Our first day in Bolivia starts early in the morning with a time change. We pick up the car from José’s garage, where it was stored and loaded all night, to head for the town of Tupiza, located at an altitude of 2,850 metres. On the way we come across several police checkpoints and toll booths where everyone kindly gives us safety recommendations and also comes over to sell us empanadas or soft drinks. We were struck by the statues made of recycled tyres, which are the repair shops for tyres in bad condition, as they stand out on the road giving a very striking and picturesque appearance, these workshops have the name of “Gomerías”.
Once in Tupiza we go to Limbert’s welding workshop, where we install the three-phase connection equipment to charge the electric car once from this experienced local electrician.
After a quick one hour charge we drive through the town with its small streets full of motorbike taxis, locally called “Torito”.
Following the road we find the turnoff to Uyuni which has asphalted parts and gravel sections reminiscent of rally racing, and takes us past some very unique looking columnar rock formations.
The asphalt road is quite new and still under construction, so it is very easy to see animals on the road, such as cows and llamas roaming freely in the territory. At the end of the horizon the view goes to the top of the hill Chorolque, 5,450 metres above sea level, which has a village called Santa Barbara.
The villages cross each other halfway between the hills and rivers connected by bridges that facilitate their passage.
In the afternoon we arrive in Uyuni, a famous town at an altitude of 3,700 metres, known for its proximity to the world’s largest salt flat.
Here we meet Don Tomás Bautista, a businessman who transports trucks between Chile and Bolivia, who provides us with his workshop and car park to install the CarConnect and charge the electric car without any problems during the night. He also guides us to find a good hotel and a good restaurant to rest. I can’t fail to mention and thank Tomás for the joy he transmits to us for always being happy and smiling at life.
