The End.... of the Beginning

18th Aug to 22nd Sept

Flying home gives me time to reflect....

6 months.
5,500 odd miles (roughly - computer broke)
4 countries.
127,000 metres accumulated altitude!!
2.5 million pedal revolutions (estimated)
1 accident - on the last day of riding!
Coldest - minus 24 degrees centigrade Bolivian altiplano.
Highest - 4400m Bolivian altiplano.
Falling off/dropping bike - too many to count.
Biggest day - 200km.
Punctures NONE - unbelievable, but true.
Bike breakdowns - none again - I ride a Thorn Nomad which is awesome.
Tyres - 2
Chains and sprockest - 1

Highlights - again too many to count, but.....

Best Scenery - Argentina 7 lakes - Every bend in the road reveals new eye candy.



Best Riding - Argentina. The pass down towards Mendoza. 80kms all downhill in stunning snow capped mountain scenery.



Best Hiking - Chile. Torres Del Paine, a mini mountain range with glaciers, multi coloured granite, and the Towers at Dawn



Best City - Tough One, Bolivia La Paz... oh and Chile Santiago.

Biggest Event - Tough again, Bolivia re-elects Morales AND The Chaiten Volcano eruption



Comedy Moment - Chile, The world's dumbest horse

Weird Scenes - Bolivia, Salar de Uyuni



Worst Roads - Bolivia outside Potosi



Best HospitalityMany many examples, but Marcelo at the closed pass to Mendoza is a stand out, buying us food and 2 nights accomodation as we froze in the snow.

Many many more...

And much of it shared with a great travelling companion Michael Maynes who was there for a big part of it - the highs and the lows.



South America is a place of extremes in many ways the geography, geology, climate, but one thing was constant - the hospitality of the people. Wherever I went this was a feature and a constant reminder that I need to avoid the sterotypes and media delivered misconceptions and experience things first hand before hardening my opinions.

This is the end of beginning as it's only the first chapter. I am continuing my travels, by bicycle of course, this time with a new traveling partner. My girlfriend Sue has finally seen the light and quit her job as a Maths teacher and we're planning (well looking at a globe) for the next leg....

Stay tuned for updates.....

Trip Ends

Monday 11th August to 17th August

52 hours on a coach!! 52 HOURS

I didn't want the expense and hassle of a flight back to Buenos Aires, and I knew a coach ride would not be fun. But.....

I could cope with the clapped out death trap of a bus for 16 hours to get to the Argentine border....
I could cope with the corrugated roads that give the back a work out to make the most sadistic chiropractor proud....
I could even cope with the window at my side that continually vibrated open to allow a minus 15 degree gale force wind to blow direct in my face....
And the 4 hour border crossing at five in the morning....

But 6 whole series of "Stairway to Heaven". Yes 6 series of a Chilean soap opera revolving solely round a Chinese family. This is a family that marries, argues, fights, divorces and gets re-married, then divorced again, sometimes in a single half hour episode. All in Spanish and all at top volume.... Repeated for 36 episodes. Somebody shoot me!!

To cap it all - I spend 6 untroubled months in South America, to finally develop stomach problems and diarrhea as I get on the bus. A bus with no toilet!!! No problem - just hang on for bathroom breaks.... until the bus breaks down, and after road side repairs, no more stops are allowed to catch up time!!! Aaaaargghhhh.

I overdose on Imodium. And my insides set solid.

The bus terminates on the outskirts of BA, and I am stranded with about 18 miles to go. Helpful bus staff inform me - ride to station, take train to underground, take underground to second train, take second train to BA centre, take third train out. No problem until I descend 3 flights of stairs to an underground that does not allow bikes. I then carry bike and gear back up 3 flights of stairs!!

And ride through rush hour BA... to have my first accident on tour. An errant taxi driver who tries to kill me by cutting across my lane and I make tyre imprints in his door panel. Seriously peeved by the last 2 days of bus travel and his lack of driving skills.... we communicate. Normally passive I am moved to threaten adding knuckle imprints to his angry face. A man of wisdom, he sees the ragged, maniacal glint in my eye - and retreats. Wise decision, stairway to heaven has me unhinged!

Finally the train station, a short ride and a warm welcome back at a good friend, Mick's place where my trip began sooooo long ago. Many thanks go to Mick and apologies for pretty much sleeping a 4 day visit away. 4 days of recuperation, then the flight home and tour's end.....

Democracy!!

Sunday 10th August

An historic election!!!

No not that one.... I realise I am soooo out of date on this blog now and as I write this, another historic election has just taken place in America.... But back to Bolivia.

Evo Marales made democratic history by choosing to return to the electorate for re-election only half way through his 5 year term.... unprecedented in a country where elected leaders often retain power using tanks and guns rather than ballot boxes.

A local couple ponder on the eve of history on a deserted Saturday night on The Prado...



While campaign vehicles gather in La Paz city centre...



Rowdy, partisan Plaza Murillo awaits the peoples verdict....



At around 9pm Evo secures over 63% of the vote and makes his victory speech to jubilant supporters. Flanked by his cabinet his words promise progress and change in a country fiercely divided over oil and gas revenues....



As a salvo of pyrotechnics is launched....



And within minutes, the news is beamed around the world by CNN...



It's a privilege to witness this historic event and be amongst a nation celebrating real hope and faith in their democratic system. Real challenges lie ahead in averting serious splits as a divided country decides how to redistribute wealth generated by a few low lying regions rich in oil. It would be fascinating to spend more time here.... but tomorrow - a 50 coach ride back to Buenos Aires to catch a flight back home...

Return To Bolivia

Thursday 7th to Saturday 9th August

Now I need to solve that tricky problem of being in Peru illegally! As I have no entry stamp in my passport, just turning up at the border is going to be a bit dodgy. 3 options....

1) Turn up at the border, act like I'm heading in the opposite direction - from Bolivia and entering Peru for the first time.
    Pros - I get my passport stamped and I can then just turn round and cross back to Bolivia.
    Cons - they might see my direction of travel and then it hits the fan.

2) Get close to the border, wait for dark, head off road, sneak over the border and back to the road.
    Pros - should work, and all a bit hollywood spy thriller - I like it.
    Cons - it's all a bit of an effort, and getting caught would be truly difficult to explain. Maybe not a good option.

3) Get to the border and see if I can simply walk back across.
    Pros - Not too much hassle and it worked getting in to Peru.
    Cons - Like just walking in to trouble?

To get to the border I decide on a Collectivo - one of the small converted vans that stack around 20 locals into the space designed for 10. The advantage is that I can jump out just before the border and it attracts less attention than does a gringo tourist bus. Then I can just hopefully cycle across the border and to Copacabana. That's the plan....

The collectivo is an uncomfortable, but good natured journey and the locals are chatty - curious about the only white face aboard. I alight at Yunguyo, the border town in Peru. This is what I somehow failed to see a few days ago when I entered Peru...



I try and blend into crowds milling round the border check point. Not easy being a paler shade of skin and pushing a fully loaded touring bike, but amazingly, I am able to just walk unchallenged past machine gun toting soldiers and barriers and stand bemused, once again on Bolivian soil...

Not wanting to tempt fate I delay celebrations and ride like a man illegally crossing a border - like rapidly out of there.

15kms later in Copacabana, I discover the bus for La Paz leaves in 40 minutes, so one rapid dose of street food later, I make the second bus trip of the day and arrive after dark in La Paz.

I am greeted off the bus by uniformed "Tourist Police" who refuse to let me ride. They insist, despite protestations, that I take a taxi to a hostel.

Next morning I realise I will be in La Paz for longer than planned as all transport is cancelled due to the Bolivian national elections taking place.

Walking the streets is like visiting a ghost town. Remembering the bussle and overload of just a few days ago, the town now has a surreal feel to it....



The total absence of cars turns main streets in to play grounds for kids....



But also lays bare some of the nastier problems the rush and crush of crowds serves to hide....



Night falls as the city holds it's breath and awaits the verdict from the masses....

Peru - The Border Crossing

Monday 4th Tuesday 5th August

Copacabana is too mad! There are too many people here on a pilgrimage for the festival and I feel claustraphobic in the narrow confines of the streets. I consider a boat trip to the Isla del Sol, another form of pilgrimage performed by backpackers with lonely planet guides, but I need space.

So I ride...

And it's chaos. Leaving this small town is reminiscent of leaving La Paz in miniature. I escape in a foul mood after a couple of near misses. I need to ride....

Unfortunately I ride just a little too far. 30kms quickly pass me by and I stop to consult a map. You see Copacabana sits quite close to the Peruvian border. Like 8kms close to the border and I've done 30. I wondered where all those tricycle taxiis had come from - not seen any of them in the whole of Bolivia. And the new red and white flags?? Something has definitely changed I thought, but I just had my head in a cloud - lost in riding mode. Now it dawns on me I might be in trouble.

I've just left Bolivia and apparently entered Peru illegally!! Yeah Bolivia, second only to Columbia in it's reputation as a South American drug capital, and I've just left there without officially crossing the border. That's the type of thing that could be misconstrued by a customs official... I do remember a bit on the road with queues of traffic, loads of people and a barrier across the road, but then there are so many police check points with barriers. Usually I just go round them as no one is interested in a solo cyclist. Except perhaps on this occasion....

I begin to think about going back to the border and confessing. But then that won't nesessarily help - why should they believe me, and they don't know when I crossed the border - could have been days ago. So rushing back doesn't make it look like an honest mistake. Might as well see a bit of Peru first and worry later I reason. Se la vie, let fate drive...

Plus there's an almighty head wind for 22kms if I decide to go back. Ho hum...

So I ride on, flip-flopping between a feeling of casual laissez-faire, and a sphincter tightening terror at what could happen should I hit a police check point.

So I have one single photo of the first day on the road out of Copa. And it's not even a very good one. This kind of thought process (Peruvian jail, explaining the extended time away to the family etc) rather detracts from the holiday snappers gay abandon....



I camp at the roadside to finish the 160 km ride to Puno the next day...

To be honest, I find the ride along the lake shore a little disappointing. That's not to say Titicaca is unimpressive. Maybe I was just spoilt in the Argentinian Lake District. Maybe I was just expecting so much by making it one of my tour highlights before I set out... Maybe I'm still edgy from my (failed) border crossing, but for some reason I was expecting more.

However the shoreline does team with birdlife and has prosperous farmland. I pass "Julí", nicknamed the "Rome of South America" for it's four churches on four hills....



And the massive, but now disused bull fighting arena at Acora....



Meanwhile something burns out on the lake...



But I am in no mood for sightseeing and finally get my first glimpse of Puno...

Copacabana

Sunday 3rd August

Copacabana is in festive spirit! Rarely, it's a sacred place for 2 tribes, namely Catholics and the indigenous Aymara Indians. Indeed the name Copacabana is based on the Aymara words for "Lake View" - kota kahuana. One of the town's main draws - the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana is built on the site of an ancient Aymara temple... and Our Lady of Copacabana is the patron saint of Bolivia. So you can see it's got some major religious stuff going for it.

The Basilica...



Coupled with that, August 6th is Bolivia's Independence day celebration, so this whole week is a giant excuse to combine some serious partying with a major religious festival. I am forced to drink....

It's also a beautiful spot, built right on the lake shore and nestled between 2 hills - Mount Niño Calvario and Mount Calvario, a short climb affords great views of the town and lake...



People travel from all over Bolivia and across the border from neighboring Peru to decorate vehicles and have them blessed on the (lake) beach or in the main plaza for safety and good luck. Much needed on Bolivian roads!



The larger Mount Calvario is the destination for religious pilgrimage and a steep climb passes the 12 stages of the cross and the seven sorrows of Mary. During festival people bring miniatures of their desires, such as a car or house to be blessed on the hill top, in the hope they will be realised in the coming year.



Beneath the Basilica, there is a dark soot filled room where effigies in wax are described on the walls for similar reasons...





The sun sets amid much drinking and dancing....

La Paz to Copacobana

Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd August

Finally managed to leave La Paz and set out for Copacobana on the edge of Lake Titicaca. It's good to ride again.

Leaving La Paz is tough. Tough because It's been a great part of the trip. And tough because the streets are mental! It's hellishly steep and cars weave randomly in all directions. So do pedestrians, overspilling crowded pavements directly into my path. I can report that my brakes work!

Emerging from the backstreets, I tackle the main autopista leading steadily upwards to El Alto. It's 3 lanes of fast moving cycle killers.... I climb 500 metres up to the sister city and am rewarded with a last view of La Paz...



El Alto traffic is worse! There are no cars here - just Micro and Colectivo buses. It's a 6 lane traffic light grand prix as all vie for passenger's attention and drivers swerve and screech brakes once prey is spotted. Equally passengers lurch and blunder in and out of traffic as they board and alight. It's all spiced up with vendors who suddenly appear in the road. Pineapple anyone...



Outside El Alto things calm down - flat roads of new tarmac. It's a bucolic scene with a massive backdrop....



Still plagued by overloaded Colectivos....



I camp as I reach the edge of the lake. Or rather I find another abondoned building to "borrow" for the night. The cycle gods provide again. This is prime lake shore property....



Next morning starts with a climb away from the lakes and then back for the first memorable views of Titicaca...



Then a drop down to the boat station at Tiquina for a quick crossing on boats held together with duct-tape and hope...



Another gruelling climb away from the boat crossing before the breathtaking 8km descent down into the beautiful Copacabana sunset...

La Paz - Images of a Great City

Wednesday 30th July

The city in images.

People think La Paz is a dangerous city, but I never experienced that side of the place. Maybe the 2 cops to every citizen policy has something to do with it...



On your marks...



San Fransisco square complete with cathedral and street protest...



Colourful "Witches Market"...



Plaza Murillo and it's cathedral



And bullet riddled municipal buildings...



Street art depicting the mines at Potosi and the miners struggle...



Children helping out washing dishes at a street food stand...



Street scene with mountain backdrop...



And finally a view from El Alto, sister city to La Paz perched 450 metres above with the majestic 6500m peak of Illimani in the background....

La Paz - Death Road

Tuesday 29th July

I thought I'd done enough cycling not to need to book a cycle tour, but this is "The World's Most Dangerous Road" or DEATH Road!! It starts at an altitude of 4750m in La Cumbre and ends in Coroico at 1150m - a drop of 3600m in 64kms. Pedals are attached to the bike, but they are just to rest the feet on and have no other purpose. Pedalling is not required here.

The day begins inauspiciously with our first accident. 20 metres from the start, the bus driver ploughs into the side of a taxi! Much comedy ensues as the Bolivian police arrive to direct traffic. At one point the taxi driver attempts to physically lift the taxi to seperate it from our bus. 2 tons of steel is going nowhere...



Eventually someone has the bright idea of moving the bus and the damage is revealed...



A second bus turns up, bikes, gear and people are transferred and we finally depart for the "real" dangerous road. We leave the original driver to sort out bribes and pay offs...

The death road is half tarmac, then a narrow gravel track hugs the walls of the sheer valley as it snakes its way beneath waterfalls and rocky overhangs. Lanes are reversed here and vehicles drive on the left, not the right as is normal in Bolivia. The reason: the driver on the left can best see how close he is to the afterlife, that is, how close his tires are to the edge. A fatal accident every fortnight is not uncommon. I can see why - drops are 600 metres and vertical, giving you time to review your mistake as you contemplate becoming part of the valley floor. A large flat part!

The view from the top...



Rogerio is a 20 year veteran of the Brazillian army. After being shot at and surviving for weeks in the jungle without aid, he reasons a little bike ride is childs play. Alessandro is 20 years old, from Costa Rica, crazy and knows no fear. I ride a bike for a living. No-one is going to back down on this one and things could get silly.

Just to spice things up, it starts to rain. Visibility is low, goggles get covered in mud and steam up, and things get a little slippery under rubber.

We set off and it rapidly does get silly!! Roberto from Italy tries to stay with us, and after stepping a back wheel out over the edge!! he decides to play it safe and drops back. His ashen face gives vivid testimony to how close he came to adding to the statistics...

We get our first warning from the guides for riding neck and neck - 3 abreast on one stage - the rule is 2 bus lengths between riders. But how can you overtake if you play that game?

We pause to review the route - rapidly disappearing in to the mist...



Our second warning is for overtaking the guide!! A definite no-no apparently and he is NOT amused. I feel like a school boy again as we get our dressing down. Threats of riding out the route in the bus to "cool down" bring on a change of tactics.

The game now is to start at the back and work through the field, overtaking as many rabbits as we can. Allesandro runs wide and hits a boulder field. His front wheel is totaled and we wait in amusement as he walks his bike sheepishly down to the mechanics for a replacement. And another bollocking!

Snake like coils of slippery rubble...



There is little time to marvel at the scenery as it blurs past us. Little time for photography either as everything is covered in mud and grit...

In a single day, we crossed high wind-swept passes and snow-covered plains and plunged down through dense cloud forest to semi jungle from a freezing four layers to a balmy tee-shirt and shorts. It's a great day and thoroughly recommended even by a jaded veteran of a 6000km continental cycle tour!

We finish at an animal sanctuary in the jungle and scrape off dirt in hot showers. A slap up feed is part of the day, as is a death defying bus ride through zero visibility cloud back over the route to La Paz - definitely the most dangerous part of the day!