Start & Stop: Oruro, Bolivia
Mileage: 0
Hotel: Hotel Gran Sucre, Calle Sucre #510, Oruro. Bolivia
Fuel: Peru: Best grade 95 = S/16.69 Sol/Gal ($2.33 USD/gal)
Currency Exchange: $1 USD = 7.01 Boliviano
Lisa in the jumpseat/sleeper of the cab.
Lisa, Celodoro Mercado (assistant), Rolando Capa Calle (truck driver), Dean enjoying hot tea and a delicious pastry.
Dean: When the truck got on paved road (30 km from Oruro) there was a great sense of relief from my mind.
I knew there were parts of that road that were more than we could negotiate.
The truck was the right decision.
Lisa: Monday dawned and we were still in the truck … I slept off and on through the night and finally we arrived in Oruro about 6 AM. We were invited into Rolando’s family home for a light breakfast made by his adorable wife Rosario. They obviously have a very large family as their dining table sat 14. We felt quite honored to be there and then we went into town to find a suitable place to offload the bikes. Things are simpler in SA – just back up to a slight dirt incline and muscle the darn things off. Boom. Done in 10 minutes, all our stuff piled high on the ground and off they went.
We spent maybe 40 minutes reassembling things then went in search of a hotel room. We needed to do laundry (Dean’s gas soaked jacket being the worst!) and get some real sleep, not to mention actually eating something of substance.
Dean: Did we mention there were 3 young men riding in the back of the covered stakebed truck? This is normal and the truck driver does it for free or a small payment.
When we loaded the bikes into the stakebed truck it was kinda crazy. It was raining pretty good. We had stripped our bikes of saddlebags, luggage, anything strapped on. These items were sitting in a pile and 3 guys were grabbing our stuff and tossing it into the back of the truck. Somehow my jacket ended up on the back of Lisa’s bike. During a stop sometime during the night, the assistant went back to check on the passengers and our bikes and came back saying one of the bikes had slipped over on it’s side. We both jump out and looking into the pitch dark stakebed, to see Lisa’s bike on it’s right side. Expecting the worse, there was no damage. The Wee was lifted back onto wheels and re-strapped to the side wall. But, my First Gear jacket was under the bike collecting all the gas that dripped out of the bike.
Lisa: We rode around town looking for a suitable hotel and after a few false starts, ended up at Grand Hotel Sucre. Ok, so the Grand part is a bit of a stretch but it worked. Internet only in the lobby which is a pain. But by this time we have a system and part of that is not letting the small stuff get to you.
We packed up our dirty clothes and with Dean’s reeking jacket went in search of a Lavanderia. It seems that there are no coin operated laundromats in South America and we had to convince a laundry to PLEASE get our stuff done in one day. No pressing needed Senor – just wash and dry it and we’ll be happy campers. We enjoyed the walk back so much that we skipped the cab and walked both directions in the evening when it would all be ready.
This town is really happening at night – lots of high school kids in their neat uniforms, families going for dinner, white collar types getting their errands down, etc. It was so interesting and such a slice of life. we walked pretty much the entire market and just loved the whole scene.
Chef Roberto Gironas L is a master chef. His mother owns the Villa Nayjama Restaurant. He owns a separate restaurant but happen to be at his mothers this night. The lamb was delicious!
Chef Roberto's mother stopped by our table to chat. What a wonderful lady.
We dropped our clothes at the hotel and set off to find the recommended restaurant and we were not disappointed. The Villa Nayjama Restaurant is a wonderful experience. What a treat, having the owner and her son sit and talk with us, sharing their stories and opening up to us about so much. Yup, this is what it’s all about. Oh, and perfectly cooked lamb, good wine and then homemade dessert and ouzo didn’t hurt.
Dean: Tomorrow we ride back north on the PanAm Hwy 1 to Patacamaya and take a excellent paved road to the Bolivia/Chilean border and on to Arica.
Life is good!
First it was Wine – then BEER – calling herself the “old gal” – and now Ouzo –
My lord – what have they done with our Lisa?
I’m shocked…. shocked I tell ya.
You two are going to get home and not be able to ride more than 45 miles (or feet – insert your own) – without falling over and breaking something or going out for tamales. Ouzo? Ouzo? Next you’ll be drinking the Torter’s Grappa or something.
An ardous ride for the strongest of men…I’m proud to know you..when I gave you your first motorcycle ride, I never dreamed it would lead to a saga like this. Like my flight across the ‘Atlantic’ it’s an experience will carry with us for the rest of our lives!But yours is really over the top!
Lise wrote: A harbinger of the day to come was when Dean clipped my saddlebag in the gas station and we both fell over. Yup. Perfect.
Sorry guys I had to laugh out loud at that one. Sounds like something I would do.
Arica is nice, but I really liked Iquique. Stopped there both ways. From there the ride along the coast to Tocopilla is great, especially after all the desert. Keep up the adventure, it’s all good, trucks ride and all.
Many times you’ll be able to find families to do your laudry too – cheap too.