‘Long Way Up’ Recap: ‘Atacama Desert Into Bolivia’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Five of ‘Long Way Up’.
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The road trip is something that we tend to romanticize and understandably so. Because there are few things in this world that offer the outright peace and clarity that one finds when they’re just cruising on the open road. But while there is nothing wrong with falling in love with what the road trip has to offer and making an effort to take part in them as often as possible; one can never forget to be completely prepared for the unexpected when one hits the road. Because the world can be a wild place and no amount of planning can ready a trip for the chaos of the universe, and this is relevant to today’s conversation, simply because the unexpected is something that popped up often in the next episode of Long Way Up.
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Because ‘Atacama Desert Into Bolivia’ saw Ewan McGregor and his best buddy Charley Boorman enter some seriously harsh terrain in this tale. For this leg of the journey was quite literally taking them to new heights, since they were heading high into the mountains and well, the unexpected was all they could expect at this point. Because charging stations were rare in this no man’s land and the weather was going to be rough for certain. Which meant that improvisation was the name of the game in this tale, in order to keep the bikes going at their absolute peak, and thanks to some serious teamwork from everyone on this journey, the boys were able to get maximum charge and mileage from their bikes and reach their respective destination in the mountains no problem. 

But alas, while that was one particular win against mother nature and the chaos, she sends our way, there were still more unexpected challenges for the lads to face as the journey continued along. Because they consistently ran into roads that offered up no pavement, and that meant the only way to safely traverse this majestic and beautiful part of the world was to take it nice and slow, and while that definitely helped to keep this dynamic duo safe for the most part (because there were a few spills), it absolutely slowed them down. Creating another dilemma at the end of this tale, wherein the team had to decide as to whether or not to stop riding in the dark and stop for the night or press on. And as it turns out, half the team decided to call it a day while the others kept hauling to their intended destination and that decision may prove to be disastrous. Since one of the trucks hit a dog in the darkness.

But while the rough spots in this tale and that ending, make this episode seem as though it was mired in darkness, there were some bright spots to be found in this tale after all. Because that train ride at the top of the mountain was something that was quite breathtaking, thanks to the incredible views it provided us with, and it was equally as cool to see Ewan watch a movie he was in, with a group of people in a store and take the time to pose for photographs and offer autographs after it ended. Because that was just super kind. And of course, the moments of peace in between the chaos were simply wonderful and calming and you can never go wrong with just kicking back and taking in the wonder of the countryside.

In the end though, this particular episode makes it quite clear that this is a journey that is going to be filled with all kinds of ups and down and that’s actually a wonderful thing. Because it means the audience is being immersed in something real and powerful and relatable, quite frankly. For we’ve all run into surprise weather conditions that make our trip a pain in the rear and we’ve also dealt with surprises on the road that force us to change our plans on a moment’s notice and well, it’s just wonderful to experience a journey this visceral and familiar and truly, we will all be counting down the minutes until next Friday’s episode. So, we can find out if everyone involved in that collision is okay and to see how Ewan and Charley overcome whatever new obstacles await them, as they continue their long and winding journey north. Until next time.  

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