After the taxing day yesterday, I was eager to make my way to the desert outpost of San Pedro de Atacama. In Calama, I experienced a leisurely morning with the usual cadre of gawkers surrounding my bike as I loaded my things. This led to more conversations and subsequently a later departure. The road was […]
With lightning storms blazing the evening sky and the most impressive array of starts they’ve ever seen, WorldRider, Allan Karl and fellow motorcyclist Andy Tiegs, sit on the largest and highest in altitude salt flat in the world on the Bolivian Altiplano and discuss their respective journeys to this magical place by motorcycle. After traveling […]
So stunned by the scenery, I forgot about the wind — and the road. Volcanoes thrust the landscape all around me. The vast white salt desert and oddly shaped mountains painted yet another unworldly panorama. Less than an hour ago I passed through the Chilean border and thus finally broke out of Bolivia. But what […]
As the sun sets behind the Andes, silhouetting a perfectly shaped volcano, Andy and I crack open a couple of cans of Pacena—the Bolivian beer from La Paz—and contemplate the scenery. The nearly full and brilliant silver moon casts an impressive amount of light which reflects upon the vast expansiveness of the largest salt flat […]
The central plaza in Uyuni is a pedestrian walkway spanning two blocks in the center of town. The roads are dirt or cobblestone pavers and tour agencies and restaurants touting pizza and pasta line most of the plaza. One café blasts gringo music of The Doors, Bob Marley and others while withered backpackers down cerveza’s […]
Arriving in Uyuni at 3am with a motorcycle and more than a few handfuls of luggage was slightly problematic for me. First, while all the backpackers aboard the train claimed their luggage from the concrete platform at the Uyuni station, I had to wait for Doc to be unloaded from the cargo car. I had […]
The fist time I came through Oruro the experience was miserable. With no signage nor orientation from the main road to La Paz, we found ourselves running circles trying to find something to eat. Then we get hammered by the most fierce hail storm I’d ever experienced. The food we did find was miserable and […]
Miguel was backing the Volvo out of the garage — which was simply a dirt yard securely fenced in and packed with trucks. As I climbed into the cab I almost plopped on top of another gentleman who occupied the seat that I had grown accustomed to for about 15 hours yesterday. I climbed over […]
With blue skies, extremely hot and humid weather, I took my last therapy dip into the pool at Gran Hotel Santa Cruz. Walking about twenty minutes back and forth in the shallow end then a few full brisk laps all in effort to keep the ankle joint moving without putting too much stress on it. […]
Two things had to be done before I could load Doc on that truck and kiss Santa Cruz goodbye. First, I needed to get legal documentation permitting me to have my motorcycle in Bolivia. And second, I had to take care of the minor repairs to the bike. With these loose ends tied down I […]
