The last 70 kms (42 miles) to the border were also not easy. There was a lot of wind, which (of course) came from the wrong direction; right from the front. The wind probable didn’t want us to go to Bolivia and wanted to keep us in Argentina. But we made it.

In the border town of La Quiaca there was a sign with the distance to Ushuaia. It was 5121 kms (3200 miles) through the most direct route, but for us it was a little bit further; 6700 kms (4200 miles).

Fortunately, the border formalities didn’t take very long and here also we were reminded of the fact that there’s a woman (Queen) called Maxima in our country and that she’s Argentinian. Like many others, the customsguy also told us to say hi to her. Maybe we should ask for an official meeting when we get back, just to tell her all the ‘hi’s’.

And then we were in Bolivia (Villazon). Right away everything was different. From the boring little towns in Northern Argentina, where you just wonder why the hell the people are living there and what they’re doing there, we suddenly were in a whole different world. We arrived in the vivid and colorful main street of Villazon where there were little shops and streetvenders everywhere, selling food, colorful rugs and most of all a lot of electronics. Such a difference! Even though the town itself wasn’t much, the vivid streetlife was a huge difference from the boring and dead villages in the north of Argentina.

We also were immediately introduced to the world of the Bolivian hotels. Very cheap and a shower with hot water through electricity. That means that you pull a switch and that should cause the water to warm up. With a lot of pride they tell you that there are showers with hot water, but we don’t understand why they call it hot. The water gets about 1 degree warmer than (freezing) cold and that’s not really our ideal temperature to take a nice shower after a long day on the bike. The wires run right from the wall to the showerhead, where they’re attached with tape and now and then there’s a spark coming out of it. We already learned that it’s better to check into a more expensive hotel where they do have real warm water.

Everything is cheap here. A menu in a restaurant, which usually consists of soup and a main for dinner and an extra desert for lunch, costs about $ 0,75 to $ 1,50 pp. A hotel room costs anywhere between $ 4,- and $ 7,- pp and a more expensive hotel between $ 8,- and $ 11,- pp.

The scenery of the first day was unexpected and beautiful. On the Argentine side of the border it was flat and empty with not much vegetation, but on the Bolivian side it immediately started to get hilly and there was more vegetation. The hills became more and more frequent and steeper, but because of that the scenery also got more interesting.
We cycled through a gorge and a valley with many beautiful and colored rockformations.

So far, the people have been very nice and interested. They all ask where we’re from and want to talk to us. When we left Villazon, there was a lady on the side of the road, in front of her house, who wished us a very good journey. On the road, everybody waved and honked their horns and the kids in the schoolyards stopped their activities to call out and wave at us. We even met a guy who was a complete fan of The Netherlands, especially the Dutch soccer team. He’s walking around with player cards of some of our most famous players. He was all excited and happy to have met Dutch people and he knew quite some things about our country.

Yesterday we arrived in Tupiza, where we have a few days of rest planned. After a night in a cheap hotel, we decided to move to the most expensive hotel in town, mainly because they have hot showers. And there’s a pool, (slow) internet (but at least there is internet) and a breakfast buffet that is included in the price. And still we pay only $ 16,- per night.

When we leave here, it’s going to be a hard trip to Uyuni. The road is unpaved and the first 100 kms (60 miles) are hilly with very steep gradients, above 10%. The last 100 kms (60 miles) are supposed to be more flat because then we’ll be on the altiplano. But first rest and eat a lot….