The World Off Road Pt 7

useer ho
into h ake.
sudLlcome f Titicaca
at wean th ni Island omowaThe
AmantCaminos De LaatIn someWe parts ofboug
ht it Bolivia
it’sto geon black hard tomt toLa Parket in find die
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r(Roads Of Death)

Muerteour Greek explorers climbed on 6000m, drove throughthe most dangerous road in the world, camped in endlesssalt lakes, entered the driest desert on earth and they still
have a long way to go throughout South america…
words by Akis Temperidis Photos by Vula Netu and Akis Temperidis
lpaca
and allama nd Bolivia.
fosaillion f Peruoare m
There altiplano44

www.overlander.com.aueon thCrossing ‘camino de la muerte’, the well
advertised ‘death road’ from La Paz to Coroico.

OVERLANDER auGuST. 1045

The World Off Road Pt 7

Colombian beauty dua horse ridinring a ‘cabalgata’,g event.

Villa de Leyva, Colombia, is anothercolonial town where we could live forever.

First thing you notice in Colombia is thatit is by far a more modern and developed
country than what you’d expect. People
are friendly, well educated with aEuropean sophistication. Women are
not just beautiful, they are dangerously
gorgeous! There is a reason behind that;
Colombia is both white and black. Mix isthe secret...
This country used to be notorious for drug trafficking, civil
wars and high crime rate. This used to be true but thanks to theefforts of the latest Colombian government, crime is restricted
and Colombia is on the tourist map again. As a traveller who
doesn’t mess with ‘narcotraffico’, you have nothing to fear.
We crossed Colombia all the way from the Caribbean coastto the south and we never felt unsafe. Being aware that thecountry is the number one producer of cocaine worldwide, wewere surprised by the fact that nobody approached us to sell
the white stuff. Police are omnipresent on the roads and during
our 2500km trip we encountered more controls than anywhere
else. Officers are discreet and polite by the way.
More than anything, Colombia is a land ofcontrasting colours, landscapes, cultures and living

standards. Cartagena is a colonial beauty at its heart withoverwhelming beach culture around. All of Northern Colombia,
from there to Barranquilla (Shakira’s birthplace) and Taganga,
has a Caribbean touch. Driving inland towards Bogota, youclimb gradually on the northernmost part of the Andes. Before
getting there, we diverted to Mompox, an isolated colonial
town, next to the Magdalena River. We drove on rough gravel
roads passing through remote, dusty villages and we saw theflip side of Colombia. It is like Africa there...
Getting on higher altitude was a relief. We could finallysleep in our tent without the torture of the heat. Bogota is
the first of the high altitude capitals we visited. We spent
our first night in a parking lot and the second night in thehouse of the guy who created Legion Land Rover (www.
legionlandrover.com), the only LR club in the country. Bogota
reflects the wellness of upper class ‘cachacos’ on the northand the poverty of internal immigrants in the southern slums.
Candelaria, the old neighbourhood downtown is a pleasant
place to walk and encounter beautiful, curious students.
Truth is that we spent double the time the in Colombia thanscheduled. We were delighted by Villa de Leyva, a majestic
town north of Bogota that makes you feel like you travelledback to colonial times. “This is a place to live!” we said toeach other the first time we strolled through the cobblestone
streets to the biggest plaza we had seen in Latin America.
Further to the south, we visited San Agustin, a small town
built next to the source of the Magdalena River. The nearby
archaeological park features the monolithic statues that werecreated by a mysterious no name civilization, that flourished
before the Incas.

Getting toa highaltitude wasa relief.
We could finallysleep in ourtent without
the tortureof the heat.
Bogota was
the first of thehigh altitude
capitals wevisited.

This is how you cross Magdalena River,Colombia, to get to remote Mompox town.

ther cacerole onlive turtles fo x.
lls
seanomw
poA
road to Mom

A Colombian
girl performs
indigenous
dance in
downtown
Cartagena.

lseoccerbout s.
azy a in America
rce
rtaas
Lnia
inbyone elike anColom

Crossing The Equator
Ecuador is a totally different country to Colombia. Like Peru
and Bolivia, the indigenous population is dominant. Thismeans that in every town, you see more people dressed
traditionally than western style. Ecuador is a very touristic
country but still cheap. It is practical for travellers as theUS dollar is the official currency, and very affordable foroverlanders, thanks to the low fuel price, the lowest in all
America; 1 gallon of diesel costs slightly more than 1USD! This46

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OVERLANDER auGuST. 1047

The World Off Road Pt 7
was one reason we drove a lot there but not the only one;the diversity of the country challenges you to follow morepaths. From chaotic Quito, the capital that stands on 2800m,
we thought about taking a plane to the famous Galapagos
Islands. Given that a four day cruise would cost our monthly
budget, we preferred to drive from the Andes to the lowlands
different times in order to get a good taste of the country.
During a week or so in Ecuador, we visited the lively marketof Otavalo, crossed the equator, camped on the windswept
slopes of picture perfect Cotopaxi volcano and walked down
to the turquoise-coloured volcanic Lake Quilotoa, a postcardlike landscape on 4000m. We were enthusiastic enoughto get down to the humid lowlands – that seems to be acompletely different country – and get back to the Andes
to relax at Cuenca, maybe the nicest town – with the best
cuisine - in Ecuador. Last but not least was Vilcabamba,
in the so-called ‘Valley of Longevity’. Apart from the hypecreated by expatriates of the ‘flower power’ generation,
Vilcabamba is one more place that teases you to stay there
forever, no matter what you make it to 140 years old, assome locals were able to do. A green, fertile valley on 1600m
close to the equator is a place closer to paradise than any
other, don’t you think?

derstandpa to un
the pam azca lines.
rveoto fly
the N
You need e grandeur ofthThe famous Sacred Valley, near Cuzco, Peru.

48

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A quechua woman brings herllama downtown Cuzco to get somemoney from photos like this.

A young boy selling ‘Che’ cigarettes
in Cuzco’s Plaza de Armas.
Che Guevara is a dominating figure
anywhere in Latin America.

Peru Reloaded...
Crossing the border and entering Peru was like getting back to
the roots of our trip. In 2005, we had travelled for 20 days in
the country in a Toyota LandCruiser. That trip was the ultimate
test for the big one. We were testing ourselves and our budget
to a lifestyle that was yet to come.
This time we had the opportunity to cross the country
from north to south. Peru is one of the top travel destinations
overall. It combines three distinct zones; desert country onthe coast, the high standing Andes range in the middle andthe Amazon basin further to the east. Depending on the route
you choose, Peru is a totally different place. You can stay formonths in this country and discover new things every day.
Two places you shouldn’t miss though are Machu Picchu and
Titicaca Lake. We were lucky to have visited the most iconic
Incas citadel in the past, otherwise we would have missed

The World Off Road Pt 7

Overlooking the famous salinas thatwere built by the Incas 500 years ago.

it this time. Torrential rains created havoc in the area last
January and kept Machu Picchu off-limits for months. The railthat takes you to Machu Picchu was closed until last April. TheInca trail, the classic four day trek to the ruins was closed aswell. No worries though... Revisiting Cuzco, a colonial beauty
built on top of an old Incas town, and exploring the villages,
the ruins, the experimental crop fields and the salt flats ofingenious Inca people, was as refreshing as the yoga lesson
we took on Sacsayhuaman fortress, the one that overlooks themajestic town.
From Cuzco and the sacred valley every traveller heads
south to Titicaca Lake. This is what we did as well. We left
the car at Puno and took a two day tour at the lake. We
visited the floating Uros Islands, stayed with a local family,
tried simple Aymara meals and had a traditional dance,
dressed in wool ponchos and alpaca hats. Titicaca tours arestandardised. All tourists follow the same program but even
if you hate tour groups, you should try this. You will have agood time for sure...

Escape From Bolivia
Bolivia seems like a poorer Peru at first sight and is by far amore indigenous country. Six to ten Bolivians still speak theirown language and since 2005 an indigenous ex ‘cocalero’
from Oruro, named Evo Morales, is the president of thecountry. Still, most Bolivians seem to be suspicious people.
They don’t trust outsiders and they have a good reason forPeru - Bolivia border atCrossing the picturesque n shore of Titicaca Lake.
hersout
Yungayo, on theTraditional clubbing in

Uros women reflecting brightly
on the surface of the wonderful
Titicaca Lake.

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The World Off Road Pt 7
that. Bolivia lost its coastline
to chile during the pacific
war of 1879 and this remains
a stink in its national psyche.
copacabana, a hippie village on thesouthern shore of Titicaca provides
the only beach in the country. don’t
mention that to the locals, though...
la Paz is the most chaotic and congested
capital in latin america. It’s also the highest standing in
the world, squashed in a valley surrounded by cordillera
real, on 3800m. Just for this reason, la Paz is the mostbreathtaking capital in the world!
Bolivia proved to be an adventure for us. everything ischeap here so you can try some crazy things you neverthought about before. like climbing over 6000m for only
140 aud! This is the price to climb on top of Huayna
Potosi, including six meals, a bed for two nights and aguide. It is a three day adventure that starts from a warm
refuge at 4700m. we had a short training session withpiolet and crampons on a nearby glacier and next day wetrekked to the second refuge at 5130m. The next morning– at 1:00 am! – we fitted the crampons on our snowboardlike boots and started climbing slow and steady on a steep
slope of ice. It was dark , cold and painful doing that in themiddle of the night. what where we thinking for trying
this? The mountain should punish reckless smokers likeus, who think they can defy the barrier of 6000m on theirfirst attempt, as if it was a walk in the park. climbing on
any mountain is not a walk in the park. we were walking for
four hours up to 5850 m, frozen and exhausted, when thesnow started falling and the black clouds covered the sky
threatening to kill two ignorant Greeks and their poor guidewith a single thunderbolt. we continued despite taking a

Everything is cheap in Bolivia
so you can try some crazythings you never thought ofdoing before. Like climbing over
6000m for only 140 AUD!
Bolivia has thehardest roads inSouth America.

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Crossing ‘camino de la muerte’, the well
advertised ‘death road’ from La Paz to Coroico.

break every ten steps to breathe. at one moment the guide
asked me to touch his jacket. I sensed a spark – whichmeant static charge – a major signal for an oncoming bolt.
The same moment we turned back and started descending
pretty fast. we didn’t break the mighty barrier of 6000m
but we survived, thank God!
Back in la Paz we were ready for more adventures.
Instead of taking the road on the andes Plateau to Potosi,
we took the ‘camino de la muerte’, the notorious ‘deathroad’ to coroico. This is a 2m wide gravel road that hangs
on steep cliffs and descends from the andes to the Yungas,
the coca growing highlands between the mountains andthe jungle. The ‘camino’ has killed hundreds of people in
the past but recently it was bypassed by a new road and
now is mostly used by bike tours as an adrenaline activity.
How does it feel driving there in a big, fat discovery3?
Sometimes you feel your left wheel hanging off the road,which is serious trouble because the depth is abysmal atsome points. But let’s be honest; we have done several
more dangerous and less advertised routes during our trip.
camino de la muerte is more hype than thrill actually...
a far more thrilling experience was the long loop throughthe Bolivian jungle. we did more than 1800km from la Paz
to cochabamba, two cities that are only 300km apart. wedrove for two days on bone cracking gravel roads throughhot and dusty, jungle villages until the road disappeared in
the flooded basin. now what? we should load our car inan old wooden barge to make it to Trinidad. The 50km trip
took five hours. we had to use our headlights and all ouranti-mosquito cream to stroll through the flooded fields
and deserted villages around mamore river, which looked

The World Off Road Pt 7

Driving in Salarde Uyuni is an
extraterrestrial
experience.

more likea lake afterthe rainseason.
ourGuevara’s
Bolivianllage, Che r the lastviednra
foedVallegy.
adventure wasphotographospital ativian arm
In this h transferred and own by the Boldas
not over yet.
body w r he was shot
time afte
after we visited
Santa cruz, theeconomic capital of the country, we followed ernesto che
Guevara’s last path to vallegrande. This is where che wascarried dead, after he was shot by Bolivian – cIa supported– troops. The revolutionary hero was buried here but hisgrave was found only in 1997.
Potosi is a mining town in the remote south of Bolivia,
on 4100m. at the beginning of the 17th century, it had
grown bigger and more prosperous than london thanks to
La Paz is built on
the gold and silver mines of cerro rico, the hill overlooking
3800 m. It is thethe town. now many people visit the town for its colonial
highest capital in
heritage and the thrill of visiting one of the remainingthe world and one of
the most chaotic.
mines, where millions of indigenous and black slavesdied working there, just to make Spain an even wealthierempire. we entered a mine and – believe me – you wouldn’t
southern end of Bolivia to get to chile. a broken bolt thatstand to work there for one hour...
holds the rear wheel straight had a different idea. we werea gravel road leads further south to uyuni. The exstuck in the middle of a gravel road where not cars passed
military garrison is converted to a hot travel destination,for hours. we spent the whole day trying to find anotherthank to its unique position, right next to Salar de uyuni,
bolt or to fix the same one. after a huge effort and thethe biggest salt lake in the world. Backpackers take a
assistance of some good local people at colcha K village,
three to four day tour in a 4wd to explore one of the
we could go on next day. on the off road route to chile thegreat landscapes on earth. we took our discovery intobolt broke again and so we had to improvise. we tied hardthe salt flat that covers an area of a small country. It wasthrilling at first and amusing in the end to drive for tens of the alignment bar with the shock absorber and we kept
going at a very slow pace. we drove eleven hours that day
kilometres on the white surface that creates some surreal
to escape Bolivia. we were relieved to enter prosperous
illusions on the horizon. we camped in the middle of thechile and take a break in the heart of the atacama desert,
flat by night and it was a cold and creepy experience.
the driest desert in the world. From here we start the final
There was no other living creature around, just us underpart of our long trip. after all, we are hopeful we will makethe bright starlight.
it to ushuaia, the southernmost town in the world.
next day we decided to leave uyuni and head to the

See where Akis
and Vula are
now on www.
theworldoffroad.com

54

Day two of climbing on theHuayna Potosi mountain. We were
hopeful we would make it then…

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