I´m in Potosi! I´m very happy about that- I got here about 2.30 this afternoon and have been eating pretty much all day. Except the time I phoned my lovely wife and took a look in the mirror for the first time in a while and shocked myself into having a SHOWER. One of the good things about doing some hard cycling is everything tastes better afterwards, and showers feel amazing too. Wish I´d bought my other pair of shoes with me though...
A short summary of three days:
Sat 18 Jun 125km
Got lost coming out of Oruro, Lonely Planet maps should never actually be followed. Thats my excuse anyway, added 3 km onto my total as a result.
Todays route was mainly flat, I followed the main road along Lake Uru Uru, but not exactly alongside it. I never actually saw the lake, only a few mirages. I was genuinly convinced I saw a lake ahead at one point, but it seems really easy up here to see mirages.
Stopped in a village for some breakfast, a lady called me over to her table on the side of the road and I went to see what she had, and the soup she had was great. I love Bolivian vegetable soups, and it was only 50p.
Discovered again how much dogs hate bikes, however many cars pass they just sit there, but if they see a bicycle they will come running at high speed like crazy from a distance of 500m. The only thing to do is to stop and look menacing and pretend to throw something; if you keep cycling they just bark at your heels for ages or possibly do worse.
Got into Caracol in the evening, it was very difficult to find somewhere to stay but eventually found a bed for 2.50 . The price included a bed and a light, but not the light after a while as there was a power cut.
All in all did a lot of km today, but not amazingly exciting cycling as it was very flat and at some points there were no corners for a few miles.
Sun 19th June
Truly cycled in the Andes today, Caracol is just on the altiplano but the road crosses into the Cordillerra de Frailes (part of the Andes). After breakfast of api (dont know what is in it but this hot drink is v nice) and bread at a roadside stall I got going, and started climbing and didn´t stop for at least 50k. The scenery was much more interesting and the road passed through lots of interesting villages and farms.
I must have ended up very high up, I think possibly 4600 or 4700m, as I was at the height of a lot of the peaks. This was certainly the highest I´d ever been on a bike and my lungs could certainly feel it. I´ll check this road on Google Maps, I´m very curious as to how high it was.
The road started to go up and down a lot towards the end of the day, which was quite tough. But it was a great days cycling and I really felt I was cycling in the Andes.
Decided to camp for the night as I got to the village where there might have been somewhere to stay too early. and I wanted to reduce the mileage for the next day. I must have camped high as it was a cold night even with most of my tops on, and there was ice on the mountains the next morning at the level I was at.
Had a crap pasta dinner with a Ragu sauce that advertised itself as having all the vegetables in it that one would need in a day, in my dinner I counted a very small mushroom.
Great view of the stars at night, I could see what I was sure was the Milky Way very clearly.
Mon 20th June
Early and freezing start today, with a nasty climb to start off. The road continued to be very scenic, and passed through an area of almost red rock, although I have no idea what it actually is. After the early morning climb the road went down for a long way, until I started to see trees, which worried me because Potosi is well above the tree line. My suspicions were confimed and I got a very sharp uphill. These hills are not too steep compared to the Alps if one doesnt have luggage and has a racing bike, but with a crap mountain bike and a trailer they are tough. I got another 10k long climb into Potosi, which got steeper and steeper as the town got nearer. Eventually I got into the centre of town, but not after having my trailer knocked by a car. The trailer was OK though.
I´m leaving my bike for five days or so now, I´m spending time in Potosi, then taking a bus 150k to Sucre and spending some time there, then coming back to Potosi to pick up my bike and cycle to Uyuni.
Going down inside the Cerro Rico tomorrow, the silver mine which fueled the Spanish empire and wars. Co-operative miners still work there in very poor conditions.
A short summary of three days:
Sat 18 Jun 125km
Got lost coming out of Oruro, Lonely Planet maps should never actually be followed. Thats my excuse anyway, added 3 km onto my total as a result.
Todays route was mainly flat, I followed the main road along Lake Uru Uru, but not exactly alongside it. I never actually saw the lake, only a few mirages. I was genuinly convinced I saw a lake ahead at one point, but it seems really easy up here to see mirages.
Stopped in a village for some breakfast, a lady called me over to her table on the side of the road and I went to see what she had, and the soup she had was great. I love Bolivian vegetable soups, and it was only 50p.
Discovered again how much dogs hate bikes, however many cars pass they just sit there, but if they see a bicycle they will come running at high speed like crazy from a distance of 500m. The only thing to do is to stop and look menacing and pretend to throw something; if you keep cycling they just bark at your heels for ages or possibly do worse.
Got into Caracol in the evening, it was very difficult to find somewhere to stay but eventually found a bed for 2.50 . The price included a bed and a light, but not the light after a while as there was a power cut.
All in all did a lot of km today, but not amazingly exciting cycling as it was very flat and at some points there were no corners for a few miles.
Sun 19th June
Truly cycled in the Andes today, Caracol is just on the altiplano but the road crosses into the Cordillerra de Frailes (part of the Andes). After breakfast of api (dont know what is in it but this hot drink is v nice) and bread at a roadside stall I got going, and started climbing and didn´t stop for at least 50k. The scenery was much more interesting and the road passed through lots of interesting villages and farms.
I must have ended up very high up, I think possibly 4600 or 4700m, as I was at the height of a lot of the peaks. This was certainly the highest I´d ever been on a bike and my lungs could certainly feel it. I´ll check this road on Google Maps, I´m very curious as to how high it was.
The road started to go up and down a lot towards the end of the day, which was quite tough. But it was a great days cycling and I really felt I was cycling in the Andes.
Decided to camp for the night as I got to the village where there might have been somewhere to stay too early. and I wanted to reduce the mileage for the next day. I must have camped high as it was a cold night even with most of my tops on, and there was ice on the mountains the next morning at the level I was at.
Had a crap pasta dinner with a Ragu sauce that advertised itself as having all the vegetables in it that one would need in a day, in my dinner I counted a very small mushroom.
Great view of the stars at night, I could see what I was sure was the Milky Way very clearly.
Mon 20th June
Early and freezing start today, with a nasty climb to start off. The road continued to be very scenic, and passed through an area of almost red rock, although I have no idea what it actually is. After the early morning climb the road went down for a long way, until I started to see trees, which worried me because Potosi is well above the tree line. My suspicions were confimed and I got a very sharp uphill. These hills are not too steep compared to the Alps if one doesnt have luggage and has a racing bike, but with a crap mountain bike and a trailer they are tough. I got another 10k long climb into Potosi, which got steeper and steeper as the town got nearer. Eventually I got into the centre of town, but not after having my trailer knocked by a car. The trailer was OK though.
I´m leaving my bike for five days or so now, I´m spending time in Potosi, then taking a bus 150k to Sucre and spending some time there, then coming back to Potosi to pick up my bike and cycle to Uyuni.
Going down inside the Cerro Rico tomorrow, the silver mine which fueled the Spanish empire and wars. Co-operative miners still work there in very poor conditions.
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