Bolivia - Sud Lípez

In Uyuni we took a rest for three days. On the one hand, the last stage was 8 days in a row and on the other hand, the upcoming "Ruta de las Lagunas" is apparently tough. In the city of Uyuni you meet many tourists, from here the tours start with the big dirty V8 in the salt desert or in the "Provincia de Sud Lípez". We enjoy the many restaurants that are supplied "fresh" daily and clean the wheels from the last salt remnants.

There is a train cemetery on the outskirts of the city. The large locomotives that used to transport the salt to the coast rust here - for some a real adventure playground.

The first 2 days of the 450 km long stretch were still very relaxed to ride except for one or the other "breeze". However, that should change soon.

On the first evening we found a small hotel. Each floor had its own Wi-Fi network, but unfortunately it only worked on one floor. The garage driveway was still "under construction".

Before we turn left of the road, we come through a "rock garden". With a little imagination you meet here a raven,

Jabba the Hutt

A llama

A guinea pig

And some other sculptures. The evening light made the stones shine in a beautiful golden tone.

We look for shelter from the wind between the rocks and spend a little bouldering session in the evening - quite out of shape.

Then it went to the profince of "Sud Lípez". The roads became a little rougher, the mountains a little more colorful and at the first Laguna we were greeted by some flamingos.

One flamingo wanted to warn us that the roads here are pretty shitty, but we were sitting on the saddle again.

The wind was quite brutal in the afternoon and we were happy to have found a small stone wall.

The light in the morning was great and the landscape became more and more crazy.

But also the "roads".

On one climb we had a battle with a fresh engaged couple from Belgium - they completely destroyed us.

The few off-road vehicles we saw drive where they like it best and so we look at the navigation system quite often. On the side of the road are also frequently left oil pans and burst tires. Unfortunately, some guides do not appreciate their unique workplace.

The mountains and volcanoes are getting more and more colorful, we are very impressed.

We have from noon continuous 60 km/h headwind. This is quite exhausting and the paths are often as "bad" as on the Baja Divide.

We are camping protected from the wind behind a few rocks. While cooking we got a visit from a curious Viscacha. He probably wanted to get some food from us, but because we are progressing so slowly and already have to ration like Mark Watney, that didn't happen and he quickly disappeared again.

We are quite fit and can cycle well above 4,500 altitude meters. However, we do not like spending the night at this altitude so much. If you can even fall asleep, you are very restless and often dream of weird stuff.

The whole next day we slid again with headwinds through soft gravel and washboards, it was really hard to enjoy. But there is one or the other beautiful view.

A small rock garden and a very striking volcanic stone, predominantly shaped by wind, the Árbol de Piedra (stone tree) motivated us a bit. The mushroom rock is about 5 m high.

We are sliding downhill to Laguna Colorada. The water glows in a strong red, which is caused by the predominant algae species and the high mineral content of its water. Many flamingos can be seen. The salt surveys look like icebergs. The following photos are not color-edited.

At the lake we find a really great accommodation that is approached by the "Dirty Toyota V8 Tours". The batteries are charged and thus the shower is nice and hot. With our sore butts we fall dead into bed. The washboard roads and the strong wind have disfigured us quite a bit - Nivea Ambassador.

With the Laguna in the background, we started the climb. After the torment of the last few days, we had quite a lot of respect for the upcoming 25 km long ascent. However, the road along a canyon was not so bad and the wind came "only" from the side - Beauty!

At the top, at over 4,900 meters above sea level, we are higher than Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe.

This region is also called Sol de Mañana (the morning sun). The area is so colorful, as if a Holy Festival was held recently. It is a large geothermal area with geysers, boiling mud holes and fumaroles that make noise like a jet engine.

It smells badly for sulfur and before we turn yellow we get off the field.

The descent to Laguna Chalviri was one of the most spectacular views of the entire trip for both of us. The pastel-colored mountains are so incredibly beautiful that it can hardly be put into words. Unfortunately, the photos in no way reflect what we were allowed to experience there. When we get back home, we will definitely take a photography course.

Further around the lagoon we constantly throw the bikes into the sand to take pictures.

On the last day in the national park we land on the tourist route. When we pass the Aguas Termales Chalviri at 7:00 in the morning, the bleached faces of 20 off-road vehicles frolic in the brick paddling pool of the hot springs. That was certainly not in the ad. Costs: 10 Bolivianos. Beauty?

A highlight that day was the Dali Desert. A desert within the desert - a very impressive scenery.

There is still a colorful pass to the national park border. It looks like a unicorn has vomited here.

This area really kills us, of course we passed a green lagoon (Laguna Verde) and a strutted vicuña on the side of the road.

The headwind was so strong in the afternoon that we almost didn't make any progress. Fortunately, we were able to spend the night in the Refugio on the national park border. The stirred dust is as fine as cement. The chains creak like an old plank floor. Here you really need an oil jug in the cup holder.

We leave this unique place and cross the border to Chile again. We ride down the road to San Pedro de Atacama. The city is not on our planned route, but is at "only" 2,500 meters above sea level. We need a couple days of good sleep again and also need a kitchen, because we are pretty annoyed from our ramen and Oreo cookies diet. The entire Sud Lípez crossing took eight days.