July 2017: Time for a break

Travelling wise July was only half a month. On the 16th of July I flew back to the Netherlands for 3.5 weeks of catching up with family and friends. The part I did spend travelling was mostly filled by annoying stuff.

The Good

• Hanging out with people I’ve met before on this trip in La Paz
• Loads of relax time to read a book and do nothing
• So many people showing up for my birthday party
• Some of my Zurich friends visiting me in the Netherlands for up to a week

The Bad

• Problems with the police: one time wanting to give me a speeding ticket and one time making me open all the cupboards, boxes and bags for nothing
• Everything breaking: my camera, my hard disk, my awning
• Issues with immigration not wanting to give me more than 30 days to begin with and then being a huge pain to give me an extension

The Unforgettable

• Filling up my tank after having to tape off my license plates to look like a local (Cochabamba)
• Talking the police out of giving me a speeding fine

The Stats

• No days: 31 (528 total)
• No. km: 938 (54658 total)
• Countries: Bolivia, Spain, the Netherlands
• No. Border crossings: 0 by van
• No. of places stayed at: 8 (4 campsites in Bolivia, 1 airplane, 1 at my parents and 2 hotels in the Netherlands for a wedding)
• Hikes: 19 km height difference 113 m
• Books: 4
• Movies: 10
• New Beers: 26
• Photos: 1205
• Weather (in Bolivia):
  • Days: warmest 27, coldest 13, average 21
  • Nights: warmest 23, coldest -4, average 8

This month was clearly a stationary month. The least amount of driving, photos and hiking so far on this trip. But on the other hand I did read a lot of books, watched too many movies and had way too many new beers. The weather got way better when I got to the jungle, but in La Paz I still had quite some nights with temperatures below zero.

Daily costs for July

• Camp sites: 7 Euro per night (plan was 7)
• Food: 8 Euro per day (plan was 7)
• Fun: 2 Euro per day (plan was 4)
• Total: 17 Euro per day (plan was 18)

Because I spend most time around big cities, I had to stay at the slightly more expensive campsites. Also because I was near the cities (and to create some goodwill to be able to leave my van parked for 3.5 weeks for free) I went out for dinner more often than usual.

Overall driving (16 months):

• Distance: 54658 (plan was 55470)
• Fuel costs: 62 cents/l (plan was 63 cents/l)
• Efficiency:  11.1 km/l (plan was  11.0 km/l)

Finally I managed to get under my planned kilometers, but mostly because I did not have time to do any sightseeing and had to stay near cities to organize paperwork. This month’s route was the shortest way possible between La Paz and Santa Cruz. There is also a tiny dip in fuel costs because I planned to pay full tourist price in Bolivia and managed to fill up for local price.

Extra costs:

No large expenses in July

Route:

The route for July was pretty short. I started in La Paz and with only three driving days I drove the shortest way to Santa Cruz.

Elevation:

In July I went from the highland plateau at 4000m down to Santa Cruz in the jungle at only 300m. The steep rise at the start is the drive out of the canyon of the city of La Paz. The big dip in the middle is the valley of Cochabamba. Even though I drove far down I did actually not make it all the way to sea level this month.