Bolivia - detour to La Paz and Uyuni

Behind Yunguyo (Peru) we once again cross a South American border on foot. On the Bolivian side, the somewhat dusty Bolivia-Hop bus is already waiting for us and takes us to Copacabana. Before we board a boat to Isla del Sol, we quickly grab some Asia food to go. Our captain then drops us off on one side of the sun island after a longer journey (Lake Titicaca) and we hike over to the other side. The excursion is not really spectacular, but still pleasant. On the way back, we sit on the upper deck in the sun and read a few chapters of our holiday readings. Back on the shore, we go straight to the bus and continue to La Paz. On the way, there is a slightly adventurous ferry ride in Tiquina and some street food (with side effects).

The next day, we get up early again because we want to ride the Yungas Road with bikes. The road is known as the 'Death Road', but nowadays it is not as dangerous anymore due to less traffic. With the Altitude provider, we go up to an altitude of 4700 meters and jump on our bikes. The first part (about 1 hour) leads over the new highway (asphalted) to the starting point of the 'Death Road'. Fortunately, we have a total of 3 guides in our tour group, so there is a pace for every taste. Due to the strong headwind, we reach a maximum speed of 'only' between 60 and 70 km/h (practically lying on the bike) in the leading group. Then we go on the world-famous narrow and winding gravel road, which used to claim almost 300 deaths per year at its 'best' times. On one side there is the rock wall, on the other side it goes several hundred meters deep all the time. Creepy feeling! Anyway, the first guide, an Australian, and Stephan race down the track at full speed. Nina follows closely behind and leads the chasing field. Numerous breaks give one of the guides, lovingly called paparazzi, the opportunity to take some snapshots of us, while the first guide quickly counts whether everyone is there. In the end, we overtake all other tour operators who apparently put safety before fun... Eat our dust!!! For the final descent, we get rid of the thick protective clothing, as we have now descended to jungle climate. Just don't fall! After 62 kilometers and almost 3000 meters of altitude difference, our rapid downhill ride ends without injury. Out of about 20 bikers, 2 get injured; no one dies! :)

The next day, Stephan strolls alone through La Paz, while Nina deals with the aftermath of the street food in the hostel room. La Paz is not really worth seeing. The only interesting thing is a large demonstration like G20 against abortion and more women's rights, where the Ministry of Health comes under heavy fire from firecrackers. In the evening, we board a flight to Uyuni to prepare for our tour of the salt flats. Uyuni feels like a western town, but in today's world. Our accommodation is a sleeping car converted into a bedroom. Very cool! We relax a bit and compare the offers of the countless providers. In the end, we decide on Skyline Traveller.

On November 29, we start our desert adventure with our driver Saul and 4 other tourists. Our jeep obviously has seen better days. The first stop is a cemetery for old freight trains that rust away in the desert over time. Then we continue to a salt hotel located on the current race track for the Dakar Rally. In the perspective-distorting salt flat, we take numerous funny photos. Afterwards, we enjoy the sunset on one of the islands, which look like small mountains after the drying up of the flat. The surfaces of the islands are made of petrified corals. We spend the night in a salt hotel, where Stephan enjoys a few drinks with the two Poles from our group. They seem to always have plenty of booze with them! The next day takes us to various colored lagoons with flamingos and interesting rock formations, as well as the Salvador Dali desert. Our accommodation for the night is relatively high up and it gets really cold. Fortunately, we have a hot shower through our upgrade to a double room (instead of a multi-bed room) and can at least heat up our room and bodies a bit for the night. On the third day, we visit the remains of a former supervolcano, which still feeds a few simmering springs and smoke fountains. Around late morning, we reach the border with Chile (hut in the desert) and exchange the cars as if after a robbery.