Bolivia Fuel Stories … First impressions can be misleading …. The Bolivian government subsidises gasoline to the consumer. Don’t ask me why a government would choose to give away money when other governments raise money on fuel sales – maybe Evo Morales wants to be El Presidente For Life. In any event, Bolivians pay around $2.50 per gallon but foreigners have to pay $6.75 a gallon in round numbers.

When our bunch of motorcycle riders ride into town speaking English and riding bikes registered in Argentina, there was precious little chance of us getting the local price. The resulting situation usually ended up with one of the following reactions …

A) Bugger off, we don’t serve foreigners. This was our first encounter, at a rural truck stop, and we didn’t get off on the right foot vis a vis Bolivia.
B) We can sell you fuel at the higher rate but I need to see your passports and take 20 minutes to fill out a form. This was in the capital La Paz where perhaps there are a few officials to check that the process is being followed.
C) We can sell you fuel at the higher price, so step right up. This was pretty much everywhere else around the country.

We did, however, have one other experience. Arriving in Uyuni before launching off into the unknown, we found a gas station with lots of gas, no attitude, but no electricity. Our guide then took off for a little tour of the town and found a local garage mechanic and his wife who were willing to sell us 50 gallons of their personal stash for around $5.50 a gallon which was an amazing deal for everyone – he got to double the local price in cash and we got to roll on with no hassles.

The encounter was perfectly charming. The gent and his wife are 73 years old and she told us her immaculate complexion was due to only washing in cold water, we met his parrots who both greeted everyone with “Ola!”, and he gave us gifts of ore from the manganese mine he used to work at.

All in all a much better memory with which to depart Bolivia than the one on our arrival. We will be back.