Breakfast at the hotel then on our bikes.
Another exciting exit of a Bolivian city, general chaos with a lot off beeping
and pushing and shoving. We followed Geert through the tight streets and
traffic like three little ducklings following mother duck, when ever any one of
us got behind there was frantic tail wagging and rapid leg movement to fall
back into formation close behind the Nissan Ute. Really just another dirty city
was the view on the way out.
After 20 - 30 mins we were on the right road
and Geert waved us through and we applied the full twist of the right hand to
put some distance between Oruro and us. For the first 120km we were riding
along on the Alto Plano the massive highland plane that stretches from Uyuni to
Cuzco about 1000km. There were occasional huts and villages (all made of mud
with straw roofs, couldn’t help but notice a satellite dish in one of them) and
some cultivation of the land, however it is pretty limited what can grow at
that altitude Average 3750m. We saw some plowing with donkeys happening and a
bit of hay and other crops being stooked. All very labour intensive stuff and
really very last century, even early last century. This area reminded us of the
McKenzie country in the south island but on a grander scale of course.
We stopped for coffee at Challapata in a cafe
with a 1946 2CV Citroen in the cafe and an old VW, prized possessions or just
somewhere to park them, not sure which. As we rode off from the coffee shop to
get petrol, Hax was left behind in bit of a flap, as he couldn’t get his gloves
on. Harry had stuffed some paper deep into the finger of one of his gloves. I
couldn’t help but notice the smile on the attendants face as Hax sought
retribution at the Petrol station with water down Harry's back.
From here we turned right and headed into the hills
winding up a mostly excellent road apart from the odd massive pothole. The road
winded up to an altitude of about 4200m to another plane with heaps of Lama all
around the road and one on the road. Tussocky land reminiscent of central
Otago. Just after the tollgate we stopped at a small place with a restaurant
and had lunch of who knows what. Geert didn’t understand what the disinterested
waitress, if you could call her that, was describing so we ordered four
servings any way as there was no other choice. Out came some rather nice soup
followed by a chickeny dish with rice. A bus pulled up and it was like a circus
with numerous people standing around looking at our bikes and watching us
prepare for riding off, which takes a bit off mucking around. There were a few
children begging here also.
After this stop the country got even more
interesting with the land steepening up and becoming canyon like in places,
with multicoloured dirt and rock, mostly red though. We had numerous vistas
that caused us to stop and take photos and just admire the view. Various
villages were dotted along the road and they were farming terraced areas that
were really very steep. Once again we saw dirt being plowed by cattle this
time. Locals tended the fields and watched their herds of either sheep or Lama.
As we came through one village very small children were running along the road
having finished school for the day, looking very excited. The road was great,
very good surface with well-cambered corners, good surface and most importantly
for the motorcyclist, heaps of corners. So far the roads have been far better
than I expected they would be, almost disappointing.
Eventually this excellent part of the road
ended at a tollbooth and we waited for Geert to catch up and guide us into
Potosi. Coming into Potosi was like entering a rubbish dump at the start but
further into town it tidied up a bit. Typical busy place. We fueled up and then
headed deep into the city to find the Hotel. This involved a lot of shuffling
along in short 10 - 20m bursts in tight traffic going up hill, which is not
that easy on bikes, and lead to very hot engines and hot clutches with hot
riders sitting on top. The bikes were running very rough, and cutting out which
had us thinking they must have dodgy fuel in them from the station we just
left. But really I think it was just the conditions combined with the altitude
of 4000m. Potosi is a town that was set up in 1500s after a rich mineral belt
was discovered, lonely planet says -”Potosi shocks. A visit to the worlds
highest city (4070m) a Unesco World heritage site, reveals a former and current
splendor and past and present horror, tied to its on precious metal - silver.
Potosi is set against the backdrop of a rainbow - coloured mountain, the Cerro
Rico. The city was founded in 1545 following discovery of ore deposits in the
mountain, and patois veins proved the worlds most lucrative. By the end of the
18th century the roads were ‘paved’ with silver; it grew into the largest and
wealthiest city in Latin America, underwriting the Spanish economy for over two
centuries.” Whoa! That is one important history. Sadly it has now decayed, but
still shows signs of its former glory.
We eventually found the hotel, showered and
went for a walk into the plaza where we looked at the buildings and locals, and
couldn’t help but be preoccupied by a pack of aggressive dogs that were biting
people including a small boy, right in front of the police who did nothing.
They need to pull out their side arms and put them to use. It got cold very
quickly so we took shelter in a cafe Geert had recommended, and had a couple of
cups of Coca Mate, a herbal tea made with Coca leaves. Quiet nice but if you
suck the leaves Harry and Hax found it makes your tongue go numb, so there must
be a bit of the active ingredient so many people seek from Coca, in the leaves
of Mate.
Wondered back to the Hotel and met Geert who
took us to a very nice restaurant call ‘4060’ in reference to its altitude. For
a change we all had different food, Harry and Omelet, Hax burritos and me a
peppered steak, washed down with a local beer brewed from a brewery that we
passed today. Couldn’t resist the desert menu either. Back for some rest before
a look at those mines tomorrow.
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