SUMMITING THE DREAM
The first day out of Potosi was tolerable in sense of climbing, still getting almost 2000m in just 56K. The mountains were different on this side. Spectacular views and despite being in the alto plano, there lay a green carpet of spiky grass covering the pampa. The positive externality to touring during the rainy season.
Another positive, and I think one of the craziest, experiences we have had has been the fact that when we climb out of one valley, we reach a higher valley...and as we climb out of that valley we find yet another, even higher valley. It is as if these valleys have been roughly stacked like Jenga blocks; except, the blocks are valleys with stark mountain walls.
As we started to enter the official altiplano we began encountering llamas instead of just sheep and goats. The agriculture was limited to quinoa. Day two, from Porco to Tica Tica, was our biggest day of climbing yet with 2050m of gain in 80K. No shortage of descending either. The road surface was nice with a wide shoulder and very little traffic...perhaps due to the upcoming referendum vote concerning the current president Evo Morales extending his rein. Between the climbs and descents we encountered beautiful green valleys with abundant sheep, llamas, and cattle grazing on lush green grass.
Most days since leaving Surce involved at least a threat of rain generally in the afternoon but on average it would be all around us but we managed to avoid it for the most part. Day three, in route to Uyuni, was tough with plenty of climbing and thin air, but once we topped out and had the Salar de Uyuni in our sight it was all worth it. It felt like quite the accomplishment to finally top out on the great Andes Mountains. A dream Erin had both been holding on a pedestal for over 10 years.
It was a nice descent into town...a flat, dusty, trashy town. The town was full of tourist as well as tourist traps. We did not enjoy our experience here. Across the board, the service community rather it be hostels, restaurants, or shops displayed no interest in serving anyone. We spent as little money and time in town as we could. The town of Uyuni was a complete disgrace when it comes to the beauties Bolivia has to offer. On the other hand, when you leave the city into the salt flats you leave all that bull-s*%! behind! We were able to camp right on the salt flats and watch a spectacular storm roll in over the mountains as well as catch a beautiful sunset. We were not able to venture deep into the salt flats with our bikes because the salt flats were flooded and salt's corrosive nature. If I had to do it over again I would probably take an Land Cruiser tour of the salt flats in order to have the full experience. One interesting experience (for Aaron) while in the town of Uyuni was election day. Driving is not allowed and voting is mandatory. It was quite strange to see the entire community out standing in line together voting and socializing and walking the streets.
We decided to take the train from Uyuni to Oruro in order to make up some time and skip out on some of the flat altiplano. Due to the referendum the train was not running on schedule so we reluctantly decided to try the bus option. To my surprise we were able to load our bikes into their own department under the bus. So in a matter of hours we were on our way to Oruro on a bus with our bike nice and safe.
