Sharita’s Excellent Bolivian Adventure

This is Sharita’s latest report from her scout of the South American Epic:

I’m writing from Cafayate, Argentina while having a glass of white wine on the Ruta del Vino and catching up on my notes. I arrived in La Paz a couple of days ago from Brazil where I spent some time with Cristiano – the main brain behind the SAE. He was supposed to come on the scout with me but plans changed and now I’m scouting 2 sections of the SAE on my own – Cycling the Salt Flats and Across the Andes which covers the stretch from La Paz, Bolivia to Santiago, Chile.

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It took me a few days to get used to the altitude and to get rid of the resulting headache when I arrived in Bolivia. La Paz is around 3500m above sea level and the airport even higher at 4300m. Of course, without Cristiano I’m a little lost because I don’t speak Spanish – nada, cero and my Afrikaans and English are not really of any help in this part of the world. Thank God for Google Translate – it is slow and frustrating but I was still able to navigate my driver around the crazy La Paz traffic, through the Salt Flats and down to the border of Argentina. I’ve even managed to book a few hotels with a quirky mix of English, Spanish and sign language.

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Once I crossed the border into Argentina I was on my own – no more driver and no vehicle – only Google Maps, my GPS, note book and a one way bus ticket from Villazon at the Bolivian border to Salta. I managed to take notes from row 13D of a giant double decker bus. It was an aisle seat on the top floor so I could peep down the aisle to see where we were heading. I wonder what the other passengers were thinking? Once we got closer to Salta, our bus hit the jack pot at one of the many police check points – a full inspection! Guess what? We all had to get off the bus with all of our luggage and stand in line for an inspection. I assume they were after drugs but they were starring curiously at my notes and the GPS, probably thinking I’m some sort of a spy! What a painful exercise! Needless to say, all the passengers were cranky including myself and, of course, I blessed them in my best Afrikaans when it was time to get back on the bus.

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When I got to Salta I had to go find myself some wheels to get me to Santiago so I popped into Europcar and I’m now driving around in a little rental car multi tasking; taking notes, reading the GPS, enjoying the scenery, taking photos, looking for campsites, and, of course, all of this while driving. I do stop every now and then to smell the roses.

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As for the cycling and scenery I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves! The Salt Flats, at 3600m above sea level and among the largest in the world, are certainly a place where you can keep yourself busy for hours taking mind boggling snapshots. It looks like the sky and the ground merge into one like Heaven on Earth. Now that I have seen the route, I can confirm that it will be a spectacular ride at high altitudes. Some days I didn’t get far simply because there were just too many photo opportunities. Now its time to move on to Chilecito for some more wine.

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Ciao from Argentina!

5 Comments for "Sharita’s Excellent Bolivian Adventure"

Thanks, Sharita. Really looking forward to it. Keep on truckin’!

Sharita, congratulations on your exploring. You probably don’t remember me, I was the second oldest guy on the TDA in 2009. I like to follow your tours on-line, as my body could not do these extreme trips now that I am 75.

I hope you are happy and enjoying your life.

Ernest

You really are an adventurer, Sharita! Wow!

“Muchas gracias Sharita. No puedo esperar. Vamos a montar!”

Thank you Sharita. Can’t wait. Let’s ride!

Ek sou graag daai blessings in jou beste Afrikaans wou hoor…

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