August 2017: Everything falls apart.

August was a month that did not go as planned at all. I flew back to Bolivia from the Netherlands and planned to make it to Chile with only a few stops. Instead my engine died and I ended up being stuck in Uyuni for a large part of the month.

The Good

•  Sucre was a pretty town and perfect to relax for a bit

The Bad

• My engine exploding on the middle of the Salar the Uyuni, 50km from any road was no good
• My fifth gear had also decided to give up a few days earlier.

The Unforgettable

• Exploring the silver mines with an local silver miner as a guide (Potosi)
• Three nights on the salt flats without seeing anyone and with the most amazing stars (Uyuni)

The Stats

• No days: 31 (559 total)
• No. km: 1204 (55862 total)
• Countries: the Netherlands, Spain, Bolivia
• No. Border crossings: 0 by van
• No. of places stayed at: 12 (2 at friends, 8 campsites, 1 airplane, 1 hostel)
• Hikes: 11km, 149m height gain
• Books: 3
• Movies: 3
• New Beers: 7
• Photos: 895
• Weather (in Bolivia):
  • Days: warmest 31, coldest 12, average 20
  • Nights: warmest 24, coldest -13, average 3

Spending the firs part of the month in the Netherlands and the last part at mechanic meant I didn’t do much of anything. Very few hikes, books, photos and driving. I did end up having my coldest night so far with -13 degrees (-25 with wind chill).

Daily costs for August

• Camp sites: 6 Euro per night (plan was 7)
• Food: 6 Euro per day (plan was 7)
• Fun: 3 Euro per day (plan was 4)

Total: 15 Euro per day (plan was 18)

Bush camping on the Salar saved some money and overall food wasn’t too expensive in Bolivia.

Overall driving (17 months):

• Distance: 55862 km (plan was 56313 km)
• Fuel costs: 67 cents/l (plan was 67 cents/l)
• Efficiency:  11.2 km/l (plan was  11.0 km/l)

Another month with less kilometers than planned, but more because by van was broken than that I actively tried to drive less.

Extra costs:

• 300 euro: being ripped off to get towed from the salar
• 380 euro: rebuilding all the parts that I will need to fix the van (rest of the fixing costs were paid in September)

Route:

Starting in Santa Cruz de la Sierra ending in Uyuni. Another month where I was far away from the ocean. My drive on the Salar de Uyuni is not included because these trails are not on Google Maps.

Elevation:

Starting at 450m in Santa Cruz de la Sierra bumping a way up to 4200m near Potosi and finally heading down to 3800m in Uyuni. (Again does not include my drive on the Salar the Uyuni, but that was perfectly flat.)