Bolivia
We only spent a short time in Bolivia, November 24th to December 4th but we hit many of the highlights.
We crossed over at Putre, Chile into Bolivia. It was high up in the mountains, cold with snow capped mountains contrasted against green valleys and crystal blue lakes.
The crossing was a little difficult because no one seemed interested in helping you with the different locations to which you needed to go. In the end we got it and left frustrated.
The initial views were remarkable
and took the pain away from the border crossing. We pushed on now tired from a few steady days on the road. We decided to stop in a small town
- Holy crap what a experience.
This tiny town was full of people dressed in the native garb. Both the men and the women. We found what we believed to be the only hostel in this small town. We also needed to stop as Brent’s chain was now quite bad and he needed to change out both the front and rear sprockets.
When you first cross over into a new country one of the first things that you must get use to is what is reasonable to pay for items? For example this hostel
in the middle of nowhere was asking $18 US dollars, this seemed expensive and it was plus $21US for breakfast and supper. 
To compare put this in prospective we paid a total of $5.70 for a night in Hostel Aransaya, Coppacabana Bolivia with $16 for breakfast and supper.
Any way Bolivia can be quite inexpensive you simply need to stay out of the major tourist locations. Unfortunately that is what you are there for.
Regardless of all this we pushed on to Oruro.
We were told by Dave from Houston (one of the guys we met in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile) that we could rent a jeep and head down to the salt flats
. We felt this was a good idea as we have had many stories of how bad the road were into the salt flats, plus my leg had been broken once and Brent was also concerned about how bad the salt could wear the seals on the bikes. I was hoping for the independence of camping on the salt flats, checking a sunset and having the freedom to stop and take photos when I wanted. With all this in mind a jeep rental seemed like the way to go.
Oruro
was a dirty town and defiantly not that attractive. We looked up in our trusty Foot print travel book to help us find cheap accommodations. There were two choices one down by the bus depot and the other near the train station. We stopped by the bus depot first and there were many choices so I got out on foot to look for the best deal. After we chose to go up to the hotel near the train station to find out more about this company that rents jeeps. The roads were steep and windy plus there are hardly any street signs. Here starting to go up one of the roads Brent was bumped by an idiot in a mini van which caused his bike to go down next to a park car. No damage done to the car or the mini van but it cased the support arm on the luggage to get jammed against his chain. Being on the side of a hill he had no choice but to ride it to the top and fix it right there. In the end the second hotel had no jeep rental, no tours that went to Uyuni and it was pricy so we chose to stay at the Samay Huasi Hotel near the bus station. Not the cheapest but they had easy secured parking, breakfast included and they were willing to store the bikes and luggage while we went to Uyuni.
By the way there is only one vehicle Rental Company out of Oruro and they had no vehicles. The only way you would get a rental is to go to La Paz (minimum expense would be around $70 US a day).
Lastly we take the very dusty train to Uyuni and arrive at 11:00 pm. We stayed at the hotel that was owned by the same company that apparently rents jeeps in Uyuni, hotel Kutimuy. Bright and early Brent is up and heads over to speak with the company about a jeep rental, once again a dead end so we decide to take the one day trip $68.70 US for both of us and it included a magnificent lunch
. The name of the tour company is Colque tours,
it leaves at 11 am return around 5:30pm.
At least I got to see it and get a few photos.
There simply was no need to stick around so we caught the red eye train back to Oruro arriving at 7 am one way trip was $17.50 US for both of us. The way to Uyuni we took executive class (as we have learned that you never know how bad of a 8hour trip it will be). This in the end was not worth it as the only difference was that you got a coke and a sandwich; not worth the extra $17.50 US.
Ps if you decide to go the train is very dusty, we simply breathed through our shirts.
Arriving in Oruro tired but ready to push on we made it all the way to Coroico;
where we stayed in Hostel Kory on corner of plaza which included parking and great views 
for $18 US a night for both of us.
The travel day to Coroico was an adventure. First we needed to drive up to and into La Paz. What a city the roads a very small, no signs, very twisty and change directions all the time. After some time of looking for our way we pulled over a taxi driver and paid him $2 us to get us on our way to highway one. The best money we spent yet. I do not believe we would have found it. The highway was at the top of a hill, through what appeared to be the slums and you definitely do not feel like you are heading onto a major highway.
Off we go, once again we are now high up in the mountains, snow and cold.
We start to descend down and the new road follows the old road (the road of death)
. The road in many spots have no rails, sheer drop offs, fog covered roads, no passing lanes
, areas that go from pavement to coble stone, or gravel, road and mud slides that cover part of the road 
and a goes from 4600 meters to 1100 meters. The scenery is unforgettable.
Yet stay tuned the fun does no stop there. We in many ways have now completed the road of death
and are on our way at the bottom on the highway to our destination; Coroico. We saw a sign that says the name of the town and the name of a hostel I remembered in our footprint book. So we start the climb up a steep coblestone road, one lane only covered in jungle vegetation. 
After a short period I stopped Brent and stated that I thought it was impossible that this is the road to the town as it seems like a jungle walking path.
His assured me this is the way and over the course of the hill climb 4 vehicles pass us by. We climbed a total of 1500 meters almost straight up, it was hot and hard but in the end it was rewarding. Sure enough at the top all of a sudden everything opens up and we are in a small city with a centre court yard and lots of restaurants, internet shops and many hostels- Who would have guessed that as we climbed this crazy road. Incidentally we did find out later there are 2 roads and we took the old road-the one that is not really used any more.
This small town I believe is a must see.
Well we finally decided to leave this stunning and unique place to move on to Lake Titicaca (Copacabana, the border town between Bolivia and Peru). Not that terribly unique except for the fact that it is 4000meters above sea level (the highest lake in the world) and utterly gorgeous. Set up against the white capped Andes Mountains that make that area especially amazing.
Quick notes:
1. If you wish to go to Copacabana you must take a ferry across to get to the town. Brent got his leg stuck in between the boards
loading the bikes and almost broke it, lucky for we do not need two leg breaks on this trip!! 
2. Cheap accommodations (Hostel Aransaya, Coppacabana Bolivia $5.70 for two including breakfast and parking for the bikes) and one of the cheaper places to buy jewelry.
3. This area is pretty and you could spend time on the lake and or hiking around the area.
We only spent a short time in Bolivia, November 24th to December 4th but we hit many of the highlights.
We crossed over at Putre, Chile into Bolivia. It was high up in the mountains, cold with snow capped mountains contrasted against green valleys and crystal blue lakes.
The crossing was a little difficult because no one seemed interested in helping you with the different locations to which you needed to go. In the end we got it and left frustrated.
The initial views were remarkable
and took the pain away from the border crossing. We pushed on now tired from a few steady days on the road. We decided to stop in a small town- Holy crap what a experience.This tiny town was full of people dressed in the native garb. Both the men and the women. We found what we believed to be the only hostel in this small town. We also needed to stop as Brent’s chain was now quite bad and he needed to change out both the front and rear sprockets.
When you first cross over into a new country one of the first things that you must get use to is what is reasonable to pay for items? For example this hostel
in the middle of nowhere was asking $18 US dollars, this seemed expensive and it was plus $21US for breakfast and supper. To compare put this in prospective we paid a total of $5.70 for a night in Hostel Aransaya, Coppacabana Bolivia with $16 for breakfast and supper.Any way Bolivia can be quite inexpensive you simply need to stay out of the major tourist locations. Unfortunately that is what you are there for.
Regardless of all this we pushed on to Oruro.
We were told by Dave from Houston (one of the guys we met in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile) that we could rent a jeep and head down to the salt flats. We felt this was a good idea as we have had many stories of how bad the road were into the salt flats, plus my leg had been broken once and Brent was also concerned about how bad the salt could wear the seals on the bikes. I was hoping for the independence of camping on the salt flats, checking a sunset and having the freedom to stop and take photos when I wanted. With all this in mind a jeep rental seemed like the way to go.Oruro
was a dirty town and defiantly not that attractive. We looked up in our trusty Foot print travel book to help us find cheap accommodations. There were two choices one down by the bus depot and the other near the train station. We stopped by the bus depot first and there were many choices so I got out on foot to look for the best deal. After we chose to go up to the hotel near the train station to find out more about this company that rents jeeps. The roads were steep and windy plus there are hardly any street signs. Here starting to go up one of the roads Brent was bumped by an idiot in a mini van which caused his bike to go down next to a park car. No damage done to the car or the mini van but it cased the support arm on the luggage to get jammed against his chain. Being on the side of a hill he had no choice but to ride it to the top and fix it right there. In the end the second hotel had no jeep rental, no tours that went to Uyuni and it was pricy so we chose to stay at the Samay Huasi Hotel near the bus station. Not the cheapest but they had easy secured parking, breakfast included and they were willing to store the bikes and luggage while we went to Uyuni.By the way there is only one vehicle Rental Company out of Oruro and they had no vehicles. The only way you would get a rental is to go to La Paz (minimum expense would be around $70 US a day).
Lastly we take the very dusty train to Uyuni and arrive at 11:00 pm. We stayed at the hotel that was owned by the same company that apparently rents jeeps in Uyuni, hotel Kutimuy. Bright and early Brent is up and heads over to speak with the company about a jeep rental, once again a dead end so we decide to take the one day trip $68.70 US for both of us and it included a magnificent lunch
. The name of the tour company is Colque tours, it leaves at 11 am return around 5:30pm.At least I got to see it and get a few photos.
There simply was no need to stick around so we caught the red eye train back to Oruro arriving at 7 am one way trip was $17.50 US for both of us. The way to Uyuni we took executive class (as we have learned that you never know how bad of a 8hour trip it will be). This in the end was not worth it as the only difference was that you got a coke and a sandwich; not worth the extra $17.50 US.Ps if you decide to go the train is very dusty, we simply breathed through our shirts.
Arriving in Oruro tired but ready to push on we made it all the way to Coroico;
where we stayed in Hostel Kory on corner of plaza which included parking and great views for $18 US a night for both of us.The travel day to Coroico was an adventure. First we needed to drive up to and into La Paz. What a city the roads a very small, no signs, very twisty and change directions all the time. After some time of looking for our way we pulled over a taxi driver and paid him $2 us to get us on our way to highway one. The best money we spent yet. I do not believe we would have found it. The highway was at the top of a hill, through what appeared to be the slums and you definitely do not feel like you are heading onto a major highway.
Off we go, once again we are now high up in the mountains, snow and cold.
We start to descend down and the new road follows the old road (the road of death). The road in many spots have no rails, sheer drop offs, fog covered roads, no passing lanes, areas that go from pavement to coble stone, or gravel, road and mud slides that cover part of the road and a goes from 4600 meters to 1100 meters. The scenery is unforgettable.Yet stay tuned the fun does no stop there. We in many ways have now completed the road of death
and are on our way at the bottom on the highway to our destination; Coroico. We saw a sign that says the name of the town and the name of a hostel I remembered in our footprint book. So we start the climb up a steep coblestone road, one lane only covered in jungle vegetation. After a short period I stopped Brent and stated that I thought it was impossible that this is the road to the town as it seems like a jungle walking path.His assured me this is the way and over the course of the hill climb 4 vehicles pass us by. We climbed a total of 1500 meters almost straight up, it was hot and hard but in the end it was rewarding. Sure enough at the top all of a sudden everything opens up and we are in a small city with a centre court yard and lots of restaurants, internet shops and many hostels- Who would have guessed that as we climbed this crazy road. Incidentally we did find out later there are 2 roads and we took the old road-the one that is not really used any more.
This small town I believe is a must see.
Well we finally decided to leave this stunning and unique place to move on to Lake Titicaca (Copacabana, the border town between Bolivia and Peru). Not that terribly unique except for the fact that it is 4000meters above sea level (the highest lake in the world) and utterly gorgeous. Set up against the white capped Andes Mountains that make that area especially amazing.
Quick notes:
1. If you wish to go to Copacabana you must take a ferry across to get to the town. Brent got his leg stuck in between the boards
loading the bikes and almost broke it, lucky for we do not need two leg breaks on this trip!! 2. Cheap accommodations (Hostel Aransaya, Coppacabana Bolivia $5.70 for two including breakfast and parking for the bikes) and one of the cheaper places to buy jewelry.
3. This area is pretty and you could spend time on the lake and or hiking around the area.
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