Hola Bolivia! ... and braving the ice-cold Andes

BRUNEI'S very own global trekker Norhayati Abu Bakar and her husband, Harun Kurt Eichbauer, are on their leg of the South American continent.

In this edition, The Brunei Times presents Norhayati's travel note for her journey entitled: "From Brunei to around the World 2009 - 2010, 25 Years Brunei Independence Expedition". The following are excerpts from their 2010 travelogue (www.overthehorizon.net).

After an hour for both passport and customs processing at the Bolivian border, we proceeded to full speed on our faithful four-wheel Jambo to the roads of Bolivia.

We noticed that the road conditions here are different. While we enjoyed tarred autopistas in Argentina, over here it was bare gravel, washboards surface and the occasional big stones. Driving was not that smooth as there were no signboards around these parts of the country. At a later stage the road was under construction and numerous diversions did not easy the travel. There were many lorries on the road at night which at times blocked the road. We went through an unfinished tunnel until we reached a village at around 9pm which to our surprise had streetlights and a hotel. Happily we set for the night after Jambo was securely parked in the hotel compound. Unfortunately the hotel has no water heater.

Friday, June 18

As we left the village early in the morning, people were already up and also on the road. A signboard on the village outskirts stated that it was only 200km to Uyuni, the town on the very saltpan that we had wanted to see. We had as usual ensured that our beloved and trusty four-wheel Jambo was filled to the rim and it was wise as there were no petrol stations available. What a road! A narrow rollercoaster of a drive mostly in gears one and two and only a few times in three. The 200km drive through narrow gravel road took us about six-and-a-half hours. We were by then deep in the Andes. A devilish northwesterly wind was blowing, almost pulling the doors out of poor Jambo. And it was freezing cold up here.

The land that we drove through was generally dry, only in depressions and valleys between high mountains, where water accumulates and begins to flow. The rivers here were supplied by springs which seemingly just came out from cliffs.

Both of us suffered from terrible headaches. Our face reddish and hot, the heartbeats had pumped faster. The body demanded oxygen more from the blood, which was not available. We both felt miserable. We knew that are symptoms of mountain sickness where there is no cure except returning to lower altitudes. That was the body's reaction to lack of oxygen. We had not taken time for acclimatisation, and we went too fast up into these heights.

Finally at a height of 4,249m above the sea level (and higher than Mount Kinabalu), I found the strength to raise our beloved national flag in the ice-cold Andean wind. It was so cold that one could not be outside for more than a minute. For about half an hour we had to stay at above 4,000m, and then we were later on our journey down again. My body was revolting, a feeling almost akin to vomitting. We knew that was a further symptom of mountain sickness. One feels powerless.

The trouble was, if the symptoms persist or get worst, there was no way to drive faster to go to lower altitudes. A height of 2,000m at the Andes was really a day's travel. I remembered seeing at the border customs office oxygen bottles coupled with face masks. Just in case someone is hit by this mountain sickness.

After several hours, we felt relieved as we drove slowly and carefully down the road. We prayed and hoped that the road would descent sooner than later, up here in the harsh mountains there's not much plant life. The hard climate and the fierce ultraviolet sun radiation does not permit much life.

Our road finally led to the horizon. With the first grass bushels further down, the llamas appeared, with their thick wool properly prepared for the harsh climate up here. As we drove further down, llamas became now a common sight.

And then the town of Tupiza came into view. There is nothing to report except that this town has no diesel to sell and disposal of rubbish was done the old fashion way. Just dump the rubbish into the river.

What a pity to see such a river polluted. The town became famous at one time when it was visited by some famous bank robbers in 1906, which emptied the mining coffers, cleaning out all cash and disappeared. Their names? Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

From here we turned now Northwest and headed for Uyuni town and the Salar de Uyuni, a salt-depression dried-up lake. Here the road was wider now with road signs and mind you not sheep but plenty of llamas off course. A few kilometres before we hit town we stopped by a river and gave ol' Jambo a deserved wash.

Finally, the first houses came into sight. Although we were driving with terrible headaches, we were just plain relieved to see people walking about. At the bus stop, people were seen waiting for their buses, having all their household groceries and items with them. Over here, mothers cared for their babies through breastfeeding, the best that Mother Nature can provide.

We checked into the Hotel Julia for the night. And what a night it was. First they gave us a four-bed room for a two-bed price. And then they knocked the door by 9pm, "Porfavor, maybe we can add two more persons into this room, ya, senor?" The receptionist thought it was hilarious. But not with us recovering from mountain sickness.

And just our luck ... the central heater in the room finally came on only by 8pm. "Porfavor senor, our heater is antiquated." "But not to worry, it will be on the whole night," said the hotel receptionist scratching his head. We had hot water in the evening, but none at all in the morning.

Saturday, June 19

In the morning there was no hot water, and for breakfast coffee which never saw a "Coffee Bean". A little jam on our breads and we later packed out swiftly. Outside the hotel, the wind was still howling cold. Our next destination was Salar de Uyuni, a salt-depression dried-up lake.

The Brunei Times