Blogs from Uyuni, Potosí Department, Bolivia, South America - page 12

Dag 146. Vi sjekket ut av hostellet kl. 10:30, etter at vi hadde spist frokost og pakket. Resepsjonisten sa at det var umulig aa faa en drosje hele veien til Uyuni, sa vi tok derfor drosje ned til bussterminalen. Vi fikk kjopt billetter til en buss som skulle gaa kl. 12. Vi gikk sammen med Guy og Nicky til en kinarestaurant, og spiste en lett lunsj. Vi var spent paa bussturen, for vi hadde hort at den skulle vaere “jaevlig”. Hele stykket mellom Potosi og Uyuni holdt de paa aa lage ny vei, saa vi kjorte paa daarlig humpete grusvei hele turen. Landskapet underveis var nydelig - vi liker virkelig godt “alto planoen” med de flate slettene og de hoye fjellene rundt. Underveis brot bussen sammen. Vi vet ikke helt hva som var gale, men vi ... read more

Day 2 takes on us the most incredible journey into the most surreal landscapes I have ever seen. Starting out in the desolate rocky surroundings of yesterday, we drive towards a horizon of volcanos and everything starts to change. There´s obviously tectonic plates colliding below us as we reach Tres Gigantes...deep fissures in the earth which reveal the land to made up of layers of flat tile-like stones. And then we start chasing rainbows, starting with Laguna Amarillo (yellow) which at this early hour is unfortunately not yet showing it´s true colours, it´s water still frozen white. Then comes Laguna Celeste a beautiful pale turquoise that apparently deepens as the sun gets higher. To offset the amazing colour is the bright pink of hundreds of flamingos. We bathe in hot springs with the stunning aquamarine backdrop ... read more

Blinding salt plains, stunning mountain ranges, beautiful frozen lakes, dust clouds, freezing nights, sweltering days, amazing wildlife, prehistoric cactuses, fossilised reefs, vehicle breakdowns, altitude sickness, no roads and basic amenities. These are the words I can only use to describe the most stunning adventure that I have just taken across the dreamy Bolivian desert. Back in San Pedro De Atacama (Chile) ten of us decided to hire two 4x4 Jeeps to cross the boarder into Bolivia and undertake a very bumpy 3 day trip through the desert into the small town of Uyuni. It only cost fifty pounds to cross the desert including rustic accommodation and three basic meals a day. Day 1 ------ We left early in the morning and all jumped on board a local mini bus which took us to the posh Chile ... read more

Well, according to us anyway. Anyone who says that the Tibetan Plateau is the roof of the world has clearly never been to Bolivia. Here they skip and jump at heights mere mortals only dream of. We felt that a few days in San Pedro de Atacama (Chile), situated at a paltry 2,400m above the deep blue, was high, but boy were we wrong. A small change of plans had led to us throwing Bolivia into the mix, instead of our planned leisurely stroll up to the end of Chile (which decidely isn´t) and across the drug smuggling border to Peru. Now we knew La Paz was the highest capital in the world and we were more than prepared to buy a few more llama jumpers - the national export of South America. But what we ... read more

The bus to the border town of La Quiaca gave me a reprise of the first half of my Humahuaca Gorge trip, and then further altiplano scenes of grazing llamas and scrubby landscape under a deep blue sky as we trundled north. The immigration buildings looked chaotic but the long queues were for people coming south, and in short order I was on the dusty streets of Villazon, the Bolivian conjoined twin of La Quiaca. What a difference a few hundred metres makes. I could not avoid drawing parallels with many of the towns I'd passed through in last year's Southeast Asian wanderings - small shops spilling onto the streets, pavement vendors, food carts, rubbish, electricity cables in Gordian knots of complexity, small kids playing unattended, tarmac a pipe dream. And a European influence I could ... read more