(September 12 – written by Dave) We were pretty slow moving this morning, not leaving our fancy hotel until 10:30 – we could get used those swanky digs.  We spent about 2 hours at the brekkie buffet, no rush and no limits to the number of times we could pass though.  I’m sure that the … Continue reading Into the wild west – Colchani to Uyuni (27k/20,618k, 90ft)

(September 11 – written by Nancy) Well, last night wasn’t quite as restful in the old refugio as we had hoped, though I guess that’s to be expected with that many people sharing a small space.  Actually I think it would have been fine but for the guy from the bus who joined us as … Continue reading Surviving the salt – Isla Incahuasi to Colchani (77k/20,590k, 200ft)

(September 10 – written by Dave) Today was all about the Salar de Uyuni.  We had about 25k of riding before formally reaching it.  We chose to go around the volcano on the far left side.  There are three routes, two besides the one we took, one on the right and one on the left … Continue reading Salt road – Salinas de Garcia Mendoza to Isla Incahuasi (87k/20,513k, 170ft)

(September 9 – written by Dave) What a difference a day makes.  We woke today to 4 bicycle tires all full of air.  This plus an earlier alarm meant that we were on the road by just before 7AM.  The dawn light was fantastic and we took lots of photos.  It was cool, but the … Continue reading No flat day – Huari to Salinas de Garcia Mendoza (132k/20,426k, 1,650ft)

(September 8 – written by Dave) I forgot to mention in yesterday’s blog that Nancy got a flat tire about 5k from the hotel.  Other than slow us down by about a half hour, no big deal, these things happen.  The flat was caused by one of those little stainless steel wires we always get … Continue reading Flat day – Oruro to Huari (134k/20,194k, 950ft)

(September 7 – written by Dave) We said our last goodbyes to Philipp and Tine this morning.  And I think this time it could be for real.  They borrowed our Aeropress for one last coffee this morning and now they are on their own.  Tine really liked our Aeropress and it may have actually been … Continue reading Team of two again – Patacamaya to Oruro (127k/20,150k, 1,450ft)

(September 6 – written by Dave) We’ve escaped La Paz, woohoo.  It wasn’t easy.  We had to ride about 2k to reach the teleferico station and what fun those 2k were.  It was rush hour in central La Paz and one of the roads was very steep.  So steep in fact, Nancy walked up the … Continue reading Into the Altiplano – La Paz to Patacamaya (97k/20,033k, 1,320ft)

(September 5 – written by Dave) We’ve really enjoyed our time here in La Paz.  It’s a big city for sure, but we landed in a nice area (Quarter Juan XIII) where there everything we need is close by – grocery stores, restaurants, markets, hardware stores and outdoor stores.  The road south of here will … Continue reading La Paz – Witches, good food, supplies and a tram ride

(September 3 – written by Dave) Yesterday was amazingly scenic.  Today wasn’t.  We had glimpses of the Cordillera Real Mountains but mostly it was through the general haze of the massive city of La Paz.  La Paz and the surrounding cities are Bolivia’s largest urban area with 2.3 million people living here.  It is often … Continue reading The big city – Huarina to La Paz (76k/19,937k, 1,400ft)

(September 2 – written by Dave) Wow, what a day.  To be honest, we knew that we were riding along Lake Titicaca today but our expectations of the scenery were not high.  Boy did we underestimate Bolivia on its first proper full day.  For starters, the shoreline here on the southern end of the lake … Continue reading Bolivia – Copacabana to Huarina (81k/19,861k, 2,900ft)