The Ultimate Overland

  We leave early after a hearty breakfast of fruit and scrambled eggs. OMG, the countryside we drive through is spectacular. We drive through a river valley to begin with and then up a very long windy climb which peaks at 4190m. David Ayre describes it as the best 'climb' he has ever experienced (that is saying something from such a well travelled man). Gradually the tops of the mountains become flatter and we emerge onto the Altiplano with vast plains, and herds of Lama and Vicuna, tended by women in traditional dress. The vistas are of scrubby land, sand dunes and 6000m snow capped mountains with just their peaks protruding above the Altiplano. The views are a veritable feast and mile after mile drifts by in a minute.   The next we know we have arrived in Uyuni, a small dusty town with dirt road streets and many unfinished buildings. It is not a pretty place. The town serves the tourists visiting the salt flats. We experience more fuel evaporation in the cars as we drive slo...

  We all loved Tilcara. We had an excellent Frat house, the showers were good, there was a washing machine and we covered the house in damp cloths prior to going to bed. We are appreciating the simple things in life like clean clothes, a good shower and a good night's sleep. There was a carnival caravan that moved like a snake through town last night, led by a dozen people in colourful costumes, then a band and afterwards townsfolk chanting and generally having a great time. Tilcara was full of western dreadlocks and undifferentiated shops selling woollen wear and hats. We had a good BBQ dinner complete with offal and a blood sausage....a delight for some!     Off we went early, up a very long valley with spectacular wavy multi-coloured rock formations. Up, up we went to 3000m and arrived at the La Quiaca border with Bolivia at 1115. You have never seen such chaos. The place is being rebuilt and all the affairs of immigration and customs are conducted from metal container...

  The departure from our hotel at Cafayate was a little fraught as there was some confusion over an unpaid bill for a room in which none of us had stayed. The confusion arose because the rooms were named after popular wines and we thought that the poor receptionist was trying to bill us for wine we hadn’t had. Once again google translate came to our aid and we were on the road.   The road becomes increasingly busy, the countryside more fertile and the police presence more noticeable. The two Lagondas are running smoothly   but Chris’ Rolls is struggling with what appears to be a fuel vaporisation issue.   After lunch the temperature of the Rolls unexpectedly spikes and Chris is forced to pull off the road. The short term solution is to remove the hood allowing more air to get at the engine engine. The long term solution will require further investigation.   We have found our AirBnB in Salta, a sweet cottage above the town. It has de...

We depart our slightly 'North Korean' style hotel after a modest breakfast and coffee after Ham has completed some unavoidable corporate machinations. It is reflective of modern life that even in the wilds there is total, effective and inexpensive comms ontap. To be fair to the hotel it was clean and comfortable and did us fine. Chris departed before the Lagondas and managed to fill up at the garage nearby before the delivery truck arrived and closed petrol sales. The Lagonda's weren't so lucky. Nigel's enormous 140ltr tank ensured that he and Hugo smoothly continued whilst Ham's more modest 80ltr tank ensured that after and hour or so some anxiety began to creep into James and his car. The two Lagonda's travelled in convoy confident that they would catch the Rolls during the morning, but catch it they didn't. There wasn't a fuel emergency as we found fuel with some 20% of the tank still full. But between Chris' demands for fuel and this small mo...

  Tuesday 21st is a day of 'scapes. We leave after hot coffee and scrambled eggs from the ever kind Dani. She has spoken of the passes and cacti ahead, and thus it proves.   We leave in a tighter convoy which seems sensible. Sweeping around the lake at Rodeo, the surroundings become a mud-like moonscape - perhaps natural, perhaps old slag heaps. And then we climb. Twists and turns high above a broad river bed. Black slate craggy rock surrounds us. Beware rocks on the road. Tough on the old bingo wings turning round the tight bends. Don’’t look over the edge.    We join the plain back on RN 40 and make good time on rolling roads, scrub either side. The RN 40 will take us many miles north - rolling to let the rivers flood over in the winter season. Ham and James have figured that slightly less speed and steady pace is better for the radiator temperature. They forgo a petrol stop, and much tinkering from Nigel fixing bonnet latches. Chris fine tunes all parts of the pet...