8/08/2103 La Paz to Nth
of Ayo Ayo, Camping
D87, T7, Av16.51, max63
Tot17356, 8188
Fine, mild
Arising about 0530, on awaking Deirdre she was found to be in good shape and feeling like riding.
We were on the road by 0700, Av. 6 de Agusto took us south from town. Soon traffic got quite heavy.
It was quite difficult getting out of the city with a few right hand turns. Deirdre was finding it difficult in the traffic, especially all the minivans stopping to pick people up.
It was down hill for much of the time.
Soon we started climbing, the landscape was exactly like that in Cappadocia in turkey. Just brown earth like stalagmites, often with a rock on top stopping full erosion of the spire.
These features dominated the landscape. Up near moon valley we came to an intersection and asked a lady the way to mallasa. She said that way. The road was busy and looked like a highway heading south. The other road also busy went up around a corner.
Anyway some 2 hours later after riding the road that got smaller and smaller and became paved with stones, we arrived in a smaller pueblito that was mainly full with men drinking in the square.
Upon much questioning we found we had ridden 30km in the wrong direction. We were in Mecapaca, east of the main road.
Deirdre was feeling good and had no problems with lack of energy.
This was great.
We finally negotiated a minivan to take us back to moon valley where the turn off was.
Chattting all the way with the driver I asked him to take us to the top of the range to the town El Alto, yes there is two towns with the same name on both the north and south approaches to La Paz.
This worked out perfectly, though it was a bit of a free load.
We both said you never know how a day is going to pan out.
The lift up this steep range to El Alto was perfect for Deirdre on her first day since being sick.
Once in El Alto, a commercial town for trucking, dusty as hell and not good on the eye.
We stopped here and had soup from a roadside tent.
Deidre is better alright, she even joined me with a soup of her own .
From here we were blessed with a new as yet unused highway parallel to the old one.
We spent half an hour or more talking with some other cyclists, a young couple who had been on the road for more than 2 years here and in Africa,
It was great to swap notes especially about the Salar de Uyuni
You can catch them at:www.biketheworld.pl They knew Kate and had bumped into down at the salar.
Riding on the new road was asphalt it was like a 10m wide bike track all to ourselves.
At Calamarca we bought water and eggs for the nights camping.
The eggs all got scrambled when I dropped the bike while off road looking for a campsite.
About 1630 we started looking for a site on the treeless altiplano.
At what I thought was an unoccupied house, four dogs came out to greet me, needless to say a hasty retreat was made.
We soon found a site below the new road.
Exposed big time but a mild evening with light winds made it bearable.
It was so nice to be camping again, we both agreed. Both laughing at the fact we were camping in this isolated, unsheltered spot here on the altiplano, who actually camps in Bolivia other than cyclist both powered and unpowered.
Setting up camping we had fried broken eggs and bread for dinner.
It was great that Deirdre had endured the day and felt good at its end.
D87, T7, Av16.51, max63
Tot17356, 8188
Fine, mild
Arising about 0530, on awaking Deirdre she was found to be in good shape and feeling like riding.
We were on the road by 0700, Av. 6 de Agusto took us south from town. Soon traffic got quite heavy.
It was quite difficult getting out of the city with a few right hand turns. Deirdre was finding it difficult in the traffic, especially all the minivans stopping to pick people up.
It was down hill for much of the time.
Soon we started climbing, the landscape was exactly like that in Cappadocia in turkey. Just brown earth like stalagmites, often with a rock on top stopping full erosion of the spire.
These features dominated the landscape. Up near moon valley we came to an intersection and asked a lady the way to mallasa. She said that way. The road was busy and looked like a highway heading south. The other road also busy went up around a corner.
Anyway some 2 hours later after riding the road that got smaller and smaller and became paved with stones, we arrived in a smaller pueblito that was mainly full with men drinking in the square.
Upon much questioning we found we had ridden 30km in the wrong direction. We were in Mecapaca, east of the main road.
Deirdre was feeling good and had no problems with lack of energy.
This was great.
We finally negotiated a minivan to take us back to moon valley where the turn off was.
Chattting all the way with the driver I asked him to take us to the top of the range to the town El Alto, yes there is two towns with the same name on both the north and south approaches to La Paz.
This worked out perfectly, though it was a bit of a free load.
We both said you never know how a day is going to pan out.
The lift up this steep range to El Alto was perfect for Deirdre on her first day since being sick.
Once in El Alto, a commercial town for trucking, dusty as hell and not good on the eye.
We stopped here and had soup from a roadside tent.
Deidre is better alright, she even joined me with a soup of her own .
From here we were blessed with a new as yet unused highway parallel to the old one.
We spent half an hour or more talking with some other cyclists, a young couple who had been on the road for more than 2 years here and in Africa,
It was great to swap notes especially about the Salar de Uyuni
You can catch them at:www.biketheworld.pl They knew Kate and had bumped into down at the salar.
Riding on the new road was asphalt it was like a 10m wide bike track all to ourselves.
At Calamarca we bought water and eggs for the nights camping.
The eggs all got scrambled when I dropped the bike while off road looking for a campsite.
About 1630 we started looking for a site on the treeless altiplano.
At what I thought was an unoccupied house, four dogs came out to greet me, needless to say a hasty retreat was made.
We soon found a site below the new road.
Exposed big time but a mild evening with light winds made it bearable.
It was so nice to be camping again, we both agreed. Both laughing at the fact we were camping in this isolated, unsheltered spot here on the altiplano, who actually camps in Bolivia other than cyclist both powered and unpowered.
Setting up camping we had fried broken eggs and bread for dinner.
It was great that Deirdre had endured the day and felt good at its end.
Moon Valley, not far south of La Paz
Mt Illimani, 6404m, always visible from La Paz and here going up the range in the mini van to El Alto
Camp under the wide skies of the, thankfully, windless and dry Bolivian altiplano
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Heading down the wrong bloody road! for two hours, nice scenery, really, all was good
Fit as a fiddle!
This guy has a serious craving for mana, poppped grains, eg, rice, corn
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