Riding my Motorcycle into Bolivia's Amazon Basin Region
Update 23 (March 2023)
Sucre to Trinidad and back, Bolivia
So, after one night in Potosi, I made my way to Sucre which is the capital of Bolivia and the sixth largest city. I had booked a comfortable apartment for a few days, within walking distance of the city centre.
After a couple of days I realised I was really yearning for a proper break from the travel. At the time it was about 3.5 months since I had arrived in South America. So I arranged to have a longer stay in the same apartment. I just had a week to fill until I could come back in.
This update will be about my meandering until I return to Sucre, for a ten day rest. It is going to be a bit patchy as I tried to ride to long a route and there were some days of just constant riding and little time for much else. I was basically doing the big circular route of Bolivia that you can see on the map.
Looking back at Potosi, as I left.
I was riding the relatively short distance from Potosi to Sucre, when I crossed a bridge and glanced to the left and saw a castle(?) Well it wasn’t really a castle but a bridge. The Antonio José de Sucre suspension bridge. It’s construction was started in 1892 and it was restored as recently as 2009. There was a dirt track to get to it to have a look. It is off the modern road and I got the impression it is rarely visited.
This photo was taken while hanging out of the window of my Sucre apartment. It’s an easy roll down the hill to a good supermarket and the city. Getting up involves a fair bit more puffing. Still at around 2,800m too. Sucre Central Market below, where I try to buy my fruit and vegetables from the ladies.
I left Sucre and headed in the general direction of Santa Cruz, although I didn’t really intend staying there. The first day was a big one and I struck a lot of slow roadworks. It was dark by the time I entered the town of Samaipata and I had trouble finding accommodation for me and the motorbike. It was all sorted in the end thanks to a helpful local hotelier.
The next day I pushed through Santa Cruz and started to enter the Amazon Basin region. Down to around 250 metres elevation now and very steamy and hot.
Lunch one day, for 5Bs (1 AUD). Soup always seems like a sound idea, based on the hope it gets a good boil while cooking. This one was great.
Day two was pushing to far again. The road was very good but it was just a long way on a motorbike. I arrived in Ascensión de Guarayos in the dark, again with no booking. I persevered down a 2km jungle track to find this resort style place. It was fine for the 150Bs. I left early in the morning in the hope I’d get somewhere before dark.
I saw quite a few Capybara but they don’t stand still too long.
I made good time to Trinidad and decided it was too early to find a bed. So I kept going for San Borja. I had assumed the road would continue to be like it had been so far, a nicely sealed highway.
I shouldn’t make assumptions. I followed the highway for about 5-10km out of town, when I lost the highway and there was just a dirt road and a river. My map showed the highway going over the river, on an imaginary bridge, because it wasn’t there! Once I saw a fuel truck arrive and get ready to load on a barge, I knew that was going to be me too.
There were plenty of ferry operators and I soon found myself on a “solo” trip for 20Bs.
It all went fine and after a bit of effort turning around on the boat I rode straight up their makeshift ramp and on my way. The owner in the blue shirt (and sons?).
As it turned out, there was a bigger river to cross up ahead. I found another ride and loaded up. That was our dirt ramp off to the right. The only problem was, that this boat was too narrow to turn my motorbike, so we had to reverse push it up the ramp and into the mud. The other passenger kindly helped also and it went fine. This one was 30Bs from memory.
Any Piranhas I wonder? I think this was the Rio Mamore.
The road on the other side continues as dirt for 10 or 20km but eventually came good and I made it to El Borja at a reasonable hour.
The matt of plants in front of the bird was actually floating and spinning around 360 degrees with the current.
El Borja main street. I found a pizza for dinner.
Another cheap hotel, it was okay, but breakfast didn’t look all that appealing, so I was riding by 7:30am, which is early for South America. It had started raining too and was going to be solid all day, but I didn’t just want to sit around all day, so I left. Unfortunately the road was just slippery dirt for the first 40-50km but it got better, for a while. About 370km to La Paz, where I had booked a room for two nights.
La Paz is at almost 4,000m and I was at about 200m. Things started getting fun, once I started climbing. The scenery was spectacular, I was climbing into the mountain jungle and mist. The road had deteriorated. In some place large rocks and boulders were strewn across the potholed road. I don’t know when this all happened, it wasn’t raining that hard now. Someone had already been through with a chainsaw to clear the road.
And then I hit a large queue of trucks, buses and car. I hadn’t seen much oncoming traffic and had assumed they were avoiding the bad weather. It turns out they just couldn’t get through. A digger was just doing some final clearing to open one lane from some type of land slippage. There was still the odd boulder coming down the slip in the background, which still needed more clearing.
The river below the slippage was looking pretty serious..
After about 40 minutes one lane was cleared. The construction guys were clearing the way, no one was controlling traffic, so a few trucks and buses on our side just charged ahead. I think they had been in this situation before and knew the side that moved first, would keep moving. It worked for a while and they had the initiative. But the traffic on the other side was blocking both lanes and they couldn’t get through. So there was a traffic jam on the side of the mountain for another 45 minutes. Eventually a lane was created and I joined the charge.
The rain began to ease in the afternoon.
Looking down at one of the typical villages that are nestled along the road.
I have noticed a lot of people chew Coca leaves in this northern region. And everyone is trying to make a few Bolivianos selling them some.
After going through a modern tunnel, I backtracked along the original road that was still accessible.
I still didn’t make it to La Paz before dark. And it was cold. My riding gear was still wet and it was about 7°C as I rode up the mountain to the city. And I was running out of fuel. But it was a fantastic ride in from the Trinidad side. The mountains were spectacular.
I stayed for two nights and then headed off towards Sucre, with two nights in Cochabamba.
A panoramic view from my La Paz hotel restaurant.
In Cochabamba I was invited by a kind lady from Colombia, staying in the hotel, to join her visit of the local market. It was a fun day.
I could have sworn I was back in Australia as I rode down this road. There were gum trees everywhere at one point.
Back in Sucre now. My first South American protest, to do with education or teaching. Simple but very effective in getting noticed, when you close off the city centre.
Uyuni to Villa Imperial de Potosí, Bolivia
Update 22 (February 2023)
Sucre to Potosi to La Paz, Bolivia
Update 24 (March 2023)