New route master

We have a new route master....me, after the 92 miler I have relieved Rich of the role as it is harder to complain to yourself and Rich will feel less guilty!

Having assumed this role I have found a new route to Buenos Aires, it takes us into Uruguay and we cross by ferry to BA.  I like the sound of this route as apparently the city is a sprawling mass of traffic. We hope to be there by 16th Feb.

The route masters first decision after the 92miler was to declare a day off, seriously 92 miles after pretty much 4 weeks off the bike was far more than I needed so we had a lazy day to allow my aching legs to recover, they weren't as bad as I thought they would be but I was not owning up to that!

Provincial border

Back on the bikes again we headed for Tucaman via the nosiest camp site I have been on in a while, with the biggest speakers going! and not just one group of campers but pretty much everyone played music until the wee small hours, I did wake at 4am and could not hear anything but at 6am boom, boom, boom.

The riding now is undulating the hills can be a couple of miles of gradual up hill then the same the other side, it seems like we are in a very wide valley and it is all very similar, kinda reminds me of Oz as there are sugar plantations, its hot but blessedly not humid.

Tucaman the city is OVERPRICED, other than that another big city with a big plaza and one-way streets. Whilst riding around trying to find a hotel that was not demolished or being renovated Rich got a puncture in his new super duper puncture resistant tyre, that went down well!!! We looked very adventurous sitting on the plaza eating ice cream at a café whilst Rich mended his tyre and cursed his bad luck.  Mind you I think he would have needed solid tyres to avoid a puncture as it was a great hulking piece of glass.

Moving on we arrived at Rio Hondo knowing that there were at least 4 camp sites, hotels are comparatively expensive and we decided that we will camp where ever possible.  We set up camp underneath the trees on the bank of the river and had a lovely relaxing afternoon.  It was just a tad hot and the tent was hotter but we were finally just drifting off to sleep around 10pm when some new campers arrived  and started using the BBQ station next to our tent, ok.... can deal with that, but by 1.30am when they started to blow up their air bed with a foot pump I nearly lost it.  Finally they settled down only to be up with the sun at dawn making enough racked to wake the dead.  with a fairly spacious camp site I am wondering why they camped quite so close???

With this much room on the camp site.....

Why did they have to camp here????

Our departure from that camp site could not come quick enough!! Having got very little sleep, what with the new neighbours moving in and the heat I was a grouchy bugger.  Rich was a star and very patient. The sun was unbearably hot that day and what with the lack of sleep we ended up having a few mini siestas under trees and rolled in to Santiago Del Estero sweaty and pink having agreed to have a day off.

One day off has turned into 4 as Rich has a (jointly diagnoses) ear infection which is affecting his balance and if there is one thing you need on a fully loaded bike its balance.  So glad we picked the nicer hotel!!  It also means that my bike has time to go to the menders as at some point I had broken a spoke and Rich does not have all the tools needed to fix it as it is on the drive side....what ever that means!! We also missed the biggest soaking ever which managed to flood the street outside our hotel, phew. Rich's balance is improving daily and we hope to set off tomorrow.

Finally, Den persuades me to get on a Bus

It was like a catalogue of errors, but after Den being ill over Christmas, having to wait for our spares to clear customs and with me being ill through food poisoning, we were ready to leave Sucre.

We were heading south towards Potosi. The road was sealed again, which should mean that even though it was hilly, we should be able to make it within two days. The road followed a valley downhill for the first 30km out of Sucre, and the sun was out, so we maintained good progress. Then the road started to climb, and the sun became more intense. We took a while to duck into the shade of some trees at the road side. By the time we got back on the bike it was fairly late, but we carried on. Then it all started to go a bit wrong. Den was struggling with the altitude, hills and heat, we both came to the same conclusion.... Den wanted to go on a bus, but me being a mad keen cyclist and all that, I wanted to go the whole way on the bike. There was no way I was going to cheat by getting a bus!!

Then Den had an asthma attack on one of the steeper slopes we were climbing. So decision made, we were getting the bus. As we sat down to decide how we were going to get to Potosi, a family came along in a 4x4 and offered us a lift. Den nearly bit their hands off!

We found Potosi to be a poor relation to Sucre, if we had been to Potosi first we would have thought it was quite nice... as big towns go in Bolivia. The one thing we would say about the place is 'where are all the restaurants/cafes'? We struggled to find anywhere nice to get some food in. The big tourist trip to do in Potosi is a trip to the silver mine. The mountain is huge and looms forbiddingly over the town to the South. Interestingly, most of the Spanish empire's wealth came from silver mined in this very mountain for over two centuries.. We did think about going on the tour, but quickly dismissed the idea as we both have an aversion to spending money on crawling through puddles 100's of metres underground whilst breathing in toxic fumes, so we though we would give it a miss!!

Potosi

Potosi Bus Station, best bit of design in Bolivia

So moving on from Potosi involved a cursed cheating bus ride. Luckily, it was on unpaved Bolivian roads so there was at least an element of adventure. Of sorts... I wouldn't quite go along with the horror stories I'd heard from backpackers about overnight Bolivian bus journeys. It's still a lot easier than on the bike. So 11 hours overnight on a bus with a broken seat, packed to the rafters with snoring locals. Most people were friendly though and we chatted as much as our Spanish would allow until the lights went out and everyone tried to sleep. Den managed not one wink, and let me know about it the next day, luckily and much to her annoyance, I had a great night's sleep!!

Den:

Villazon was like any other border town not somewhere you wanted to hang around. We changed our money getting a better rate than we had bargained on (hopefully... well it was 6.30am) and on to the border proper, well what a disorganised crossing, all in it too 3 hours to go through both sides, I think buses disgorge early then when the border opens its a game of catch up. So with that over and done with we went in search of breakfast and another bus. Wow! Found a bakery with French looking yummy stuff, mummmm, 2^nd world here we come!

This time the bus was very luxurious, way better than UK buses and we even had DVD's to watch. We got to Salta by 6pm and there finishes our buses out of the Andes, I for one am very glad, but Rich is cursing the loss of those miles! Especially as the road from the border to Salta drops over 2000m. We had a slight altercation with the baggage handlers in Salta, who was asking for a tip ,fair enough I thought... until I saw Rich's bike....the front mudguard was ripped out of the front holdings and all bent out of shape and his saddle was all scuffed up. Now, it is usually me being placating and Rich arguing the point, but in a reverse of roles, it was me pointing out the damage and refusing to budge on what was a voluntary tip. Lack of sleep makes me feisty me thinks.

WE LOVE SALTA, it is lovely, this may be because we have come from a definite 3 world country or it could be that it is just lovely, either way we liked the place, especially the Carrefour! Leaving Salta was a wrench, but leave we must if we are to have any hope of reaching Buenos Aires by the 14^th, which is the target we have set ourselves. Being the day before Rich's birthday.

Salta

I'd like your biggest bottle of beer please waiter....

The start of the ride was great, I really felt the difference between cycling at altitude and here, so much nicer and easier!! After 25 miles we were flying and having a good time, then some kind fella stopped us and said it was raining heavily up ahead, it was very overcast and looked like rain so not wholly unexpected. At 37 miles we were soaked and low in morale. An opportune shelter at the side of the road provided a much needed dry spot for a couple of hours.

We decided to push on and head for San Jose de Metan we were hoping to find a shop on route and maybe somewhere to camp. At 9.15pm we rolled in to Metan and collapsed in to the nearest hotel, 92miles as the first day back is pretty impressive even if I say so myself!!

Time off the bikes in Sucre

Sucre is the official capital of Bolivia and has been designated a world heritage site by UNESCO. All the buildings within the city centre are painted white, which makes it very picturesque. European and American governments give a good deal of aid to Bolivia to maintain it that way. The aid is then promptly pocketed by local government officials and used to buy posh cars and the residents are left to splash a little white paint on the walls every now and again.... at least that's how it got explained to me.

We've been here for a few weeks now, waiting for replacement parts to arrive to allow us to continue on into Argentina. We ordered one package from the US, and another from the UK. Yesterday, the package from the US arrived. We were ecstatic. After sitting in customs in La Paz for a while, it was delivered to Sucre and sat in the post office until the owner of the guest house we are staying in noticed it lying in a corner. They'd not thought to deliver it the 4 blocks to the address is was meant to go to.

The UK package is more of an issue. It's been in customs over in La Paz for 2 weeks now. Apparently we need to provide some additional information and make a payment of some duty before they will release it. It would have been nice if someone, maybe the shipper UPS, had have told us this. But at least we know where it is and why it is being held up.

So we asked what information customs needed. It appears we just needed to register as a temporary importer of goods. To do that you need copies of your Utility bills (and to prove your payments were up to date) and a copy of your Bolivian electoral certificate..... and all forms need to be filled in in triplicate. With no carbon to do the work of duplication for you. This country is a bureaucratic mess! On a par with India, maybe worse.

Needless to say we have no utility bills or voting cards, so our guest house owner has bravely volunteered to do battle with the dark forces of Bolivian bureaucracy. He deserves a medal. His breakfast is particularly good as well. At the moment he has got customs to agree to release the parcel to UPS' agent in the country. Then one more backhander to the kid in the agent's office, wait for him to receive it and the parcel should be on the overnight bus to Sucre.... Hooray!!... we hope!

There's quite a few adventure sports to sink your teeth into in the hills around Sucre, some fossilised dinosaur footprints and an over hyped tourist market 2 hours away to keep you interested. Though not all of which appeal to me surprisingly. Some good food can be had in the local restaurants, and there's a museum or two. Mainly though, I can't wait to get back on the bike.

Out and About in Sucre