After a perilous Darian Gap crossing I traveled from the port city of Turbo to Medellin. I spent two nights in Medellin and had a really great time exploring the city while getting some maintenance done on my motorcycle. I got a new rear tire, an oil change, and a chain cleaning. The only real issue I had in Colombia was that I had my bike there illegally the whole time. At Turbo the customs office was closed Friday night when I got there and wouldn’t be open until Monday morning. Medellin was also had a customs office and was the closest location to buy motorcycle insurance. So I figured I would ride dirty to Medellin and get all my maintenance done and then Monday morning I would go to customs and buy insurance. Unfortunately, they could only extend vehicle permits not issue them. They did say it was possible to request the temporary vehicle import online. So I did that knowing that wouldn’t be a fast process. The other option was to drive 6.5hrs back to Turbo to go to customs there and then drive 6.5 hours back to Medellin to buy insurance. 13 hours of uninsured driving and the hassle of backtracking and dealing with customs or continuing illegally 17 hours to the border of Ecuador? Well, I chose Ecuador and fortunately for me I didn’t have any encounters with the Colombian police and I didn’t end up in Colombian jail. I did have the online temporary vehicle import request available to provide any authorities just to show them I at least kind of tried. In the end, it made my Colombian border crossing into Ecuador super quick!
I continued my journey through Ecuador and into Peru without any issues. Through Colombia and Ecuador, I was treated to frequent mountain views. Truly beautiful riding! Through Peru, I got to stare out at the Pacific Ocean as I rode along the coast. Great views, but a lot of wind! Eventually, I took a turn eastward and ended up crossing into Bolivia via Lake Titicaca! I spent one night at high elevation before arriving in La Paz, Bolivia. I spent two nights in La Paz which sits at about 12,000ft. During my first day there I got out and did some exploring in the market squares and I rode the world’s largest cable car system!
The reason I mention sleeping at high elevation for a couple of nights is because I came to La Paz, Bolivia specifically for a side quest to climb Mt. Huayna Potosi. Huayna Potosi was originally a mountain some friends and I were considering climbing on a South American road trip that had to get canceled due to COVID. I came back for revenge and to climb it in honor of those friends. So for $130 I got myself a 3 day climbing tour with a guide up the mountain that stands at 19,974ft! The $130 included all the meals, lodging, and even the required gear.
The first day of the tour was getting to base camp and for some strange reason instead of staying there another tourist, Robin from the Netherlands, and I went up to the 17,500ft high camp right away on day one. Considering my past negative experiences with elevation sickness in Peru climbing I actually felt pretty good. It wasn’t until the first morning waking up at the high camp that I had a headache or any symptoms of elevation sickness. Getting myself moving and doing some deep breathing got me in a manageable range and made me thankful I chose the 3 day tour to have an extra day to acclimate. The second day we went out with the guide for a couple hours and practiced ice climbing and rappeling which was fun and good to learn some techniques and how to use our equipment. The rest of the day was pretty relaxed.
The day of the climb is more like the night of the climb. The day prior we ate dinner at 5pm and then everyone tried to get as much sleep as nerves would allow. I could not fall asleep at all to start and eventually ended up getting probably 2-3 hours before our midnight wake-up. I woke up at midnight again with a headache and was able to nurse it back down. We got all our gear on and ready and then ate a small breakfast before heading out to the glacier to start. At about 1am we started the ice climbing and slowly trudged up the mountain one foot in front of the other. For the most part, it was just a semi-steep journey through the snow and ice. However, at some points, there were large crevice gaps that needed to be stepped across and sleep ledges that needed to be carefully navigated. Both of those hazards aren’t anything unheard of, but it’s a completely different ball game when you’re physically exhausted from the elevation and your mind isn’t as sharp as it normally is for the same reasons. By God’s grace, I successfully trudged both up and down to summit Huayna Potosi despite some pretty decent elevation sickness.
I will play it by ear to see how much recovery time I need from the climb. After that, I will be back on the road headed south to Uyuni, Bolivia to check out their famous salt flats before making a long push south through Argentina to the end of the continent.