South America, part 1

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South America, part 1
Pichler

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South America, part 1

South America, part 1
Call of the Andes

Adventure South America: Venezuela, Colombia, Equador, Peru and Bolivia with their grandiose contrasts ensure a top-class enduro tour.

Josef Pichler, Renate Pichler

03/01/2008

Some longings are insatiable. We crossed South America by motorcycle 17 years ago, and the continent has not let us go since then. Until we finally decide to leave again. Despite all the technical progress, a trip to South America on a motorcycle is still a great adventure today. It starts with the word “manana” – tomorrow. In the customs area at Caracas airport it says: “Leave me alone”, “Come back tomorrow”, “I cannot process these forms”. In short: the word stands like a wall between the traveler and his motorcycle. Only days and several bribery payments later can we derive our machine from the authorities. Finally out of the city. Up on winding, stony slopes along the coast or paved highways inland.

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Call of the Andes

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The petrol is sensationally cheap: 17.6 liters cost 1706 bolivares, which is 57 cents. A liter of fuel for three cents, simply magical. During the first rest in Chichiriviche, Raoul Jose joins us. Where are we from? He asks. “De Austria” is our answer. Raoul Jose knows »Australia«, the country with the many kangaroos. It takes a little eternity before he realizes that we are not from »Australia«, but from »Austria«. Of course, he also knows Austria, and he can even think of two compatriots: Adolf Hitler and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

One last night in the empire of Hugo Chavez, president and self-proclaimed “fighter for the poor,” then we cross the border into Colombia at Maicao. The exit formalities are done in five minutes, no comparison to the chaos at the import. Colombia, which is considered the most dangerous country in South America, does not exactly provide relaxation for the first few kilometers. The Medellin cartel around the drug lord Pablo Escobar, the stories of countless kidnappings of foreigners, assaults and manslaughter are not easy to drive out of consciousness. No intersection, no bridge that is not guarded by heavily armed military. The whole thing doesn’t fit in with the landscape, which couldn’t be more inviting and varied. The road winds gleefully through exotic forests, hills and banana plantations and finally along endless sandy beaches. A freshly caught lobster costs ten euros, plus there is ice-cold beer. Sitting on the beach and listening to Vallenato songs played on accordions, it seems almost inconceivable that whole regions near the capital Bogota are under the control of the guerrillas. The people in the bars of Cartagena, one of the most beautiful cities in South America, do not let their joie de vivre be taken away. Hot rhythms and a party atmosphere determine the action until the early hours of the morning. The way the locals dance salsa at Tu Candela is indescribable. In Central Europe she would be imprisoned immediately for indecent acts in public.

Actually, one shouldn’t leave the main roads in Colombia for safety reasons. But cruising south on the well-developed Panamericana is simply not fun. Which is why we turn into the area of ​​the Rio Magdalena in Carmen de Bolivar. Muddy slopes are replacing the tar tape, now the coarse-tread tires are finally getting a grip. The muddy road ends several times at the river, where bridges are in short supply. But the locals know a solution: for the motorcycle transport they simply tie three dugouts together, put wooden planks over them, fix an old outboard motor, and the ferry is ready. In small Andean villages like Barichara, time seems to stand still, the pavement is 300 years old. In contrast, the Panamericana behind the village is a brand new mountain road that demands a cheerful driving style. Only the megacity of Bogotá slows us down again: with a daring game called auto slalom.

The road to the east across the Andes leads through dangerous guerrilla areas. You shouldn’t drive further than Villavicencio. There the Rio Negro rushes deep below us. A 550 meter long steel cable is stretched across the gorge. When we ask ourselves why, a young man appears, puts a rope around the pool, clamps a metal pulley on the rope, pushes himself off and races at hellish speed to the other side of the gorge. “Los Cables” is what the people of the Gyabe Valley call this everyday form of transportation.

The plan to go from Popayán to San Agustin is not feasible. Again there is danger from unpredictable guerrilla activities. Colombia holds a sad world record: in 2005 there were 4,000 kidnappings, which equates to 11 per day. The risk of becoming part of these macabre statistics is too great, and so we leave this country, which is unsafe for travelers, in contrast to its hospitable people and the grandiose nature, so impressive for Ecuador.

Not only the lively Quito welcomes us here, but also the tropical rainforest of the Amazon region. What sounds like paradise is actually the largest oil producing area in Ecuador. In the Ornella region, the pipelines wind their way through the landscape like giant worms. And precisely in this place, in the middle of the oil rigs, there is no gasoline. As a result of a strike, all petrol stations are dry. So it is rescheduled. For the excursion to the Laguna Limoncocha you don’t need fuel, the canoe is operated with muscle power. We find accommodation with a fishing family for three days and are instructed in the art of fishing. The water is teeming with piranhas, but only after hours do three puny predatory fish bite. Twenty others eat the bait for it, Petri-Heil looks different. Fortunately, there is still Ronaldo, he caught a fine guy with the spear, and the piranha dinner is secured.

Back in Quito, we board a ship to visit the Galapagos Islands. We snorkel with sea lions, turtles and sharks. Iguanas are within your grasp, one of the last almost untouched paradises on earth shows the treasures of its flora and fauna.

Five days later we get back on our motorcycle full of impressions. Passing his colleagues Cotopaxi and Chimborazo, we get to the Tungurahua. The 5023 meter high volcano did not erupt for the last time until August 2006 and destroyed several villages. The road at the foot of the mountain is in fact no longer there, entire sections of the route have been torn into the depths. We struggle with difficulty across the devastated area. The view of the smoking crater is fascinating and threatening at the same time. Nobody knows when the active volcano will next erupt …
Soon the border to Peru will be crossed, and behind it the Panamericana stretches as an endless strip of asphalt to the horizon.

We thirst for curves, so we turn east into the Andes. The machine is almost always in an inclined position, but the dusty Andean passes push the daily average. Cusco, our next destination, is hardly getting any closer. Finally, after an altitude of 43,450 meters in 14 days, we reach the former capital of the Inca Empire.

Cusco is the starting point for visiting Machu Picchu, the best preserved Inca city in Peru. The majority of visitors choose to travel comfortably by train. For an enduro, however, there is still the slope over the Abra Malaga Pass. It is spectacularly carved into the rock, with the deepest abysses looming right next to the muddy, slippery road surface. There are no guard rails; a driving mistake can have fatal consequences. The closer we get to the Hydro Electrica station, the worse the slope gets. A lonely caterpillar driver fights against the forces of nature and tries to repair the damage caused by the last landslide. Last but not least, you have to cross the raging Rio Urubamba on a swaying, fragile suspension bridge. On the other side is the end of the line with the Stollenenkrad. We too have to cover the last eight kilometers by train.

The sight of Machu Picchu compensates for all the hardships. The Inca city, built in 1450, is nestled between densely overgrown mountain peaks at almost 2500 meters. Pachacútec Yupanqui, the founder of the fortress, was a powerful ruler who laid the foundations for the expansion of the Inca Empire. The hidden location protected Machu Picchu from the eyes of the Spanish conquerors in 1532. The size and power of the Inca culture can still be felt. Ruined cities and sun temples are spread across the country, we would have liked to see more, but our schedule is pressing.

In Juliaca we narrowly avoid a fall on the oil-smeared road, after both wheels locked when the brakes were tapped. We drive the remaining kilometers to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia more cautiously. At 3810 meters, it is the highest commercially navigable body of water on earth and also the largest lake in South America. One of its attractions are the floating islands made of Totora reeds, which offered the Uro tribe an opportunity to escape from the warlike Inca tribes. When danger threatened, the Uro detached the islands from the shore and allowed themselves to be driven out onto the lake. To this day they live on their swaying refuges, but allow tourists an insight into their unique culture.

La Paz, the largest city in Bolivia, presents itself as a blatant mixture of traditional and modern life. Poor wooden huts stand next to sterile skyscrapers. The latest large-screen televisions can be bought in the shopping malls, while shoe shiners are waiting on the sidewalks in front of them to earn a few Bolivianos.

A straight road to the horizon leads over the Altiplano, this huge plateau between the western and eastern Andes. We will drive the route to Potosi in the south in two days. Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, is also called “the beggar on the golden throne”. Potosi, located at the foot of the Cero Rico, which in the 16th century was one of the richest cities in the world thanks to its silver mining. How much the power of Spain was based on the brutal exploitation of an entire people is shown to us vividly when we visit a mine. Entire village communities of highland residents were beaten into the mines for forced labor by the Spanish colonial rulers. Very few survived the inhuman and poisoning work in the tunnels (see also box on page 98).

In the 20th century, Bolivia was the main supplier of tin in the international market. As is so often the case, natural resources have brought wealth only to a small upper class. This is reflected in the luxurious villas, ultra-modern supermarkets, posh boutiques and expensive SUVs in the south of La Paz. The second largest natural gas reserves in South America were recently discovered in the lowlands. This time the poor Indians in the Andean highlands want to share in the prosperity. President Morales has already issued a decree to nationalize the gas industry. The future will show whether Bolivia can shed its image as a »beggar on the golden throne«.

The southwest of the Bolivian Altiplano casts a spell over us. We cross the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt surface on earth, to which a lonely high desert joins in the south. With the help of our GPS we get to the Arbol de Piedra, the famous stone tree. Afterwards we tackle the 6000 meter high Uturunku. Renate has to descend at 5650 meters. In the deep gravel, the KTM no longer has enough power for two people and their luggage. After a hard fight, the pass summit at 5796 meters is reached single-handedly. A scene like on the moon, the air is extremely thin, not much of the 100 HP of the Adventure can be felt, and the head hurts. So quickly down again.

We leave our camp at the Laguna Colorada before sunrise. It’s still freezing cold and driving on the deep corrugated iron road is dangerous. It doesn’t matter, because Sol de Mañana, the highest geyser field in the world, is only really active in the early morning hours. The steam fountains shoot 20 to 30 meters high into the crystal-clear morning sky. Dense clouds of steam lie over pools of boiling water. Mud holes hiss and bubble away. Here, at an altitude of 5000 meters, it cannot be overlooked that the Andes are geologically a very young mountain range.

The border post south of Laguna Verde is one of the loneliest in South America. The customs officer checks the passports and wishes us good luck on our journey south. Gracias! In contrast to the customs chaos in Venezuela, we are now looking forward to “manana” and all the countries that are still ahead of us.

The drama of the silver mines

Spain’s rise to world power during colonial times was only possible through the brutal exploitation of South America. Millions of Indians have lost their lives in the silver mines of Potosi for this. Under inhumane conditions they were forced to fetch the precious metal from the Cerro Rico, which towers right next to Potosi. Even today people still work inside the mountain, albeit voluntarily. The economic advance in China has caused the prices of raw materials to skyrocket in recent years, and the production capacity in the mines has increased dramatically. Currently, over 15,000 miners toil in the tunnels, with an average life expectancy of 40 years. In search of new silver veins, the men crawl through stuffy tunnels at risk of death. They are permanently exposed to highly toxic mercury vapors, the danger of collapse and the risk of gas explosion in the barely secured pits is extreme. Only the hope of higher wages and the numbing effect of the permanently chewed coca leaves allow the mine workers to endure such unimaginably harsh working conditions. Meanwhile, the Cero Rico (rich mountain) is riddled with holes like Swiss cheese.

Info

South America is a continent of contrasts. Every country makes different demands on travelers, moving impressions are guaranteed.

getting there
Flights to South America start at around 850 euros. The prices for shipping the motorcycle by air freight depend on the size and weight of the machine and start at around 1350 euros in the case of a single-cylinder enduro. The current MOTORRAD Unterwegs Reisen Spezial offers all information about motorcycle transport overseas, available at 0711 / 182-1229.

papers
A valid passport is sufficient; international registration and driver’s license are not required. A Carnet de Passage (available from ADAC) is not required on the way at the borders, but can help with entry.

Bless you
Vaccinations against hepatitis and tetanus are strongly recommended for South America. In the Amazon region, malaria prophylaxis should also be considered. Doctors and tropical institutes provide information. Having a painkiller in your luggage can help you get to the next village after an accident. A foreign health insurance with a return option is also recommended.

care
Food and mineral water in plastic bottles are widely available. The gasoline supply is guaranteed in larger towns, but the quality can drop to 80 octane. It is essential to prepare the motorcycle accordingly. Motorcycle workshops can be found in the larger cities.

security
While Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia are quite safe travel countries with lots of tourist activities, caution is advised in Colombia. It is better not to leave the main routes there and get local information about possible guerrilla activities. Further information: www.auswaertiges-amt.de.

Stay
Hotels and simple hostels can be found everywhere along the route, camping is unpopular, there are hardly any places. Wild camping should only be considered in emergencies away from the road and should generally be avoided in Venezuela and Colombia.

Communication and foreign exchange
Knowledge of Spanish is advisable, English is rarely understood. There are ATMs in larger towns, Visa and Mastercard are often accepted, as is the euro as an exchange currency. US dollar reserves are still recommended.

Maps / literature
The maps from Reise Know-How-Verlag and the travel guide “South-America-Handbook” from Footprint-Verlag have proven themselves for 31.50 euros.

Beware of heights

It can already be observed in the Alps that older motorbikes equipped with a carburetor in particular are losing power and turning ability. The higher the road or track leads into the mountains, the more the air density decreases, the air pressure drops and the oxygen content in the atmosphere drops. Man and machine have to cope with this. The problem with the engine: it can be too greasy. Travelers with carburettor motorcycles can still get relatively easily over passes that are themselves a good 4,000 meters high. As long as the bike is still halfway able to carry out its transport task despite the blatant loss of performance and you don’t have to push it, hardly anyone will change the nozzle needles in the carburettor to avoid over-greasing. Some globetrotters report passes of 5000 meters that their carburetor machine has mastered. More recent injection engines can cope with altitudes of well over 5000 meters. The injection system is programmed in such a way that it »recognizes« the impending high altitude pain via its air pressure sensor. In the event of a lack of oxygen and decreasing air pressure, it reduces the amount of gasoline in order to maintain an optimal gasoline-air mixture. It is understandable that at some point the performance will decrease. Before an injection machine finally dies, the lack of oxygen is likely to cause the driver the bigger problems.

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