A JOURNEY IN BOLIVIA 1988
collected these plants for study.
They also knew the name Martin Cardenas very well. Interesting for them was that they had never seen the cacti we found before, while they lived close to the locations of these plants.
Tuesday, August 9th
We decided to make it an adventurous day today. We had been told that there was a "puente" over the Rio Mizque at Mizque. We had translated "puente" with "bridge". It seemed worth trying to travel to Totora via Mizque. First we had to refuel, because the fuel gauge still indicated a quarter full. Unfortunately the gas station turned out to be empty. We were told that in two days petrol would arrive in Cochabamba, so in Aiquile a day or two later. That did not fit our plans. When we were told that there was petrol in Mizque, a problem was solved: on to Mizque.
The road was pretty good until just before Estancia Pojo. There we had to drive through the river bed. However, it worked and we drove on happily. Suddenly, the Rio Mizque loomed in front of us again. Wherever we looked: we did not see a bridge. A truck drove through the vado in front of us. It sank up to 40, 50 cm in the water. This was impossible with our Volkswagen. However, luck was with us: there was a shortcut to the left. We took it and we came to a shallower ford. Unfortunately, behind that were two more vados, which I felt were always a bit deeper. Anyway, we arrived in Mizque and asked a man on the side of the road how was the way to Totora. He told us we couldn't drive it. But the road to Arani was good. We drove on, but just to be sure we asked a truck driver how the road to Arani was. The answer was clear: impossible for our car. So there we were in Mizque, forced to drive back to Aiquile with even less fuel.
Fortunately we were able to refuel. A woman poured gasoline from a barrel into a bucket. We wanted to fill the tank, but there turned out to be only six liters. The near future also looked less rosy.
In Aiquile we had the choice: to wait a few days or try to drive to Totora. We chose the latter with the knowledge that we could break down halfway. After all, we had a tent and ten liters of water with us. As the road progressed our hopes grew. The fuel gauge had long indicated that the tank was empty, but we drove on. Apparently this car was also running on air.
Finally we reached Epizana. We could finally refuel and it turned out to have
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