San Pedro de Atacama to Uyuni

San Pedro de Atacama to Uyuni

A spare day spent in San Pedro. I checked out the local museums while Ron went and bounced round the desert in a van.

Next morning it was tank up and off again. The aim to head to Uyuni, Bolivia via Calama and on up route 21.

It was only 100 km to Calama where we topped off the fuel again. We had been assured there was no fuel between Calama and Uyuni about 400 km away. No problem for the Tenere which only hits reserve about then.

The route out of Calama started as tarseal which soon changed to a dirt surface mixed with salt that sets solid. Fine until trucks start breaking up the surface. Where they break through completely it turns into a large sand pit. Any road works you get diverted around through more deep sand patches. Quite a workout for we fellas from sea-level! We spent the day between 3000m – 4000m. Did manage to flounder with the Tenere on a really deep uphill section where trucks had been getting stuck. Well buried it on its side. Getting the bike out on my own was a task and a half – someone flogged all the oxygen!

The road got worse as we approached the Bolivian border.

On the bright side the Atacama desert and upper areas present an amazing array of  landform from massive scree slopes, barren desert of multi colour soils, Salt Lakes ( Salars) and mountains which leave you in no doubt you are in a Volcanic zone. 

At the Boliivian border the Argentine contingent happily booted us out with a stern warning our papers ended here??. The Bolivian team is in 3 or 4 buildings spread either side of a major railway line. Perhaps we should have got and inkling of the speed processing happens by the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid era train still parked waiting to get through. The truckies, who were also piled up --- waiting --- pointed us in the right directions. We spent 40 mins running back and forth like headless chickens getting docs processed and stamped then onto the Aduana (customs) for the bikes. Now the Bolivian Aduana have a motto “Efficiency and Transparency”.  Those boys have it down to a fine art! As we approached the office they efficiently became transparent and vanished..for 2 hours!!

We sat around in what shade there was and tried to stop the ultra-violet rays turning our eyeballs into an evening meal.

The customs may have been away for longer except an army team arrived to collect a convoy of trucks. They gave customs 15 mins before going out fully armed to track him down.

On to Uyuni. From the border to Uyuni, 190 km, the road was much the same, rough. The terrain was also similar, apart from one section passing through a huge rock-garden. We eventually arrived in Uyuni absolutely stuffed, passing the fuel station where we made the mistake of not filling up. We headed straight into town and found a hotel with secure bike parking and crashed for the evening.