This was going to be a very long day. I hoped to make it back to La Paz. I wanted to have dinner with a few of my friends. I also wanted to spend 2-3 hours checking out the archeological dig and museums at Tiahuanaco. In retrospect i was a little over ambitious...120km with panniers, a head wind at about 13,000ft was going to be tough.
My day began well...I was very happy to find a couple of ladies set up in the middle of the road making smoothies and fresh carrot juice...2 Bolivianos (US$0.25) per glass...I had 3 :), my opinion of this town took a huge leap up.
I took a short cut on a gravel road to save a kilometer or so but nearly got savaged by 6+ big dogs...no pics as i was scared sh&tless!...some shortcuts are not worth the stress. I have a passed many dogs in my riding...often one dog per 300m, but most were friendly and none were this friggin savage...i may start carry bread or stones to throw if this happens again.
yep...it was going to be a long day
I wasn{t riding for very long before I noticed some big rocks in the road...being the occasional good samaritan I stooped to remove a few...then I came accros a big pile of dig and rocks...i figured a dump truck had accidentally lost some of it load...but then another and another...folks had managed to shovel it out of the way and then drive over but I was confused.
About 20km in i came across my first functioning blockade and it all made sense. Lindsay, an Austrailian archeologist had warned me about blockades. Local villiagers upset with the government would set up blockades on the roads and sometimes prevent (even stone) anybody (including intrepid cyclists) who tried to pass...often blockades would last for days till the army would remove...sometimes this would get violent.
I asked a local and he waved me thru...on the positive side, there was a big drop in traffic :)
I met a lot of farmers along the way...the bigger folks were sheparded along but the smaller folks (10-12 sheep, cattle etc) would be tethered in place for the day. Some Kiwi farmer needs to put some of the stray dogs to work!
Che is still very popular in S. America...houses etc often had his likeness
At 10:45/45km I arrived at Tiahuanaco, I was pretty knackered as I had no breakfast so I went in seach of food and decied to see the ruins later. After asking a few locals I found a small restaurant...it was early so I was their only customer and i got well looked after.
The floor was simply rocks and the food very simple...I had a plate of fried chicken, fries and rice...very tasty and it cost 6 Bolivianos (US$0.80)...they were very friendly.
Their daughter was shy but very cute
After lunch I headed to the ruins. I was a bit dissapointed with the ruins on Ilsa de la Sol so I wasn't expecting much. Being a lazy ass, i elected to enter thru the exit (it saved me 1km of riding and I figured I{d buy a ticket on the way out :))...i knew I'd likely get busted but I like to live dangerously.
Immediately a man came over to me asking to see mt billito (ticket), he directed me to the entrance but I decided to check out the ruins on the way.
The upside of breaking the rules is its a quick way to make new friends :)
the ruins are VERY impressive and a MUST see for anybody visiting La Paz (its an easy day trip). What made it special for me is that I felt I was in a Indiana Jones movie...it is very rare to be able to interact and inspect a real and important archeogical dig...it made it that much more real to me.
Eventually my "friends" got a bit tired of my daddling and i saw one of them taking my bike to the entrance.
I took the hint! ...time to buy my ticket :)
They stayed with me till I purchased my US$10 ticket that would get me into the 2 ruins, 2 world class Museums. The Museums were very impressive.
I had to wait out some rain...
so i tried worked on my Spanish...6 words and counting ;)
With more time to kill i had a second lunch and got accosted by a very friendly French girl that wanted company for lunch...whats an old man to do :) needless to say but lunch ran a little long. I was nice to her even though France beat New Zealand in the rugby world cup...I am such a gentleman :)
It was 1:45pm before finally left Tiahuanaco and I still had 75 km to go...I needed to push hard to make it before nightfall...although some times you just HAVE to stop and take pics :)
This family immediately had me thing of Borat (the movie)
Sadly about 3:30pm i noticed a slight headwind...but 4pm it was a steady 30km/h and gusting much higher...it fored me to ride way off the shoulder to aviod being blown into traffic...the bloody Antiplano wind strikes again. i am only 30km from La Paz but only averaging 10-15km/h.
As I slowly closed in on Alto La Paz I saw this guy in the distance...I pushed hard to close on him and then drafted off him to avoid a bit of the headwind...i don{t think he was too impressed...it seems "wheel suckers" are not apprecied in Bolivia either.
My not so willing domestic, Alto La Paz in the background
As i finally got into town the building broke the worst of the wind and my pace picked up a little. Just like the road out of la Paz I took 5 days earlier, there were some pretty horrendous detours...even the folks that can afford them often don't own their own cars in La Paz.
Its good to be on a mountain bike!
Puente (Bridge) America was made from an old truck frame
Bike shops are actually pretty common in La Paz...I saw Treks, Scotts etc ...these guys were really into my bike :)
This view from Alto La Paz was impressive, i think it might be Potosi
As i got to the eastern edge of Alto la Paz the roads became crowded and the riding dangerous (hence to pics)...La Paz lies deep in a valley 1,500ft below Alto La Paz...the only way to get down is to "risk" hiring a Taxi or risk riding down the the freeway.
I had read that you could ride down to La Paz and it was rush hour and I was having to push my bike thru hectic crowds and there were no legit 8radio) taxis to be seen plus i was so tempted to ride down as the sun was setting...I knew it would be an awesome descent...I went for it!
Somewhere down there was my hotel...the view was amazing.
I rode past the "No Bicylettes" sign hoping all would be OK. I had a large shoulder to ride on and keep my speed at a sane level...I kknew I was pretty fried form the ride. As i descended the temperature dropped remarkably but with the sunsetting I decided to suck it up and not stop.
The traffic was horrendous...only a 4 lanes of traffic connect Alto la paz to La Paz and the gradient is between 10% and 15% for 9km...buses and minibuses rouring down the hill and bumper to bumper traffic climbing up. The medium strip is only about 18" wide-this would prove critical ;)
Half way down...DISASTER...my cosy shoulder to ride on dissapears...on my right is a sheer cliff...i feel (and am trapped!)...I try pushing my bike up where this is a decent shoulder and flagging down a Taxi but to no avail...only 50ft away was salvation...a makeshift off ramp where folks stood hailing mini-buses and taxis...a saw few folks braved the crossing but they didn{t have a 30lb bike with 55lbs of panniers...you had to RUN to the medium strip, straddle it while sucking your belly before RUNNING to salvation on the other side.
What to do???? By now it was almost completely dark and I was feeling VERY vunerable, i knew this wa a bad part of town and figured eventually someone passing would see this dumb tourist with all kinds of expensive gear...Darwin could have written a paper just about me :(
I thought I'd test out lifting my bike before risking the crossing...I could push it to the medium but would have to lift it over the railing and then quickly jump inside the medium strip to avoid being crushed..then repear the procedure to get to salvation.
I guess the freezing temps had tightened up my injured tendon in my hand (I had taken a bad fall in the US 10 days earlier). As I lefted the bike I felt something snap/tear in my hand and immediately knew I was screwed...CRAP! now I could hardly even push my bike :(
My Saviour came in the form of a middle aged Boliivan man who had witnessed my ongoing my misadventure and he braved the crossing to aid me. We each took one end of the heavilt ladden bike, took our chances and sprinted to the medium...we were stuck there with traffic ripping only a foot or so away before finally making salavation. He accepted my thanks but nothing more...I am so impressed with the Bolivian people.
Sadly my story does't end quite yet...it took me another 30min to wave done a taxi capable to transporting me and my bike. He looked a bit dodgy but I didn{t feel safe where I was so loaded up my bike and jumped in...he promptly drove about 100ft (into a even dimmer/scarier area) and promptly the engine stops...he says he's broken down - i am thinking I am about to get robbed or worse (SHIT!!!!)
He spends a few minutes looking at the engine and then makes a call on his cell phone...I am getting more concerned by the minute...we tried to push start his taxi...me with my gimpy hand...bu we couldn{t clea a small rise. I use my poco Spanish to say we need 4 folks and he seems to understand and leaves with me sitting in the Taxi still thinking I was being set up and looking for a weapon ;)
He returns with 2 young guys and sure enough, he is LEGIT (WHEW!)...we coast down thw hill for a few hundred yards before the engine cuts in and 15 min later I am checking in at the hotel. Its 9:30pm and the whole ordeal has lasted over 3 hours. I am starved 8pretty much bonking) so i find an open restaurant and eat a huge meal, return to the hotel and order a stiff drink and a bucket of ice for my hand...I don't move till 8:30am the next morning.
I know I was a dumb a$$ and dodged a bullet...I resolve NOT to push my luck again. Bolivia is a dangerous enough place even if you play it smart.
What a friggin day!
Cheers,
Neal
1 comment:
Wow, what a friggin day is right! Sorry it had a tragic ending. Hopefully the damage is minor and you'll be pushing the limits of common sense soon. :-)
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