4 x 4 through the south

Where is a good osteopath in Southern Bolivia?

That sums up the 3 days trek in the Landcruiser from Tupiza to Uyani. We had made the decision after going through Potosi, to do the reverse curcuit through the salt plains in the south. This meant a smaller chance of ending up in a convee of 4x4 and trying to view the sights through a dust filled windows. Turns out it was a good choice due to the smaller number of vechicals, you just couldnt escape the dust. So when we initally booked the tour (it all depends on how many people turn up to leave on the day you do) there were 4 however on the morning it ended up being 6 of us, Greg and I were the smallest and there fore ended up in the back with the Italian (still cant recall his real name). Aside from the Italian and the Irishman who had spent 4 months in BA no-one else spoke spanish. This meant that our driver/guide Chavier only ended up talking to the cook and the Italian. Still it was ok because it turns out he was a mechanic and ended up doing a little AA or RAC (depends where your from) work along the way. Thankfully it wasn´t our car that needed the patch up.

So we left Tupiza around 8am for a mere 178km drive through Quebrada de Palala, El Sillar ( the ashlar), Nazarenito, San Pablo and San Antonio de Lípez. Which takes a journey through this very reddish phallic like mountain ranges, then up to the heights of 4400m to view this volcanic landscapes with snowcaped mountains, hardy little bushes and quiet flat terrain. This is very scenic and extremely cold it also posed a minor problem for the ladies on the trip to find suitable locations to relieve ourselves with limited covering. This is also the entry point to accessing the Butch Cassidy & Sundance town where they are supposed to be buried. Also turns out to be the first time we spot the lovely Alpaca, Llama, Vicunas and Guanacos which as it turns out are all a little bit different. Useless fact now - Alpaca is bred for its wool coat similar to a sheep. The Llama is a pack animal and therefor bred for loads and carrying stuff. The Guanacos are rarer and almost extinct , however have a finer and silker coat which is nice for knit ware but very difficult to get, the beast needs to be captured and then sedated before its shoren. So we reach our place for the night at 4200mm and then were invited to join the locals in a small game of football (or soccer depending where you live). They took pity on the guys and let them spend some time in goals to help regain their breathing rates. Then a hot shower and bed, they forgot to tell us that the power turns off at 9:30 and someone was in the middle of a shower. Still a hot meal and early night was just what we needed.

The second day(a mere 380km) which meant we were meant to be woken up by 6am but aour driver decided to have a lie in meant a slightly later start. We headed off to El Torreon (the turret) (volcanic area), and Corante, Quetena Chico, Laguna Kollpa (, volcanic area of Purfica which is a lake with natural salts with healing properties and mined for this very purpose. Aqua Caliente (thermal baths which we put our feet in to clean and relax in. Laguna Blanca ( write lagoon), Laguna Verde (green lagoon), Volcán Licancabur (licancabur volcano) that rises until the 5918 m of height, Deserted Salvador Dalí (which due to a small detour to see the not so green Verde Laguna meant we got to see the desert twice)., Thermal baths, volcanic activity of the geysers in “Sol de Mañana”( tomorrow sun) 5000 m , (here we met some crazy cylists who were riding around the area with all their gear and camping out there!) Eduardo Avaroa Reserves. Now the reason all the lagunas are coloured water relates to which mineral is processing in the area, the colours reflected if it was a copper or bronze based mineral. The sole piece of information provided by the guide is that this a area has a high level of borax mining. We did have a very very long day so it was a bit of a shock to turn up at our Prison for the night. I am chosing to protect my mind from the horror, the unadulterated horror of this place. Which says a lot considering some of the places I´ve seen and that includes people´s own homes.

The third day which was an nice start with a visit to Laguna Colorada (red lagoon) “Red flamingos”eolic rocky, which resulted in a minor injury on my part, as it was to cold and windy to get out of the car to photograph the bloody flamingo I thought I´d try by leaning out the door. Please note I said windy, so while i was focusing a huge gust blew and promptly closed the tank of a door on my nose, still got the photo but as it turns out Greg got much better ones later in the day. Formations in the Siloli Desert (stone tree) which were amazing and beautiful. We had a lovely lunch stop with some locals (llama and sheep). There are lots of mini villages all the way out here with small families it amazing the conditions they endure. facts about flamingo - 2 types are found here, James' Flamingo, Andean Flamingo. That night we actually spent the night in a salt hotel which means all the is the floor had salt and the bricks may have been made of compressed salt too. Here we sampled some traditional fare, of llama meat and quinoa (which is the only product that can grow in this particular village).

The fourth and final day after an extremely early (4:30am) start to watch the sunrise on the Salar of Uyuni, Isla Pescado(fished island), Ojos de Sal (eyes of salt), Montes de Sal (heaps of salt), Hotel of Sal, Crafts and to process of salt in Colchani-Uyuni. A series of unsuccessful and athletic funny photos helped justfy schelpping the damn tripod all the way home. Still it was an amazing sight to have boundless which plains with the bluest of blue sky. All that remained was a 12 hour bus ride to La Paz and that my friend was a surprising adventure in its self. Tip to reader, get out of Uyani as soon as you can it is a place for dying trains and possibly will suck the life out of you too!

Tchau

Evana & Greg

---

---