Farewell Freezing, Windy Highlands – Hello Empanadas!

Quick Stats:
**Days of travel thus far: 80 days
**Total KM/Miles traveled: 4,120 km / 2,560 miles
**Number of passes over 16,000 feet: 2! One on unpaved road and one on paved!
**Peanut butter eaten: 3 out of 4 jars delivered by mother
**Coldest temperature: -10 to -15 degrees Celsius / 14-5 degrees Farenheit (plus windchill)
**Flat tires: BIG ZERO! Booyah!
**Most liters carried while traveling through one of the most remote places in the world: 16 liters
**Number of times falling off bike in this section: Melissa – 48, Justin – 1 (punk.)

It is quite difficult to even begin to put into words what we have been through in the last 16 days since we last wrote you. Southwest Bolivia challenged us tremendously, with rough, unpaved roads, strong winds, and extremely limited signs of life. Below are some entries from our journey with many videos and pictures to supplement.

Currently, we are thawing off in Salta, Argentina for the day to catch up on our blog and relax. I am so happy sitting in a t-shirt, drinking DRIP coffee (no more instant!!), and typing freely at our hostel using WIFI (thank you so much mom). Sit back, maybe grab a snack… cause this is a world record long blog!

~Melissa

Day 63 – Oct. 12, 2011
La Paz to Drainage along road
114km/71.63miles; 6:00hrs of riding

Leaving La Paz was a bit chaotic after 12 days of not riding and remembering the feeling of dodging traffic and pedestrians. Our panniers were filled with the many extra goodies that Deb and Mike brought us during their visit. The 2,000ft climb out of the city passed quickly and we found ourselves soon enough on the straight open roads of the altiplano once again.

The joy of traveling by bicycle has so many benefits, and having the opportunity to take a couple of buses really emphasized why we love what we are doing so much. Cycling is quite simply the best way to experience the land. We are out in the elements and not behind the glass of a window, or in a stuffy, dusty, germ-filled bus. We have the freedom to wake up when we want to, pack our worldly possessions and head out on the open roads, not spending hours on end waiting in a clustered, dodgy bus terminal. Lastly we don’t have to worry about overpaying for bus fares, which it seems we did twice on our buses to and from Cusco, not to mention that we were told we were getting a premier cama style bed, which means a chair that reclines to a bed (that we supposedly paid for), and then have some other old bus companies bus pull up with the standard uncomfortable semi-cama seats. Have I mentioned we love bicycling!

~Justin

Day 65 – Oct. 14, 2011
South of Oruro to Huari, Bolivia
119km/74miles; 6:15hrs of riding

The pavement ends here! Flat, barren, and dry the Bolivian altiplano is no place I would want to call home. The climate is rough, nights are cold, yet the sunsets are spectacular. We clipped along at a descent pace stopping just once today in Poopo where we were greeted with smiling faces and a shop owner who just laughed at everything we said or did. She kindly gave us seats made of used egg crates to sit on while we munched on some cookies. We bought several bottles of water and 4 Bolivianos (10 pieces) worth of bread- the best we have had yet.

Tomorrow we continue on the dirt roads heading towards the last “big” town in Bolivia, Salinas, at the edge of the Salar de Uyuni (Largest salt flat in the world).

~ Justin

Day 68 – Oct. 17, 2011
Northern Salar next to Volcano Tunupa – Southern Salar de Uyuni!, Bolivia
100km/60miles (we got a bit lost..); 6:06hrs of riding

Salt. White. Flat. No sense of dimension, sound, or distance. We were super excited at first, dancing around on our bicycles with the freedom to head in any direction we wished. However, as we rounded the volcano Tunupa, we both become very nervous. Our pamphlet, a guide written by previous cyclists of the rough terrain we were entering, states that on a clear day, which it was, you should be able to see the famous island of Incawasi… well we could see about 5 islands and had no idea which one was Incawasi!

Justin started having a break down in the middle of salt land, angry that we decided not to buy a nice, detailed map of this area. We were traveling with a silly tourist map – I called us new-age pioneers but Justin was not amused. We had a compass that would point us in the general right direction to the other side of the flats, but was useless without bearings to the island where a resupply of water waited! After, sitting on salt for 30 minutes, I finally made the executive decision to ride back to land and ask directions. Thank god I did or we would totally have been lost. A kind local I asked (which I was proud that my Spanish has improved enough to) drew directions in the sand… head SE towards those vicuna on the salt flat (vicuna look like a mix of deer and llamas found in the high Andes that are currently endangered) and then veer SW towards the mountain’s edge in the far distance – the island will come into view about 25km down the flat. Worked for me.

Riding along the salt plains was indescribable. So silent, you just hear the crunch of your tires along the salt. You can see the bend in the Earth! Islands would appear out of nowhere as we aimed for the distant mountains.

Phew! Incawasi came into view and I was absolutely elated! It felt like an eternity before we finally reached it’s shore. Justin and I rolled along to our late lunch destination, pretending we were pirates about to find some buried treasure! Argh!!

We enjoyed 2 carne stew dishes each before filtering 14 liters of water, answering curious questions by tourist visiting the island by jeep tour, and continuing on. The rest of the way to land was clearly established (sadly) by jeep tour tracks, so we rolled along, with our next destination for snacks being the tiny, quinoa growing town of San Juan the next day.

As the sun set, we took silly photos on the dimension-less salar, and decided to camp here! We used our bicycles as tent stakes, since the mighty afternoon winds have picked up steam, and filled the tent with most of our belongings to help hold it down – it is quite a cozy night packed to the gills with everything in our tent. What an odd feeling of serenity and anxiety – alone, far away from land, sleeping on salt!

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~ Melissa

Day 70 – Oct. 19, 2011
San Juan to Top of First Climb in remote SW Bolivia
56km/35 miles; 5 hrs riding

The panniers are stuffed as we head into some of the most remote cycling in the world. Today was our introduction as we climbed just 400 meters (1,315ft) or so from the flat landscape we have seen for the majority of Bolivia. We left San Juan around 8:30am after stocking up on cookies, spaghetti, and bread, handwashing a bit of laundry, and taking our first luke warm shower (well it turned cold for Melissa) in a week. Before entering the salt flats two day prior, we did have the chance to wash our hair in a drainage next to a gas station since we found a water spicket!!

The salt still has some lasting effects as lying in our tent has a way of burning your nose. Our hands are dry and cracked, our noses sore and stinging, and our lips and cheeks are windburned and sore.

The roads that we are facing are almost comical. We push and pull our bicycles through deep sand, zigzagging from tire track to tire track in hopes of something a bit firmer. When the deep sand has subsided there are stones and large orange sized rocks to navigate around, and to top it off- a bit of wind, around 30-70km per hour depending on time of day.

However, beauty is everywhere, staring at us all day was Volcan Oggaue that sits on the border with Chile and seems to be a bit active as smoke trickles out and if the wind is right a whiff of sulfur greets the nose.

We are still buzzing after our night sleeping on the Salar de Uyuni. In the middle of a vast sea of white, our green tent, and two smiling cyclists huddled together as the sun went down and the temperatures dropped.

Each day we are amazed we are able to enjoy each others company, challenge our bodies, and see such spectacular, desolate scenery. May the roads improve!

~ Justin

Day 72 – Oct. 21, 2011
Near Laguna Honda to Rock shelf near Arbol de Piedra
39km/ 24miles; 5:45 hrs of riding

Bitter cold this morning. It was painful even to have my nose sticking out of my sleeping bag! Our 2 liter bottles froze even in the tent!

Once the sun crawled over the horizon, Justin summoned up the courage to climb out of the tent and cook us up some hot drinks and oatmeal while I did some cuts maintenance – these roads have not been kind to my legs and my toenail (18 days after climbing Potosi – 6088m/19,975ft) finally fell off!

Today has been quite a rough day of riding with a big climb to over 4700m/15,400ft. It entailed a lot of pushing through sand. When we reached the top, I felt scared. It was so desolate, so high, and so windy I could hardly concentrate. Breathing was exhausting, let alone pushing my bike.

On the way down to another sandy valley, I crushed and scraped my right knee. A nice lady in a jeep – Monique from France – told her driver to stop and gave me band aids and alcohol wipes saying she was being my mother for a minute. It was quite comforting feeling kindness from a stranger when the terrain had been so mean.

Along our descent, we admired glaciers that stood up and curled like waves along the sandy hillsides, molded by the powerful wind.

I bonked around 4pm and could no longer ride. Every time I mounted my bike, my legs would shake uncontrollably and I could not balance. I had to walk to sandy hillsides, reminiscent of pictures I’ve seen of the Sahara while Justin went ahead to find shelter from the wind. He came back to help me by pushing my bike the rest of the way. I teared up so grateful to have him by my side.

~Melissa

Day 75 – Oct. 24, 2011
Laguna Chaliviri Hot Springs to South end of Laguna Blanca (Edge of Bolivia)
43.5/ ; 5:15hrs of riding

We smile as we have our first shelter from the wind tonight tucked away in an old dormitory hallway at the border of Bolivia and it’s national park. We rolled up to the crumbling building around 4:30pm and asked if we could camp along the side of the shelter to have a break from the constant wind and they kindly welcomed us to the hallway!

In 6 days we rolled and pushed our bicycles over 300km through some of the most insane terrain. Survival out here seems impossible with no water or vegetation – we are curious how the vicuna, chinchilla/rabbit animal, and beautiful foxes survive.

In addition to these mammals, there are also flamingos along this terrain living at the many lagunas we’ve passed! There are 6 species of flamingos on planet Earth, 3 of which are found in South America. Of the three found in South America, all of them congregate in these lakes together: Flamenco Andino, Flamenco Chile, y Flamenco de James. As I sat eating a snack one day, I could not believe I was watching flamingos feed 20 feet away from me in such a barren land.

A definite highlight for this section of our journey was the famous stone tree or Arbol de Piedra. In 2005, during Justin’s travels in South America, he took a jeep tour to this rock, climbed to the top, and took a special picture which hung in his families home for many years. I looked at it often and thought it was the coolest picture! Here we were now, standing right below the fascinating tree.

Justin climbed up the tree once again, tears coming to his eyes and he stood in disbelief that he had returned to this place, by bicycle. We hoisted his bike up to the top and took hundreds of pictures of “El Gusto” (Justin’s Bike) and the mighty Justino.

Next, it was my turn… except there was one problem. I am about 5 inches shorter than Justin. There are two tricky moves to the top, one being hooking your leg on a ledge to hold your body as you then do a pull up to a ledge. Well my leg could not swing up to this ledge, I was short about 4 inches. Try once led to me absolutely refusing to climb the tree… climb 2 and I was completely freaked out… I looked long and hard at the tree, stubborn and angry. Climb 3, using Justin’s shoulder as an extra few inches of support, I swung with all my might 12 feet in the air, and reached the ledge with my foot – now I was hanging on for dear life, my torso hanging over the ledge and my feet dangling. Justin started celebrating early that I made it to the ledge as I held my breathe and scooted a few inches per ten seconds… and then, a moment of safety! I sat in disbelief, attempting to catch my far gone breathe and relax my Elvis legs.

I did it!! I was thrilled and terrified. We took pics of me in shock at the top. I hoisted La Tallarin Verde (the green noodle), my bike, as high as I could – my arms were pretty fried from the climb- and then slowly shimmied me down back to earth. I landed on my feet, with Justin’s arms hugging me for support, and just started crying uncontrollably. I hugged a nearby rock and sighed the largest sigh of relief.

Other highlights included my first bath in months (and first cleaning in weeks) at Laguna Chalviri, a beautiful hot spring with a view of volcanoes and flamingos in the distance.

A major tourist attraction on this trek for many is the second to last Laguna we visited, Laguna Verde, or green lake. It turns to a vibrant color green around 9am when the winds whip up to their mind-numbing speeds, churning the many minerals such as borox and arsenic found in the lake.

We both exhale great sighs of relief tonight as the hardest endurance part of our journey is complete and we wave goodbye to Bolivia tomorrow.

Day 76 – Oct 25, 2011
Laguna Blanca, Bolivia to Jama, Argentina (through Chile)
133km /82.5 miles ; 7:17hrs of riding

We title this special day: 1 Day, 2 Stamps, 3 Countries.

We woke up in Bolivia to a gorgeous ruby painted sky and shelter. My stomach was in knots as we packed our bags at 5:30am and pushed our bikes quietly past the exit of the national park of Bolivia. When we entered a few days prior, we ran into a massive issue. Our books and tourist information guides informed us that the cost to enter the park was 30BS per person ($3). Well upon arrival, we were informed that this price had been changed to 150BS ($22) for only four days in a desolate park with no paved roads or amenities! Shocked, we explained to the guard we did not have 300 BS (and we are 3 to 4 days from any food, shelter, and farther from any ATM). There are no card machines in this far away land. Finally, the guard let us into the park with only one ticket and said we would deal with it on the other side…

What a heavy weight to carry as we rolled along, wondering what the other gate would say. Well funny enough, there is no one in attendance at 6am at the park gate, so we rolled along past in the cold. I noticed that moisture which had formed on my eyelashes froze when I took off my balaclava.

“Justin, why are you not wearing your down jacket?!”

“I was trying to look a bit poorer” he replied as he threw on his coat and stuffed his frozen hands in his armpits.

6 kilometers down the road was the tiny immigration office for Bolivia.

“They know… they must know…” my gut kept telling me.

Justin reached the top of the hillside at the building first, and the smiling guards greeted him. We went about our normal business paying their exit fee of 15BS per person , receiving our stamp to exit the country, and chatting about how beautiful the land was. (you have to pay to exit after paying $135 US to enter?!). Then, they invited us to enjoy some desayuno (breakfast) with them which was the usual Bolivian breakfast of hot tea and bread.

“Oh my god… they are calling the park security… they have to be… what immigration office invites you to breakfast?! These are usually the toughest, roughest, stern folk around… No states immigration officer would do this!” I thought to myself, absolutely panicked – but man was the sugary tea and bread a treat after only eating spaghetti, peanut butter, and oreos for the past 6 days.

After breakfast, they wished us a good journey, and just like that, we were free birds in Chile!**

**This experience was a bit unusual since we are complete supporters of paying fees to keep parks protected and special for everyone. However, this fee seemed more to be a benefit for the country’s economy, as we believe it was implied that little actually is invested in the park and the security of the wildlife that lives there. Tourists mainly come by jeep, and it has been proven that the effects of these tours are affecting the flamingos and their breeding habits as well as completely destroying the landscape. On top of that, they charge you in addition for water and bathrooms within the park.

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A few kilometers down the road we arrived at a junction with a clean, dark paved road with yellow lines, directional signs, and vehicles besides 4WD jeeps. How amazing crossing an imaginary line changed the setting so quickly. Now the big question, right to San Pedro, Chile or left to Jama, Argentina?

We are headed to Salta, Argentina for our first break in weeks so left toward Jama seemed like a smarter choice. However, there was no customs for Chile when we checked out of Bolivia… to get a stamp to enter Chile, we would have to ride down over 2000m (6,500ft) to the town of San Pedro to receive the stamp into and out of the country, before climbing back UP this same darn mountain 8,000+ ft to the top and traverse the Andes to the east side and down to Salta. So the descent would be crappy… but there would be food… and a shower… and shelter…

We asked a car that stopped to congratulate us on making it out of Bolivia via the Lagunas what they thought about our dilemma. The man laughed and shook his hands as if they were covered in water.

“That is quite a dilemma. Argentinian customs is pretty darn stern – I’d go get the stamp.” He said before heading to see Laguna Verde change colors.

“I say we go for it. But we need to make it there today so we can argue we were just trying to just go to Argentina.” Justin said.

“Agreed.”

Left we went headed 130km/82.5miles for the border town of Jama, Argentina, hoping that we would be accepted into the country! When we arrived to the border, we walked into clean, tiled room with central heating, leather seats lined in a row with no tears or dust on them, and big bright lights. It felt like the cleanest DMV I’ve ever been in and was absolutely shocking to every pore on us.

The woman at the counter greeted us with a half smile, asked us to fill out forms while we held our breath. She typed on her computer, read our forms, and quickly stamped our passports without even looking at our past stamp. All that worrying for nothing! Argentina here we come!!!!

~Melissa

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30+ empanadas later we sit relaxing in a Hostel in Salta. Justin flips the channel on the tube as I upload away on our amazing Ipad named Dennis. The canyon walls as we descended down the Andes were painted 7 colors from orange to purple and the smell of flowers, trees, and water flooded our senses. Tears streamed down my face as we rolled along at a 20mph clip admiring the aspen and willow leaves dancing along the roadside.

We are happy to be in a much more habitable place. Our only sadness comes from being able to live like wealthy kings and queens in Peru and Bolivia, to hardly being able to afford a shared dormitory hostel and a restaurant meal in Argentina. Inflation has hit hard here, and while the temptation for rich meals readily exists, we shall continue to live on rice and potatoes.

I shall go relax with my feet up now and enjoy my legs being completely still with the furry boy.

~Melissa