We tried….twice. And on to Bolivia

At the last update we were in Humahuaca with 2 days ride to the Bolivian border. I’m happy to say we’re at the border now (actually went across once to get my visa) and ready to ride in Bolivia tomorrow. Humahuaca was our first night sleeping at 10,000 ft. The altitude has gone reasonably well but we do get winded pretty easily. Heading out of Humahuaca was a steep (10%) grade that made Patricia a little light-headed. We took it easy and headed up the highway (Ruta 9). About 5 miles in we encountered 2 miles of 10% grade that took us up above 10,500. It was pretty hard, but the tough part was the head wind that started halfway up. By the time we were at the top it was a steady 20 MPH in our faces. It just kept getting stronger. At 10 miles we were 2 hours on the bike and slowing to under 4 MPH. It was a little miserable and we could see it was looking iffy to complete the remaining 48 miles before dark. We stopped at one of the concrete bus shelters along the highway, had a snack, and start hitching a ride. It was about one car every 5 minutes on this stretch of highway. No luck, but within an hour a bus came by that Patricia flagged down. They agreed to take us and we were elated ☺. The cost for the 2 of us and the bikes - $7. We made it to Abra Pampa by early after afternoon and found a reasonable hotel. Now we were at 11,400 ft and it was just cold and windy. Dust everywhere. A little space heater in the room just couldn’t keep up. We did a little sightseeing and came back for some computer work and napping. We decided to start before sunrise today to try to get ahead of the wind. (it’s supposed to start calming down tomorrow) We headed out before the sun was up in 36 F temps. The scenery changed from days before to what in Argentina is called “Puna” or Altiplano, high flats with mostly dry grass, very few small trees and the cattle have changed from cows to mostly llamas. The first hour we had light breeze but the wind kept building and after 20 miles he had mostly a quartering head wind. Eventually after riding 3 hrs it was up to 25 MPH with gusts. We could see dust storms ahead and we were both blown off the pavement a number of times. Finally a bus stop in the distance and we decided we had had enough. 15 minutes later we were on a nice bus for the final 24 miles for a total of $2. Nice hotel (maybe the last for awhile) with a hot shower. We walked over to Bolivia to get my required (reciprocity) $135 visa. (Thank you US state dept), We looked around a bit and came back for lunch. We verified the highway is paved for tomorrow’s route but then it’s dirt for many days. Maybe we will check out the Bolivian railway system in Tupiza. We have to remember it is supposed to be a vacation ☺. This is Patricia with the food report… I have not had a good cortado or latte in days ☹. I also have been experiencing a few symptoms from the altitude in addition to the shortness of breath, I am having headaches. It is challenging to have enough protein with the vegetarian options so we decided to add a little red meat to build our red cells faster. Today we had lunch at the place when the locals eat, and we had “Puchero” boiled red meat with vegetables and rice, here a dish for the working class and in Italy a delicacy: “Ossobuco”.