LA RUTA DE LAS LAGUNAS

A RIDE IN SOUTHERN BOLIVIA

- Alexandra Fefopoulou and Stergios Gogos

It was late June when we arrived at San Pedro de Atacama in northern Chile. Our first encounter with the Andes and the high altitude had already given us an idea of how our scooter behaved under such conditions. We had replaced the carburetor jet with a smaller one more adequate for the thin air and, for many miles, had been traveling with the air filter completely removed. In some cases, to climb the steeper slopes, one of us had to push the scooter and walk. The road from Argentina to Chile up to San Pedro de Atacama is paved; riding with no air filter made things relatively easy, although even that would soon change.

A while ago, while preparing for our trip across South America, we read about the "Ruta de las Lagunas"-the lakes route through one of the most spectacular places on Earth. The entire area lies in the southwest part of Bolivia, at over 14,000 ft. on the Bolivian altiplano. From the first photos we saw, we decided to explore this area together on our Vespa. 

However, after serious consideration, we decided we'd need to cross this area separately to avoid damaging our machine. It seemed unlikely we could make it two-up on the overloaded scooter. Between San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) and Uyuni (Bolivia), this route covers about 340 miles off-road, crossing through the largely uninhabited high plateau. It's a vast, rocky terrain, full of volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, and above all, volcanic lakes with boiling water and striking colors. Superb! Even the flora and fauna in this area have adjusted to this harsh environment that seems like another planet. At the end of the route, you're on the edges of the Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat-3,900 square miles of pure white salt!