Salar de Uyuni and now Argentina

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Well...here it goes once again....more fun times to add!!

My time in La Paz was fantastic. I was able to get some shopping done, watch a couple of movies (the new Johnny Depp flick and 10,000 BC), as well as have some more time with the sweet Frenchy boy who kindly surprised me one morning. 😉 I really quite liked La Paz. I am going to miss it. Sure, it was a city and I am not much of a fan of larger cities....but La Paz has a lot of character. Probably my favorite city that I have hit in South America. Sadly, my time there had to come to an end since I am slowly running out of time and want to see sooo many more things. So, last Sunday I said goodbye to the frenchy...again....said goodbye to La Paz...and set sail for Uyuni.

Uyuni is in southern Bolivia and is famous for the salt flats and flamingos (to name a couple). It was a 12.5hr bus ride that was NOT fun by any means so I was glad to finally get there. The bus was designed to fit as many passengers as possible...meaning I could not even touch my feet since the seat infront of me was pressed so close to my face. It was rather horrid to spend 12.5hrs this squished...I am not going to lie....probably the tightest squeeze on a bus I have experienced in South America. And just to add to the woes....the last few hours of the ride was on a washboard type road....rattling my insides for 2-3 hrs. Ick. Needless to say I was not feeling all that great when I arrived in Uyuni at 7am! However....better times to come....

First on the agenda was to meet up with Fergal and Lorna (who luckily managed to get a seat on a train to Uyuni and arrived 5 hrs before me) for breakfast and find ourselves a tour company for a departure that morning. Success!! We found a tour company and were on our way by 10am that morning for the start of a 3 day tour around Salar de Uyuni.

The start of the tour was quite bad. We had a fall out with the guide/driver before we even left Uyuni. I won´t bother to get into it but lets just say it left a bitter taste in everyone´s mouth (7 of us on the tour....packed into a Land Cruiser....2 Aussies, 1 Peruvian, 1 Brit, 2 Irish, and myself). Things then got progressively worse with the guide/driver and we ended up having a huge blowout with him. It was disappointing since this is the first time I have ever had any issues with the guides. Luckily, after our blowout, we sort of came up with ways to patch things up and were able to start new. Things got much much better by the afternoon and were spot on for the rest of the tour....thank goodness!

The first day consisted of us visiting an old train that is basically being devoured by the salt followed by visiting the GORGEOUS salt flats. It was truly spectacular!!! It went on and on for kms in all directions with desert mtns all around off in the distance. It was an incredible bright white that one cannot fully comprehend unless you were there. Some areas contained mounds of salt where they were farming it...the rest was a flat white that went on and on and on. It looked like snow really.....so surreal! We visited an island called ¨fish island¨ which was an island containing desert rock and desert vegetation (huge cactuses!) right in the middle of the white salt flats. Just a gorgeous sight that one needs to take in personally in order to fully absorb how surreal it is. It is a view that I won´t forget anytime soon! Our time in the salt flats also included some time to take some photos.....the infamous photos with ridiculous poses that can only be done in a place such as this. The photos will explain what I mean for those of you that may not know what I am talking about. 😉 We definitely had our share of fun!! haha

That night we slept in a hotel that is mainly constructed from salt. The walls, tables, chairs, bed bases, etc were all constructed from massive blocks of salt. It was really quite neat to see and surprisingly quite cozy! We had a great night playing cards (¨31¨for those of you that may know this game) and were treated at one point to a bunch of young local boys singing and playing instruments. We were off to bed fairly early due to an early 6am breakfast the next morning.

After breakfast we hopped in the Land Cruiser and set sail to see more amazing sites. We climbed higher and higher in elevation which mean the temps were getting cooler and cooler. We came across some lakes that were LOADED with pink flamingoes! There must have been 1000s of them! It was quite a spectacular sight especially since I have never seen flamingoes in the wild before! For lunch, we stopped along a gorgeous wetland area that was white due to the salt. As we sat there eating we were treated with a number of little tornadoes cruising across the salt flat. I manage to catch some pictures so stay tuned! The area also contained Pecunias (sp?) which are wild (and protected) camel type animals. This was only the start of what was to be MANY Pecunias throughout the tour. Later on we saw a volcano that was active...blowing steam out the top, and a red lake!! The redness is due to sediment and varies with the wind...it was quite beautiful when we were there! In the distance we could see a major storm blowing in....the direction we were heading. I could not decipher what type of storm....whether it be a sand storm or rain or what. We were delighted...well perhaps not all that delighted...to find out it was a snow storm! As we pulled up to our hostel for the night....somewhat made out of salt like the previous hostel....it started to snow...hard....wet snow that I call sleet. It was madness! Total whiteout conditions within 30 mins of arriving. I never thought I would see snow in Bolivia....craziness.

The next morning we woke up to some snow lightly dusting the ground but luckily...starting to melt. First on the agenda that morning was to see some active blowholes due to magma about 20 km below the earth´s surface. It was quite the incredible sight! I felt like I was walking on the moon....huge craters everywhere with boiling lava in the middle of all of them...and huge blowholes with steam going up a good 30 meters into the sky...if not more.

Our next stop was a natural hot spring which was smaller than I expected (I have been spoiled with GORGEOUS hot springs in Ecuador). Nonetheless, it was VERY relaxing and quite welcomed after our chilly night sleeping in a hostel with no heat...in the snow. The sun was low on the backdrop creating somewhat of a blurry view of the salt flats behind the hot spring with a spectacular beautiful silhouetted shot of a lonesome pink flamingo nibbling out in the water. Unfortunately, once I got out and grabbed my camera...the flamingo was gone. 😞

After the hot spring, we sped like demons to the Chilean border in order to drop 2 of our passengers off on time for a bus into Chile. This was my initial plan too until I found out there is no bus to Salta, Argentina from San Pedro, Chile for a few days. Plus...it was waaay more expensive to go that route. So I decided to stay on and back track all the way up to Uyuni...where we started from (9 hour drive back). We made a few stops along the way back that included some gorgeous rock formations as well as the Green Laguna....a beautiful green lake located within the colourful mountains. Our last stop was a very nice modern small town....which was once an extremely poor village. An American/Canadian company set up a mine (or was it oil and/or gas..I can´t recall....) in the area and gave tons of work to the local people. The company also built modern houses with a hospital and schools, etc making this an extremely wealthy town. Many flocked to the area when this occurred...even people from the jungle came therefore this town has quite a mix of people. It was nice to hear a *good* story with regards to a North American company taking over some land in a poor country. The company even moved the original church...piece by piece....to this now modern town. Nice story! 😊 I quite enjoyed it there and you could tell the people were very happy. Mind you...it was their anniversary for the market I went to so they were celebrating by dancing around and handing out free beer. So...my view could be rather tainted. 😉

We got back to Uyuni that evening around 7pm...checked into a hostel, cleaned ourselves up, went for a great pizza dinner at a pizza place owned by a man from Chicago, and then hit the sack...for a few hours. We had a train booked that night for 2:30am to get to Salta, Argentina.

The train was booked by our travel agent from the Salt Flats tour....you have to buy them 1 day in advance so we gave him the money to do this for us while we were on the tour. There are 3 classes and so we picked the 2nd class...this is what Lorna and Fergal took to Uyuni and said it was more than nice. When we picked up our tickets, we were disappointed to find out the 2nd class had sold out and the tour guy got us 3rd class instead. Normally this wouldn´t bother me except I was worried after the horrendous bus journey I had to Uyuni.....and the ride to the Argentinian border (that is where the train stops) was a good 12 hours. Nonetheless...we hoped for the best and got to the train station at 2am. Wow....the 3rd class we soon found out was horrendous! The seats were at 90 degrees and do NOT recline at all....and they are bench seats that fit 3 facing another 3. Oh my....12 hours of this....with my knees squished into the knees and bags of the girl facing me. We lasted about 2 mins and decided to see if we could get upgraded to the 1st class...we didn´t care about money at this point. Luckily, there were 4 seats available so we paid the difference and took 3 out of the 4. It cost us 3 times what the 3rd class cost but so be it. I would have not survived that journey...not after the horrendous bus ride to Uyuni and then 3 days in a jeep. We tucked ourselves in and quickly fell asleep....in comfort. And lucky me had an empty seat beside me for the entire journey....so I slept REALLY well. 😊

The train ride was quite nice and the view the next morning was quite spectacular. Kind of reminded me of the Grand Canyon but perhaps not as deep. It was the same sort of rocky canyon with cactuses popping up all around....really quite beautiful!

We arrived at the Argentinian border at about 2pm in the afternoon. The border crossing was uneventful and we managed to find a bus on the Argentinian side to Salta for 3pm. The difference in scenery within a few mins walk is unreal. Bolivia...the simple life.....to Argentina....huge pruned trees and green grass....and very modern architecture. I felt like I walked from Bolivia to Europe in just a few steps! Amazing really that it can be that different so quickly. I was actually kind of sad at first....I really really liked Bolivia and got to appreciate everything thing that it had....even if it is so little....I was not prepared to walk into modern civilization that quickly. 😉

Our bus ride to Salta was a good 9 hours long but luckily...we were in a semi-cama (more space and seats that recline quite a bit) coach and had a comfortable ride with a few movies to keep us entertained. I will admit though...the bus journey started off quite sketchy. We were watching a movie called ¨Innocent Voices¨ if I recall correctly. It was based on a true story about the war in El Salvador and how the people were so poorly treated. It made me cringe most of the time and it was really quite depressing how the military dictated the lives of these people. About 1 hour into the movie the bus stops...and sits there for a good 30 mins. The movie kept playing so we barely noticed....until the doors opened and they asked everyone to get off. The next thing we know, they are unloading ALL of the bags from underneath and we are divided into girls and boys...and put into lines by military guys. Yikes!!! Talk about nerve wracking after watching that movie!! Turns out it is a pretty routine thing to do for buses full of people coming from Bolivia...bags being searched for drugs. They didn´t search us gringos all that much...they more focused on the locals...especially the males I noticed. They even searched the bus from top to bottom with a drug sniffing dog. Madness. After about 30 more mins....we were back on the road.

We arrived in Salta late that night....around 12:30am. Since it was so late, we decided to go with the first guy that approached us at the bus terminal. This is what happens throughout South America....as soon as you step off of a bus or train, you are bombarded by people trying to get you to come to their hostel...or on their tour. Often, they are good ones that are not listed in the Lonely Planet book (hence why they try to recruit people since gringos tend to follow their ¨gringo bible¨). The first guy that approached us seemed decent enough and the place sounded nice and the price sounded good...so off we went. Turned out to be a pretty decent place (Hotel Astoria) and after checking prices out at other hostels the next day...we found one of the cheapest...if not THE cheapest...in town! Sweet. Worked out well. 😊

So, that leads me to now. I have been in Salta for 3 days now. It is a really cute city...waaaay bigger than I expected but really cute nonetheless. It is extremely modern and quite beautiful really. I have enjoyed walking around the main squares and have done a bit of shopping. The things for sale here are quite different from Bolivia....not better or worse...just different. So...more things to shop for! haha I didn´t expect to stay this long but I have needed some downtime after the go go go state I was in the past week or so. I haven´t really done anything productive other than lounge. Which is productive in its own way. 😉 I am pondering heading to Iguazu Falls tonight or tomorrow....however....just finding out it is a 24 hour bus ride there and then another 16 hours from there to Buenos Aires. So...I have some thinking to do since it is April 6th and my good friend Martin leaves Buenos Aires on April 9th. I may head to Buenos Aires tomorrow instead and then maybe do a trip to Iguazu Falls from there. We shall see...I would hate to miss Martin´s departure...that crazy Irish guy.

I should mention here as well...I had a pretty lousy day yesterday. I was informed by email early yesterday morning that a good friend back home passed away suddenly. He was only 37 years old. Life is precious people...you just never know when it all may end. Live life to the fullest each and every single day and don´t sweat the small stuff!! My small stuff that I am trying not to stress right now is my camera....yep....dead. Hopped on a gondola last night for a nice sunset view over Salta and had my bag...containing my camera...crushed in the gondola door. But you know...it is *just* a camera. Sadly, no new pics for a while....but at least I didn´t lose my old pics....just the camera. Hopefully insurance will cover it....

To my dear friend Nash....you were one heck of a special person that put a smile on everyone´s faces....I will miss you dearly....RIP my friend. I hope you are up there strumming away on your guitar....and banging away on your drums...... Peace and Love to everyone.....

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