Potosí to some mountain: There´s not much plano in this altiplano


Map
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Statistics for today
Distance 88.42 kms 54.68 miles
Climbed 1,478 meters 4,849 feet
Ride time (hours) 8.11 -
Avg speed 10.8 kph -
Avg climb 4% -
Max grade 10% -
Statistics for trip to date
Distance 8,771.23 kms 5,450.04 miles
Climbed 87,080 meters 285,696 feet
Ride time (hours) 672.84 -
On this page

Monday, April 1st, 2013

I left early, around 8am, has to be a record for me getting out of a city. There was a parade on the main square probably related to the Easter festivities. There were no signs about how to get out of town towards Oruro so I just went in the general northeast direction and felt my way out of the city. The first 10 kilometers were a descent into a river canyon that then started climbing again back up into the mountains.

I was still feeling a bit sick. After Yacolla there was a huge climb that seemed to go on forever. A few little villages here and there with women on the side of the road, some of them called out to me to ask where I was going. Bolivia seems to have a never-ending supply of old women selling things by the side of the road or walking along going about tasks only they are aware of.

I just kept climbing until it got close to dark then I started looking for a place to camp. In spite of the remoteness of the area it was difficult to find a spot that wasn´t exposed to the road given the lack of vegetation. I finally found a spot on a switchback that had a big stone and gravel berm hiding a flat spot from the road. I made dinner with some of the chiles I picked up in the market in Potosí... hot and tasty. I hope to feel better tomorrow...

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Sunset from the campsite
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Parade in Potosí
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"Geologicaly unstable zone"... never seen that warning before...
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The highway workers rode their bikes up here, at 4,150 meters, carrying shovels and pickaxes to work on the road.
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