The Road to Potosí

The 300km long road from Oruro to Potosí turned out to be tougher than expected (especially toward the end).

Oruro to Poopó

 A late start from Oruro sent us across a flat plane where we espied the first salt (hinting of Bolivia’s famous salt flats further south!). Toward sunset (after 55km) we arrived in the miner’s town of Poopó, where we decided to spend the night in a hotel. To our astonishment, this little town owned a swimming pool, and our hotel included access to it! This was good news for Karsten, who proceeded to get up early the next morning for a nice splash :)

Unfortunately for English speakers, the police station of Poopó lost a letter.

Karsten trying a local fruit juice mix in the morning before leaving

Leaving Poopó behind us, we biked past the dusty town of Challapata and entered the winding and mountainous road to Potosí. It became very challenging very quickly because of the many hills, and we soon found a nice spot close to a lake where we set up camp.

A pretty lake

Cooking a pre-made green curry for dinner (that's a flashlight, not fire)

 The following day we again climbed and climbed, hill after hill. It was a slow process with many cookie breaks. Eventually we made it to the top of a very tedious ascent and, properly knackered as we were, decided to skip dinner and camp right away.

Karsten advertising his shaver after packing up the next morning

Finally, we were rewarded with a descent. It was short-lived, however, for the remainder of the way to Potosí turned out to be even more challenging than the day prior. Hills, hills, and more hills. And did I mention the hills? By the time we had fought our way to the main plaza of Potosí, the sun had set and it was freezing. We would be rewarded with three nights of rest in Hostal La Realeza.

Welcome to Potosí! Good job on making it up here :)