Uyuni

According to my calculations, we had to leave Uyuni to get to La Paz either by a single bus (leaves at 20:00 and takes 10 hours) or by train and then bus (leaves at 01:45 and takes 11 hours).

We chose the train-bus option because the road to Oruro (the first section) wasn’t bumpy (we’d had enough of bumpy 4x4 road trips over the last three days). Also, the political situation in Bolivia wasn’t stable, and many people protested by blocking roads, which could add anything from a couple of hours to a few days (or death) to your trip.

The train part of the trip was okay by Bolivian transportation standards, but not the most comfortable overnight trip for people who had just been through the desert.

We arrived in Oruro and took the bus to La Paz. Halfway through, we encountered an unexpected roadblock (which we tried to avoid in the first place), making the trip more “interesting.” Interesting because, while we had no idea why these people were protesting, they were probably right about it so we wanted to be on their side. Two hours later, with three dents in the bus from flying rocks, a 10-minute off-road detour through fields to bypass the next roadblock, and a sudden heavy rain that forced the protesters to give up, we finally got through.

We arrived in La Paz, where we were lucky to be invited to stay with Xavier’s sister, who lives there. She met us at the bus station and gave us a lift to her place. Never in my life have I been so excited to be offered a proper meal and an actual bed in a real house.

We slept early because the next day we had booked a downhill bicycle ride on the most dangerous road in the world. If you think we would take a break and relax, think again. We are hardcore travellers, and nothing is stopping us now... If any of us survive to tell the story, you’ll see another message.