I am not a huge fan of border crossings so was not looking forward to this one and was quite pleasantly surprised. Although it took 2 hours and the process is just silly complicated everyone was extremely nice, helpful and friendly. This put me in a good mood for the day as nothing spoils your day more than a bad border crossing.

I arrived at the border at 7am and was the second person in the immigration line to get stamped out of Costa Rica. I had paid the exit fee in the hotel the night before and they had given me the correct paperwork so that was great. The immigration lady then told me where the customs building was however I had trouble finding it and was riding past lines and lines of lorries looking lost when a lorry driver hooted at me and pointed to building and gave me a double thumbs up, I guess he knew exactly what I was looking for. I had to wait until 8am for the customs people to arrive and when they did the lady who served me spent the entire time on her cell phone. However this was not a bad thing as she simply stamped the form and never bothered to come and inspect the bike to if I was taking the right one out the country. No problem for me the less time wasted the better.

Everyone I spoke to was very pleasant and answered my questions in a very friendly way. The questions were mostly where is xy&z. The Nicaragua immigration went smoothly as well and then on to Customs. The customs lady got very flustered because I did not speak Spanish, not in a mean way just worried. She asked me where I was going and I said Nicaragua Granada but she kept asking. Eventually she called a fixer over and he translated, asking me in English where I was going to which I answered Nicaragua Granada and all was okay. She then gave me the form to fill our and the fixer took me to the insurance people. I asked Charlie the fixer how much he would charge me for this help (which I had not asked for) and he said no it is a favour but you can give me a tip if you like. In the end he saved me a ton of time as the Nicaraguan custom process sucks so I gave him usd5.

Heading out of the border control about 5kms down the road I hit an army road block and they wanted me to open my luggage. I took my time pretention I had lost my keys and got all flustered about it, so in the end they just said okay go 🙂 This was the only road block I came across and the roads in Nicaragua are excellent. The drivers are not bad, no hooting and going nuts like in Bolivia or Panama.

 Cathedral in Granada

I arrived in Granada at about 11am had a shower and went to see the city. I like Nicaragua and Granada is nice. The country is certainly a lot poorer than Costa Rica but feels good. Granada is a touristy place but not overly so that it irritates me and there are a fare few excellent restaurants.

There are loads of working horses in Granada which I really hated to see

 The renovated and the not so renevated

I left Granada and headed off to Chinandega where I would be staying the night before the border push crossing Honduras in one day so doing 2 border crossings hmmm not looking forward to it.

On the way to Chinandega I stopped in at Leon and it is a nice town. I just stopped for a quick look and a drink as I wanted to get to Chinandega and chill by the hotel pool. I had spoilt myself and booked into a very nice hotel, making the most of the cheap Nicaraguan prices.

church in Chinandega (I had to borrow this off the net as my one was very blurred)

  Typical road in Nicaragua

Passing cerro negro volcano

In the evening I was reminded that I was in Central America when I was sitting relaxing in the hotel garden and I heard gunshots down the road. I am hoping it was the police doing away with some idiot criminal and not an idiot criminal hurting an innocent person. It’s funny that it did not bother me at all, it was just one of those things. However I did decide to have dinner in the hotel and not go out 🙂

There is no shortage of fruit in Central America and it is so yummy

The two best things about Panama were collecting my bike and seeing a sloth. I arrived in Panama City on Sunday the 17.01.2016 and collected my bike the following day. It always feels good to have ones bike back, like seeing an old friend again. After dropping him off at the mechanic for a full service before we start our 12000km trip to Florida I went to explore Panama City. It is big, it is modern and it is okay … just very hot. It is the dry season now (thank goodness as I’d hate to travel in the wet season which is hot, humid and rainy) The only unfortunately thing about it being the dry season is that Panama is not as green and lush as one would expect (I think I’ll live with this J and rather have no rain while I am travelling on my bike) The locals do not talk in summer and winter seasons but wet and dry season although they call the dry season summer. I found this strange as Panama is in the northern hemisphere where every other country is having winter … weird.

While the mechanic had gadget I went hiking with a young Swiss couple Ramon and Alex, and Chuck a retired school teacher from the US, all who were staying at the hostel, such nice people. We went to one of the national parks near the city and it was great. We did 2 hikes in two different areas of the park. Other than seeing a couple of birds, (we heard loads of them but only spotted a few) and a few beautiful butterflies all we saw were two ring tailed coatis and a sloth, oh and a lizard and frog. I was ecstatic at seeing the sloth as I have wanted to see one in the wild for the last 6 months but they kept eluding me. They are very hard to spot and sleep for 18 hours a day, so the fact that we saw one moving from one branch to another was even better. Then to top it all she had a baby with her well my Latin American wildlife spotting was now complete, nothing could top this 🙂

 Mommy Sloth and her baby

One of the many beautiful butterflies we saw, and the only one that would sit still long enough for me to get a picture.

Cutter ants, this guys fascinate me and I have learned that they follow each other by following pheromones. I also learned that the women do everything for the colony. The males are born, mate once with the queen and then die.

 I love these huge trees

 Alex, Ramona and Chuck

We finished our hike only to find we hate one flat tire and one half flat tire. Alex made quick work of changing the flat and we drove to a nearby hotel to wait to road side assistance to bring us some air.

 View from the hotel … nice

In total I spent 4 nights in Panama City and enjoyed it but was itching to get on the road. Once I left the city I headed to Miraflora lock to see the Panama Canal. It was interesting but sadly no boats were going through the lock. I would have liked to see that. From Miraflora I headed to Playa Farallon for the night. I wanted to be at the coast but to be honest it was not very exceptional and I hear the Atlantic side is far more beautiful. After Farallon I headed straight to David for the night before crossing the border into Costa Rica on the 23.01.2016

Panama is easy the roads are good, the petrol is CHEAP, man 60 cents a litre, damn pity I can’t send some home. The people in Panama are very nice and it is modern, clean place. I would have liked to spend more time exploring and seeing the other parts of the country but I am just so damn eager to get to Costa Rica.

 The beach at Playa Farallon

 Just mucking about on the beach

I arrived at the border early but not early enough sadly 2 bus loads of people were ahead of me. I was surprisingly apprehensive about crossing the border as I had heard so much about the Central America border crossing and although I knew this would be one of the easier ones I still did not know what to expect. It wasn’t too bad just hot. I asked one of the guards if I go to immigration or customs first, he told me customs.  I stood in a long queue and the lady stamped my customs forms and told me to go see a customs officer to inspect my bike. I found one and waited until he had finished inspecting 2 cars and asked him to inspect my bike. He could not have been more gruff and unhelpful like I had asked him to please wash it while he was looking it over. He reluctantly did his job and then sent me to immigration. I stood in an even longer queue and FINALLY got my exit stamp. I then had to go back to customs to get my customs form signed again so that I could leave … bear in mind this is the easiest border crossing in Central America 😦

Glad it is over I hope on my bike and head to Costa Rica. The border post is 200m away and the queues are already around the block. I ask someone if I need to go to immigration or customs first at this border. He says customs. I stand in the customs queue and get told I need to go to immigration first. I stand in the immigration queue …. To cut a long long story short I get my passport stamped and return to customs. I stand in the customs queue. The lady gives me a form to fill out and tells me I need photocopy of my entry stamp to the country. I have the copies of my bike papers and passport which I knew in advance I needed. I look at the photocopier behind her and say ‘’oh can I get them here’’ no she says outside across the street.

I go to the photocopy place and meet the most unfriendly man I have ever met in my life. I am paying 1usd to get a photocopy and he acts like I asked him to climb Everest just for fun. I return to the customs office, with the copy and the required 3^rd party insurance. I stand in the customs queue and FINALLY get to the front and a different person servers me, I fill in a different customs form.

Now you will not believe this but I swear it is true. He looks at the photocopies I have, picks up my documents walks to the back of the room and COPIES THEM and tears up the 3 photos copies I gave him …. I KID you NOT. I just stand there with my jaw open – erm well okay then. I learnt many years ago while crossing borders to just smile and act as if life is wonderful and not show the slightest hint of anger or frustration, but I am dumbfounded.

Passport stamped, customs papers safely stashed away, I enter Costs Rica 🙂

South America is amazing, the people, the scenery, I just loved it. It is so interesting and easy to travel there.  I can’t pick the best things I’ve seen because there have been so many.

Group Tour

I started my trip in Colombia which I can highly recommend as a travel destination. It is beautiful and the people are wonderful. It is not the same Colombia of 30 years ago and quite safe to visit. It was there that I joined the tour group for the Amazon challenge.

    Colombia

 Crossing the equator in Ecuador

 Beautiful Peru

 Highest pass of the trip in Peru

I really made a mistake signing up for this tour, besides having the worst roommate ever, and I mean a real nightmare roommate who complained about everything. I am a solo traveller and don’t enjoying tour groups or even riding in groups. The only reason I would join a tour is if there is somewhere I want to go that I cannot go alone for example the BAM in Russia. I was led to believe the Amazon would be like the BAM i.e. off-road technically challenging. I was told that you had to have a support vehicle as it was not very populated so petrol and water were very scarce. This could not have been further from the truth. The Amazonian highway is an extremely bad dirt road but that is it, it is not technically very difficult, just slow going. The worse part of it is the number of huge trucks, the way they drive and the dust they cause. Petrol, water, food and accommodation can be found everywhere, there are plenty of towns even a couple of cities. The only challenge was that the tour was not that well organised so they had designed the route for us to ride 400 to 600kms on some days. Sorry but only an idiot would create a schedule for 13 riders to ride up to 600kms on an extremely bad dirt road. This meant that we arrived in some towns after dark, not a very safe idea.

Images of the Amazonian Highway in Brazil

  Yup the bull dust got the better of me too

Other than the bad organisation the tour was just not my kind of tour. When I rode across Asia in a group we were given GPS waypoints and everyone rode at their own speed. Stopping when they wanted to take pictures, for a coffee, lunch etc. It was far more relaxed and even though we ended up spending a lot of time riding together we did not have to be ‘’nannied’’ by a guide and sweeper rider.  I am a slow rider but across Asia was not always the slowest as people stopped quite frequently (and we did some 700km days).  This tour was completely different since we had to ride as a group there was always this race to be first behind the guide, and I was ”nannied” at the back as I was always 5 mins behind the group. It was just not my style.

Sadly many thousands of hectares of the Amazon have been destroyed

One of the beautiful butterflies we saw

The infamous Amazon ferry from Belem to Macapa 

I honestly regret taking the tour and spending the money and won’t do that in a hurry again. The best thing about the trip though was the people. Other than my roommate the group were wonderful and I made some really good friends who I had a blast with. On the tour we travelled though Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana.

 One of the gorgeous Amazon trees in French Guyana

Dolphin watching in Suriname

The stunning Kai falls, Guyana

I can say the worst country I went to was Guyana. It really is a dive, the population is only 800 thousand but most of these people live along the cost where it is phenomenally polluted with garbage everywhere and not very safe. Nothing bad happened to me but I just didn’t feel good when I was there and was happy to ride out of it. The most beautiful part of Guyana is the Amazon but sadly the government is not looking after it very well allowing logging and mines with very little control. Guyana’s  next door neighbour Suriname on the other hand is fantastic with wonderful people and scenery.

Solo from Guyana to Argentina

We were supposed to go through Venezuela on the tour but could not due to political unrest. Because of this I flew to Venezuela and stopped off at Curacao on the way, what a great place I enjoyed it a lot.

Curacao

Venezuela

After leaving the group I then rode solo back through Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana. Then I rode north to south through Brazil and onto Buenos Aires, Argentina. While in Brazil I also did a quick detour to Paraguay as I wanted to see it, not very great I have to say.

my favourite plant in Guyana, the tin cacti (I don’t know it’s Latin name)

 The wonderful friendly police in Suriname

 Ring-tailed coati French Guyana

People wise Brazil, hands down, wins the best people award. I have never met such wonderful, friendly generous and hospitable people during all my travels. I will never forget the wonderful time I had in Brazil or the people I met who are all very special to me.

Rubem and Cristina

 Crossing the equator in Macapa

 The Asquerosos MC

One of the many many straight boring roads on the Brazilian Highway. I somehow got to really enjoy these roads and the solitude they gave me, it really became like meditation.

Marcia and Junior

 The wonderful L.A.M.A members with Jean-paul

 Rui and Sinomar

 The beautiful Iguacu falls, nice even in the rain

Argentina, Chile and Bolivia with Joern

Once in Argentina I rushed through to Buenos Aires to meet Joern and of course get married. For our honeymoon Joern and I travelled through Argentina, Chile and then Argentina again by bike and Bolivia in a 4×4.  I have therefore travelled to every country in South America, including Uruguay which was on a previous trip a few years ago. Although I love travelling alone, I will admit it is even better with Joern as we travel so well together.

Memories of Argentina

My wonderful simple wedding

Our ”Lord of the rings” rings. I still get such a kick out of them.

  My just married sign 🙂

The beautiful Argentinean coast

One of the many surreal Argentinean sights

The crazy Patagonian wind which has to be experienced to be believed 

Memories of Chile

Chilling in chilly Chile

 Stunning Patagonia

The Patagonian wind finally got us where it wanted us

Mai, Christians Dad, Christian and Francisca at Casa Matte hostel

Lorraine Chittoch and her wonderful dogs

The Atacama at it’s best

 According to Joern one of the best roads ever

The Atacama

 The Atacama flamingos

Zulu gets sick and then even sicker which leads us to leaving him behind in Argentina and hiring a 4×4 to travel through Bolivia for the last 3 weeks of our honeymoon

One of the many many street dogs we made friends with and wanted to take home

Scenery wise my favourite country has to be Chile it is just simple stunning (although Bolivia comes in a close second), from Patagonia to the Atacama. I never realised just how beautiful a desert could be or that there are so many shades of brown.

 Breath-taking Atacama

Not only did we stay in a couple of one horse towns in Chile and one Lama towns in Argentina but we met the horse and the lama.

Memories of Bolivia

I have never seen so many butterflies in my life

Beautiful Bolivia

  Our little Suzuki 4×4

Catching up with Stewart, Will and Natalie Having fun on the salt flats of Uyuni

The Bolivian people are very nice contrary to what a lot of people told us. Bolivia is the poorest country in South America which is sad considering it has so much mineral wealth.

  Lake Titicaca

In a nutshell I just loved South America. Even though I was there for 6 months I really think I only scratched the surface of and I know that I need to come back 🙂

From the dust of the Amazonian highway to the best, sweetest juiciest fruit I have ever eaten I will never forget South America.

 Salta Cathedral

I arrived in Salta with mixed feeling on one hand itching to see my bike and get back on the road on the other missing Joern like crazy. I had gotten quite used to not being on the road alone. I always loved travelling alone preferring it to being in a group, but with Joern it was different as we travel so well together.

Once I was on the road though and heading out of Salta my spirits just soared it was so awesome to be back on Gadget. Even though we got incredibly wet the first 2 days nothing could get me down. I gave myself 4 easy riding days to get to Buenos Aires and enjoyed every minute of them.

 San Miguel de Tucumán

 Cordoba

 Rosario

I arrived in BA on the 10^th and had rented a lovely sunny little one bedroom flat for the week. I needed to be there a week as this is how long it would take to get Gadget packed up and flown to Panama City, after his one day stopover in Bogotá, he would arrive in Panama 1 day before me but on a Saturday so I cannot get him out until Monday. I flew to Panama on Sunday the 17^th Jan.

Being back in BA was great it is such a nice city with amazing restaurants. Spending the week in the little flat was also great it gave me a break from travelling and living out of a suitcase and I liked the ’’normalcy’ of it all. I needed this time to just sit and reflect on South America before starting phase 4 of my trip riding through Central America from Panama to Florida.

 The Obelisk in Buenos Aires

While in BA I got to have coffee with Leti who arranged Joern and my wedding and met her awesome parents, Claudine and Philippe. What interesting, fun and just downright lovely people. We went to lunch together and I heard all about their lives they had lived in France, Hong Kong, Canada and the USA, they had also travelled to more countries than most people have. They were in Hong Kong in the 1950s imagine how interesting that must have been.

 Claudine Letis mom and me in Buenos Aires

I’ve love travelling in South America but am now looking forward to moving on to Central America.

We leave Cochabamba at around 10:00 and head for Santa Cruz. There are two routes to get there. The southern is the old one which is no longer being maintained. Good for adventure, bad if you are actually trying to get somewhere. We are, so we have decided on the northern route which is the newest and paved and maintained all the way. And how much traffic can there be on the 1^st of January, right?

 Beautiful Bolivia

We figure we can make the 160km to Villa Tunari in maximum three hours so we have time for an afternoon visit in the national park. If it is open that is…Mother Nature had other plans.

The first 40 or so kilometres go as planned until we have to stop behind a long line of cars. There is a checkpoint a few hundred meters ahead. Probably a small congestion due to just one person with a hangover in the booth. After 15 minutes of not moving even a centimetre we figure something must be wrong and one of the locals in the car in front of us comes over. He speaks perfect English and explains the situation. This is the beginning of the tropical part of the country and with that comes the rain. It has rained so heavily that part of the road has been blocked by mudslides for the last two days. Traffic now only flows in one direction at a time. That explains why there is a steady flow of cars coming towards us, but we are not moving. He has spoken to the police at the checkpoint, and they will open the road in our direction in one hour.

 Biggest traffic jam I have ever experienced

There are more one-way restrictions further up and he tells us to be patient. His brother came this way yesterday and it took him 17 hours to get to Santa Cruz. A car going in the other directions stops in front of our helpful friend, there is a quick exchange of words and he moves on. “He says, just don´t go that way.” we are told. Well, we kind of have to, so we go over to the food stands that are very conveniently located across the street and stock up on water, crackers and whatever “road food” we can find.

An hour later we are let through. After the checkpoint the road is perfect and we move at normal speed for another 20km feeling relieved. What chaos? We thought and agreed that the guy was full of shit.

Well No he wasn´t. We get stuck at another roadblock for two hours and after that another one just for good measure which is where we pass the worst bit. The road is not blocked by a mudslide here, half of it is plain and simple missing, washed away by massive amounts of water. Once past there we start moving again. First slowly and then back to normal. The amount of traffic, especially trucks, lined up is insane. The line is several kilometres long. Luckily the trucks have comfortable cabins with a bed in it because the ones at the rear are going to need it.

Parts of the road have simply been washed away

While in other areas parts of the mountain have been washed onto the road

We have done the last 40km in about 8 hours and it is getting dark with 40km to go to Villa Tunari. Just to finish off the day in good spirits it starts to rain. A proper tropical storm. Rain is coming down in ropes accompanied by loud and close strikes of lightning.

I do not miss my bike right now.

We arrive in complete darkness and pouring rain to Villa Tunari and manage to find a cheap hotel. The first one we found shamelessly tried to take advantage of the bad weather and figured they could ask desperate strangers for 100USD for a simple room. Forget it. We would rather sleep in the car.

The next morning the rain has stopped and the last 320km to Santa Cruz de la Sierra are uneventful. Apart from Lorraine almost adopting a street dog (again) it was incredibly cute, I will give her that 🙂

The Villa Tunari street dogs having breakfast together

Some of the rather surreal sights in Bolivia

This is our last stop before we part ways and I fly home, so we have booked a room at a nice hotel with a pool. Turns out it is inside a gated community. This is apparently the nice part of town and on this road alone there are five gated communities. This is clearly where the money is. This type of settlement is getting more and more common and causing lots of debates about societies being divided into the “haves” and the “have not’s”. I understand the concern, but if you have had your house broken into five times in a year, what are you to do?

Being a biker the sure sign that we are inside the gates, is the bikes that I notice parked in front of some of the houses. The most popular bikes in Bolivia are 125 and 250cc Chinese bikes that are just everywhere. I go for a walk in the community and spot a K1200R, a R6 and a Fazer 1000. They most likely don´t park those on the street down town.

We don´t see much of Santa Cruz as we are busy packing all our stuff for the flights and also just want to relax together. In two days it is time to say goodbye for two months. We do find time to go to the local malls cinema multiplex centre and watch the new Starwars movie. Like hotels and airports these places are alike everywhere. If I had been beamed here I could not tell you if I was in Bolivia or Boston or Rome. Just one more reason why we prefer overland travel, because that is where the diversity is.

It has been an amazing trip / honeymoon and neither of us want it to end, but reality has a nasty habit of catching up to you. Lorraine will go back to Salta and get her bike and continue through Central America, but I am going home. I have to be in the office Monday morning. Work. This thing that pays for all this. Remember that.

I choose to focus on the positive aspects of going home, like being able to choose between more than two pairs of pants to wear or going shopping in the local supermarket where they have all the stuff I like and I have a big fridge to put it in. Besides I enjoy the privileged of actually liking my job and the company I work for. I just had the longest holiday off of my life, got married to the woman of my dreams and had a fantastic honeymoon, met lots of awesome people and saw some of the planets most extreme and beautiful places. I went to the biggest salt flat in the world, the driest place in the world, the highest located lake in the world, drove past volcanoes, at some point on one, watched pink flamingos fly by right above my head in formation, rode a motorcycle over a mountain pass as high as the peak of Mont Blanc, watched sunsets over the Pacific and Lake Titicaca and the Atacama desert, chewed coca leaves for breakfast, got blown of my bike in Patagonia and loads more that I will remember in little bits and it will make me smile every time for years to come, so who am I to complain.

Life is good.

Knowing the road is paved and in good condition all the way we decided to do the 515km to Cochabamba in one day, taking an alternative route through La Paz to avoid the chaos on the main road. We arrived late afternoon and were greeted in perfect English by Michael from France who runs the hotel.

It was self catering with a nice big common kitchen area and as we needed to go shopping for breakfast he promptly escorted us to the supermarket and showed us a couple of nice restaurants on the way. He figured he needed a walk anyway. What a nice guy.

Our plan was to stay two nights and then go celebrate New Year in a lodge at one of the national parks in the tropical part of Bolivia, but as everything is fully booked we decide to stay in Cochabamba for New Year.

Also we like the city. It has a nice vibe to it and is in much better condition than what we have experienced so far except for Sucre. Michael explains that Cochabamba is known for having the best climate in the country, so this is where a lot of the rich people live. Especially in the area north of the river. That is within walking distance and sure enough. Across the river the houses are large and properly built, with kept gardens and clean streets. It looks very European. The city itself is full of life and everywhere the sidewalk cafes are full.

The nice climate is due to the fact that the city is located at 2500m altitude between the Altiplano and the lowlands. On the Altiplano it gets quite cold at night and in the lowlands it is tropical and wet. We are after all just 17 degrees south of equator.

So here it never gets really hot or really cold or really wet. Basically it is spring all year round and we enjoy walking around in shorts and t-shirt during the day and in the evening we just put on a long-sleeved t-shirt.

We decided to celebrate New Year’s Eve at Novecento, a nice Italian restaurant. They advertise a three course menu that looks nice and also we simply like the atmosphere there, so we sign up and reserve a table. The event is listed as starting at 1900 so that is when we show up. As the first ones there, we figure “what the hell” get our table and order our food. At around 2100 when we dig into our desert the place is almost full. We are out of there shortly after 2200 and go back to the hotel to find Michael and some friends in the kitchen cooking.

Bolivians like late dinners. We are promptly invited to join and accept.

As the outdoor barbecue is fired up and midnight approaches, people start dropping by with fireworks, snacks, drinks and I smell a couple of funny cigarettes as well. Michael places a bucket (as in an actual bucket) with Sangria on the table and we can just help ourselves if we so desire. Don´t bother with pouring it, just dip you glass in it until it fills. Chilled and easy-going. I like that.

This is my first new years eve in a warm climate as well, but contrary to Christmas where the snow and cold was just missing, a warm New Years Eve rocks. Standing in the yard in my t-shirt with the BBQ going and watching the fireworks with happy friendly people around me. Yeah, I could get used to that. As neither Lorraine nor I are big party people we head off to bed at little after 0100. Besides we are off towards Santa Cruz the next morning.

As we get up the next morning, I take a look in the garden. Half finished drinks on the table, leftover food and empty bottles everywhere. All that´s missing are guests sleeping under the table.

Lots of traditions are different from country to country, but New Years Eve seems to be universal.

The road from Oruro to La Paz is straight and flat and perfectly paved. If nothing else that is good for getting a lot of kilometres done in a short time. The main road goes straight through La Paz so we expected some traffic, but nothing like what we actually got. The road has three lanes, but if you drive close enough there is room for five cars next to each other. So that´s what they do. Bumper to bumper, mirror to mirror we crawl through the city. If all five “lanes” were moving it would not be a problem, but they are not.

This picture does not even begin to show the carnage, but by the time I decided we needed pictures we were half way out the city.

There is an abundance of taxis and they simply stop in the inner lane to try and pick up passengers. When that lane is all full of taxis the next just stops in the second lane and at some point also the third lane, leaving only two lanes, which is actually only one, for traffic to move along. It took more than an hour to move a couple of kilometres through the city until I finally adapted the Bolivian driving style. Screw everyone else. There is only me and I do whatever it takes to move. If I block other people, I really cannot be bothered to give a shit.

The unfortunate thing is, that it worked and we finally made the turn off. The road leading out of the city towards Titicaca is one of the main traffic ores in and out of La Paz so obviously it is hardly maintained. At some point it becomes dirt with huge potholes and only one track to get through. Gives us time to take a closer look at the surroundings and we are not impressed. There is no sidewalk, just a road and then 10 – 20m of simple dirt besides it before the houses, which with few exceptions are in bad condition. And garbage in bags or not just thrown all over. We pass through a two-lane roundabout where the outer lane is now used as a garbage dump. There is a truck unloading as we go through. It looks pretty official. I guess they simply ran out of space to put it.

We decided that La Paz does not look like a place we will stay in on the way back.

After the chaos we a happy to finally be in the countryside with normal traffic. There are two ways to get to Copacabana. Go south around the lake via Peru or go around north without entering Peru. Since the rental car is not allowed into Peru we choose the northern route which includes crossing the lake at the small town of Tiquina.

It is a short crossing that takes about 15 minutes on simple flatbed vessels. Calling it a ferry would be a bit of a stretch. It is more like a small piece of road with a railing and a small outboard motor. We drive on via a couple of planks. Undocking is done by hand with long sticks and across we go. There is no regulation of traffic. If a ferry happens to be a bit faster than another they just pass and on the other side it is quite the rivalry to get a spot for unloading. The quicker you are the more trips a day you make.

 Some Pictures of the ”ferries”

We were not really sure if this one got any customers.

As sick as a dog and feeling extremely sorry for myself. At first we thought it was altitude sickness but decided that it was just bad food and the altitude making me feel twice as bad.

On the last 30km to Copacabana there are more beggars on the side of the road than I have seen anywhere else. Old people or kids (for maximum emotional effect) are lined up in alarming numbers with their hands or hats out. I am assuming it is the Christmas rush and the fact that this is where a lot of Bolivians with money have summer homes, which has brought them out. I try to make a rough estimation of their numbers on the way to Copacabana but about halfway I stop at 100.

In Copacabana we stay in Hostel Las Olas. A fantastic place that was recommended by Will and Stewart. Apart from simple hotel rooms there are seven suites and each one is a separate building with a unique shape. Square, round and even one shaped like a snail with spiral roof and everything. We get the one called “tortoise” and that is actually what it looks like. Round with two floors and large panoramic windows with a lake view. It is funky and cool and we love it. It is after all my birthday.

 The gorgeous little Tortoise

 The view from the Tortoise

Watching sunset from the Tortoise

 The friendly garden alpacas

We spend the day just chilling and checking out the town. There are lots of restaurants and Lorraine takes me out to dinner to celebrate. The place is very touristy, but at the same time also nice. Just like San Pedro de Atacama they have managed to not get run over by mass tourism and large hotel chains putting up ugly seaside resorts. There are a few large hotels, but they are nicely integrated and don´t stand out as misplaced.

Copacabana, you can see the strange shapes of the La Olas cabanas in the background

 The local market

Joern being Joern

Since it was close to new year all the vehicles in the town were decorated and then being blessed by the local priest

The lake is so large it is just like being at the ocean which makes you forget, that you are 3800m above sea level. Once you start walking up and down the many hills you are reminded though 🙂 The last day we make an excursion to the very tip of the peninsula and are struck by the incredible diversity in nature within such a small distance.

We stopped for an Inca Cola on one of the false ”floating islands” We think the Bolivians are jealous of the attraction of the  Peruvian floating islands so have just created their own little versions and made them restaurants.

  Gorgeous lake Titicaca

The perfect spot for a picnic lunch

The Lake Titicaca Flamingos

All in all we really enjoyed Lake Titicaca and especially the little Tortoise cottage.

In the morning we set off for Oruro. We knew from Will and Stewart that part of the road was going to be dirt, but forgot to ask about exact details from where to where.

 stunning Bolivia

It seems impossible to get a reliable map of Bolivia. We have yet to find two different products that agree. The one we have is different from the one we borrowed from a german couple in San Pedro de Atacama, which again is different from Google maps that then differ from my Mapsme app on my phone, which is the one we primarily use now. We have had roads marked as dirt roads be paved and villages on one map be simply missing on another.

After just 30km the road turns to dirt. There´s 320km to go to Oruro and all we know for sure is that the last 30 – 40km are paved as well. Could be a long day.

As with most of the dirt roads we have encountered so far, it is slowly being upgraded to paved, but that just means lots of detours due to road work. One of these detours is the most demanding section we have had anywhere so far. It has been raining and still does. Only light rain, but enough to make a dirt road muddy. This detour takes us around a bridge over a stream and has a steep and slippery drop down to the water where we can not quite judge how deep it is. On the other side is a climb that is also a left bend and also muddy.

I am driving today and my biggest worry is the climb. Since the drop is too slippery to brake on anyway I won´t, but if I do not make the climb, we will slide back down to the bottom and basically be stuck there until someone comes by with a vehicle that can pull us out.

Ideal would be one of the bulldozers they use for the roadworks, but are they working on christmas day at 10:00?

I have practically no real offroad experience in a car, but figure the same rules apply as on a bike. Look at where you want to go and DO NOT STOP.

On top of everything the tires have almost no pattern left. We noticed that already taking over the car, but the rental company probably want to save some money by keeping the tires on as long as possible and told us they were good. We´ll see.

I look over at Lorraine. She has got her adventure face on and just gives me a nod of approval. Do it. I go over the side, stick it in second gear and head for the water crossing. The car drifts a little sideways. I hit the gas and it stabilizes. As we approach the water we can see that as expected it is only a few centimeters deep. Good.

Then the climb and I apply some more throttle and adjust the revs with the clutch if needed. Not exactly by the book procedure, but there is a very real risk the hopelessly underpowered cage we are in will stall if there is any kind of change in grip on the hill. The car slips and slides, left turn, just a few more meters now and before we know it we are through and safely back on the track on the other side. I have done it all in one breath and breathe out again. Lorraine puts a hand on my shoulder and gives me a ”well done”.

Challenging road, yeah – whatever.

 one of the many interesting rock formations we’ve come across

The rest of the trip is easy. Lots of ripples in the road which slows us down, but nothing challenging. Just slow progress. We are getting hungry, and in the small village of Ocuri Lorraine finds a store that has supplies. Sort of.

She comes back with our christmas lunch. Two bananas, a can of pilchards in tomatosauce, for dessert a lovely chocolate cake that is not yet past expiration date and last but not least a nice vintage mineral water. Yummy.

About 20km later we find a nice spot with a nice view and have lunch. The pilchards are eaten straight out of the can with plastic forks like a couple of hobos. The chocolate cake cut with a multitool. Not the ususal christmas lunch feel, but we get a good giggle out of it.

  our ”awesome” Christmas lunch

 Joern did the ”cooking”, what a man

Our progress has been so slow we start realizing, that unless the road improves dramatically, we will not make it to Oruro before dark and might have to sleep in the car. The map shows a road connecting this road with the main road between Potosi and Oruro coming up. We know the main road is paved, but the connecting 35km road is marked as ”secondary dirt road”. The one we are on is a ”primary dirt road”. So the question is, if we should swap 150km of dirt road for 35km of even worse dirt road. Will it save us any time at all? Problem is solved shortly after as we reach the connecting road and it turns out to have been freshly paved and is in perfect condition. So much for map updates.

 Finally asphalt

I get out of the car and kiss the asphalt. 30 minutes later we connect with the main road to Oruro and arrive just before dark. Oruro is the least interesting place we have been so far. Absolutely nothing looks charming. We find a hotel and the only open restaurant in town. Good business model. There is a 45 minute wait for a pizza, but we sweat it out, eat and head back to the hotel. Next morning as soon as possible we are out of there.

The drive to Sucre was a quick and uneventful 150km. We check into the “Kultur Berlin” Hostel which was recommended by Will and Stewart.

 The hostel also came with it’s own very friendly rabbit.

 The addict getting her fix

It is a very nice well kept building with mostly multi-bed dorms as it is very popular among backpackers. We are a little less adventurous and have booked a little cabin in the yard. We probably go to bed earlier than party prone 25 year olds 🙂

The next day (Christmas eve) we sign up for the big group dinner at the hostel and go take a look at the city. Of all the cities we have seen so far in Bolivia, this is the nicest. Charming old houses and cleaner streets than anywhere else we have been. There is a local legislation saying, that all buildings in a five block radius of the centre has to be white. Makes it a bit monotone to look at, but since none of the materials used to built houses are naturally white it also means all houses in that area are properly painted and maintained.

Lovely Sucre

One of the museums and a great example of the architecture

 The largest frying pan I’ve ever seen.

Due to Christmas there is quite a crowd in the city centre. Hundreds of people are lined up for what we initially figured would be Christmas blessings at the church, but turns out to be some kind of support for the poor. Gifts for the children or food most likely. Interesting to notice is, that all the people lined up are in traditional indigenous clothing. Not all indigenous people are poor, but it looks like all poor people are indigenous. I make a mental note to read up on Bolivian history.

As for some of that history we get it at the local museum. Sucre is the administrative capital of Bolivia, La Paz is just where the government is. The guide, being from Sucre, makes very sure that we know the difference. Sucre is where the declaration of independence was signed in 1825 and we get the opportunity to take a look at the real thing. The museum is also home to the very first argentine flag, which is the reverse of the one we see in use today. White with a light blue stripe in the middle and no yellow sun. It was the first early design and there is quite an interesting story as to how it ended up in Bolivia that I cannot remember in detail.

General Bolivar. Largest bust we’d ever seen

 The declaration of independence

The beautiful museum

We also went to see St Theresa convent which was quite interesting

As we left the convent we caught these two monks climbing out over the locked gate  … no comment

This is my first warm Christmas. Something I always wanted to do. Not sure why, most likely just because it is different from what I know. Have to admit it feels a little strange. I mean, it is nice to be able to walk around in just a t-shirt, but it seems the northern hemispheres ideal has spilled over into the southern hemisphere as well. The main square is full of  artificial pine trees, inflatable snowmen and fake sleighs with wheels. Even Lorraine, who grew up with Christmas being during the summer, feels that a real Christmas has snow and long dark evenings.

We go back and get ready for the big 50 person dinner. We end up sitting next to the only people even remotely our age. Michael and Renate from Germany. They are really nice and we have an interesting evening before retiring to the room before the all night party kicks off. Also we plan to leave not too late as we have a long travel day ahead of us.

If having dinner with a bunch of backpackers was a bit of an alternative Christmas eve, but it was nothing compared to how the Christmas day lunch would turn out 🙂