Ah those were the days eh Ian? Heres a couple of photos of some of those sections from my website if anyones interested.

[url=http://s98.photobucket.com/albums/l248/ya-honza/Bolivia/?action=view&current=IMG_2435.jpg]
[url=http://s98.photobucket.com/albums/l248/ya-honza/Bolivia/?action=view&current=IMG_2454.jpg]

Just did the Creel to Batopilas (and back) road today, now thats a pretty tough road too!

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Well... Just keep in mind that those 4x4's are 'packed', break down a lot, and do not stop for you if you want to take a photo or explore some more.
The people inside those 4x4's are just as envious, but then to you.

Maarten

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Mike

I was wondering where you'd got to! Hope all's still going well - are you going north via. Baja?

Maarten, I've emailed you the GPX's. I'm glad I was on a bike, but it IS hard work there in the gravel, and one of the few places where I've had four-wheelers passing me!

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Ian,
I am planning to go in the opposite direction, Calama to Uyuni, in the next couple of weeks.
I would appreciate the GPS track data. Could you post it here or mail it to me directly at bruce.thomson AT gmail dot com?
Is there anywhere you would recommend staying at the end of the first day? Ollague?

Cheers,
Bruce.

Bruce,

I'll email GPX tracks to you.

I didn't go near Ollague, crossing the border much further south, in order to take in Laguna Colorada and Verde, as you'll see.

Ian

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Hi - Having now completed the ride from Villazon to Uyuni and on to Potosi, I can now answer my own question and provide up to date info.

First of all the ride was absolutely fantastic with a different, awesome view round every bend and over every rise!

Villazon - Tupiza: Gravel and corrugations on a level road for the first 20km or so and then the road starts to climb. Some steep parts but nothing the Tenere couldn't handle. The road continues climbing and descending into valleys before arriving in Tupiza (probably 3 - 4 hours without stops - we stopped a lot for photos and took 5 hours). There is a filling station before crossing the bridge into town (fill up here as there is no more fuel until Uyuni). Hotel Mitru had good secure parking and excellent rooms, if a bit pricey at Bs150 (with bath).

Tupiza - Atocha: Similar road which continues the climb and descent pattern but getting ever higher. Again, steep sections and many hairpin bends but not much traffic so quite safe (relatively!). Finally, you descend into a valley and end up riding the last 5km into Atocha along the river bed - not much water at this time of year. Follow tracks to enter Atocha opposite the hospital (about 4 hours without stops - we took about 6 to 7). We stayed at the only Residencial in town which is on the plaza - not brilliant but Bs60 (with bath) and secure parking inside.

Atocha - Uyuni: Leave Atocha along river bed again before climbing out and upwards. The road has been "resurfaced" with new soft gravel and is quite treacherous in places for the first 10km - one tight corner is particularly slippery and needed a bit of a push! After that, the road climbs steadily until reaching the altiplano at around 13,000 feet. It is then almost completely flat until Uyuni although quite badly corrugated. Wherever there is the opportunity for buses and other traffic to go fast, that's where the corrugations are. So uphill it's not much of a problem and neither is steep downhill as traffic usually goes quite slow (dodgy brakes or what!?). There was a section about 30km before Uyuni which was literally desert with high dunes and blowing sand. But only parts of the road were covered but not too deeply - even I managed it without difficulty and as I said in my opener, I hate soft sand! About 4 hours without stops - we took around 5.

Uyuni - Potosi: Same pattern of climb and descend through stunning scenery. Some sections of really smooth dirt (even got into top gear). Again quite bad corrugations on flat and gentle downhill sections. No fuel until Potosi so fill up in Uyuni. About 5 hours without stops - we took around 7 hours.

The worst thing about this route are the corrugations which are probably worse than West Africa but without the potholes. Otherwise the surface is quite good and did not cause us any problems.

Oh - and the Salar is absolutely awesome - just ride and ride and ride.

Hope this helps.

Peter

hi peter
sorry to go off topic here but I wanted to ask you if you have any luggage/pannier tips for the xtz600 tenere with 2 up? I am on the brasil/bolivian border making my way across to Colombia on an 89 tenere - solo at the moment but picking up the girlfriend in Colombia so will need to have panniers made on the way or in Bogota (travelling with big bag strapped to seat at moment) - any tips or dos and donts from your experience would be greatly appreciated

cheers

fward

Hi - As we are 2-up on a long term trip (over a year) we are very heavily loaded - "Touratech" panniers (mounted in a rack made by Ernie at Overland Solutions), big "Ortlieb" bag with camping equipment, tank bag, panniers over tank and bag on front carrier. We also have sundry items strapped to the top of the panniers. However, your situation sounds a bit different, so biggest tip is keep it as light as possible. We reckon that if we didn't camp, we could manage with the panniers and tank bag and probably a smaller bag on the rear carrier. The front carrier is for our camera bag. This would certainly lighten our load.

Having a lighter loaded bike would have made riding much easier on the dirt roads described in my earlier post but it still wasn't that difficult.

Hope this helps.

Peter

Hey greynomads

I am in Salta, Argentina. And I wann go up to Bolivia/Peru too. I am looking for a partner/partners which would like to ride the Laguna Verde, Laguna Colorado to the Salar de Uyuni etc.

Let me know about your plans.

Thanks
Marcel
R1200GS Adv.

Marcel , I sent you an email.
We will do that road (in around 8 to 10 weeks time) but the other way round : Salar to San Pedro de Atacama.

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I did the track from Villazon to Tarija a few weeks ago and like others, i can only advise it for the scenery and the bolivian country lifestyle. This was dry season and the track was more impressing than really difficult, easier than some ripio tracks in the Andes in Argentina. Just make sure to use gears to control your speed in downward slopes and stay on second gear. I saw some road trains on the track and i was happy to be on a motorcycle! I stayed on the mountain side of the road because the height was quite impressing.

There were some buses wrecks downhill and some crosses on the side of the road, meaning that in wet conditions, the road can be dangerous. I was fortunate enough not to get any puncture (no gomerias in the lost villages on the altiplano). There is a 5 bolivianos toll to use the track (0.5 Euros) and the officer will charge you 2 bolivianos to register you on his book.

Keep an eye on stray dogs, the engine noise and vibrations make them quite aggressive and they attack in group. Wear protective gear for your eyes, the dust when 4x4 pass you can be annoying.

Go for it, it s a bit of adventure but a lot of beauty and wild nature.

Hi there
I was driving the road from Uyuni to Tupiza 5 days ago.
In my eyes a bad road. You will find a lot of terrible washboard. There are some tough sand passages when wind was/is blowing...
A couple of trucks were blocked... me too :-) Some lovely people from a SUV-Group helped me to get out of the sand.
There are no signs for direction - you have to ask the local people for the way if you don't have a GPS.
Especially the last 40 kilometer before you arrive in Tupiza are fantastic because of the scenery.
Finally: You have to pay for this bad road! I paid Bolivianos 10.-- for 1 Biker and 1 Bike.