
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.)