La Paz to Tupiza

What an incredible full day of driving today, from la Paz to Tupiza (15.5 hours). The scenery was spectacular and we were taken on a journey from Mars landscapes to moonscapes to Scottish highlands… Bolivia is just magnificently beautiful. I’m not sure if I mentioned in my last blog, but Bolivia shut down the border post and the main road for our entrance. Leaving was no different. Apart from the odd car or truck, we traveled nearly 800km on road that was reserved for us. Policemen and women or army personnel were stationed along the entire route. It was quite bizarre.
I have to admit the peoples’ enthusiasm for us waned as we moved further and further from the Capital (the highest in the world, incidentally). Peggy and I managed our altitude fatigue well and had a truly wonderful day – despite the tangible underlying stress of knowing that the team was out there in very tough conditions and that because they’re in a marathon stage, we wouldn’t be able to see them.

Our drive took an “interesting” turn when we were diverted up the mountain on dirt roads in the pouring rain. I can honestly say that before this, I would never drive any vehicle up there in anything but 4×4 high range (perhaps with diff Lock on), but here we were in a fiat camper 2×4 and I had to make it work. I am wildly impressed with this Diesel engine and grateful to the powers that be that helped us along our way. There is no way we were unassisted.

We neared the bivouac at nightfall and the heavens just opened. A boom of thunder literally made us both squeal. There was a truck stuck at the entrance to the bivouac and the next truck waiting was parked with hazards on, on a public road with no shoulder for safety.

We made the call to try to enter the bivouac and engaged our fiat camper’s non existent four wheel drive. Momentum and a good line was all that kept us from getting completely stuck and we were told by the officials to, “Get the fuck out of here.” We somehow managed a u-turn and were blessed with no traffic as we careered off the dirt and back onto the tar.

Tupiza is a small, dense little town with lots of traffic, tuc-tucs, dirt roads, trucks and aggressive drivers. Peggy and I managed (complete team effort) to negotiate the camper through tiny streets, impatient, hooting drivers, low hanging trees and rain. We had no cell phone signal and finally followed another Dakar vehicle through town and into the hotel district. It’s quite impossible to describe how stressful it is driving a vehicle that literally turns like the titanic as you negotiate your way through tiny side streets, pouring rain and potholes.

Peggy finally admitted that she was suffering from food poisoning as she raced out of the camper, into the hotel lobby, and into the bathroom. The hotels were unable to accommodate us, but we were very happy to be able to park right outside and use their amenities.

We managed to pick up cell phone reception and caught up on Dave’s day, which made us both feel instantly better.

Dakar has never and will never disappoint. The riders’ challenges have been insane this year and it seems that we are not immune to a bit of testing. As I sit here tonight, I feel that I’ve grown. I feel humbled and grateful to be a part of this adventure. I also feel like another beer, because I was quite honestly, pretty much on the edge today. In every sense of the word. 🙂

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  1. Haniecy

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