Thursday, July 31, 2008

Potosi

Saturday 12th to Monday 14th

Potosi leaves you breathless.

The altitude of 4060m makes it the highest city in the world and even after several weeks of acclimatisation it still takes an effort to haul the oxygen in. The streets are the steepest I have ever encountered and the locals meander at a crawl. It´s busy, bussling and chaotic, not helped by the narrow streets and pavements. Crazy drivers try to maintain momentum uphill or burn brakes speeding back down - pedestrians run the gauntlet. The central square, with it´s (permanently closed) cathedral and colonial governmental buildings is beautiful.



The city sprawls and clings precipitously to the surrounding mountain ranges...



The whole city is dominated by the imposing pyramid of Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain).



At 4824m the whole peak is stuffed with minerals and is the reason Potosi was the largest, richest city in the world in medieval times. Tonnes of silver have been plundered, originally by Spanish exploitation of local labour then African slaves at a cost of millions of lives. Visiting the mine reveals reasons for the massive death toll.



Conditions are bleak. Tunnels run everywhere and are uncharted. Artificial ventilation is non existent and the air is thick with dust. The work is largely manual and backbreaking. Daily dynamite blasting is organised haphazardly and deaths and injuries are common. Miners work in small groups as part of a co-operative, each vying for profitable mineral veins. Failing veins, mean starving families. I move a wheelbarrow of ore and gasp for breath in the thin air, miners here will repeat this process 140 times a day for around $10 a day.



Life expectancy is short even today with miners succumbing to silicosis before the age of 40. It is hard to see children working here knowing their fate...



Superstition is strong. The miner´s devil "Tio" (a bastardisation of the Spanish word Dios meaning god) is appeased with cigarettes, coca leaves and neat, throat burning alcohol. To offer libations is to reap good ore - and to live another day...



Fortunately, the city streets are a happier place and in the shadow of the mines, the markets are bursting with a lust for life. The contrast is stark....

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The Road to Potosi - 4

Friday 11th July

Minus 15 again last night, and shortness of breath prevents good sleep. Dani noting the climb in the background, simply will not leave until his makeup is right...



Looking back down the climb towards the camp site beyond the town of Agua de Castilla...



We´re at 4400m again and it should be all downhill from here...



I just love the downhills. Sometimes just a bit too much. I lose the bike in the sand again as the road turns twisty...



In my defense, the road is nasty in parts...



And the descent continues...



Just a little too much. We undershoot Potosi´s 4060 metres by 200 as the road arcs past the city perched against the hills... It´s a cruel blow as the city streets up to the plaza are vertiginous and we arrive at our destination not in triumph, but as gasping, winded creatures, much to the amusement of the Potosinas.



My camera, straining against all the sand I have been filling it with on each fall from the bike, finally decides it´s all too much and grinds to a halt. The lens motor dies and will move no more. This is the last picture it will ever take.... Faithful servant of 2 cycle tours it will receive a ceremonial burial in Potosi - the world´s highest city and a fitting resting place. Nikon Coolpix L4 I salute you!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The Road to Potosi - 3

Thursday 10th July

The day starts easy enough on steady gradients and we make good time helped by directions from the cutest little girl perched on a rock...



The plain becomes sodden and we cross a river just before Chaquilla....



We decide to stop for an extended lunch in Chaquilla, which seems to be the base for most of the road working crews. We meet Miguel and Rolli, the crew boss, who according to Miguel is an illegal immigrant who should be taken away in handcuffs.... Osca, is an entertainer and clearly a music fan....



They all decide we really shouldn´t be cycling here without a bunch of coca leaves to ease the symptoms of altitude, and dish out huge wads from bulging carrier bags. Their bulging cheeks and red eyes explain their levity, and perhaps some of the slow progress on the road... But who are we to argue as we stash our booty.

Leaving town we come across the colourful scene of a washing party cleaning blankets in the river, right in front of the sign prohibiting just such... It´s a cheerful whole family affair as they struggle with with freezing cold water...



Then the climb begins again. And it´s a cracker...



Dani playing in the sand...



As we leave the valley and climb in to the next....



We again meet Rolli and Miguel hard at work. Note bulging cheeks...



We make camp in the shelter of a power distribution plant...



It´s the highest camp so far at 4200 metres and breath is hurried as we pitch tents. Get the candles on - it´s gonna be another cold one...

Monday, July 21, 2008

The Road to Potosi - 2

Wednesday 9th July

Sun´s up. And what a difference! I watch my watch thermometer rise from minus a few to plus 20 degrees in about half an hour. Day and night time temperatures can be extreme here and it´s hot when we break camp and leave. Perfect cycling conditons!

The whole road from Uyuni to Potosi is being overhauled - a 40 month project finishing in 2 years time. Seemingly random sections are being worked along the route and we hit one early. It´s a blessing as the road suddenly becomes hard packed earth...



We turn into the next valley, rocks and road a riot of variagated colour. Where did this wanderer come from... where is he going to?



He tells us the next town is Ticatica 10 kms distant and they might have bread... We stop for water.

The bread story was just a rumour.

The next valley is a vast river bed. Now, in the dry season there is but a trickle of cobalt blue water to contrast with the reds and greens of the rock faces. Maybe the blue is the result of life enhancing minerals, but more likely, it´s chemicals leaching from the mines, and I will not be imbibing...



The next pass begins with a sandy crawl up steep switch backs. The way gets sandier and tyres spin and slide. It´s slow sweaty work.



Dani struggles on the steeps through the dust thrown up by a passing coach...



When suddenly we crest the pass at 4150 metres and begin a hair raising 600 metre descent....



On roads best described as "work in progress"....



Bumpy muddy progress...



And sections of deep sand...



The descent is fast, scary and dangerous. It´s a riot and I love it!! I only fall off once and manage to fill my handlebar bag with sand. Camara now makes funny noises and my trail mix doesn´t taste so good....

Before entering the next canyon; where the morning sun will not find us, we come across a stone corral and persuade a llama to leave it to us. Camping at 3550m between rocks is a warming luxury and we sleep well having covered an improved 70kms for the day. It´s only minus 6 tonight!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

The Road To Potosi - 1

Tuesday 8th July

208 kilometers, starting at 3660 metres, finishing at 4060 metres, that´s the road to Potosi.

It starts with a climb, between those two hills....



And then up and over them there hills....



Looking back at the distant Salar de Uyuni...



Up to Pulacayo, an old gold mining town established in 1890. It also has a train graveyard - all the old rolling stock that originally served the mine. Miners houses cling precariously to the precipice....



Today the graveyard is almost as large as the town, a grisly reminder of working conditions underground over 100 years ago. We take lunch having covered 18kms in just over 3 hours. Finally we cross the pass, an oxygenically challenged 4275 metres.

Then a dusty descent into the next valley...



Finally we camp after a paltry 48 kilometres for the day! The altitude is still 3900 metres and the temperature plummets with the sun. My tent is now heated by candle power - having stocked up in Uyuni. I figure I would rather burn to death than freeze to death in my tent. Still I measure minus 18 degrees in the tent! A new record low for the tour.

I fall asleep as condensation from my breathing forms ice on the sleeping bag around my mouth and nose. Must do something about that breathing - it´s becomming a problem.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Uyuni Train Wrecks

Monday 7th July

A slow day in Uyuni as we stock up in the local market before the next ride...



As I take lunch in the market comedor, the butcher´s meat delivery arrives. I eat 2 feet away as a severed cow´s head is brought through the dining area. It´s a strange sight as a man carries it face first, an arm under each horn. I´m sure it winks at me as it passes, but it takes more than that to put a cyclist off his food. It´s followed by several bodies and I finish dining to the sound of buzz saws getting to work...

There is a train graveyard on the edge of town for old rolling stock...



Ouch...



"Needed - a mechanic with experience"...



Train wrecks, or slides - depends on your point of view...



Tomorrow we head out for Potosi - the highest city in the world at 4060 metres. Reports are in, and the roads ahead are bad. Should be a challenge...

Friday, July 18, 2008

Dawn Over The Salar

Sunday 6th July

Today I made the dawn. It was well worth it. Pre-dawn light show...





The moment...



And the island is washed bronze...



Shadows stretch off to infinity....



As strange patterns in salt glow amber in relief...



Riding back to Uyuni we come across the place where 2 tour jeeps tragically collided and exploded. Blackened salt is a chilling testimony to the heat of impact. There is a small shrine to the girls that died in the crash. It´s a mystery how 2 vehicles could not avoid each other here...



We visit the tourist hotel made entirely from salt...



Dani checks the authenticity of the carved statues...