Miners blocking roads in southern Bolivia

[brownbear75]

Morning from sunny Oruro in Bolivia.

I'm a rookie HuBB poster but just wanted to give heads up to any riders passing through southern parts of Bolivia - uyuni, potosi, sucre and oruro towards la paz - that there are major roadblocks in place.

Angry miners have closed off the main routes between and into these cities.

Yesterday (23-08-2016) I was caught up in a violent clash - dynamite, tear gas and rocks -between police and miners just north of oruro. Hundreds of miners have laid seige to a small village of Panduro on Ruta 4.

Through blind (eyes leaking from tear gas) and blind luck I managed to get through coming from la paz. Think I may have been only motorised vehicle to do this. But now I think I'm trapped by surrounding roadblocks.

At least I have a bed and there is and food.

Here's a wee video I made of the days events:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5...nhoRmtJZm12Mnc

Not sure how long blockades will remain. Or how passable they are for motorcyclists. The miners do appear angry and serious. News coverage on Bolivian media is extensive on the situation. So maybe look up online for latest developments. The Government has promised they will not let miners choke off the country's main arterial routes. But yesterday's military offensive in Panduro saw the Government forces turn tail and leave me and my motor stuck in the war zone

Mineros bloquean y reflota la violencia en el Altiplano | Noticias de Bolivia y el Mundo - EL DEBER

So hopefully reinforcements arrive or deals are done to open roads in this beautiful country.

Cheers
Neil - around South America on a Honda 150XR named Hank.

[norschweger]

Thanks for the Info. I am currently in Potosi, heading to Sucre, if possible. Maybe our roads cross. Good luck!

[brownbear75]

No worries norschweger.

Just saw news flash (8.20pm 24-08-16) that indicates all roads out of Potosi (in all directions) are still blocked.

Two miners were also killed today in the conflict near Cochabamba so who knows how that will affect the situation.

Good luck to you and any updates your end would be great.
I'm going to try make a run for Uyuni via Ruta 30 tomorrow (25-08-16).

Neil

[norschweger]

Thanks!
Man, Bolivians are not kidding...
Good luck!
Cheers Toby

[brownbear75]

Hi Toby

You make it out of Potosi?

Neil - in Uyuni

[Peter Bodtke]

I got trapped leaving La Paz in 2013. A line for women sitting across the road at the top of the main highway... Ended up slowly riding the bike along with a stream of pedestrians, through a hole in the blockage.

Earlier that year Brazilian strikers let me pass through their road blocks...5 in one day! Each time I just stop, took off my helmet, smile...and after sometime they let me pass.

Best of luck to all those traveling in Bolivia. Remember how exciting adventure seemed when you were home by the fire, with a glass of wine.

[brownbear75]

Morning from Uyuni.

Seems situation took a turn for the worse between miners and Government.

A Government minister has been reported as kidnapped and then murdered in the small town blocked off by miners between Oruro and La Paz.(The one I passed through )

Bolivian minister beaten to death by striking miners � TheJournal.ie

Bolivia minister killed by protesting miners - BBC News

Not sure how this will affect the roads ...

Safe riding

Neil

[norschweger]

Originally Posted by brownbear75

Hi Toby

You make it out of Potosi?

Neil - in Uyuni

Yep,no problem at all.only to get gas first. Second station had a line from here to the moon. But the nice people with their jerry cans waved me to the front. Most cars had to Fall from the other side ;-)
Greetz from Sucre

[chris]

On topic and aimed at the OP and anyone who is affected: Is it possible to find an alternative route around the blockades? Which way are the buses and other freight traffic going in order to continue running their businesses? Using your vehicle how it was advertised in the brochure (and assuming your suspension doesn't collapse!!) will add to the adventure. And if the suspension does explode the adventure will become even more adventurous and make your evening even more tasty.

[caminito]

Guys the minister trying to negotiate with the miners was kidnapped tortured and killed.
Travel in Bolivia asking what the road ahead looks like is a good idea


Ps X think you add spice to the forum just by being different

[markharf]

This thread contains useful information about a situation currently unfolding in Bolivia. It's not the place to post irrelevant information, especially in the form of attacks on other members. Please cut it out.

Thanks in advance.

Mark

[brownbear75]

Hi folks from Sucre.

Well looks like the beautiful Bolivian roads are clear of the Blockades ... for now.

I rode across from Uyuni to Sucre - where in days earlier I would have run into at least 3 blockades.

Just the wind in my hair and winding altiplano highways.

Maybe the miners decided they had gone a wee bit too far kidnapping and murder are not part of their legacy. Sadly deaths on both sides.

Thanks for all advice and thoughts in the past few days.

Happy trails.

Neil - hopefully north to Colombia from now

[gunt86]

For anyone who gets caught in Uyuni because of roadblocks, here is how i got around them:

I got caught in Uyuni in 2014 by roadblocks which were set up during the early morning the day after I arrived in the town. Road blocks on the road to the salar, road blocks on the road to Chile, and road blocks on the new toll road to Potosi. There were probably road blocks on every road out of Uyuni, but i didn't check them all.

At one of the road blocks, i spoke with some local bolivian guys who had 4x4 trucks. They said that there was a way around the Uyuni-Potosi roadblock by taking 'the old road'. So i followed them. It was not an 'old road', but instead it was a dry river bed. We drove about 30kms in it until we were able to intersect the highway and bypass the blocks. The entrance to this 'old road' is South East of town -20.468053, -66.810808 near what appeared to be a garbage dump. Like all things in Bolivia, i recommend that you don't try to do this without a local as there are many 'trails' and it is certain to get you horribly lost. You will need a 4x4 or a bike to do it as the route is very rough. We got back on the highway at about this point -20.444259, -66.613458. The idea is to bypass the mountain pass that is directly east of Uyuni on the highway, because it is in that mountain pass that the roadblocks are impossible to skirt around by driving in the ditch. I know this from experience as i skirted around two roadblocks before i got to the third which had steep drops on each side of the road. The protestors usually block the toll booths east of town, then another block about 1km later, and then about 13 more blockades in the mountain pass zone. A word of caution about driving in the ditch to get around a blockade, the protestors will throw rocks at you.

I am attaching a kml file of the paths to take to circumvent the roadblock in another thread. Sorry if it's not professional quality, but it should suffice. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...830#post546452

If you look at the area with Google Earth you can see the general route one would need to take to bypass the mountain range. There are three main ways, which i have detailed in the kml file. Route A is probably the most difficult. Route B a little less difficult, and Route C is the easiest. The routes intersect at a few points.