Advertisement
Published: July 11th 2012
Edit Blog Post
The morning was upon us, the Toyota Landcruiser was over packed with four large packs, food supplies, gas, numerous bottles of water and coke, sleeping bags, one guide, one cook and four travellers ready to start the next adventure of our travels. We set off in the direction of the hills on rocky, uneven, cracked roads and I knew that the days ahead would bring more excellent memories.
Day One We climbed from Tupiza upwards to reach higher ground to see views of splendid valleys, passing traffic jams of llamas, stopping at wide open yellow grassed plains (with me using the natural toilet with very little hiding space, altitude is tough on the bladder btw). We stopped for a quick lunch prepared efficiently by our cook, Nilda on the roadside, all the time Chris, John, Tamsyn and I getting to know each other while taking in the views or stopping for longer admiration. We stopped at little villages mainly used as bases for mining or llama slaughtering to provide meat and wool to the surrounding areas. I really thought some parts of Ireland were rural but this felt very disconnected! As we moved on further the drive became like
a safari! Llamas, Alpacas, Ostriches, Foxes, you name it we saw it. We made a decision that we would drive longer to have a shorter day the following day but also to see the haunted “Fantasma” in daylight. This is a village that is located along the road, deserted with lots of stone ruins which have a large volcano looking over it. Our guide explained that the locals believe it to be haunted because there was a terrible war with the Spanish here many years ago, with many people being killed, raped and injured. Afterwards everyone left and locals do not like to visit here at dark (now I know why he was pushing towards doing this in daylight he he). The stone buildings here reminded me of little stone houses in Ireland a bit! We got to see some creepy rabbit like creatures here with long tails…. Used the natural toilet quickly cos two tried to corner me here….
On we climbed to reach 4855m above sea level with views that were spectacular everywhere but by god it was hard to breath. Getting into and out of the jeep was tough. The lack of oxygen in the air
really affects you, breathlessness, a sharp head pain, dry nose, fatigue. It is really something to experience! Our guide had a ball of coco leaves in his mouth to help him; we just took it as easy as possible.
As night fell we pulled up to our first accommodation of the trip. Basic stone walls with tin roof, no insulation here and it was freezing! I don’t know the exact temperature but you need at least 3 layers here at night. We had a fabulous dinner (with the other group from Tupiza in envy of us he he). We played a few card games and everyone was wrecked so we had an early night. It did take me ages to get to sleep though. I could not believe the cold. I had pjs, leggings, underwear, fleece, hoodie, hat, scarf, fluffy socks, a thick sleeping bag, and three duvets and still was cold. Eventually I drifted off after finding some sort of warm position!
Day Two We were up early in the freezing cold. Getting dressed in that was tough. Breakfast was downed and after the jeeps were packed up we were off again! We stopped at a
place to look at native Bolivian flora. It was like a yellow grass that was on top of water which was all frozen. I haven’t seen anything like it before. The views here were again astonishing with snow-capped mountains jutting up here and there. Again the air was thin here so even a short walk up a hill and we were breathless! As we continued along the road we passed a frozen lagoon with flamingos on its edge! Yes, first sight (if from far away) of them!
Next we moved on to pass the Deserto de Dali. A desert with strange rock formations all along it that have been formed by the weather. The formations were like little mounds rising up from the sand. The mountains here looked like a latte when you mix the milk around with the coffee. The colours of white and sandy brown whirled around each other all along the hills. It looked cool. We then visited to large lagoons one called Laguna Verde that had an amazing turquoise like colour. It was so green. The volcano behind it was even more spectacular. The sights were nearly getting too much at this stage!!!! The cold
was also constant at this stage so the next stop was very welcome – Hot Springs.
Ok so it was hard to take off the clothes but once we got in, it was so worth it. From minus temperatures to 25 degrees Celsius in a second, it was heaven!! So we chilled for a while here before having lunch. John was starting to feel the effects of the cold and was a bit sick so he didn’t chance the hot springs, big mistake, I felt toast for ages after J
On we moved to the highest point of the trip at 5000m above sea level where we found Sol de Manana geysers. We have seen bigger ones in NZ but we were able to get right up close to these and they were spouting steam like mad! There was also lots of bubbling mud pools everywhere at our feet. It was interesting to see it right next to us (at one point we nearly step right in a boiling mud pool).
Our final stop of the day was like something from outer space – Laguna Colorado. A bright RED lake in the middle of nowhere! The colour
comes from the minerals in the lake and is what gives the flamingos in the region their pink colour! And yes, there were lots of flamingos here and we got to see them up close and personal and in flight (they are really amazing when they fly). We also got to see a pack of Vicuna (a type of Andean camel, similar to a llama). We hung around here for ages taking in the beauty of the wildlife and nature (and watched a stupid tourist annoying the vicuna but anyway).
We then headed to our second nights stopover which was to be the most extreme cold any of us have ever felt. John and Tamsyn were in bed by 8.30pm but a few of us tried to brave it playing cards for a while before we realised that it just wasn’t possible!!!! We were talking maybe -15ish here, no insulation, lots of windows in the building. Lots of clothes and hope for the best!!!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.064s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 7; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0342s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb