Tupiza Passage

Visibility is excellent up here. At times like this you can see the whole morning's route layed out before you. This is slightly troubling since the road seems to disappear up the side of a very pronounced slope, maybe ten kilometres from us.

I issued dire predictions to Brice. "This road is going to go straight up that mountain. Do you see it?"

We continued along the long, open valley, slowing approaching our meeting with the mountain.

I didn't seem to have any reserves of energy. The cycling was not coming easy, and I couldn't figure out why. Then I felt the swelling in my stomach. I've got an issue down there.

The llama came calling just as the road started its tentative, serpantine approach for the mountain. I evacuated my bowels a few times over. We began the climb in earnest.

Today's road is the quintessential example of Bolivian straight-line, straight-up road construction. There simply is no switchback on the majority of this climb.

The problem of today's diahhreoral, switchback-less road is compounded by the surface. This stretch of road has been recently graded, but the grading technique has left a thick layer of soft topsoil. It can be cycled through only with great effort.

Brice made it to the top through this hellish, steep stuff but I was not capable. I pushed my bike up a great deal of it.

We sat at the top and I watched Brice eat lunch. I didn't want to inflame my insides.

The terrain on this side of the mountain is quite high; there is no real descent. We headed south, gobbling more road since we want to clock in 35 kilometres for the day. We were pretty determined to do at least this distance each day in order to ensure the soonest possible exit from the Altiplano. This place is aesthetically appealing but not hospitable.

We came upon Laguna Collpa and saw our first flamingos. The bright pink creatures stand in the shallow waters with necks down.

In fading light we raced round the laguna basin and climbed out of it.

This led into an adjoining laguna basin. The sulphric smell blowing off this laguna was overwhelming. We raced round the edge of this basin in order to camp on the far side, hopefully with fresher air.

We reached a wrecked settlement, probably for minerals taken from the laguna, and pitched our tents in the lee of a small stone wall.

Landmark	time	temp (°C)	odometer (kms)	altitude (m)	(Google Earth)
Quetena Chico	12:00 pm	?	0	3987	4222
Quetena Grande	12:45 pm	?	5	3982
Sandman Pass	3:30 pm	28	26	4595	4730
Laguna Collpa	6:53 pm	5	40	4497	4539

Read the day's journal entry.