other day or so. The pictures will probably be uploaded as last.
After Ilke had ridden from Peru (Cuzco) to Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) from November 2006 till January 2007 (Trans Amazonia tour) she convinced me to go to South America this summer. So we listed for a ride through the Andes region, containing the countries Peru, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia. This is my report.
After signing up with motortrails and Peru motors we flew from Amsterdam to Lima (Peru) and our destination Arequipa (Peru). Luckily KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) started a non-stop flight to Lima. In November there still was a couple of hours stop-over at Aruba (Dutch Antilles). At Schiphol we met Hans Timmerman, who I had done the Tibet journey with last summer. The three of us travelled from there on together. At Lima airport we then met the rest of our group, except for one, who had come from Curacao.
Tuesday, July 3rd - Arriving at Arequipa we were welcomed by Lars and Geert, the Dutch owners of the "Peru motors" motorbike tour company. They brought us to the hotel "La Gruta" , where we got the key to our rooms. We had been up some 24 hrs, so most of us had a drink and went to bed (there's a time difference of 7 hrs.)
Wednesday, July 4th - After breakfast we assembled in the garden and had our first briefing. Things about insurance, petrol charges and so on were settled.
The rest of the day we had to ourselves. For me an excellent moment to discuss what to do the last week, as I would stay one week longer. After a long talk with Geert, Ilke and I walked to Arequipa's "Plaza del Armes", sat there for a drink and tried to change my plane ticket from Arequipa to Lima in a plane ticket from Arequipa to Cuzco. That wasn't easy. Since it was a return ticket I couldn't change it and had to pay $106 for a single flight to Cuzco. After done so we visited the Santa Catalina Cathedral, which was very nice.
That evening we all went for dinner and we had a early night.
Thursday, July 5th - We were obviously all thrilled, because we got to see the bikes and we would ride them for our first day. A bit of a disappointment though as we saw the state of some of the tires were in. But Lars and Geert told us they would bring new tires as well, and as soon as the off road part would start, the new ones would be used. Obviously going through a curve was some getting used to, but in the end you'll master it.
First getting out of Arequipa and next through a desert environment towards Moquegua. The riding was easy (hardly any curves) but the surroundings were beautiful. Dry on one hand (desert) and mountains on the other. Even a stretch of very bad road (the old PanAmerican highway), so this was the first off road experience of this trip.
Early afternoon we arrived in Moquegua, where it turned out that something had gone wrong with the hotel reservations. Lars is very experienced in these matters, so within a couple of minutes things were solved. We would have dinner together that evening and as it turned out, most of us had slept during the few hours off. Nice thing is, the group is settling. Of course things were already okay with Hans, but almost since the beginning we had made good contact with Henne (who, by chance, was Hans' roommate).
Friday, July 6th - Last night we drank a local alcoholic beverage with some ice on the glass rim, something like a margarita and now two of the group suffer from a mild form of diarrhea.
But that couldn't stop us, obviously. Plans for today: crossing the Peru- Chile border and up to Arica. Well crossing a border isn't easy. There's a lot of paperwork involved as the bikes go out one country and enter another. For both occasions there's a form (or multiple) to be filled in. And there's the passport control, the unavoidable immigration stamps (leaving one and entering another country). Coming into Chile even the luggage was x-rayed ! And of course we had to be aware of thieves, because these places are crowded and there's a lot to do. So we split in little groups, which in turn went to customs etc.
Well, the ride was simple and straight on. This was the new PanAmerican highway and the tarmac was really good. Actually, it wasn't really good for me, because I like to take pictures along the way, but the pace was so high I had difficulties getting back to the group. I think we rode 95% of our maximum speed all the way, and even one minute behind is hard to catch up. Funny thing here was, that as we went down (from the mountains) instead of getting warmer, it got colder ! This is due to the climate here. I even had to zip up my jacket all the way.
At about 4 pm we arrived at Arica, where we found our way to the hotel and into the city. Again we joined for dinner and a drink afterwards. I ordered a Jack Daniels whisky and was surprised as the waitress turned up with two bottles. One with a bit left and a full one. I joked about getting a double, but as it turned out, the first bottle was emptied (which already was a double), and the second was opened too and again a double was poured into my glass. Which now had two doubles in it ! This became the topic of my orders all through this trip. Not necessary mentioning I slept like a baby that night.
Saturday, July 7th - A somewhat dull ride to Iquique. But we had to do it. Most of it is straight forward and once and awhile there are some curves. Anyhow, early in the afternoon we arrived at our hotel ("Caiti") which gave us time to explore Iquique. The most exciting feature would be the harbour with sea lions, pelicans and small red headed vultures. Okay, after seen that, we went to a tax free mall. Big enough, but nothing that we needed or wanted to buy. Except for a travel adaptor. It turned out the inlet holes are a tiny bit smaller than European standard.
In the evening we went for dinner at the local Chinese ! Not that we intended to do so, but the restaurant we wanted to go to was closed for today.
Sunday, July 8th - a really wonderful ride today. In the morning with the ocean on the right hand side and the Andes on the left. A little bit foggy, but in the afternoon as we went into the mountains we got sun all the way.
Beautiful views invited me to take pictures. There was only one drawback. As Lars was keeping a very fast pace, and we always tried to stay as one group together (very human), it was very hard to stop, make a picture and return to the rest. But I tried to. The result being I misjudged a curve, came halfway to the conclusion I couldn't make it, then decided to make the best of it off road and was stopped by a little, but steep, hill. In hindsight I must have literally made a "bodysurf" , because I had no bruises whatsoever, but I was covered in dust from top to toe. Anyhow, I lifted the bike up and tried to start it again. But to no means. Then I had to make sure Geert in the back-up car would stop. Normally he would pass, knowing I was making pictures and thankfully we just had agreed upon me making clear if I wasn't and something had happened. So, when the car came in view I waved my arms and thankfully Geert came back. He couldn't make the bike start either and the two of us managed, with great effort, to put the bike on the trailer. The group was already informed of my mishap and waited a bit further down the road. They were obviously relieved nothing serious had happened. A bit later Thijs had a flat. As we were in reach of our destination we decided to put this bike on the trailer as well. Trying my bike it started. So I could ride again. Then, in the suburbs of this town (Calama) , a traffic light turned yellow and red. We all thought Lars kept going, but in the end he stopped with the result that Ilke had to brake hard. Too hard as it turned out and she fell. Not gracefully ! Besides some damage to the bike, she hurt her shoulder quite hard. This wasn't nice, as she had broken her other shoulder last winter during skiing and never noticed. Painfully okay, but broken ? Now, this time the question was : it this one broken too ? So within about 4 miles of our destination this all happened !
Monday, July 9th - What a BEAUTIFUL RIDE today. Can it get any more beautiful ? The distance from Calama to San Pedro was, as a crow flies only 50miles/80km, but we took the mountain road. All the way off road therefore. What a thrill ! And what spectacular views ! Even the pictures can not show how beautiful this day was.
No drawbacks ? Yes ! At one point we had to cross a small river of sorts (something with water) and you may have read my last experience (Tibet), so my heartbeat rose a couple of beats. Was I prepared ? Yes, I thought. The camera was in my waterproof bag, so I was all set.
Until I reached the water and as a huge wave of water entered my face (and eyes !), I thought: ooops, didn't close the visor ! Then I lost my track, got into deep, murky water and fell ! Not again !!! Icy cold of course, and like I said, deep ! On one of the pictures you can see Lars standing on one side of the bike to his ankles in the water, whereas I'm standing on the other side to my knees ! So it was really hard to lift the bike and get it to dry ground. Geert told me afterwards in the car I had to much speed as I entered the water. Learning all the time !
Anyway, the others took a different, dry route. Too late for me though and the rest of the day (not too long thankfully) I had to take place in the back-up car. They (Geert and Eugenie) told me later that all the way I'd been saying a three letter word (in Dutch. In English that would have been an four letter word). Early in the afternoon we reached San Pedro de Atacama where we had difficulties finding the hostel. Apparently this isn't much of a town, but it is well known by backpackers. It seems this is the driest place on earth ! and there is the presence of the "The valley of the moon" (Valle de la Luna).
Later that afternoon we went to "The valley of the moon". The name speaks for itself I guess. Ilke rode in the back-up car, because of her painful shoulder and I could ride her bike. Unfortunately Thijs got another flat, just before the entrance. Ilke and Geert were nowhere in sight and we couldn't make any contact. (Later we found out they had taken an alternative route and therefore had gone in on the other side). That meant we lost a lot of time. With some trouble Lars was able to fix the tire. Thankfully we hadn't lost too much time as it turned out. Just in time, before the sun set, we reached the most beautiful spot. Obviously a lot of pictures were taken here. Unfortunately there was quite a storm blowing all day and on top of the mountain (ridge) we were completely sandblasted.
That evening Ilke and I had an early shower and we turned in early as well.
Tuesday, July 10th - Today we were staying in San Pedro so it was a day of leisure. Not for Lars and Geert though. They had to maintain the bikes and that meant a lot of work, since mine had taken in some water yesterday. But to us it meant free time. Luckily the wind had subsided and that meant going into San Pedro and have a look around. The "city centre" was at a walking distance of about 20-25 minutes so Ilke, Henne and me myself and I walked into town. Shot a few pictures, had a couple of cool drinks, bought a t-shirt and went back again to the ho(s)tel. There Hans and I started a card game (klaverjassen), which originally is intended for four persons, but can also be played by two. And so we did.
At around 4 pm we would all be back for a BBQ. We were. But as it turned out, we had to supply the food (read: meat) ourselves. We had thought this would have been done by the "hotel management". Nothing of the kind. So a party was assembled and the local butcher was sought. While some were going for the meat, others prepared some side dishes and after a while we could start heating up the BBQ. Kian took control of this and the cooking. He did a wonderful job. We all enjoyed the food he had prepared. (As well as the side dishes). In the meantime two other card players (being Lars and Geert) had announced themselves and we could play the regular game.
Something out of the ordinary had happened in the meantime. The day before yesterday I had found out on the internet that in the northern part of Argentina, next to the border with Chile, it would be snowing. As I told the others this, people wouldn't believe so. But yesterday we found out that the mountain pass we had to ride (Paso Jama), going into Argentina was closed ! Because of the snow ! This put pressure on our schedule, because there were not many alternatives (if any !). Now we had to wait until tomorrow to find out, if the pass was cleared. How ? Well, the funny thing is, that if you want to cross the border at that pass (160km from here), you had to go to some office "here" ! and do some initial paperwork. Imagine what would happen if you didn't know that.
A reference from the "official" site :
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I made the yellow marks myself. But you can check out the link yourself here.
Wednesday, July 11th - Right, first things first. "Gentlemen and madam : start your engines !" No go, for me. Although my bike was tested yesterday, it wouldn't start today. We tried to start it during some push work, but to no avail. That meant that my bike was being pulled by another bike ! Obviously, with cars this is pretty standard, but for bikes ? It was a first for me. But it worked ! Okay, than petrol and to the custom office. Right, the pass was relatively clear, but there was a big queue (lorries/vans and busses) and yesterday the border had only been opened until midday ! So the sooner we got there, the better. Right, passport control. "Hey, shouldn't I have had a immigration stamp in my passport ? Do you have .....?" Yes ! Everyone had one. Not me !! Oh, oh. Queuing for the office. No, this bus (passengers) first. Then one of us. Again a busload of people and one of us ! Not funny ! In the meantime I was worried what would happen if they found out it had no entry stamp. Well, because we started to make some noise after a couple of busses and because Ilke (a blond !) put up a pretty face, the last four passports (including mine) were sort of inspected and got a "out" stamp. Oooof.
Going up the pass it was (again) beautiful ! But cooler and colder ! Some of the group experienced the first day of cold. Really cold. So cold that some would put their hands (in the gloves) on the exhaust pipe as soon as we stopped. This would not be the last day of that ! Well, after some 165km we reached the actual border and we had to enter Argentina (the other one was leaving Chile only !). Again buses, obviously. And again waiting, waiting and waiting. Going in some office for the passports, going out in the cold (very windy !). Going in another office with the passports and the paperwork for the bike, you rode on. And out (in the cold). One by one. Meaning, while you were in, the others were outside in the cold !
After a while someone showed up. "Are these your bikes ?" "Yes !". Again we were "invited" to come into a office and show all the papers again. This time not immigration, but police ! EVERY passport was checked (the number put into a computer with one finger only !) and every bike got checked (again some computer work). All of a sudden the back- up car had to go into some kind of shed. All the luggage was checked. Finally, as they could not think of anything to check, we were allowed to go. Standard procedure !
Off course, this delay had been taken into account by Lars and Geert, but than again you never know how long it would take this time. So it was already well into the afternoon as we descended the pass into Argentina. After riding for quite some time we had a real surprise as suddenly, in the middle of nowhere, we stopped to refuel and found out this would be the place for the night (Susques). A wonderful hotel by the looks of it and WARM !!! Even the heaters in the rooms were on ! So, we had a cup of coffee first, to get us warmed again and after that we got to our rooms.
That evening we dined here (obviously). Hans, Geert, Lars and I played our game of cards and finally we watched the semi final of the Copa America Cup football (soccer) : Mexico - Argentina (0-3). We slept warm and comfy :)
Thursday, July 12th - We sort of regretted to leave this hotel. It was COLD again. Very COLD. Icy COLD ! Right from here it would be off road, into the mountains. Up the mountains and up means ........ Yes, a drop in temperature !!
BUT SO BEAUTIFUL !!!!!
Gravel, sand and ....... ice ! Suddenly we had to cross an icy patch. At first a route around it was searched and found, but as we saw that Thijs (who in the meantime had been acknowledged as a good off road rider) had difficulties, Hans was the first to think: "Lets try out the ice". He did good. I was second and thought: "steady on the gas and things will work out okay". And it did ! (Yippee) But the third one did something wrong and "hit the deck". So the ones who followed him either let Lars/Geert ride the bike or take the alternative route.
Right, further we went. But, as we were off road, not many restaurants along our way. But still cold. What to do ? Well, stop somewhere in some village, go to a house and ask the owner if he would make something hot to drink. Thus so we did. (Imagine : a group of bikers stopping at your home place and asking if you could make them a warm drink !) Well, we did pay !
Further off road and through superb surroundings. Around noon we stopped at a "fancy restaurant" and had something to eat. And off again ! From here it would be tarmac. No way ! Well, after riding some kilometers it DID turn into tarmac. I think most of us didn't really mind. A traffic sign: "Salta 50km". Right, about an hour, or less, to go still. Doable. No way ! Gravel and white DUST again. DUST !!! Even now, weeks after this holiday, my teeth grind, my helmet squeaks, my ......... !
A terrible end. This was THE road to Salta. So everybody used it. We did, but lorries* and cars also. And this terrible white dust ! If a car passed or even worse if you caught up behind one (we often did behind lorries *), you could see nothing !! Very dangerous. You couldn't see a curve coming, couldn't see if there was a village, or if the lorry* stopped. All you could do was try to penetrate the dust with your eyes and see if there was a place to overtake. Overtaking was no problem because there was almost no speed ! For sure, I know everyone was happy, when finally we reached Salta. There we had to search the hotel, but we did. Needless to say we were all white. Not the colour of our skin, but the dust on our clothes.
In the evening we went to a nice, little restaurant and had a beautiful steak !
*lorry / truck
Friday, July 13th - Not the best of dates ! But thankfully another day off. The last one though. As always some of us used the internet to stay in touch with the people back home, while others used their phones. And so we heard that the cold weather over here had actually been on Dutch television. It was the coldest winter in over 40 (later we even heard 90) years ! This night the temperature had been about -8 C, and the forecast for today was 14 C, while last year it hard been 35 C !
Even so, after having breakfast and a cup of coffee, we (Hans, Henne, Ilke and myself) went into the city centre and sat ourselves in a nice outdoor cafe. While sitting in the sun temperature was agreeable. But once the sun vanished behind the buildings, temperature dropped dramatically. So, we all went to a internet cafe and did our thing. After that we strolled back to the hotel and waited for the evening to come.
That evening we would go to a special restaurant where there would be a live (Argentinean) show. As we entered the restaurant I felt this would not be my thing. Too grand, too crowded. And indeed, as the show started there wasn't more to be done than eat and or watch. Too loud. Far too loud. As soon as I finished dinner I went back to the hotel. The rest of the gang stayed however.
Saturday, July 14th - Ilke's birthday today. Her 50th ! Yesterday evening both Ilke as Eugenie, who had her birthday as well !, had gotten a cake by the management of the restaurant. Which was nice.
The temperature was better this morning and we started of on tarmac and riding the bike was fun (again). Hans and I finally had gotten our new rear tires which was better of course. After a while the tarmac turned into gravel again and we rode a beautiful pass road. Opportunity to make some nice pictures again. Somewhere in the, already famous, middle of nowhere we had lunch. A variety of dishes was ordered and we enjoyed it very much. Again some 30km of gravel and we reached a beautiful hotel (not only the building itself, but also the location (in the middle of ......... .I know !) . After settling in I rode a bit back to take some pictures of cacti in the setting sun and after that we sat in the sun for a little while longer.
That evening we had a wonderful dinner. Silver cutlery was laid out as if in a 5 star hotel and service was as in a 5 star restaurant. Highly recommended ! After dinner we enjoyed a card game, while the others sat in the living room and had a chat.
Sunday, July 15th - Again the night had been cold and we found ice on the saddles of our bikes ! Needless to say the ride was beautiful. After some time we were in for a cup of coffee, but Geert (back- up car) wasn't behind us. As he didn't know we were for a coffee, one of us "had" to stay behind and wait. As I was "playing" with my GPS (it had troubles starting) I volunteered, thinking I would be replaced after some time. But one hour went. Then I heard some noise and thought : "Finally, replacement". But nothing of the kind. The folks had finished their coffee and now returned. "Geert didn't come ?" "No !" "Okay then, let's move on". Not even a "thank you ". I was NOT AMUSED !!
Then the off road part got a bit more difficult. Strands of loose sand and one of us had difficulties. Okay Geert is not there, so let's ride behind him, just in case.
At our next (lunch) stop Geert arrived a couple of minutes after we had. He'd had a flat. As the surroundings were very b....., I thought I'd make some pictures. After I came back everyone had a seat and their were no more chairs outside. "Well, get one yourself". Drinks ? Yes, they had been ordered, but not for me. Again I was NOT AMUSED !
Then, after the stop, as I started to move again a (wild looking) horse came right at me and made no signs of going past me. I stopped and at the last moment it veered to the right. Later a herd of sheep crossed the road just in front of me. Murphy's law ?
After a while, I rode second to last now that Geert was in the back again, both the last one as Geert didn't appear in my mirror, while I had stopped to make (yet another) picture. So I rode back, just in time to see that the last rider had given up and now the three of us could place his bike on the trailer. And from experience I can say : three people can do that far more easier than two !
Maybe not surprising to say that this was not the best day. I was more than a little pi**** by the group's mentality toward each other.
Right, we ended the day in Cafayate, where we settled in in our hotel ("Gran Real") and had some spare time before the finale of the Copa America (Brasil - Argentina) started on television. We watched Argentina got beaten by the Brasils ( 0 - 3). Then we went to the restaurant where we were supposed to have dinner. As we walked to it I talked the day and my grievances through with Lars.
As it was cold again and the restaurant was like a factory hall, we insisted the management would build a nice fire in the fireplace. They said they would. And indeed, after a few more calls the fireplace was lit and we enjoyed the heat that was spreading. In the meantime a lot of people (looking from a house for the elderly had arrived as well and those people wore fur coats and gloves even after they had sat down and after ! Well, food was good and most of us topped it of with a Irish coffee, though this in a nicer place.
Monday, July 16th - Guess what ! Cold of course. As we got out of Cafayate we passed a petrol station, but Lars didn't stop. So I tried to let him know there wasn't much left in my tank. But, as he told later, he didn't want to stop as it was too cold. We rode on. And guess what again. Beautiful surroundings. It somewhat reminded me of Arizona (US), with the red colours and mountains (www.henkvink.com/usa.htm) . Unfortunately we had reached the most southern part of our journey and now rode north, which meant against the sun. Not a real problem but for taking pictures. Anyway, as always I stopped a few times on my own and later we all stopped at a place which had a "devil's cave" (or something). Here we refilled our tanks with the "spare petrol" on the back-up car. While it didn't get very warm (we had started early in the morning because this was the first day we weren't sure where it would end), we stopped more regularly and it was a common sight to see most hands go to the exhaust pipe. At one stop we had coffee and this time a piece of cake. A German enclave in Argentina, so "Apfelstrudel" and "Swiss cake" were on the menu. Delicious.
Unfortunately this day was a kind of liaison day and part of the route was less interesting than the past days. But in the afternoon we reached a mountainous area again and, although on tarmac, riding became more interestingly again. Curves ! As I rode behind Ilke I saw she had the tendency to shorten the left curves. Something that was dangerous (as Geert already had warned us for). So, at the following stop I told Ilke, she didn't ride as she had learned (mountain riding course) and had taught me. Just in time, because when we were on our way again, the first curve to the left, we encountered oncoming traffic and still Ilke had to brake pretty hard and adjust. The rest of the route was beautiful again.
Then we had to decide what to do. As I already wrote there were no arrangements made for today. We had two options. Stop now and the next few days we could ride a little more slower pace or ride on a have a whole day off at one point. We decided for the first option. Well, in the first town all hotels were fully booked. So we had to go on. But now some of the petrol tanks were really empty and after a little while the first bike stopped. Lars had no problem getting some petrol from his bike into the other one. Only 3 km further was the next town with a petrol station ! We filled our tanks and Lars went out for a hotel. He found one that had just opened. The restaurant even had only opened today for the first day ! There was only one drawback ! Again Geert was "missing" and therefore our baggage. Well, the rooms weren't even ready and we had to go for a drink somewhere.
A little while later our rooms were made and we checked in. And after again a while Geert turned up. He'd had trouble getting his tires made. Apparently he'd had to wait until the repairman had finished his siesta. So, we all could eat together, which is nicer of course. Geert, Lars, Hans and I closed the evening with our little card game again.
Tuesday, July 17th - We were allowed to sleep until 08.45 am today. Why ? Well, as we are crossing the border between Argentina and Bolivia, we would not be able to make some distance.
When we arrived at the breakfast table Lars had a surprise made for us. He himself, had made fried eggs. After that we hit the road again. Quite literally. Lars in the front, me second and Hans third, were speeding a bit and were surprised by a hole in the road, just before a steep curve. While Lars and I managed with some difficulty, Hans lost his bike and fell. Luckily for him he hit a ..... that was placed, otherwise he might have fallen into a deep cliff. Both Hans as his bike had some damage (not too much, thankfully). After that the surroundings changed into a pampas like terrain. Here the lamas walked freely next to the road. Although the pace still was quite high (some of us had to slipstream to keep up), I stopped for a picture.
Then at about 1 pm we reached the border. What a difference between one side and the other ! Amazing. The Argentina side like an European country, the other side colourful, full of people, women with their bowler hats and darker skin. A hustling and buzzing area. Of course we lost considerable time again. Passports control in Argentina. Exit stamps. Bikes leaving the country. Then a walk over a bridge to the Bolivian side. Same procedure. Passports control. Stamps entering the country. Bikes entering the country. And so on.
After that we sought a restaurant and ordered some chicken. Not too good this time. Than another "disappointment". Although the map showed a normal road, in reality it was off road. That meant dust again and a "washboard". (lateral grooves) Terrible. Then we reached a place where trucks sprayed water over the road. Nice try, but now it turned to a muddy surface. Then Ilke's bike didn't respond any more. While giving gas, nothing happened (except for the sound). Her chain was off the sprocket. Then back to the dust clouds again. That much that Ilke didn't see the group waiting at the petrol station and rode on. Then Lars had to try to get her back. We ended up at Tupiza. A proper name for this town, because there are a lot of pizza restaurants here. As we entered the town and had to ask the way, we had a lot of looks. people weren't used to that many bikes probably. We had dinner in one of the pizza restaurants. Rather nicer by the way.
Wednesday, July 18th - Another bad day. It started beautiful again. Nice surroundings and views. But as we went over a mountain pass (off road) and were going down Ilke fell. This time she hurt her elbow, but it looked no more than a cut. Then after some time Henne fell. And as he had quite some speed, he fell hard ! It was obvious he had either bruised his ribs or broken, because they hurt like hell and he could hardly breathe and speak. We gave him some heavy painkillers and he tried to ride further. Then Geert (back-up car) fell behind (with Hans in the car). We didn't know why. And as Lars had to ask the way, Geert didn't catch up. Now my bike began to show difficulties. Especially going uphill. Even in first gear I could hardly rev it up. As I rode last (again, now Geert wasn't in view) I sometimes had to slow down so I stopped for a picture. Then, when I had finished and was riding again, Lars came up and told me I had to move on, because we weren't making enough distance. That p***** me of a bit. It wasn't me that made us ride this slow !
Next we had to follow a route through a river. Not streaming, but a riverbed that is slowly drying up. And this for a long stretch. Since my record wasn't to good water wise, I had a bit of a shiver. But steady on the gas and yes, it went well. Even after a while, where most of the group went through loose sand, I stayed in the riverbed. Then, just before the entrance to some town, again a river crossing. We waited for a bus to see how deep it was. Not too bad. But there was a second crossing and that one was deep ! And right after the crossing the road went up quite steep and some piglets were playing on the road. So this time, we had to keep some speed. Now the bottom was hard (no rocks) and everyone made it. We stopped in this town for some refreshments. Then, all of a sudden another motorbike appeared. It was Geert !! The car had broken down, right at the point where Henne had fallen (about 45km back). No movement whatsoever. So Geert and Lars had to find someone who could see what was wrong and might be of assistance. After a while they found someone, who rode back with Geert on his bike. We moved on.
Again my bike showed difficulties and at one point, just under the top of a hill, I had to stop for someone in front of me, and then couldn't get away anymore. I had to dismount and push (while in first gear) the bike to the top. Luckily Ilke had waited for me and gave me a hand. It was no more than 25mtrs or so, but as we reached the top I thought my head would explode. High altitude. At the next stop, where I arrived last, I tried to warn Lars, but as I approached he already rode off. I tried to get his attention, but nothing worked. Then Jelle saw me and rode towards Lars to tell him something was wrong. I told Lars my mishaps and we got into a heavy discussion (to put it mildly). He cleaned the dust filter and that helped enough to get me going again.
Next Lars rode as last one in the group. After a while I ran out of petrol and we had to wait for Lars who had fallen behind. When he showed up he told us, he had stopped to refuel in a hamlet we just had passed. Then he added that if he had been in front all of us would have been able to refuel. Which of course was very childish. We then had to ride back (through some patches of deep loose sand) to this hamlet and try to find the house where someone sold petrol. Lars stayed behind to fill up my bike with petrol from his bike and I rode Ilke's bike. With some difficulty we also found the place and got 5 ltr each. Then back again. And still some 100km over a terrible surface ("washboard" and dust and patches of deep loose sand ). Some of us put our bikes down (with grace) in the sand.
While the sun started to set we arrived at Uyuni and visited the old train graveyard first, before we went to our hotel. And while the hotel was okay (it looked a bit like a prison), the restaurant seemed very nice. Both run by some American, who left the USA and stayed here.
That evening during dinner we discussed the day (and earlier ones). I went for agreements or better ones. Unfortunately someone in the group (not me) lost his temper (a bit), after some accusations, which meant the end of the discussion. A pity, because this discussion now had turned up fairly useless. Nothing was really solved.
Later that evening Geert and Hans turned up. This was nice. We had already thought they wouldn't be us before next morning. But as it turned out the damage to the car was less severe than expected and could be helped at the spot. While unloading the car Lars and I shook hands again, which of course is the adult thing to do.
News from the sickbay :
Hans is a bit better. Next to his painful knee, his lungs were painful (inflammation ?) too. His knee is still stiff, but less painful and the anti-biotic Ilke gave him seems to help as well.
Henne is helpless. His ribs are very painful and without painkillers there is not much he can do.
Ilke has a small gap at her elbow, but won't be helped.
Thursday, July 19th - Salar de Uyuni today ! Or in plain English : the salt lake of Uyuni ! 10,582 km² (4,085 square miles) of flat salt ! But first : 20km of "washboard" and dust. Then time for the sunglasses as the white of this lake is blinding in the sunlight. At the entrance are some salt hills. Time for a picture stop. Then to the salt hotel, where everything is made of salt. The walls, the chairs, the beds. And off to Isla de los Pescados. Now for the first time I was COLD, really COLD. Even though I was dressed warm. It looked like ice and it felt like ice ! I was so glad when finally we arrived at the "island". But things got hardly better. Even as the sun was shining ! There was a cold wind and the sun couldn't really warm us. We ordered a burger and coffee and that helped a bit.
On the way Lars had told us to stay as a group together, because on the lake you would loose perspective and in time wouldn't be able to see the bikes in front of you if they were too far in front of you. Then on the way back, he and a couple of others did just that ! We lost track of them and it was thanks to Geert (with his GPS), that we could find our way back. Typically. Again, somewhere at a private house, we refueled.
Back at the hotel at about 4pm we got briefed for tomorrow. This didn't make us happy ! If nothing had changed, we would get about 20km of deep loose sand. Not nice !
Friday, July 20th - Although it didn't really kept me awake last night, I was anxious about today. And I was not the only one. Since the sand piece would be the last part of today's trip, we had to wait it out. What we hadn't anticipated was that more obstacles could be on the way. And thus after a while we were stopped at the side of a riverbank. But just before we got there, there was a long stretch of deep loose sand and while Lars took one track, Hans followed another. Riding behind Hans in his clouds of dust I followed his (deeper) track and so did Kian, who was behind me. Unfortunately he had misinterpreted the instructions for riding in sand and he vanished in a big cloud of dust. After the dust had settled, Kian was hardly noticeable because he had the same colour as his surroundings. Although he had fallen quite hard, this brought a smile on our faces. Luckily he wasn't really wounded, but had a sore knee and calve (the bike had fallen on).
Then there was the matter of getting to the village, which was on the opposite side of the river. We had to search for a ford, which wasn't easy. Lars first tried one, but there was a steep hill (and sand) on the other side. Then he tried another place, but was just able to keep himself from falling in the water. What to do next ? And just as we had decided to go to the first crossing, I saw a "local" crossing further down the track. Lars and some others had already started their bikes and I was unable to signal them. The first crossing it would be then. You can imagine how I felt and of course at this point (where reliability was needed) my bike started to make trouble again and I was afraid it would stop in the water. But nothing happened. And with wet feet only, we all reached the other side safely. In the village we stopped for a coffee, a refill (petrol) and to calm the nerves a bit (Kian falling ; deep water crossing).
Then we had to move on again. We weren't sure what the last stretch would give. 20km of deep loose sand could easily mean 2 hours of "struggling". Then we reached a river crossing again. There was a bridge with a railroad track, but that was too dangerous. So, again we had to find a ford. Lars, the most experienced rider, tried some places and showed us the best one. We had to keep speed, because the bottom of the river was a bit soft and swampy. Again we made it, although Kian's bike (and Ilke's by accident), were ridden by Lars. He mistook Ilke's bike for Kian's.
Then we reached the part of the unknown. But we were lucky ! Riding on our motorbikes we could make a detour. And it turned out to be very interesting. At bit like an off road training park. Patches of sand, hills with gravel or little stones, patches with big stones, patches through low undergrowth and so on. Very enjoyable in hindsight.
Geert, Kian and Henne had quite a different experience though. They had to follow "the road" with the car and got stuck in the sand. Being unable to dig their way out, they were pulled out by a excavator (or something like it). The driver of this machine asked them if they were mad, driving here !!
The day ended in Oruru, a town south of La Paz. Entering this town there was one big traffic jam of sorts (road works), so I enjoyed myself very much. The more chaos in traffic, the more I like it.
This day was costly for the organization, though. The first part of today was a terrible "washboard" surface again. And at the first stop I noticed part of my bike's bodywork wasn't there anymore. Ripped off. Then there was Kian's bike after the fall. Also the bodywork was severely damaged. And Hans' bike wouldn't start. Listening to the sound it seemed the piston was broken (probably parts of aluminum in it). Since Kian sat in the back-up car, Hans could ride Kian's bike. At finally Ilke lost the lid of the chain........(?). Which wasn't that bad, but dangerous when wearing bootlaces. She doesn't.
Saturday , July 21st - A fully uninteresting and uneventful day. Straight forward and not even nice views. Only entering La Paz (from above) was nice. After reaching and checking into the hotel Hans, Henne, Lars, Geert, Ilke and I went to a "Hamburger King" and treated ourselves. Then Lars, Geert and Henne went to a hospital to find out what the damage to Henne was. Hans, Ilke and I went into town. There we strolled a bit along the stalls in the marketplace. All the time we were "pestered" by boys who wanted to shine our shoes. Finally, after long pleas from Hans (who wanted to put this on video) and Ilke, I gave permission and regretted it. Now my sturdy walking shoes are red. And on top of it the shoe shine boy wanted far more money than he had previously said. Still a bargain, but here the principle stepped in. After that incident we walked back to the hotel, but had a real nice cup of coffee first in an adjacent to the hotel, coffee bar. We ordered an Irish coffee and a large piece of cake. Delicious.
Back at the hotel we learned that Henne had three broken ribs ! Not to our surprise though. That they were broken we already suspected, but three !
That evening I didn't join the group for dinner. I was not hungry. Thinking they would come for me after dinner, I stayed in the room and was "forgotten" ! Luckily there were some English spoken films on tv, with Spanish subtitles. That way I learned some Spanish words.
Sunday, July 22nd - This morning we would leave La Paz at 10.30 am, so part of the morning was free. Ilke wanted to buy some CD's with Latin music. And so we did. After that we joined Henne and Hans at the coffee bar and had a drink with them.
Then leaving La Paz was very interesting again. The mainroad was blocked. There were some festivities and a crowd of people watched as dancers took control of the road. With a pace of approx. 1mtr per 2 minutes they moved on. So we had to find another way out. And not only we, but a lot of cars, buses etc. Chaos. I LOVE IT !!!!! By the way, not everything is what looks. It seems yesterday evening their had been a lot of incidents involving demonstrators and SWAT teams ! It had been on CNN !
Right, out of La Paz we rode to Lake Titicaca. The first leg of this stretch was uneventful again, but later it got better and reaching Lake Titicaca it was real nice again. We had lunch at a restaurant over viewing the lake. Then we rode on to a place where we had to board something floating with an engine at the back (or front. Because on the lake the "boat" turned around. We had to put our bikes with the back in front or ..... :) ) It was amazing to see that even buses were loaded on these "things" and not sinking. Anyway, we reached the opposite side without getting wet and moved on. The surroundings even got more beautiful, especially when we reached a mountainous area again. And after a while we reached our town for the night :
The real one ! The one after which the beach at Rio was named at ! As we arrived there was a nice sun shining and after we put our luggage in the (spacious) rooms, with a view, we headed to the beach here and sat with a nice beer, until the sun set.
Again this is a town with a lot of backpackers and therefore a lot of real nice (and laid back) restaurants. We had dinner (with Reggae music) and afterwards both Hanses, Jelle, Lars and I went for a drink or two (Irish coffees) in a bar were we talked about this trip. The pro's and cons.
Monday, July 23rd - No sleeping out this morning ! Normal time, so 7am the alarm clock went off. It was cold and coming into the reception area we almost got choked. Some stupid bus driver had parked his bus in front of the hotel and turned his engine on to let it heat up. Breakfast was in "the cellar". Here it was "freezing" cold.
At around 8.30am we headed towards Puno. Not too far, because on the calendar was a trip to the "reed islands" planned. But for the last time we had to cross the border (Bolivia - Peru). And so we had to undergo all the usual checks. As we waited on the Peru border we were approached by some children who asked us where we came from and then asked us in really good Dutch if we wanted our shoes shined. We didn't. Then a load of tourists from a bus arrived and a woman used the "toilet". As soon as she went in, the boys picked up a bucket, filled it with water and when the girl stepped out of the toilet she was asked to pay. They managed to do that a couple of times. Then there was no "work" and they started to play with some plastic bottle caps. They managed to do that for some 30 minutes. Amazing when compared to the western boys and girls with their "playstations" (and the like) .
Well after the required checks it was back on the bikes again. Not too exciting. Some curves, but mostly straight on. In Puno we found the most heavy traffic so far. Have you read the whole so far, you must know by now how I felt. Again, the hotel which was booked was full and we had to find another one. We did. We brought our stuff to the room and headed into town with Geert, Hans and Henne. Bought us a hamburger and sat for a while. Then I had to go to the hotel from where we would go to the harbour and the "reed islands".
At the harbour everyone tried to sell us pencils and stuff "for the children" over there. But we were told that all the items returned in the evening unopened ! So we didn't buy anything. The boat trip was "exciting" in the way that halfway the engine stopped and we drifted into the reed. The "captain" then had a hard time getting the engine started again and getting us out. But with some help he managed. Well, when you overlook the tourist part and kept in mind how these people ended up here, it was interesting. But that's all there is to it. Word goes that these people also go on-shore in the evening.
Dinner was at a "Greek - Peruvian" restaurant and was very good ! Geert, Ilke and I went afterwards to a café and evaluated the tour.
Tuesday, July 24th - Last day !! First 50km off road, with some difficulties. Geert had broken his leg severely earlier, when he didn't pay enough attention for a couple of seconds to the road. So we were warned. Although a bit sandy, the ride was not too difficult, but there were a couple of treacherous bends. But we enjoyed it, knowing this would be the last leg of the tour. Finally we reached tarmac and also the end of the off road part.
Then a nice ride to Arequipa with a lot of curves in a mountainous area and even to some 4200mtr. After which it was a rather steep descent to Arequipa at 2500mtr. In terms of temperature: from cold (mountain top) to hot (desert). We made a stop at the crossing to Colca canyon and had a (some of us two) chicken burger(s) (or something). Whatever it was, it was nice. The last leg to Arequipa was nice with a very winding road and of course the traffic. Highlight today was when a herd of lama's ran along us and then tried to cross the road all of a sudden. Since Lars and I already had anticipated this move we could stop in time. It was a nice sight though.
Around mid afternoon we ended this tour at Lars' house, where with sad faces we said goodbye to the bikes. Then we headed to the hotel and sat in the sun, reminiscing all that we had seen and all that had happened and looking back on a
very beautiful and eventful holiday !
(although for me this holiday continues !)
Wednesday, July 25th - Well, today was the day the group returned home. Around 11.00am we all drove to the airport and said goodbye. Since I would stay for another day Lars, Geert and I returned to the hotel. But not before we stopped at a "garage", which was no more than a place surrounded by four walls. Lars, as he speaks Spanish fluently, tried to explain what they would have done to the suspension system on the trailer. After a while it looked like they all agreed and we moved on to the next stop. Here they bought a supply of engine oil for the next tour. At the hotel Geert and I enjoyed a nice lunch, a bit like the Dutch nasi goreng. Very tasteful !
I went to the city centre later on to have a look around, because I wanted to do some shopping tomorrow. I skipped the Colca canyon tour and rearranged the rest of the week, while Ilke, Henne and I had made real plans to do "the Inca tour" next year and that would include Colca Canyon, Machu Picchu and the Nazca lines.
Thursday, July 26th - This morning I walked into town with my camera to do some photo shooting and to do some shopping. Ilke had some wishes and I had seen a nice ring. Since I lost my wedding ring in Las Vegas (I really did !) it felt somehow naked. It was a nice day and first I sat in the park for a while observing all that was going on. Most interesting were the policemen and women who were there a blew a whistle every some seconds to prevent someone doing something "illegal". Try to imagine that. After a while I longed for a cup of coffee and sought a nice cafe terrace. Again I heard the whistle behind me. This time it was traffic control. But with the same enthusiasm and the same frequence.
Then I made a walking tour. Nothing in particular, just a stroll and making some pictures along the way.
Back at the hotel (packing already) someone tapped on my door. Lars and Geert. They came by to say goodbye. Which was nice of course. We had a quiet conversation and Lars called a hotel in Cusco he always went to and made a reservation for me. I already made reservations in Lima through the internet. After a while Lars left, but Geert and I had a long talk until approx. 09.00pm. Too late to go out for dinner, so I decided to stay at the hotel and skip it. I had to get up early, around 04.15am, to get to the airport in time.
Friday, July 27th - Luckily my alarm clock went off (it's all but broken). But I was woken as well. So a quick wash and an even quicker breakfast before the taxi arrived, to bring me to the airport. Checking in was straight forward and there was little waiting time.
After a one hour's flight I arrived at Cusco at 06.50am, where I took a taxi to the hotel "Las Palmeras". There I was welcomed heartily. As I was very early my room was not yet available and I was asked to wait. I got a cup of tea. After a little while another host came and we had a nice chat. He was Mexican who worked for a big software company, that specializes in network protection for internet service providers.
Around 10am my room came available. It was a small room, about 2mtr wide, but about 5mtr long. The bathroom however was almost as big, but was on the other side of the corridor. I had no problems with that, as I was already informed so by Lars. I laid down for a while, because I was very tired.
As I woke up I informed about making reservations to go to Machu Picchu, as I had decided to go there anyway. No problem. I had to pay $150 and all would be settled. I was a bit startled by the price, but paid anyway.
Then I walked into Cuzco. My first visit was to the LAN office to inquire for the price of a plane ticket to Lima. That would cost me another $168 which didn't make me a happy trooper at all. So I didn't buy it. I wanted to have a look at the internet first to see if an other company would be cheaper. Nearing the "Plaza des Armes" there was a crowd forming and I learned that this weekend would be the annual liberty day festivities. Today would be the parade and a detachment of all the military were presented. I tried to make my way through the crowd to find a motorbike rental. I had been given a map with directions, so it wasn't too hard to find. The place looked nice and the bikes even nicer. And when the price was mentioned I almost fell from my chair. Lars had told me it would be about $90, but instead it was $45 ! All inclusive (insurance, helmet, gloves, visor). I reserved a bike for next Sunday to make a tour around the sacred valley. Tomorrow was not recommended because of the festivities and the weather forecast also could have been better. Back to the hotel I tried to find out on the internet what possibilities there were for my flight to Lima on Tuesday. Peru Star had a cheaper flight ($128) but there was only one time option and that was very early in the morning again. LAN, on the contrary, had several flights. So I had to weigh my options.