Toe2Top of South America
DAY FIFTY-EIGHT
Yala Camping to Camping spot just north of Colonia San Jose
Distance: 59 miles
Av speed: 12.6
Moving time: 4 hours 40
Door to door: 8 hours 25
Tough day of relentless climbing although super sunny all day and riding through amazing mountain valleys surrounded by 15 ft cactuses made life a bit easier, and still the perfect way to spend a Sunday!
One of the most challenging climbs we have done yet began as soon as we left Yala, taking us from 1200 metres to 2,700 in just 10 miles. Huge gradients and lots of heat made life really tricky!
Once we made it to the commune of Volcan things started to look up as the road flattened somewhat and the afternoon breeze started to blow in our favour.
Unfortunately Roo took a big detour off the road to get a photo of his bike next to an abandoned railway and a huge cactus - what a setting - but on this detour managed to fill his front tyre with dozens of thorns, meaning a prolonged lunch stop in Tucumán taking out every single spine. Check the picture it was definitely worth it!
Finally we were back on the road, and having only done 20 miles by 5’o’clock had to go into beast mode for the next few hours, finally putting up the tent just off the main road as it got dark at 2,800 metres.
Both exhausted as we had cycled uphill virtually all day, although very grateful for the tailwinds that had made our evening ride a bit easier!
DAY FIFTY NINE
Wild camp spot before Humahuaca to Tres Cruces
Distance: 53miles
Average speed: 10.7mph
Moving time: 4h50
Door to door: 9h10
Today we have encountered almost every different type of ups and downs there are to be had whilst cycle touring. We started the day with beautiful blue skis, both very happy as we headed off early to get to a beautiful town called Humahuaca for breakfast. After a visit to the bakery and multiple chats with some really friendly people about what we are doing we hit the road again edging closer and closer to Bolivia.
As we climbed north out of Humahuaca we were hit with some mighty headwinds again. After ten miles or so of gritting up the hill through the winds we decided to take a break and hide out in a bus stop. The winds quickly were accompanied by lightning which made it even more difficult to get back on the bikes. As we forced our way through the wind and rain for another 10 miles slowly the rain began to stop and the winds began to change direction. To our amazement the sun came out and the winds started to blow onto our backs! One day closer to Bolivia!
DAY SIXTY
Tres Cruces to Villazon (Bolivia!)
Distance: 68 miles
Av speed: 11.8 mph
Moving time: 5 hours 35
Door to door: 9 hours
Both extremely excited to reach Bolivia we were on the road early, beginning the final steady incline towards the border. After a pit stop in the fairly useless town of Abra Pampa (the worst town James has ever been to) the wind became our menace again making the final push much harder.
We were forced to break the day up into small 15-20k stages, stopping for coffee or Mate along the way. No headwinds nor steady uphill could stop us though and we made it to La Quiaca and crossed the border into Villazon with the two cities broken up by a river that acts as the border.
A very strange and exhilarating feeling crossing the bridge into our third country on this huge adventure. We really are making some headway and it felt like a huge milestone.
After three days of nothing but open altiplano and dusty towns our first taste of Bolivia was completely different, with colour everywhere, women in traditional dress and a general hustle and bustle that meant we immediately took to Bolivia. Even better, after two expensive months in Chile and Argentina, Bolivia is far more affordable. Huge plates of rice and meat (we think it is normally Lama) for just £1 and if we are still hungry we can always ask for seconds! A cyclists dream.
We ended up spending the night in Villazon, eating as much food as we could and passing out early, absolutely exhausted after the past three days of climbing.
DAY SIXTY ONE
Villazon to Yuruma
Distance: 31 miles
Av speed: 12.9
Moving time: 2 hours 26
Trip time: 3 hours 44
After a morning of admin we were slow to leave Villazon, finding it impossible to find all the things we needed. As there are no supermarkets in Bolivia this meant trawling through the market looking for food which was great fun but does make life a lot harder.
Tough afternoon cycle across the altiplano, mainly uphill. Amazing how we were able to see for miles all around us and such varied scenery. Lighting storms and rolling hills on one side and blue sky and red rock mountains on the other.
Eventually the lighting storm found us and we were forced to take refuge in Mojo village next to an abandoned but beautiful Spanish church.
Began the descent into Tupiza but Roo has a puncture so we had to stop short as it was getting dark. Managed to find a camp spot by the train tracks.
DAY SIXTY TWO
Yuruma to Tupiza
Distance: 27miles
Average speed: 12.3mph
Moving time: 2h09
Door to door: 3h10
Waking up with three flat tyres is not how we planned for the day to start. We woke early to try and get many miles done before lunch but having multiple punctures meant we didn’t leave our camp spot till 11.30. We both still had a slow puncture meaning that we had to stop every 15 minutes to pump up our tires. A really frustrating morning.
Even though we had so many difficulties we tried not to let them distract us from the unbelievable scenery Bolivia has to offer. We spent the short trip cycling through the amazing Tupiza valley made famous by Butch Kassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Although we were forced to spend much of our evening at the bike shop in Tupiza did have time to wander this amazing town, and both slowly starting to love Bolivia. Huge plate of Street food for supper for only £1!
DAY SIXTY THREE
Tupiza to 4,000m camp