September 10th - 2010

Waking on the Salar is what I would expect from waking on Mars, Venus or the moon.

I collect the torch I left bliking, warning vehicles of my camp.

The way to Isla Inca Huasi, is long on monotone. The island appears in the distance and stays there for hours and hours not getting any closer. Frustrating at times.

I stop at the spot where car accident killing 13 people happende some years ago. I remember reading about this, thinking what the odds were of two cars intersecting eachother in this wide open space - now standing here I think no differet. Its marked with a cross and star.

It was 4pm by the time I reached the island. This is the only island on the salar that has water to buy, and is the main stop of tours crossing the desert. Also the possibility of sleeping here. But I´ve been recomended another island called Pio Pio, about 10 km away. It sould take no longer then 45 min to cross - but fierce winds from the NW make it difficult. I consider setting camp half way between the two islands, but push on. It take close to two hrs to reach the shores of Pio Pio.

Its dark but the time I set up my tent, but winds are shadowed and dont bother me much. Im most frustrated about a curry that I was looking to cook, but which its too late to begin with now. I will spend the full day here tomorrow and have time then.

September 9th - 2010

It was my plan to return to the wasteland with the guide and shoot portraits of people in the early morning, but when I went a´knocking at 6am there was no anwser. It only came as arelief as I have changed my mind. I rode out by myself and ende up shooting for three hrs by the green water seeping from the dry desert floor.

Left town later then I would have liked, but problem with my bike computer keept me grounded. I finally reached the entrance to the salt flat in the afternoon. You have to use this entrance as the edge around the Salar is soft like mud, and will make is very difficult to access.

Once on the salt I sycronized my map with GPS. I´ve been looking forward to this moment since leaving Oruro a week ago - for riding out on the smooth salt falt - stretching further then the eyes can see. Infinite white nothingness.

I rode 15km out untill setting camp on a random spot, away from the "road" cut but the tourist traffic. Once off the bike the real magic of this place can be appreciated. White melts with the sky and mountains - turing into one. The silence so strong I can hear my own brain and blood flow. Never fully silent.

Difficult to pitch my tent as the ground is rock hard, but I fugure a way of using the cracks in the salt.

Watch the night sky open up.

September 14th - 2010

Im out of Salar De Uyuni - plans of crossing into north west Chile were put to rest due to weather and high winds. Had to turn around 60 km from the border. Still in one piece, tent poles bent a bit...
Tomorrow Ill head for Argentina instead and the east side of the Andes...more to follow.
Computers here are too slow for loading images so this will have to wait till I get high speed.
The views from the Salar are mind boggeling...
x

September 8th

Day of rest. Throat still sore and a strange taste in my mouth. No fever.

Went to the train cemetary that lies on the outskirts of town. It actually lies outside of town in a wasteland of plastic bags stuck to cactuslike plants and water puddels the strangest green color. Cant help but feel inspirred here. Im unsure how safe this area is - especially after dark, when I want to return to shoot. So I find a guide who will go with me tonight.

We meet, both on bikes at 5 and return to the wasteland. Its dark by the time we return to town. I go for dinner at the notorious Minute Man Pizza - to my surprise the best food Ive had in months ( how sad it is to admit this). The place is actually better the most places in europe. Miles on the stereo and soft sofas...

I end up chatting with a rider who has come from Patagonia, the direction I´m heading. Considerations of leaving my bike behind when heading down there is quickly shattered, as he says it is the best part of riding in south america. so there it is. My plans laid out.

Im very full when i return to my room. Ate two pizzas. Difficult to fall asleep.

September 7th -2010

Despite wearing all my gear I still had difficult sleeping last night from the cold. Teps seem to be dropping every night and with every meter I gain in elevation.

There is undoubtly a growing traffic of landcruisers as I get closer to Uyuni.

The road leading the last 20 km to town is far the worst I have ridden till now.

In town I found Residencial Sucre, where I checked in - room for 30 bl.

A constant sore throat, but I dont seem to have a fever. I will rest tonight and sleep in - hoping this will do the trick.

Having done some research I´ve decide to continue to Chile, but going to the north west instead of the desert route. It will undoubtly have more mountains, but it sounds far more stunning and less visited.

I will rest another day here - go to the train cemetary and get supplies.

September 6th -2010

My birthday. Very pleased to where I wake this morning. New energy evoked from the view and the simple notion of finally taking pictures after the long break on the bus. It was cold last night. All water i frozen, but quickly melts in the morning sun. Cooked breakfast in the heat - considering the 32!
Had lunch at km mark 40. called my mom and dad from the sat phone. Good to hear their voices. A few landcruisers with tourist passed in the dust.
Told a random woman, from whom I was getting water in the next town, that it was my birthday - she smiled. Good enough for me.
Set camp on a hille overlooking the saltfalts - perhaps 50 km ahead.
Collected firewood as it was getting dark - cooked dinner. More stars then I thought existed substituded the blue sky which had shun cloudless all day...

September 5th -2010

All day spent riding the dirtroads. The washboards make it impossible to go more the 7kmh - and yet the lack of speed dosent seem to bother me much. Not at all as much as wind will, when this is bound to hit.

The one thing that the roads do make me reconsider is, what route to take from Uyuni. My heart tells me to continue to Chile, crossing the saltfalts - but the lack of water and fear of the roads being even worse then this, may force me in other directions.

Had lunch under a bridge, sheltered from the wind coming NW. An old woman and ancient dog passed on the bridge - but both were gone when I looked a min. later... Things arent what they appear in the highland.

Picking up water in the first town I passed, the woman tried ripping me off with the price. Went next door where a two hundred year old woman ripped me off even more. Not a very nice place. Quickly left town. A man was pissing on the dirt street infront of the shop.

Passed a checkpoint later in the afternoon. The officer let me pass without question. I continued up a rockyroad to the plains, with mountains in the distance.

Decided to set camp with the epic view - east to west.

Uplifet from taking pictures in this place.

September 4th - 2010

Following the road south I reached Huancane quicker then I expected. Its difficult to tell if the map and gps is off, as they both lack detail.

I stopped for water in Challapata - and five eggs for lunch. Three had survived by the time I made my meal stop.

The road is dusty, but paved at most of the way.

Continued to Huari where the road continued paved for about ten km, before splitting - mine being the washboard one.

I passed a nameless town without people, but llamas wandering, like residence in the streets. They were everywhere...

Found a place to set camp a few km down this road. Hidden away behind sandhills.

Traffic is less tonight then yesterday - stars are brighter then ever.

September 2nd - 2010

day spent mostly at the internet cafe around the corner. Managed to reach friends that I haven´t spoke with for months. Packed bags and made final prepares before leaving tomorrow. Tv plays cnn spanish - outside the rain is falling again. I´m unsure what impact this will have on my further travels on the Bolivian roads, not to mention the Salar De Uyuni which will be impossible to access on my bike if its flooded....

Dinner from a stall across the street.

text to follow

August 31st - September 1st - 2010

Days have passed prepping for my ride. The missing pump forced me to return to La Paz to find one. Its a four hour ride each way so most of yesterday was spent on the road. It was snowing when I returned at night. The temperatures have generelly been cooler then I'd expected. At night it rains, but the wind is modorate.
I have most things taken care of. Food, cooking gas and a general route. Having found only little information on the route from here and south I dont know what to expect. Also I'm uncertain if I should continue towards Argentina or Chile. Choices to be made within the next weeks.
I'll leave tomorrow morning - hoping for sunshine and windless days.

August 30th - 2010

The sleepy border between Peru and Bolivia was all I could have wished for.
We passed Lake Titicaca - thought of my brother and the pictures I remember seeing from when he visited.
Upon arriving in La Paz a porter helped with my bags and bike. Waited as I ran to get my ticket to Oruro. Bus left five min later.
Storm clouds hung over the town as we pulled in. With some struggle I got all bags to a hotel by the station. The clerk was kind and welcoming - telling me that I could set up bike in the dining room if I needed a place to work.
I unboxed it and assembled without much trouble.
One step closer. Pump missing though...

August 29th - 2010

Bus left the Lima terminal at 9 am. With little trouble and $23 uds in excess fees, I was allowed to bring my boxed bike. Eta. La Paz noon tomorrow.
The bus not half full was quiet. I was filled with joy - no apparent reason. Just a good day.

August 28th - 2010

Meghanns return flight left at midnight.
Most of the day was spent making our way back to Lima, picking up gifts for people back home, and buying my ticket for Bolivia - leaving tomorrow morning.
The car was dropped and we said our goodbyes to a week having passed - almost feeling like it never happened.
Returning to the hotel I repacked my bags and set my alarm.

August 27th - 2010

From Huaraz it looks to be a short drive over the mountains to the west, from where you drop into the desert and the roaring waters of the Pacific. But maps can be decieving. What should have taken 4-5 hrs max according to the map ended up taking 9.
Sun was setting by the time we made our way off the dirt road which had us bouncing all day, and onto the Pan American. I'd wanted to revisit this area since passing through last week in the bus from Columbia. Now with the setting sun it all looked so different and still as unaccesible. "Private" written on large billboards mark the sandy land on either side of the highway. Not that there seems to be much to come for here.
We found a road that seemed to be packed hard and in limbo of privat land. It looked like it might eventually hit the ocean and we both wished for a setting sun by the beach.
It would not go as hoped and we soon found ourselves stuck in sand - the faithfull Fiat Uni not budging. Frustration. This being my 4th time stuck in sand, soft and fine - it never seems to get any easier getting unstuck.
We finally mannaged to get the car turned around, facing the right direction - and with hours of trench digging got all the way back to the highway. Likely to go unforgotten.
Sunset having passed with out notice.

August 26th - 2010

Meghann was still sleeping when I woke. I rose, discovering a cow further down the beach. It looked with surprise, and soon climbed up to its friends as I stepped closer.
The sun was shining softly in the morning mist.
It was a slow morning, enjoying the shine and warm air. The night had been cold, water having frozen in bottles.
We set out to find a way past the dead end. Our camp was taken down, gear hidden under a tree, that we would pickup on our way out.
The detour, led us up a steep path overlooking the lake and came down by the delta of several rivers and streams spilling off the surrounding peaks. We continued further in, till coming to a lake and wall impossible to climb. Glaciers suspended above. How sad it is not to reach them - uncertain when I will have the possibility to return.

Driving down the mountain that night we followed a truck with shadows men on the back. Moon rose late.

August 25th - 2010

Relief. I felt reborn when waking.
We checked out and left Huaraz, driving further north, in direction of another valley we would visit. Following another hairpin dirt road climb, we again arrived at the entrance and a closed gate. No one was around the the gate unlocked. Pushing it aside I drove through while Meghann shut it behind us.
At the end of the mountain road a tourist bus was parked - driver sleeping in the back. We found another track, just wide enough to fit our red Uno. Had lunch before filling our packs and setting out for the hike, towards the bottom of the valley.
It took longer then anticipated, and we hit a dead end in the dark forcing us back half a mile to a sandy beach.
Here we set camp, watching the moon rise over the glacier covered mountain - shaped like the Batman symbol...
Gotham nowhere in sight.

August 24th - 2010

I woke feeling ill to my stomach. Perhaps the Lima water I'd experimented with had got the better of me. Kept me close to banjó most of the day. Meghann went shopping for souvenirs.
We passed by the park office, which overlooks all land above 4000 meters - everything visible to the east of Huaraz.
We were recommended a trip we could do that day, so we set off in the afternoon, following a narrow, dirt road up up up. With a few stops in honor of me, we finally arrived at the entrance to the park. To our surprise a gate was down and the keeper not allowing us to pass with the car. We parked and continued on foot. Unfortunately my gut and lack of oxygen put a stop to the expedition. Meghann took it all with smiles - thank you.
Returning to the car, the gatekeeper standing with his transistor radio asked if he could ride with us to the village.
We returned exhausted to Huaraz - I wished for a better stomach tomorrow.

August 23rd - 2010

Picking up the car was easy - continuing into the Lima traffic is something different. No real order is present, and logic is overruled by intuition. Signs for the Pan Americana North point in several directions, making the escape difficult. We finally found our way out and soon hit the coast, from where we turned right and continued north.
The day passed quickly - lunch in the small town, where I'd stood waiting for my bus a few days earlier - and saw the sun setting over the valley.
It was dark by the time we arrived in Huaraz, so we decided to find a hotel instead of stabbing in the dark for a camp site.

August 22nd - 2010

Carolina was heading out of Lima to have lunch with friends and invited me along. As Meghann wasn't arriving till s10 pm that night I went along. First I was taken on a quick tour of downtown Lima, before driving an hour out of town. Passing mansions the size of West Hollywood and cars alike. These stand as a strong contrast to the dusty shacks lining the desert hills further from town.
We had lunch at an outdoor family eatery in a green valley - the friends kind and talkative.
Carolina dropped with in Lima, from where I took a cab to the hotel I'd booked by the airport. It was in a compound and I sat dreaming of leaving the city - looking forward for Meghann to arrive.
It had gone as smooth as possible through the immigration and customs, and despite carrying way more camera gear and film the allowed, Meghann passed through and met me with a smile, pushing my boxed up bike and bags. Relief.
Back at the hotel we unpacked, I greeted the items last seen in El Paso, almost two months ago. And also received my replacement camera and new rain jacket.
Stayed up till late and finally had to call it a night when the porter knocked, asking us to quiet down.

August 21st - 2010

The ride to Lima took longer then anticipated - I'd been in touch with Carolina from Couchsurfing - a Lima based lawyer and bike enthusiast who had agreed to allow me to leave my bike and bags at the her place for the coming week while I was returning to Huaraz with Meghann.
Carolina had been kind to offer to pick me up at the bus station and I was glad to find her despite being over an hour late. We drove back to her place and went for a drink and dinner. I was offered to crash on the couch and happily accepted. Had the best rest in a long time...

August 20th -2010

Mice had been in my food during the night. A half eaten peach and spread out oat meal as evidence. The local gate keeper asked if I was gonna have another visit to the steam cave - I wasn't planning to but soon found myself spread out on the metal bench, trying to find comfort. The night had been cold.
I returned to Huaraz and dropped my bags at the same hotel I'd stayed at the other day. Took a communal cab up the mountain on the opposite side of the valley. When the cab went no longer I got out, and continued on foot. The locals, eyes wide watched as I walked up the road. Dogs sensed something wasn't right and came barking, showing teeth. Soon I left the village and found an old path leading higher up. A woman passed carrying a large basket on her back.
The air was thin and breathing difficult.
Found a patch of grass hidden. Large pieces of car window glass had been dropped - sliding down into a graveyard of garbage.

I walked back - passing the same wide eyes and bare teeth.

August 19th -2010

Dad's birthday - 60! Priority is to find a phone or working internet and make a call. I get through... glad to hear his voice. Following I go for breakfast at a local restaurant, thinking of my parents back home. My mom has given him a ticket to Chile in one month - I'll be picking him up at the airport in Santiago and we'll have ten days together. A highlight.

I jump into a collectiv cab with Amalie (the nun) and her mother around noon. We arrive at the hotspring an hour later. There is a simple hostel connected to the facilities, so I get a room - turquoise and spotless. A bed stands in one corner, a table in the other.
We all go to the hotspring, which to my surprise is more like a private primitive spa. You pay around one dollar and get 15 min in your own room, which consists of a little cave from where the steam rises - a natural steambath. The temperatures vary from 35 to 55 degrees C.
When I emerge from my bath the ladies are still in theirs, so I go to lie in the sun.

When I awake the tiny mother is sitting on a chair next to me. We wait for her daughter to finish, before going for dinner and saying goodbye.

I spend the night in my room - river flowing outside - writing. More quiet then its been for ages...

August 18th -2010

My eyes are heavy when I awake to the view of the Peruvian desert. I'm dropped by the side of the Panamerican, close to the town of Pativilca. From here a connecting road leads north east toward Huaraz, the mountain town and basecamp for people accessing the Cordillera Blanca.
I catch a ride to a gas station, from where I wait for a bus.
A nun sits with her old mother also waiting for the same bus.
We begin speaking and to my surprise the younger one speaks english.
On the bus two boys aged 7 and 10 take me as their new best friend. They show little interrest in the fact that I speak as an infant. Finally one goes back to his parents while the younger falls asleep on my bag.
We reach Huaraz after dark, and I decide to follow the nun and mother as they are also looking for a place to stay for the night. We find a small affordable hotel and go for dinner.
I'm told that they have made the journey to visit a hotspring which is suppose to be good for arthritis. They will go the following day and ask if I'd like to join them - as I have nothing to do I gladly accept. A strage looking crowd we must have been - the mother, one of the shortest living people, a nun and gringo danish...

August 17th -2010

Breakfast is served around noon, two hrs from the ecuador/peru border.
We continue into the afternoon. Exit stamps are processed quickly as are the entery stamps on the other side.
This crossing is notorious for crime so I avoid changing money at the crossing, figuring I'll find a place to do this later.
The police and customs officers are giving a lady with educational material a hard time outside the bus. Making her open all boxes and explaining all the folders and books, which clearly are for children. At the same time a group of passengers are standing around, waiting for the investigation to end so we can continue toward Lima. Its a group of about 10 people - all of a sudden we hear a cry, "my bag.!!!..." and see a man speed off down the road. Four of the fellow passengers try to catch him, but its too late and the man jumps into a rickshaw waiting down the road. The woman, a mother of two has lost her passports and what money she had in the bag.
She stands with her head folded, bent forward. Dispair.
The custom officers take little notice of the robberi and continue checking out the childrens books...
The bus finally continues - to the local police station, where we wait as reports are filled out.
I have dinner with a Belgian girl, who work as a beer taster back home...