#53 A Taste of Slave Labour in Bolivia

Turns out that February/March is the end of the rainy season in Bolivia - not the best time to be travelling dirt roads on a motorbike. So to pass the time we had arranged a 'workaway' at a hacienda outside Sucre - a programme through which workers are provided food and accomodation in exchange for a few hours labour a day. Our first thought on arrivial - no matter what the work, at least we would be living in luxury. The property was set on a 10.5 acre piece of land high up in the outskirts of Sucre, mountains visible from every direction you turned. The house was shaped as a cylinder constructed enitrely of local materials, mainly adobe and terracotta tiles, overlooking a 17m pool and mosaic jacuzzi. But it wasn't long until we were being read the Riot Act, so to speak.

#52 Sleeping in a Riverbed During Rainy Season - La Quiaca to Sucre

Bolivia: the poorest country in South America; the cheapest country in South America; a country with bland, unflavoured food, where you are guaranteed to contract food poising at least once; a country with unpassable roads, roads likely to age your bike by years in months. All this we had heard before arriving in Bolivia. So why did we want to go? Well aside from the favourable fiscal aspect, we were willing to rough it for a while for what promised to be an adventure unprecedented to what we had previously experienced. How wrong, and right, we were.

#51 Adios Argentina - Cachi to La Quiaca

With baited breath we felt the end of Argentina approaching; but not without some magical moments. I will give a quick rundown of our final experiences in Argentina after finally making it to Cachi after 'crossing the brown sea'. We had intended to treat Northern Argentina as simply a necessary passage in order to reach Bolivia, but every day we were struck by the dramatic and diverse scenery we encountered.

#50 Parting the Brown Sea - The Road to Cachi

Thinking we were done with river crossings we faced an even bigger hurdle leaving Cafayate. Although there was a perfectly adequate asphalt road to east we chose the route which would wind us through the Mars-like landscape of the Quebrada de los Calchaiques. Our decision was sealed by the recommendation by Jo and Gareth Morgan, in their book 'Up the Andes'. It's possible that the route would not have been so highly rated had the Morgan's, like us, being travelling during the rainy season. But at only 150 kilometres it seemed that even if did prove difficult, as we had been told by the service station attendant, and other locals it would, little was to be lost in giving it a go. After all we would be in Bolivia soon which would be a whole new set of challenges. Time to step it up. 

#49 Red Flags and Water Bottles - The Legends of the Peoples' Saints

On a long and lonesome road in Argentina (and Chile), where your only company is your own thoughts, emptiness stretches out to the horizon. Nothing but small shrubs and hard dirt cover the desolate landscape. However, in this distance, etched into a rock,  on the top of a smal hill, or even just by the side of the road are small shrines. Either in red accompanied by red flags, or a surrrounded in waterbottles. What are these shrines? To whom do these mysterious shrines celebrate, commeserate or accommodate?  Huddle round the campfire children, for there are stories to be told.