Day 145, Nov 24, 2013, 211km
WOW what a ride on Hwy 21, from Uyuni to Tupiza, it goes from desert to mountains, sandpits/dunes to watercourses, this road has it all, winding twisting, washboard ridden to hairpin curves, it's only 210 km (131 mi) from Uyuni to Tupiza and it took me 8hrs to do it. Made plenty of stops for water and a snack. I arriving in Tupiza covered in dust and looking like a desert rat, this really made a few people look twice. This road gave the bike a real beating today with all the sand and washboards that were absolutely relentless, I will have to check things out on the bike tomorrow.
The biggest challenge is the sandpits and dunes, even though they try to keep the road open the wind keeps blowing the sand back, having learned my lessons in Moab on how to deal with the sand on this heavy bike and only after dumping it 3 times, did it finally pay off this time.
The views are stunning to say the least, there are so many colors from all the mineral deposits everywhere you look, and a lot of the rivers have a reddish color that are weird looking.
Did not see much of the salt flats (on different road I guess) but hey I did live in Salt Lake City and have been to the Bonneville race track plenty of times watching Breedlove breaking records so I know what this is like.
During this ride I have been experiencing some incredible feelings of fulfilment as I go through some of these amazing places that will take your breath away, with scenery imposable to describe, even pictures can't bring it to justice, all I can say for those of you that if you can do this don't wait, this is a truly amazing once in a lifetime experience that you must take.
View of Cerro Chorolgue
Will be staying at the El Refugio Turista in Tupiza for $6 with secure parking, but no Internet.
Panorama view
Just before Tupiza you go through another beautiful valley.
No comments:
Post a Comment