RUTA ANTIGUA
After a hearty breakfast amongst friends and a helpful leadout of the city traffic we are finally off. It felt surreal that we were actually starting this adventure. So long in the making and it was finally here. We opted to take the old route to Sucre for the decreased traffic and added adventure. Before leaving city limits we encountered a blockade lead by heavy transit drivers which were protesting increased highway taxes. With some maneuvering we were able to pass leading to a route we had basically to ourselves. Aside from their gripes, it sure made our departing day peaceful. The first half of the route was primarily flat and on good pavement. After passing through the town of Angostura we started to climb and the road began to deteriorate, intermittent with rough pavement and dirt. Due to a late departure we arrived at our destination after dark and in the rain. Las Cuevas is an actual camp ground that we had to ourselves, had we arrived earlier in the day we would have been able to access the waterfalls. Total distance for the day was 105K with 1578m of elevation gain.
The road was still primarily absent of heavy truck traffic due to the blockade. We passed through Samaipata, since we had spent the previous weekend there, but I would highly recommend spending some time in this town and visiting its numerous attractions. There were no major elevation changes, mostly rollers through the valley that was dominated by mid-sized agriculture. It was quite impressive to see how much ag there was in the valley. We struggled to find a safe place for roadside camping so we found a sweet little hostal in the dusty town of Los Negros. The starring will take some getting used to as we roll into these towns, its as if all eyes are on Erin and I. This sweet lady, Doña Feli, owned one of two Hostals in Los Negros...hers had a beautiful garden. Total distance 73Km and 1,263 meters of elevation gain.
The road rolled up and down through small to medium sized farms with rich soil that was primarily being worked by hand. Most of the valley was populated therefore we struggled to find a bandit camp spot. We settled for a hostel in the town of Los Negros. The surface was decent and the temperature was high. We had decided before we started the trip we were going to take our chances with the local tap water. I couldn't imagine buying bottled water considering how much we were going through. About half way through day 3 we turned toward Saipina and the road surface went to gravel. Fortunately it was dry. At this point there was no trouble finding a camp spot. Saipina was a decent sized community with restaurants, supply stores, and a market.
The road to Pena Colorado was beautiful. It contained several sizable ascents and decents all on dirt road. The agriculture fields were beautiful full of sugar cane ready for harvest. One most definitely had to be careful when exiting the road way. It seemed as if all native vegetation had its fair share of thorns. The road beyond Pena was dry and dusty with the climbs becoming more frequent and more intense. The sun was also quite intense; we were actually getting sun burned through our clothing. The local drivers thought we were crazy; several demanded that we take their offer on a ride. Although we passed on the ride offer, we did take them up on their water offers and one gentlemen shared a cold beer with us. That was a heaven sent treat! It was a new experience for me to share these dirt roads with heavy transport and tourist buses. Despite the warnings we had from others, the motorist were quite respectful and friendly as well as the majority of the locals.
The surface became pavement again as we entered Aiquile. Aiquile was a nice sized town and it was the first day of Carnival and things were starting to crank up. We rolled in late and found a nice hostel on the main strip through town. There were plenty of options for supplies, restaurants, as well as a nice market. The road leading out of Aiquile was smooth pavement with very little traffic. After a short rise we descended through the valley for 40-50K, very nice. The people in the valley seemed happy, lots of big waves and smiles. There were many locals on bicycles, making us smile big each time we saw a fellow cyclist. Being Carnival time, most folks were off from work and were standing roadside with water balloons ready to bomb the folks passing by, including the gringos on bike. We were warned by previous towns folks that we would not be able to pass through Chuqui-Chuqui because they close the main route down for Carnival. Despite the warnings, we decided to brave it. When we got to Chuqui-Chuqui we became the main target for all the folks sitting up on the valley road-side, and got absolutely hammered by water balloons, spray foam, entire buckets of water, you name it. Managing to get through the water-ballon war zone, we found a tiny flat spot on the side of the mountain, good enough for camping, and right before a huge thunder/lightining/rain storm hit.
We got started early knowing we had a big day of climbing to get to Sucre. We road a total of 45K that was virtually all climbing, the air was also starting to thin as we gained elevation. The road was nice with little traffic; yet the few passing motorist most definitely were hurling water balloons. They kinda hurt when your not expecting them and they hit your face after being hurled from 3 meters above. We rolled into the judicial capital city of Bolivia, Sucre, in the middle of Carnival celebrations and managed to dodge the majority of the water balloons. We were becoming savy to the game I suppose. We spent and unexpected 5 days in Sucre due to a bout of food poisoning. Overall we enjoyed the city, no shortage of tourist. We stayed close to the market which we took full advantage of for breakfast and lunch. I would also highly recommend consuming as much artesian ice-cream and chocolate as possible, Sucre's is the BEST!
