When and where
April is the climate transition period for Bolivia’s high country, when the wet summer has ended, and the dry sunny fall and winter take over.

It is an ideal time to start a motorcycle tour, as the lower elevations are green and lush, and the higher passes have dried out and the biker’s arch-enemy – mud - has all but disappeared. Riding is certainly possible year-round in most of Bolivia, but the fall and winter seasons are optimum.

To take advantage of this fact, I focused on the transitional area above the steamy jungle to the high altitude planes (Altiplano) of Bolivia.

The mild sunny dry weather, the backdrop of the Andes, and the superb combination of historical colonial cities and indigenous culture are strong attractions to travelers world-wide.

The tour operator 
I locked-on to Maarten Munnik’s Bolivia Motorcycle Adventures (BMA) after a quick web search. My riding buddy Mike and I were impressed by the competitive pricing and schedule flexibility offered by Maarten, and he’s certainly qualified, having logged many thousands of miles exploring four continents.

Check out his fascinating book, “100,000 Miles of Solitude” and the gallery of images from Maarten’s World website.

Can you customise a tour? 
We weren’t ready for the full-blown 27 day ‘Discover Bolivia’ tour, and requested a shortened version of approximately 14 days duration. Maarten demonstrated his creative side, and quickly counter-offered a custom 2 week adventure through the Central Highlands, and on to the Southern Altiplano; just what we were looking for. A detailed itinerary arrived by email the following day, and we were in.

I could hardly contain the excitement of breaking a 5 month winter layoff from my own motorcycles, and getting to the wild-west atmosphere of Bolivia.

Get ready
Next up: details including motorbike selection, gear requirements, and what particulars to bring on this adventure. Everything was outlined with clarity by BMA. Maarten’s on-line gear list, instructions, and legal guidance laid it all out.

We ended up bringing our personal riding gear, cameras, recreational clothing in layers to suit the range of elevations from sub-tropical to high altitude passes, and not much more.

BMA’s promotional material stresses a ‘just show up and ride’ philosophy, which suited our objectives. We booked flights to Santa Cruz and prepared for the exhilaration.

Get going
BMA arranged our pick-up from Viru Viru International Airport; a much appreciated feature after the butt-numbing hours of flying. The taxi ride to the company’s home base in Samaipata previewed the lush valleys we would experience with the climb up the Central Cordillera range into the highlands.

Accommodations for the first and last night of BMA tours are provided by the marvelous hilltop El Pueblito, overlooking the Samaipata valley. This neat little village of tastefully decorated cabins, a church, restaurant and pool is the ideal spot to unwind and find your way into the culture of Bolivian village life.

Day 1 of our tour began with a thorough safety orientation by Maarten, followed by an introduction to our steeds. I drew a Suzuki DR650SE, a stalwart of dual-sport and adventure riding. The other Mike had the Kawasaki KLR650 and Maarten the Honda XR650R.

Each with various levels of power and handling, and all without luggage or other ‘adventurizing’, these machines proved ideal for the tour’s array of road surfaces. We finished or first day with a quick ride up to El Fuerte, a historical centerpiece of Inca culture which claims the title of largest stone structure in the Americas.

This mystical UNESCO World Heritage site was occupied as early as 2000 BC. The main stone feature is a complex combination of carved idols, seats, tanks, troughs and niches that have withstood the aging process remarkably well. After returning to the oasis of El Pueblito, dinner in downtown Samaipata, we settled in and contemplated the journey ahead.

The adventure 
It goes too far to describe each of the 14 days of our Bolivian adventure, but here’s a glimpse of the perfect motorcycle vacation.

We set of in the morning with the sun on our backs as we were heading west towards the place Ernesto Che Guevara kicked the proverbial bucket. After the initial winding tarmac road to Vallegrande and a great Chinese/Bolivian lunch we left the tarmac behind us and started to climb to almost 3.000 meter on winding, sandy and rocky dirt roads.

View after view unfolded while we enjoyed the humming of our steel stallions. Maarten usually rode upfront and pointed out any hazards and sure enough, just as he stopped to point out the best way to get through a nasty stretch of deep rutted mud, the other Mike decided to park his bike in a rather strange manner, horizontally.

Maarten simply walked over there, helped him to get the Kawasaki out of the mud-suction and explained how to get trough in a more vertical style. It would not be the last time Maarten had to come to the rescue.

Later that day we arrived at La Higuera where we checked into the cutest little hotel I have ever come across. Built out of the remains of an old telegraph-station it just radiates Bolivian style, comfort and not to forget great food served in a candle lit room since there is no electricity in the little hamlet of 10 houses.

After a good night's sleep and an even better breakfast we set off and almost plummeted down into the canyon of the Rio Grande. After a 1.200 meter drop we reached a suspension bridge crossing that mighty river and since there was no other traffic than us, we settled for lunch in the middle of the bridge.

While we waited for the support vehicle that carried our picnic lunch, we cooled down in the crystal clear water that divides the Santa Cruz department from the Chuqisaca department.

Continuing on winding dirt roads we followed the river for a while, passing giant cacti, baobab-trees and the occasional indigenous family living here literally in the middle of nowhere. Coming across a little but rough river Maarten had to take the part of rescuer again as Mike decided to stall his engine in the middle of the crossing.

Without so much of a sigh he walked into the rather cold, more than knee-deep water and helped Mike pushing his bike to higher, dryer ground. I myself simply followed the example Maarten had given us and blasted so fast though the raging water I did not even get wet.

After Mike and Maarten had emptied their shoes and dried their feet we continued, climbing and climbing from a mere 900 meter to over 2.500 meters where we paused in the indigenous village Nuevo Mundo where we were greeted by a very small man that had only 3 teeth left and kept on hugging us until we left for the last few miles to Villa Serrano, our goal for that day.

Villa Serrano is a typical Bolivian farming town. They even have a gallows in the main plaza for, as the sign states, the enemies of the town. It also happens to be the birthplace of the Charango, a small 10 string guitar, so we just had to visit one of the places where they hand make these little works of art.

It seemed the owner of the little factory was more content playing and singing for us, than actually building or selling his products. Our adventure continued day after day with surprises, adventures and plain fun.

In addition, consider this: the roadways through the highlands give new meaning to ‘twisty’. This is moto-mecca; at least 60% dirt, and almost a continuous series of switchbacks, climbs, and descents through stunning mountain valleys, agricultural fields and tiny villages.

Gasoline supply is a challenge in back-country Bolivia, as it is throughout South America. We filled up whenever possible, but our ace-in-the-hole was BMA’s support truck, which shadowing us like a mindful mother, carrying a lifeline in jerry cans.

With a steady diet of backcountry dirt riding, motorcycle components invariably vibrate lose or worse, disappear. Maarten and Erwin kept a close eye on the hardware to minimize this process. At speed on the roadway, during roadside breaks, and before departing each morning our bikes were closely scrutinized and reassuringly kept in top condition.

Summary
There may be other moto-touring operations in Bolivia, but after our experience I can’t imagine they compare with the BMA’s operation, in terms of flexibility, customer service, experience and support.