Machu Picchu, not yet.

Was going to write here a few days ago but I have been in bed, more or less, but now feel pretty fine. However right now I am off to Nasca, down from the Andes towards the coast so I will to update this page later...
I promise.
Thankyou to all the people who have shown a continued interest in my journeys (and to all those lurkers). It is great being able to share even in this little way.
Right now I am a bit over halfway through my motorcycle journey, some 2 and a half months left. I am in a bit of a dilemma. In a way 2.5 months seems like a long time but the problem is the destination I have chosen way back last year when I had to book my plane tickets. I have a return ticket from Canada... Sooo I really need to make a decision to ´speed up´ my trip a bit, maybe see a bit less or forget the return ticket and spend more time in South America..
Hmmm.
I´m hoping to do a week of big riding days through Peru and see how I like it. Would like to go back up into the Peruvian Andes but think I will just burn up the coast on the PanAmerican Highway.


Update:
You know how I said I was going to leave Cusco ´right now´ , well I didn´t. Ended up staying an extra day. Right now I am in the middle of nowhere between Cusco and Nasca and it is pretty pretty. Really was planning to get to the coast by the weekend... oh well.

El Camino de la Muerte

Literally that means "The Road of Death" . Or, as it is also known, ¨The World´s Most Dangerous Road¨.

With names like that I couldn´t resist .

It was a facinating ride.

The road is some 50kms long and drops some 3500m. At the top there were patches of snow and ice and at the bottom nice tropical heat. It was interesting to see the changes in vegetation, the waterfalls lower down and the impossibly steep valleys that someone decided to put a road through.

The road, or track, is basically a gravel road about 4m wide. In itself it is actually quite easy to ride. However the consequences of if something goes wrong can and is fatal. Often there are steep drops right at the edge, sometimes for hundreds of metres.

On average 100 people a year loose their lives on this road. However a new road (which is equally spectacular) has been built, diverting most of the traffic so I expect that figure to be less now. That said, only last month a couple cyclists died out here. - This road has now become quite a tourist attraction and you are more likely be needing to overtake a cyclist than to get out of the way of a speeding taxi.

Rurrenabaque, Bolivia

I recently took a little detour by Plane to Rurrenebaque.

Rurrenebaque is north of La Paz in Bolivia and down in the Amazonian basin. I went there to experience a bit a jungle and warm weather. Although I am above the tropic of Capricorn it isn´t that warm yet because for the last month I have been above 3500m all the time.

Well I got my warm weather and saw an amazing variety of animals. It was a very chilled out place, feeling like a different country. I joined a tour group to go check out the ´Pampas´ for a few days. I didn´t go to the jungle because I heard that you are more likely to see animals out in the Pampas (sort of wet grasslands).

Definitely a successful trip and I enjoyed the social side which you tend to miss on a solo motorcycle trip.

We saw crocs and alligators.

Turtles

Some huge guineapig thing (sorry forgot the name). -as big as a pig.

Monkeys

Caught anacondas (see, I wasn´t lying..)

They stink too. While playing cards later that night we smelt the same smell coming from under the floor boards..

Caught (and ate) Piranhas.

And, as I wrote before, swam with dolphins. They´re pretty ugly as dolphin´s go.

Back in La Paz now. There was this big fiesta on last night. Lots of parades, dancing and drinking..

I´m off to Peru by the end of the week. I have been reading more reports of crooked cops in Peru which I am not looking forward to.

LaPaz 1

Well, over the last couple nights I really have experienced a wide variety of hotels. Starting with the most basic of basic to the flashest of falshest. Ranging from just over a dollar a night to one where the prices were only given in US dollars (and I payed by credit card so I wouldn´t know..). The only reason I stayed at the last one was because I arrived in La Paz in the dark. It is a big city with fairly chaotic traffic and I decided that I´d stop at the first decent hotel I could find, which I did. That is after being befriended by a few drunks and offered some ´substance´by another. I decieded it would be better to get off the streets until I had worked out the place. Needless to say the hotel was quite luxurious. I enjoyed it. Though talking with the local truckies at the cheap one was a great experience too.

Anyway, the reason I was so late getting into LaPaz was because I took a little detour. Recommended by the local HotelierI took this road to the local hot springs resort. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. Snowy 6000m mountains and valleys plunging down below. The road down to the bottom was unbelievable.

The resort was quite alright and I spent many hours relaxing in the warm water, hoping it would help get rid of my aches and pains. Maybe, but the rough road out didn´t help.

Tried to find this Presbyterian Church today. Met the pastor in the foyer of the hotel so I thought, why not? , and went. Problem was I had an address and only a rough idea where to go - my map only showed the central part of Lapaz. But off I went. I found it. But that was after talking to over ten people (who said males never ask for directions??) and driving past it 4 or 5 times. The church was located in a house.. Yes, I was very late. Actually the service was pretty over but I got to meet a lot of friendly people.
The view from the back of the building.

GRRR fotos not uploading again.. later

STILL NOT WORKING!!!

Sucre - Repairs

Well I have now been in Sucre for over a week since my accident and I am ready to leave. I´m starting to grow roots here but I must move on.

It has definitely been an interesting week. Sucre is a nice city to hang around.

The main focus has been getting my bike back on the road. As I mentioned earlier I found (or was given) an excellent mechanic and friend to help me out - Niki Stumvol. He helped me find the right people, drove me around town and straightened out the bent bits (including the front wheel) and gave the bike a bit of a service, which it needed. So now I am in possession of a nice shiny, almost new bike - just with a few more character building scars on it.

I´m feeling alright. Still sore. The ribs aren´t giving me near as much hassel and I think I can walk and ride quite fine. The arm is actually feeling worse but only in bed at night. Seems more a muscular thing I think. So probably it needs more rest but I think it is time to leave..

The lieutenant at the local Military outpost was a great help. I learnt later that he was the one who made sure all my gear that was scattered over the road was picked up. He organised a lift to the hospital for me and also got my bike to the Military School where he stored it. All because he is a nice guy and, well, yes, he rides a bike too. He rides a nice Suzuki GS850 from 1982. He also gave me a lift around town - not everyday you get a ride on a bike with a Lieutenant from Bolivia.. Great guy.

One of the biggest blessings was meeting Len and Laura Tan from Australia. They have been posted in Sucre for a year by SIM (from memory, Serving in Mission..). They are helping to run a Cafe/Centre which is aimed at helping the University students here. The aim is help with both their physical and their spiritual needs in many different ways. It has been running for quite a while and has been blessed with a lot of success. Len showed me around and I was quite impressed with the setup. It definitely has a lot of potential. Sorry, this doesn´t give you heaps of detail. I will try find an internet link later..

It was fantastic meeting up with Len and Laura and their family. They had Bible Study at their house which I went along to (after a great meal) and really enjoyed - first Biblestudy since Aus. I met a few other couples who are also working here. I borrowed a couple books from them which I feverishly read (due to lack of time) , enjoying the thought provoking book, Prodigal World by P. Jensen. It was a philosophical book (a selection of essays) about how the world, after rejecting God, has adopted a Utilitarian philosophy (whatever makes the most people happy..) which has failed miserably. It would have been interesting to read this while I was still a university student though I probably wouldn´t have appreciated it.

Thanks Len and Laura for the excellent hospitality and christian fellowship you shared with me. I wish you God´s blessings on your work here in Sucre and in the future. Hopefully we meet again sometime..

So now I am back on the bike and back onto the same road as before. Hope to reach LaPaz by Saturday...

Accident in Sucre...

29th April
Sucré, Bolivia

(I wrote this before but I thought I´d copy and paste it here..
I have returned to Sucre.
Just enjoyed an `ambulance´ ride after smashing up my bike.
But don´t you worry. I let myself out of hospital and have caught up with a few friends who are helping me out. My right arm, side/back, thigh are quite sore but I think I am ok.
Mind you the drugs are making me a bit tired so I think i will have a lie down. No bones broken, i think it is just muscular..
Hope to get hold of the bike later today. Don´t know how damaged it is, the least I know is that the front tyre isn´t holding air.. hopefully the forks are ok as I hit a rather large rock..
no one else was involved. Bit embarassing really but I will tell you more later. Unless I die of internal bleeding first ,-)
That wasn´t a nice joke.
I like holding people in suspense...
thank God I was close to Sucre and thank God i was wearing all my protective clothing.

30th April

I am feeling much better. The leg is quite fine and I can walk quite well The right side and middle to upper back on the right side gives me a bit of pain - can´t pick up heavy things and bend over withut thinking how.. So, really I am very thankful for the way things have worked out.

I met up with my friend, James, who I went to School with in Buenos Aires back at the hostel I am staying in which was quite fortunate. Today we hooked up with another friend from BA who also speaks a bit more spanish than me to check out the bike...

But for those who want to know I will go back to yesterday and what happened..

I was returning back to Potosí to head up towards La Paz making use of one of the only good roads around when I had a momentary lack of concentration (the only way I can explain it as it all happened so fast) . I just went around a corner and had my eyes off the road (looking at the scenery or the car going the other way.. not sure anymore) when I realised that I had just gone off the edge of the road. Still don´t know how I did it. Problem was I couldn´t quickly turn back onto the road because right at this place the edge of the road was covered with rocks from a rock fall above.
(This photo doesn´t do it justice.. the rock at the end is a good 50cm high with a pointy bit facing this way..)
I was going too quick for this type of terrain (the road was pavement) and I couldn´t do anything about it but hold on an try and stay upright. I bounced over most of it and made to the end but I knew that once I reached the end I was going to fall off. This flashed before me eyes and I knew it. I was going to fall off. Thankfully I made it to the end and the bike took the brunt of the big rock at the end...



Lying on the ground trying to breathe and not being able to move very well wasn´t such a nice experience... Thankfully I was on a busy road and very close (10kms max) from Sucre and many people stopped to help (and stare). There was also a millitary base not far and the Millitary took over and helped. They collected all my gear that was scattered everywhere (my right pannier (bag) exploded on impact..) and got my bike upright. After getting my helmet and jacket off I managed to sit up for a while til I felt a bit faint and lay down again. The military organised a trip for me to the hospital. Lying on the stretcher I was more worried about my gear and my bike and what would happen to it than me....

Anyway in the hospital they checked me over. Didn´t end up taking xrays. Not sure exactly why but the language barrier didn´t help much. I started to feel a bit better and worked out I could stand and walk alright (sore back being the main hindrance to walking.). They gave me a couple injections and I let myself out of the hospital thinking I may as well find a hotel instead. Hospital bills are pretty cheap around here (all up less than 5 dollars..)
Bumped into my friend, James, as soon as I got to my Hotel who has been helping me out.

Which brings me back to the bike...

All is not good here.
The right side of the bike took a real thrashing. The engine bars saved major damage however the right footpeg has sheared off and cosmetically it don´t look too nice..

The forks seem alright which I am glad about but front wheel is not too good.

Two major dents and it might be buckled. I really don´t know if I can fix it (in australia I wouldn´t even bother) or if I will have to work out a way to get another one here from somewhere. It is an unusual size wheel from a bike you can´t get here in Bolivia... plus shops don´t exactly stock bike wheels very often.

So this is my next project.
Never a dull moment.


UPDATE
3 May
My wheel looks round now. Sort of. I am waiting for a new tyre from Santa Cruz. Meant to be here by Monday. I think this might be a temporary fix. Will wait until is back on the bike before i make a final a judgement..

Potosí, Bolivia

Here a bunch of pics from what I have seen/done lately.
You get lots of markets like these in Bolivia where you can buy absolutely anything from a stall selling just diodorants to TVs to plastic buckets.A side street in Potosí

An electric element in the shower head... Hmmm
Not to mention the bare electrical connections..

Part of a huge machine that used to be used for flattening ingots to mint coins.. It was run by donkeys or mules.

I really liked Potosí. It is an interesting town to walk around and admire all the colonial architecture. Potosí has the honour of being the highest city in the world at 4060m. You do notice this as you walk around and your lungs try to find more air that isn´t there. Mind you on the last morning I was there I witnessed some sort of marathon with lots of people running up and down the streets and while you could see them panting away there is no way I could have done that. I enjoyed Potosí for it´s history. Next to it is a mountain which has been mined since the 1500s for silver. More silver has come from here than any other place in the world. It literally kept the Spanish economy alive for over 200 years. Millions of indigenous and african slaves worked and died in the mines in apalling conditions. Potosí was bigger and richer than London many years ago. You sort of wonder what happened to all the money (Well Spain took it all but what then??)... I took a tour down one of the mines still operating today to check it out.

The miner´s market where you buy coca leaves, cigarillos and dynamite..Coca leaves.. Popular with miners (and locals), supposedly helps combat the altitude. I chewed a few leaves for fun, don´t know if it made any difference. The present Bolivian president, Moralés, is known (among other things) for the saying Coca leaves yes, Cocaine no. Don´t know how hard it is going to be to realistically separate the two with Cocaine still being one of the biggest income earners in Bolivia.That is 96% alcohol!!! -At just over a dollar a bottle. Talk about burning the insides out. It was rotten. Smelt like White Spirits. Excluding the conditions in the mines no wonder the miner´s here don´t have a long life span..One if the many entrances into the mine. Often wet and/or dusty.Climbed down and up a couple crazy ladders. They are held in place by two bent over nails or a piece of bicycle tubing..Not even a ladder here. The workers need to climb the knotted rope you see in the bottom right corner at the end of their shift to get out.A piece of the famous silver ore. While the vein of ore is nowhere as rich as years before the price of silver keeps all worthwile.Tio, the god/devil they serve to keep them safe. Originated from the time when the Spainards made the locals and slaves work in the mine. Since the Spaiñards wouldn´t go down there themselves they spoke about a `being´ in the mountain who was checking up on them, blessing or punishing them depending on how hard they worked. The story grew from there and is still alive today..

After Potosí took the road to Sucré. For Bolivia it was a fantastic bit of tarmac. If I lived out here I´d own a sportsbike just to do this 160km long road at least once a week..

Brilliant.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

23 April



Bad experiences always seems to make the best stories.



The other day would have to be one of the best and worst days I have had on my trip. It all the started the day before after I had entered Bolivia. I ended up taking the ´pavement´ road from Chile into Bolivia ending in the frontier town of Pisiga. This is to the North of both the Salar Coipasa and Uyuni. Salar de Uyuni, by the way is the world´s largest salt lake in the world, positioned about 3600m above sea level. The locals told of a shortcut to Llica on the western bank of the Salar which cut through Salar de Coipasa which I did. It was a bit wet in places and the bike started to grow a nice covering of salt. I met an Italian tour group in the middle of nowhere who fed me lunch - even got dessert!! From there I continued onward to Llica. The tracks (can´t call them roads) ranged from floundering in sand to bashing the bottom of the bike on rocks. Just before I got to Llica I met a local who strongly recommended me to go to Salinas de Garci-Mendoza, which was really out of my way. I got the impression that there were some awesome ruins there worth seeing (he kept mentioning Machupichu). Well, in true style, I changed plans and headed to Salinas. Nice little town to the North of the Salar Uyuni. Definitely very few tourists seem to make it this way. However I don´t think it is going to stay this way for long....



The next day I went to find the Ruinas. They were close by at Alpaya. I found a Spanish Speaking guide who showed me around. The ruins were huge and I was told they dated back 3000 BC (maybe, definitely precolumbian) and some 500000 people lived in this area. I believe it. He showed me the stone houses the people lived in and how they had to crawl through a small opening halfway up. He showed all these mummified remains and opened graves, a little macabre but truly facinating. He showed me where they stored their food in cold storage, how they farmed both plants and animals. I saw plenty of pottery fragments still scattered about. I saw all the stone walls, the river running through the valley, the pathways and in the total peace and quiet tried to imagine a thriving society. And I had the whole place to myself.

But things are a changing around here. Signposts are being erected and accomodation is being built at the bottom for the tourists who will come here once the word gets out. I bet this place is going to become really popular. I wonder what it is going to do to the little towns around it??



Well that part of my day was one of my finest moments, the rest of the day turned into a bit of a nightmare. I really thought it was the end.

With my ´detailed´ map I headed off for Uyuni. I tried to take a few short cuts across part of the Salar, since the Salar is smooth and roads are not.. All was good until I hit a patch of mud and promptly fell off with the bike sliding in front of me. No major damage but I took things a little easier from there.

Well eventually I did find a sign that said Salar de Uyuni and off I went down that road. It did seem a bit strange because it was heading East not South but I kept going. And then there was the Salar before me and it looked like it was wet. What a perfect mirage (I thought). But. It was not a mirage at all as the road disappeared into salty water. There was no way I was going that way and anyway it was heading in the wrong direction. And then I made a decision. I thought I knew where I was and thought that just around ´that´ peninsular to the South was the bit I rode yesterday (all very dry). All I had to do was cross a bit of water, hug the `coast´ and find dry ground.

Well, I was wrong. Very wrong. And it almost cost me the rest of the trip. As I went I realised I had to ride in the water a bit but the water was getting deeper. I was thinking how corrosive the salt would be for my bike and decided to try head up onto the salt bank to the edge. Unfortunately the Salt bank was soft and I didn´t ride up but rather right into it. The bike was well and truly stuck. Stuck in the most corrosive enviroment I could think of. I was far away from any road or any civilisation. There was nobody to help me.
I hit the wall of despair.
I checked around the corner, just for kicks, sinking over a metre into the salt in places, and what I saw was amazing. Unfortunately it wasn´t dry at all but the water spread right to the horizon. Actually you couldn´t see the horizon but you knew it was there by the reflection of the clouds. The whole place was so painfully beautiful but I was stuck.
However, feeling sorry for yourself doesn´t get much done. It took a couple frantic hours to dig my bike out of the salt using my small 1 litre billy can. I let the tires down and rode the bike back into the water where the ground was hard and gingerly turned it around and headed back to safety.

Ended up returning to Salinas as it was too late in the day and I wouldn´t have enough fuel. Cleaned the bike and after finding the right way headed across the dry part of the Salar to Uyuni the following day.


In between dropping the bike and getting it well and truly stuck I was thinking to myself how nothing happens by chance... We are so small. We think we have everything under control. We are king. But we are not. We are in God´s hands. We need to/ I need to/ always remember my Creator, that I am His child and I need to put my trust in Him. Doesn´t mean my life will always be smooth but it does me that I can always be at rest. "That I am not my own but belong to my faithful savior, Jesus Christ, who has bought me with His precious blood......" (LD1)
Trust, not always easy but definitely the most fulfilling. May God always lead and may I always follow.