Ushuaia Quito 2012 by bike: San Pedro Di Atacama - Oruro / Lipez del Sur y Salar de Uyuni

After a long period without posts, far away from all technologies in the high southern altitudes of Bolivia, we come back with a copious post... Enjoy.

Around San Pedro Di Atacama

Before the long and hard crossing of the South Lipez, we take 2 days of break in San Pedro to energize ourselves and visit curiosities of the Atacama desert.

Evening lights on the Luna Valley

We remove our paniers for... a sandbord!
Sliding on the huge dune of the Muerte Valley,
difficult glide, lots of falls and sand in all orifices!

Geysers del Tatio :

hydrothermal area, close to active volcanoes.

The steam under pressure is condensing with cold temperatures at dawn.

Church of an authentic village, earth walls and straw roof.

Crossing of the South Lipez

Profil of the crossing

Day 0: preparations and departure
Our topo indicate 8 to 10 days for the crossing, without any grocery. We buy food for 10 autonomy days:
for breakfasts:
- 4kg of oatmeal
- dry milk
- 1kg of sugar
- 1,5kg of dry fruits (grapes, almond and walnuts)

for lunches:
- 4kg of round breads
- 7 canned tuna
- 4 canned pastry

for breaks:
- 36 dense biscuits with dulce de lecce in the middle (3 to 4 kg!)

for dinners:
- 4,5kg of pastas
- 3 kg of quinoa
- 2,8 kg of tomato sauce
- 4 Maggie stocks
- meat soups

for drinks:
- Numerous points of water, to be purified.
We take 8L of containers per person.
- zucos, fruity and vitamined pouder

We leave San pedro carrying 30 to 35 kg of stuffs, plus bikes!

We cycle a small our on this long straight road of asphalt, before the Alto Cajòn

Last View on San Pedro

Day 1: Alto Cajòn

1800m of elevation in 25 km... Average slope: 7%. We cycle at less than 7 km/h. Some louded trucks, going in Argentina have difficulties to pass us, driving at 11km/h. This day was the day of donations. Firstly, a bolivian van give us two bags of coca leaves, reputed for stopping the altitude sickness. Then, a couple of americains give us some chocolate. They also want to give us a 5L can of water... But we explain them that we are carrying a suffisent amount of stuff... And finally, juste before the pass, a camping car couple of suiss invit us to drink a hot tea!
With all theses stops, we arrive at the customs border Chile / Bolivia just before the sunset. It is freezing at -4 Celcius degrees. Customers told us to continue until the Languna Bianca Refugio. Going there, at night with the coldness on a deep sand dirt road with ruts, Thomas has fall 2 times... We spend the night in the refugio.

Just after the Alton Cajòn

Day 2: Lagunas Bianca and Verde

Thomas brings up all the night and don't sleep well. After a good porridge, we still decide to go. The first hour of cycle is really hard for him, especially with altitude. After 10km, we decide to stop, pitching our tent in a shelter. In the afternoon, while Thomas has a rest, Baptiste try to catch the best flight of flamingos.

The frosted Laguna Bianca

The Licancabur volcano (5916 m) overhanging the Laguna Verde

The shelter, good protection against the wind Salt precipitations,

around the Laguna Bianca

And... the flamingos flight!

Day 3: Laguna Chaliviri

At 8am, it is freezing at -7 Celcius degrees in the tent, with all the heat we give off. We let you imagine the outside tenmerature... The tenant of the Laguna Bianca told us the day before that it is freezing at -25 degrees... But we don't woke up to check! Thomas is feeling better. Let's go to affront the highest altitudes of all our trip, going throught lagunas, and rocky sculpture in this altitude desert.

Thomas at the top! Pass at 4670m

El Desierto de Dali

The Laguna Chaliviri in the back, we are riding up to high altitude plateaux

Indication sign of the desert...

preheating our stove, at our highest altitude night, 4791m.

Day 4: Laguna Colorado

We continue the ascent to 4920m . Far away, geysers steams get out from the ground, sulphur smells. We stay on the plateau during 20 km, around 4900m. Then the landscape open and beautiful red orange colours of the Laguna Colorado apear. A long descent bring us to the side of the lake. From here, a deep sand with lots of ripples dirt road is going around the lake. We have to push our bikes. We sleep at the refugio of the Laguna Colorado. Baptiste has huge stomac pains, and go to bed early (every one in turn!)

Some vague indications... and rocky tracks, shaking us!

Pushing parts, around the Laguna Colorado

Flamingos, on the side of the lake

Day 5 : Arbola di Piedra

Various rocky mass are on the side of the road. The spectacular last one include the Tree of Rock (Arbola di piedra). We continue with a huge face wind during 10 km, and then, push on a deep sand road, before sleeping below the refugio Del Desierto.

Strange sigh on the side of the road,
modern art of the desert??

The Arbola de Piedra and sandstones rocks around

Behind a bloc, a small hut of 10 square meters.
A child open to Baptiste.
In the house, one man lying on a bed, an other child and a moto fill up the space.
The man told Baptiste that he leaves here all the year.
Family of the desert, far away from all type of life, evem vegetable.

Day 6 : Laguna Hedionda

We loose 500m of elevatrion. At start, steep descent in a canyon, then, falt part on deep sand and finaly, a huge land with 4WD parallel tracks. WE then ride throught various lagunas: Honda, Chiar Khota, Hedionda et Cañapa.

The South Lipez is also that!
a 4WD avoid you to push your bike in the deep sand...

Long ending of the descent, before finding all the lagunas. The biggest one, The Laguna Hedionda, with the Bolivian flag flying (red for the health of the army, gold for the mines and green for the agriculture)

Day 7: Salar de Chiguana and San Juan de Rosario

We continue our descent to 3700m, until the Salar the Chiguana. Then, a long flat will give us to side of San Juan de Rosario, final destination of the crossing.

3 directions, all as white as the other ones...

Bikes being as shaked as our ass during the crossing,

express spoke change!

Deep sand, on the side of the entrance of the salar

The flat, smooth and white Salar,

only some moss survive in this salty environnement

CHiguana, military village of the desert.
Half caste of the middle age, half bounker of the World War 2!
A military write on his small notebook our name, origin, and destination...

San Juan de Rosario knows haw to be desiered...
Lots of ripples 5 km before our final destination.

Salar de Uyuni

Going to the Salar, farmers spread Quinoa seeds on the ground to dry them.

Entrance of the Salar on a long rocky wall.

This year, precipitations during the wet season were particularly important.
The Salar is still not completely dry, water until 50cm is remaining all around.
A few days before, it would have been impossible to cross the Salar from south to north...

Bivouac on the salt, on the side of the water!
Numerous 4WD stopped asking us if we really want to sleep here, because it is freezing cold at nigth!

And this night, getting out of the tent for a pie, we were like thrown in the space,
with stars behind, below, all around us. Definitely surrealist!

The day after, we cross the part with 2 to 3 cm of water durind 2 km.

Precarious equilibrium!

Slow progress,
On a rough ground,
under a blazing sun.

Like marins on this flat surface without relieve, we oriente ourselves with far away points.
The Incahuasi island in the center of the salar, appearing after a few kilometers of cycling on the salar, give us our road. The Tunupa volcano (5432m) is also a good orienting point, indicating the north.

The island is full of cactus,

some are older than one thousand years old, reaching more tham 10m high.

Cactus erected to the moon.

The northern part of the salar is more wet.
Geometrical form of dessication are forming.

Side to side, slowly but sereinly

Salt on bikes!
Reaching the northern end of the Salar, water became more important, until 40 cm deep.
Mountains are reflecting on the water, perfect symetry.