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After 9 hours of flying we reach Dallas,
wait 2 hours go on to Lima, wait 18 hours and finally reached La Paz,
where we already had an already booked hostal to recreate.
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Our first impression of La Paz was: wow, these 3800 really suck, so we couldn’t make longer walks than 30 minutes without having a black out ( well, that’s another disadvantadge of flying: you’re totally unadapted to the environment where your’re starting...)
Furthermore: That much poverty we havent seen so far. And: people trade everywhere. La Paz is a big market; they build up their places at 7:00 am and run them till deep in the night...
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here’s - of course - a terrific traffic and it stinks awfully.
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But for the rest I must say:
there’s a lot to see; these women with colorful clothes are everywhere, too, and I’d like to take many fotos, but am not allowed to:
this people hates to be fotographed... what a pity...
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They sell everything, and there’s always more than the whole city (of a few million) could buy in that moment.
Here it’s a kind of popcorn.
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Even pictures of New York and Bavaria can be found...
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Noodles...
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sold by this woman with which we talkd a while...
that works quite fine.. talking and asking...
ok, tomorrow we start after 4 days of aclimatisation to our biking tour -
the air is bad, I hardly can breathe here in this Internet cafe -
hope to find another one before September,
bye sebastian and Valeria
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It’s Monday, 8/13 and we mail from Tacna in South of Peru, up to now we have ridden a bit more tahn 500 kms, that’s not much, but we enjoyed a lot and the roads are quiet bad here.
In time we left La Paz at 8/1 by tandem, to manage our planed round trough the mountains here - but quittet because the bolivian farmers planed to bolque all the streets again, to force more monez from the state - we didn’t like these plans and left via Lake Titikaka Bolivia to Peru
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Here in Peru we could wash the first time for 5 days - in the lake itself, quite cold I can tell!
People here are more open-mindet and taking fotos now is more possible;
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Home sweet home: Our tent provides more warmth after we stored all 5 bikepacks and Valerias backpack in it...
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This is the socalled "Pampa" always between 3500 and 4500 m over sealevel there are no trees and nothing - but some farmers (Campesinos) with there animals: Lama, Alpaqua, Cows and Sheeps
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Once we had some trouble with watersupply when we crossed our first 5000 m Pass and trusted in the little rivers which didn’d come...
but we’re still alive - in that way got more contact to the people here.
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After the first downhill in direction sea (a 40 km mountainbike-like downhill just of bad roads and dust) we and our bags looked like that - well, we fell of the the bike the first time as well.
In Peru it’s kind of cheap: you pay 2 Dollars for an night in a hotel (but the standart of corse is below zero..) 1 Dollar for your evening meal and whole the food is very cheap; that’ll change when we cross the border to Chile tomorrow - if the Bolivians have calmed down we will cross the world’s greatest Saltlake in Boliva soon, you’ll hera next end of August, by Sebastian and Valeria
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Right after our check out of La Paz the bolivians wanted to make more political trouble by blocking all the streets in this Region:
so we went through the lake Titikaka to Peru, where we found the first adventurous streets and abondaned regions. After some 10 days we reached the sea and changed border to Arica in Chile. Since now it seemed calmed down in bol. Altiplano we climed the pass in its north to 4600 again. Trough the great salt lakes (Coipasa and Uyuni, world’s largest!) to Uyuini, where I’m now.
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In Tacna, we found the first youth that did’t only help us, but seemed to be more or less like us - at least to all the indian and rural people we met before.
Now the Carriers work again, thanks to Christian!
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In one of the chil. Nat. Parks we cross the first snow coped mountains.
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Back to bolivian Altiplano we are in another region, where the people seem to be much more open minded:
here in Salinas near the great Mouuntain Sajama we spent a day and make friends with the child wich play with th ebike...
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…and try to help tp pack our stuff.
They wear sunglasses and black paint below their eyes against the reflected son - this night it snowed.
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Great 7000 Meter mountains everywhere and snowy landscape...
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acording to a „Guarda PArque“ an local ranger we took this shortcut, well.
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The idea of saving fuel comes to my mind: so I am not only cooking but blowing the cole the whole time, too...
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A socalled female "Campesino" so farmer suffers of the mosquitos of her ground in the middle of Peru’s Altiplano Pampa
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This is heavy: with some 85 kg we go through totally sandy tracks...
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o you can’t go at all.
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once we had to drag the bike some 15 km’s
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In a village near the salt Lake "Coipasa" we met the first time hospitality: we were invated to a house to show how to make crepes/ pancakes... The children by the way never left their village, didn’t even know their neighbour village in 20 kms...
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Cooking on the salt: Salar de Coipasa, pancakes, mhhh...!
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...saproso...
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This tent I actually hate to built up because it costs time... but it’s quite wind stabil. In the nights here quite strong winds ocurre!
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The salt of "Salar de Uyuni" actually the graetest saltlake in the world the salt builds up these cristal structures: nice to look at and hard to ride on!
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Lunch en el sal: pineapple in the salt!
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During this ride of 140 km on pure salt we heard in 3 days all my 15 minidiscs... it’s beautiful and magnificant - no doubt - but monotonous!
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The saltlake contents 2 mayor islands, on the second, which is visited by daily jeep-tourits we had our tent; on the islands it’s quite warm because the rocks keep the warmth taht is reflectet by the salt...
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The holes which ocure in the middle of the way they call "Ojos" - well, we were quite afaid of passing through these areas where are many of them - they’re deep but only about half a meter of diameter.
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The Hotel de Sal - completely built of salt - quite nice, visits cost 2 Dollars, to sleep one night: 20 Dollar;
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The tandem bike after many many salty k’s - some 2 kg heavier.
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Well, after one month with my darling we unfortunately have to divide, so that the "COME JOIN ME TOUR" might begin.
With Valeria I spend a great month full of impressions and fisical trouble - she made it as hard as man. Valeria will now spend some days in Santiago de Chile and then fly back to hamburg to study geography there.
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Daniel, 23 from Swizerland, studies Biology and travels with his own bicycle - unfortunately, we would have been a good tandem team; well, but so will make the famous journey to San Pedro/ Chile together.
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Kyle, 28 from Boulder/Colorado is travelling since a year and has just sold his bike beause he was tired of pedalling. But he like my Join-Idea and is in this way:
My first partner. The plan is to reach together San Pedro.
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No follow some picures of local animals (worse quality because I copied a magazine...
A kind of goose/duck
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Flamingos can easiliy been seen on all the saltlakes...
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Vicunas they call this type of deer
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This type of rabbit has a long tail to keep balance while jumping
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Togehter,we go trough the worst ways everone has seen in his life, climb a mountain of almost 6000 m height and have a lot of fun, making fire and jokes.
We have 2 times snow and hide here in this valley of rocks
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This is the socalled Stonetree. Cool!
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With the snow I take a lot of slides. After this trip I plan to make slideshows again!
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More funny tahn practical: take 3 travellers and stuff them in 3 tent for 1,5 persons.. harharhar
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Well in order to avoid „disharmonic situations“ we split some days before San Pedro and Kyle takes the jeep. He got even more tired of cycling and eating rice every day.
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Is it worse alone? No, actually it’s easier to handle the bike with 120 kg less weight. It’s not that Kyle wasn’t strong, but handling he could’t help, that was just like windsurfing some times...
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Getting water: Unfortunately you can’t take water of the most lagunas you find there, because it contains Arsenic or other poisons. So we had to fill all bottles, and carried some 20 a person with us...
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Red algae turn this laguna red. Famous! That’s why they call it Laguna Colorada!
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At „Sol de Mañana“ are a lot of beasty fumerols and nasty steaming wholes...wow! Is it hell?
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......seems like...
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At "Laguna blanca" (on the left) and Lag. Verde there are two vulacns you can climb. The right one is the famous „Lincacabur“, wich has also a Chilenian side.
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We climbed it, too: Daniele and me on the top of this 5935 m high vulcano.
Wow.
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This is supposed to be the highest volcan see of the world...
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when I stepped its ice it made sounds and I adrenalin run my venes - enough for the rest of the day...
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This is Daniele, an Italien biker, which started joining us at the therms, where he couldn`t bear anymore travelling in a hassel, so took his bike from the jeep and just joined.
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Goodbye to Daniel from swizerland who now leaves on his own way to Antofagsta, thanx, we had a great time!
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Peter Wolf from Germany, 20, that I found after asking half an hour in this super touristical village, is a scout and travells since 5 days with backpack.
I hope he likes rice...
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Well, and in case you forgot: that’s me - actually after the trial (and erroer) of giving me a bald by 2 Swizerland knifes...
So, that’s it for the first, stay tuned, yours, Sebastian
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The new photos:
The first day with Peter I spent repairing 4 flats...
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almost traditional: I try to share my pancakes at least one time with every partner!
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Bad luck for us: the landscape is quite boring, we decide to hitchhike.
After 5 days Peter left according to our plan and turned north, to see e.g. Bolivia’s great landscape within the following 5 months...
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In Baquedano we divided, I meet the two Daniels again - the Draemteam
is reunited, we spend a great time in Bolivia together...
In the school we were invated to attend the internet, to spend the night
in their class room, shower and have a look through there lens of their
observatorium which is proudly presented to us. That’s real hospitality!
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Baquedano State School’s Observatorium
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before we left we had a speech for the pupils of the school
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the very interested took some extra lessons in Italian with Daniele...
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Baquedano’s sight is the train cementory...
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Spent a nice day with the guys in Antofagasta, where I couldn’t find anybody, so that i finally left them to seek for people in Argentinia.
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After some problems behind the Argentinian border with the policemen’s dogs, I enjoyed the jorney in train back to civilisation
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Here in the mountains there’s again a lot to see!
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There were some tourists in the train making a travel to the border and back to Salta. All were engaged in their holiday plans, so nobody for me. In Salta unfortunately either...
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Once I took a youth from his school to his small village.
He teached me some of the different words they use here in comparison to the rest of Southamerica...
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But I had to cycle a lot alone again, what’s the reason why I am quite down some time
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These „holy“ places can be found a lot in Argentina: the people give bottles filled with water and other rubbish in order not to have accidents e.g.
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This is Nancy (28, from Paris) which will escourt in November the Euro with her Pumpgun that is to say:
she’s policeman... 3 days we go together southwards.
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We cross 2 times quite jungle-like forests where camped out, too, and were able to pick off fresh oranges and other fruits...
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Jungle pure... you caneven hear these Papagay-birds crying...
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Once I bought a bad repair set for the tubes in Argentina and it took me 5 times to repair one whole because they always left again...
so Nancy thought she has to spend the Rest of her holiday with me repairing tubes... So she decides to leave quite early - after 3 days.
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After some days of hitchhiking a lot a arrived in Santiago where I get bed & food by the relatives of my girl friend, hang out a bit and get to know Pablo Mendez which now will come with me southwards!
So, i hope that I always will find partners from now on, bye Sebastian
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With the 19 year aged Pablo from Santiago I rode some 420 km untill Puerto Montt. We passed trough a very German area of Chile, where many German names and faces are to be seen.
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After some days of getting used to the bike we were a strong tandem team, ready to explore the region; Every night we had our "Bonfire" how we called it, to cook and just enjoy; Passed a great time with him, talking about everything.
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Next to me in my tent Andres, 30, from Santiago, too, is lying.
He is the first guy I gained by an article that appeared in a newspaper giving my email address
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We started together in Puerto Montt to discover the Carrera Austral which leads to the very south of Chile - the tracks pass by the coast, too;
we see a lot of fisherman scenes. Their boats wear German names, female.. of course...
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With Andres I could start more than two fires, becuase it rained six days without stopping...
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To visit Douglas Tompkins’s Park „Pumalin“ we have to cross a lot by boat. He bought by his own money gained by his trademark „Esbrit“ a lot of terrain in Southchile.
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What helps the nature to be so savage - the rain - made us move to Argentina...
There we sat more in pickups to survive the wind, but at leats we erached Coyhaique/Chile without a flew; Andres will fly back from here and I continue southwards.
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70 years ago the people of Southchili startet the first fires to gain new room to live; it wasn´t the plan that the fires burned 2 months and burned down wide areas which even nowadays aren´t used..so one sees many of these dead trunks lying around...
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Pass by the tremendous lake "General Carrera" with its changing colours...blue blue blue wow!
I go lonesome but do enjoy these 4 days totally!
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"Chocho" the call these flower wich spreads its great flavor of honey
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While waiting 3 weeks for my spareparts - the rearhub is totally damaged - I learn horse riding
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with an socalled "Washington Baez", one of the rare experienced and clever people here. He speand his exile during Pinochet in Sweden, Bulgaria and travelling trough Europa; before he was senador of a left party, so had to leaf Chili after Nortamerica gained in planting there comunism-eating monster Pinochet in this country...
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speaking of politics: last sunday were the votings: as in other countries some weeks before in whole the country probaganda is painted and fixed all over... in the Region of Asien this middle-left senator won.
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with Pablo, wich a met taking fotos of these elections I made some day trips: one to quite hidden but very nice therms some 200 ks from Cochrane.
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We spend christmas together in his family and for new year´s eve we to Tortel one of the most hidden villages of Chile - you have got to travel some three hours by the river Baker to reach this fishermens´ place (Caleta they call this..)
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And even it has a really nice school, which just has been amplified, as you can read on this sign (if you can read it, hahah)
ok, serious again: there colourful signs always inform about what the state is constructing...
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this is it; nice, light and with many harmonic rounds...
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We also get to know the southamerican costum of eating "asado".
That you see somebody playing an instrument is considered to rather rare...
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That´s the way to drink "tinto" - red wine out of a leathern sack.
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The people here is supposed to be even a little bit more friendly to foreigners because there aren´t too many which come - as a matter of not knowing about it...
So this guy is giving me a T-Shirt which presents Caleta Tortel so that a might atract more people biking with it...
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Michael Matschiner which also has celebrated with us acompanies some ks on the bike...
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To compensate my bad luck I found at once a Brasil jeep team that gives me a lift to the National Park "Perito Moreno" where - with a little bit of patiance - big parts of ice can be seen falling down...
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They even brought me to the National Park "Torres del Paine" where awaited the last partner: Nicolass Lemo, from Santiago, too. The second guy I cought by the article that appeared in the sundays´ magazin of the "Mercurio". He´s 17 and I had to convince his father first in order to get him a legal permit to trek as a not adult...
What I have in my hand they call "Mate" and you drink some strong herbs out of it, called "Yerba" - a habit in Argentina and South Chile.
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The obligatorios foto uf us cycling...
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Well, on one hand I hate the idea that I can´t reach my orgiginal destiny - Ushuaia - any more, but on the other hand, I´m quite tired of travelling, getting to know and especially pedalling...
That's why we climed the outlook to the towers by whisch this park is named: "Torres del Paine"
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I was worring whole the time how I could get to Buenos Aires without cicling or paying...
so I came to ask some truckdrivers in Rio Gallegos if they wouldn´t like to take me...
Well, the right guy, showing his "sleeping bag with arms and legs" called Ramon Esteban did it. The two police men are to protect the gas station; since the recint troubles in the area of B. Aires you see a lot of police controlling...
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Talking of guardians: as at the Buckingham palace these two guys mustn´t talk either...
well I tried to ask them if I could take a photo and they didn´t correspond...
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In Buenos Aires I have the good luck to be able to stay in the house of a business partner of my father, so I ran one day with the son Stefan around to catch some sight´s...
I liked the mirrow character.