Motoventure Day 18: Stranded and Moving On!

Last night I was all set to bail and take a bus to La Paz then fly to Asuncion to catch my original flight home this coming Monday. I just really wasn't (and still am not) confident we'd even be able to make it into Bolivia or past checkpoints with the new "export" paperwork. So I pulled up some flights and figured I would pull the trigger in the morning after finding out when some of the other people I know were leaving.

In the morning I'm sitting at my computer staring at a flight from La Paz to Asuncion on Monday morning to get me there just in time for my flight out for $150. I pulled out my credit card and was about to buy it on-line when Mark asked if I wanted to grab some breakfast – so I went off for an empanada (okay, two). When I returned, I went to finish my purchase and the flight was all sold out! After hours of researching I realized there was just no way to get to Asuncion and catch my original flights reliably.

So it looks like I'm stuck here. I've changed my flights (hopefully, won't be able to confirm until Monday) to return on next Monday, the 16th. Got my paperwork for the border sorted out and the plan is to head out tomorrow from Puno and spend the night in Desaguarderos, then get up first thing in the morning to cross into Bolivia. If all goes well the rest of the trip should look like this:

Monday – To somewhere just past La Paz

Tuesday – To Tehua north of the Salar de Uyuni

Wednesday – Cross the Salar de Uyuni to Fish Isle then to Uyuni (many people think I'm insane for expecting to do this but it's going to ROCK!)

Thursday – Uyuni to Potosi

Friday – Potosi to La Paz

Saturday – Buffer for breakdowns/etc.

Sunday – Flight from La Paz to Asuncion to Sao Paulo to Houston to DC!

Here we go again…

Comments

5 Things that Suck about Traveling Solo

I find it telling that it seems a majority of the interesting travel blogs I run across are written by solo travelers, most often women. I think there’s a reason why we write more than people who travel with friends or in groups and that it’s pretty self evident: it’s an outlet for our loneliness. In the last year and a half, the vast majority of my time has been spent away from home, alone. As I write this, it’s been over a month since I’ve conversed with anyone in my native language, and I can remember every single conversation in English for the month before that. The truth is, I don’t think I could have done this without the internet – without a blog to share my thoughts, without Facebook to see what my friends are up to, without the occasional e-mail to provide a façade of normalcy… without these things I’d likely have driven myself insane with my internal dialogue. Now, I grant, there’s a reason I travel alone and I do love it, but lately it seems all I run across in the blogosp...

Gear Review: Sea to Summit Big River Dry Sacks

In the past couple months on the road I think I’ve spent more time riding my scooter through rain than I have in the dry – this is clearly reflected in the fact that as time has gone by I’ve invested more and more money in things to keep my stuff dry, since wet gear sucks. One of my favorite purchases for this trip is the pair of Sea to Summit Big River Dry Sacks I picked up just before leaving, in 13L and 20L sizes. They cost me around $20 each and are one of the best pieces of gear I’ve purchased in years – extremely durable, effective, and simple to use.

Tiger Muay Thai – Full Review

After spending six weeks training and living at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand, I wanted to write up some of my thoughts on the entire experience, the gym, and the trainers. This will be a long winded post with a lot of detail – I encourage anyone considering spending time in Thailand training Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and/or Muay Thai give it a read, but anyone else may want to skip it. Background: I visited Tiger Muay Thai (TMT) from February 22 to March 23, then returned again from April 15 to April 28, 2010. I had no previous MMA or Muay Thai experience, though I did grow up wrestling. I came into my visit with above-average fitness but definitely not close to elite level. The Gym Facilities: TMT is amazing, and they finished a big expansion while I was there. There is TONS of room, with seven+ massive separate training areas of various sizes, tailored for MMA, Muay Thai, weight lifting, and crossfit style workouts (kettlebells/etc.). ...

Track Pete

Search This Blog