Sorata and Northern Argentina

Hola everyone from Salta in Northern Argentina. Now we are well and truly recovered from our giardia (also known as “Beaver Fever”....according to Anna´s research!!) and we are both loving being back on the bike. We both felt pretty weird after the other three left- there was certainly a big gap! We kept kind of looking for them and expecting to hear their voices! Sounds like they are settling back in at home and enjoying New Zealand summer.

We decided to head to Sorata (a small town north-west of La Paz) for some rest and recovery. We had heard it was a beautiful town with fantastic mountain biking. After negotiating some of the worst roads we had seen in South America we were lucky to find the beautiful Altai Oasis. This camping ground/hostel set high in the lush green moutains is owned by a lovely Bolivian couple- Roxana and Johnny. They have lived there for over 27 years and have gradually developed an amazing garden, cool buildings and relaxing verandah restaurant. It had the most chilled-out atmosphere with farm animals wandering around. The lawn mowing is done by leading the llamas and fresian cow around as they gradually chew down the grass! We did lots of reading, playing cards and eating (Kate had a lot of making up to do!)

And just when we thought mountain biking in Bolivia couldn´t get any better... we met Travis.

Travis is a laid back American guy who lives and breathes to ride. He has been living in Sorata for some years building up a mountain biking/adventure company. When he´s not taking trips, he´s up in the hills track-building or riding. Although it was the off season and he wasn´t working, Travis agreed to take us riding on some of his tracks. We set off early from the plaza and drove high into the Andean clouds. On reaching the top we were met with incredible views of mighty Illampu mountain (6,368 m) and the deep valley below. Travis´ tracks were amazing - beautiful flowing singletrack, quite steep, but not too technical. He entertained us with his crazy dare-devil jumps and drop-offs and stories of the annual race held on his tracks. We wound our way down through seriously wicked tracks dropping thousands of metres into the town square. Already buzzing from our morning ride we headed up again driving 20km into the sky on terrible Bolivian roads. The landscape at the top was other-worldly...like being on the moon. Travis continued to impress us with his skills as we watched him ride near vertical scree slopes, turning his bike as if on skis! We descended through banked single track, farm-land tracks and through overgrown bush riding all the way back to Altai Oasis. An epic day riding…..we only wish that Shane, Sophie and Anna could have been there- you will have to come back Shane!!As out time in Sorata drew to a close Kate and I started making plans for the next leg of our journey. Kate had hoped we could ride down to the jungle from Sorata and had visions of skippering a dug-out canoe in her pirate singlet! Unfortunately the rainy season started getting pretty rainy and the roads turned to mud and the rivers became dodgy. We also found out there was a dengue fever out-break in the jungle. So we changed our plans and headed back to La Paz. On arriving back in La Paz we joined Phil and KJ (our new Kiwi friends) for a poker night with the Gravity crew. After chatting with Phil and KJ about their cycle touring in South America we decided to head south again to do some riding in the north of Argentina. We had only heard good things about the riding here and were really keen to be touring again.

The Bolivian roads south to Argentina are terrible and just plain boring so we were keen to catch the only remaining Bolivian train service. Obtaining a ticket to this service was a mission in itself. As there are only a few trains a week and the train is so much more preferable than the bus everyone is after a ticket. On arriving at the ticket office in Oruro (town south of La Paz) we discovered it was a public holiday and the office was closed until the following day. With limited seats left we got up early the next morning to queue....not quite early enough as we went to the back of an already long-line. The local Bolivans pushed ahead of us and we were glad to receive a numbered ticket guaranteeing our place in line. The atmosphere was tense as people entered the building one at a time not knowing if their would be any remaining tickets. With the help of a friendly policeman we secured our tickets. We had been initally disappointed with dusty, bleak Oruro, but ended up having a cool night in the Plaza watching the public holiday celebrations with elaborate costumes, fire-works and music.The journey south on the train was long but comfortable. We were lucky enough to meet an Argentian man who had cycled all through the Americas in his twenties..taking four years! He assisted us in negotiating with the train staff and getting our bikes onto the train just moments before departure. We got off the train at a town called Villazon, jumped on our bikes and headed to the border. The Bolivian-Argentinian border crossing was slow and tedious- but for once being on bikes was to our advantage, getting shunted ahead in the bicycle line with warm cries of “All Blacks” and “Jonah Lomu” from the Argentinian guards. We were both stoked to be back on our bikes and touring again!! We rode out of La Quiaca that evening on perfect sealed roads (you would have loved it Soph!) and found a good campsite in a sheltered gulley. We both agreed it was really weird not having the other three around us on the road- no Bob, no ginger beard, no Pari to chat with! But cool just the two of us and we enjoyed our tomato pasta beneath a spectacular sunset. In the morning it turned out we had camped in the middle of llama farm and we were visited by a friendly, inquisitive gauncho and his dog (who made light work of our cheese for breakfast). The conditions for riding couldn´t have been better- perfect blue skies, good road, little traffic, amazing scenery and not much wind. Although barren and dry the landscape was ever-changing with colourful rock formations. We got through well over 100km on our first day. The altitude and gentle climbing (3850m at our highest point) definitely took its toll on me and we both went to bed exhausted after another breath-taking sunset.

The next day we rode over 100km to the small town of Tilcara. With the wind against us, but gravity on our side we cruised through canyon-country with cacti and llamas lining the road. We enjoyed empanadas and delicious fresh fruit for lunch. Arriving in Tilcara in the late afternoon we chilled out and re-discovered Quilmes beer and of course helado (ice-cream). It was so much cheaper than down south - a quarter the price and just as delicious! The next day we relaxed, walked to a pre-Columbian fort on top of the hill, ate more helado and rode out of town late in the afternoon. Strong head-winds and lots of traffic meant we made camp amongst the cacti early. We set off early the next morning and had the most dreamy riding of the trip. Slight down-hill with not a breath of wind we covered over 60km in two hours. The scenery changed dramatically from colourful rock cliffs to a lush green valley. We had heard there was a thermal reserve near the city of Juyjuy. The 30km detour turned into a bit of an epic afternoon riding. Climbing over 1500m on steep gravel roads through stunning green mountains we were really glad to finally arrive at the pools and soak in the late afternoon sun. We cruised the final 20km into town and set about looking for the camping ground (that turned out not to exist, grrr stupid Lonely Planet!!) Being late in the evening we had not option but to stay in an inner-city hostel. The following day we rode the 90km stretch between Juyjuy and Salta. Our 90km actually turned into 125km as we made a slight wrong turn (map rather than navigator error- Ken stayed calm luckily!) Although our route was the shorter of the two between the cities ours was the road less travelled, being narrow and winding….but perfect for cycle touring. The riding was so so good with no traffic at all! Thick green rainforest lined the winding sealed road and as we rode our way toward Salta and we met 3 other cycle tourists. Tired but pleased to reach Salta we rode the cycle lanes to the central city and set up camp. We spent the evening in the beautiful plaza. With a back-drop of a stunningly lit cathedral and old colonial buildings, this leafy plaza had an amazing buzz about it. We ate dinner at one of the outdoor restaurants - amazed by all the people - young and old, despite it being late on a weeknight. It is certainly a lot easier touring in Argentina- the roads, the people and the terrain all make life a bit simpler. After 500km in five days, we are going to have a wee rest in Salta and enjoy what the city has to offer...We are looking forward to exploring further south enjoying the local vineyards on the way. We will then head back to Bolivia as there are a few more cities there we want to visit and still want to make it to the jungle before heading to Peru and Ecuador.

PS. I´ve been getting a bit of unfair credit for the blog. Although I do most of the writing it is Kate that slaves away uploading and rearranging the photos before fixing all my spelling/gramatical errors. Its a team effort!

Baby llama....so cute!!

Kate finally cooking the Macaroni cheese that she had been carrying for 3 months!!