Acasio to Torotoro: The Road from Hell

We realize it's been a while since our last post, but we've had a somewhat hectic week. We're back in Cochabamba now, resting and recovering while staying with our friend Hache, world cyclist and warmshowers host. Check out his adventures at cyclingpeace.org To finish the story of our most recent trip: Thursday, Feb 18: Acasio to wild camp after Churutaca, 20km We set off from our riverside campsite when the rain cleared, and immediately...

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Sunshine and Switchbacks Part 2: Vila Vila to Acasio

Monday, February 15: Vila Vila to Ochiri, 40kmWe spent the day mostly heading south, following a spectacular road along a ridge, with views thousands of meters down to the valley floor.It's unique to be riding up among the peaks instead of down below them.Beautiful colors of rock and earth. We ended the day with a descent into the town of Ochiri, where we had a late lunch, found an incredibly grungy hostel to stay the night (also our cheapest, 40Bs...

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Lucy's Reflections on the 1st Month of Touring

Well, this post is coming a bit late, but we felt it would still be worthwhile to give a review of our first month of touring: stats, reflections, and thoughts going forward. And some photo highlights from January.The start of the trip, setting off from TarijaFirst, a few basic stats about January:# of days of riding: 21Total kilometers: 1,083Most km in a day: 101 (8 hours)Least km in a day: 20.1 (3 hours)Longest day: 8 hours (not including breaks)Shortest...

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Sunshine and Switchbacks: Oruro to Vila Vila

Thursday, February 11: 18km, Oruro to wild camp near Cala Cala. We departed Oruro in the late afternoon, stopping on the way out for last minute food shopping and a final visit to the best ice cream shop in Bolivia (that we've found...). We were soon out of the city bounds and onto rolling hills, the atiplano breaking down.We found an excellent wild camping spot looking over a wide valley, with Oruro just visible in the distance.Oruro visible...

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Bike Trip Take 3

Once again, we are setting off! It's amazing how, after over a week of resting without touching the bikes, the prospect of setting out again feels like we're starting completely anew. Which seems to be a pattern for us... Hopefully this time we'll be hitting the road for long enough to achieve the long-awaited "groove" that we have yet to find with all the bumps we've been hitting. This time, we'll be taking it easy, going at the pace our bodies...

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Volcanoes, Hot Springs and Gastrointestinal Illness: Part 3

Jan 29 - Feb 2: The Return from Tambo Quemado to OruroFrom Tambo, the excellent descent continued until we turned off onto dirt, into the Parque Nacional Sajama. 6500m, glaciated, and just an impressive looking peak. We found a cheap place to stay, with a nice woman who also provided dinner.Jan 30: Sajama In the morning, Adie awoke to distant music and shouts of "naranja, naranja, naranja," a traveling fruit truck was in town! Most villages...

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