Kentish Express Ashford & District
Adventurer’s lucky escape after crash in Bolivia salt flat
An adventurous motorcyclist from Biddenden who is circumnavigating South America had to be rescued by tourism guides when he crashed in the world’s largest salt flat.
Spencer Conway is continuing his challenging adventure ride around the continent, but has experienced numerous challenges.
After crashing on the Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia he was stranded for two days in very high temperatures with little water.
He quipped: “I must be the world’s worst adventure rider!
“Near to despair, I was rescued by tourist guides and taken to Uyuni.
“My bike and gear were abandoned but found several days later and trucked to the town. It took two weeks for spares to arrive from the UK before I could get on the road again.”
When travelling south on the Dakar Rally route on a rough road, he hit a sand bank and was thrown on to a rocky outcrop and injured his kneecap.
He was treated in hospital, and rested for two days before mounting his bike again.
In addition, while in Rioja, he was stopped by police who told him it was too dangerous to ride during the afternoon in 42 degrees of heat and said he would die.
They took him to a hostel where he had to stay until early the next morning.
He is now in the south of Argentina in Punto Tambo, a town on the east coast in the Patagonia region.
He is still making the most of the experience, explaining: “My original plan was to swing west into Chile but I discovered that I would not be able to reach the most southerly point of the continent through that country so I continued south in Argentina.
“Here I discovered Puerto Mad- ryn, a town on the coast, founded by pioneers from Wales and where Welsh is still spoken.
“The flags of Argentina and Wales are flown side by side. A little further on I ventured into Punto Tambo to the Magellan penguin colony and was treated to the spectacle of 250,000 penguins who warmly welcomed me into their midst. Armadillos, vicunas, skunks and wild cats also inhabit the area.”
At the beginning of the month, he had clocked up 150 days of riding and had covered 18,000 kilometres.
He said: “I hope to reach Tierra del Fuego in another week, the southern tip of the continent.”