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Published: February 26th 2007
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Hi everyone! Hope everything is going well wherever you all may be. I just crossed the border from Bolivia back to Peru - and i have to say that Bolivia was incredible, it far exceeded any expectations i had laid out. It is one of the most beautiful countries i've ever set foot in! The landscapes are so diverse and so incredible.
Our journey through Bolivia started with a train ride to take us from the border town of Villazon up to Uyuni (sitting at 4600m above sea level!) The train ride itself was beautiful, it introduced us to a little bit of what was to come! The city of Uyuni is the jumping off point for the multi-day tours to the Salar de Uyuni (the salt flats) - we were also there during Carnaval so it was a really cool cultural experience as well. Foam, waterballoons, water guns and confetti streamer things everywhere!!! We got there at 2am and the following day we wandered around, there were all these little kids dressed up and dancing around, and then the adults came out later. It was really cool! We booked our tour for the following day...little did we know what
Piles of Salt
Ready to be collected for refining - the truck was making it's way along collecting each of these pyramids was in store for us!!
We left the next morning, with 2 english blokes we met on the train (Richie-Poo and Andy) and 3 Brazilians (Rodrigo, Dan, and Chris - a chick) Our driver was Marcelo, and he took good care of us for the next few days...more or less! His driving was a little frightening some of the time, but he has been doing this for 15 years, so that was reassuring. Our first stop was this old train grave yard just outside the ¨city¨- we took some cool pictures, got a feel for our group (it was evident we would be having a pretty awesome time right from the get go) and then headed off to the Salar! We stopped first in a place where they refine the salt, learnt that 100kgs of salt is worth 8 Bolivianos (about 1 US dollar) and about 80 families rely on the production for their lively hood...man..that's a LOT of salt! The salt flats were incredibly amazing and completely surreal - nothing like i've ever seen anywhere before. They were covered in about a foot of water, which made for beautiful reflections and colours. We drove through for ages (with
Children in Uyuni
All decked out and dancing around the main square! no need for Marcelo to even be looking out the front window because there was nothing for miles and miles...very reassuring) and admired our surroundings.
Sidenote: Two trucks of tourists got stuck out there for a couple days about 10 days before we headed out because their truck couldn't handle all the water and salt...we were crossing our fingers that our trusty Toyota 4x4 would pull us through! At first we thought it might be fun to get stuck...before we realized just how cold it got out there!!
We got out of the truck at the Salt hotel, and proceeded to take some fantastic pictures in the vastness...notice the barefeet! Our tour countinued on to Fish Island..an island covered in cacti. We hiked up to the top - phew, that altitude really messes with you - and then had some lunch there. We continued on through more breathtaking scenery until we reached our home for the night. A town of about 200 people and a zillion llamas. We definitely did a little llama chasing..until mean old ladies chased US away to stop us from taking pictures. Geez, we weren't hurting anyone or anything!! The first night was
Up on some old trains with Andy
Left to rust in the middle of the desert, these trains were a playground! fun times, and much warmer than the one to come!! The next day we all piled back into the truck for more beautiful lakes, lagunas, flamingos, mountains, deserts, rocks, volcanos, and of course...more llamas! The sun was shining and hot, but the wind that blasted across the altiplano was cccccold! We were certainly NOT prepared for what the night was about to bestow on us!! We got to our second home along the way, and right away realized just how cold we were about to be. So, being the smart thinkers that we are, we decided to spice up our coca tea with a little Bolivian rum! Now, coca tea is made from the same leaves that cocaine is made from - but it's only 'powers'being that of warming and helping with altitude sickness. Not only were we mixing this tea with rum, but the rum tasted like vanilla extract and we were drinking out of mate cups. Cups which are made for mate, another type of tea, very popular in Argentina among other South American countries! We were a little worried that the rum and coca mixture might ruin our cups...but alas..they survived! We checked out the amazing stars
Another planet?
see what i mean? pretty cool eh, just before the sun came up...at 5000m above sea level (not for too long though, it was just TOOOO cold!) and bad pirate jokes and bed races across the 7 person dorm room kept us all rather entertained. And the drinks kept us warm and giggly all night. Ok..really only until about 10ish when we all fell asleep. Quite easy to do when there's no electricity and you freeze if you aren't under your super fleece blankets with 3 pairs of pants and all the shirts and jackets you own on!!
Luckily, when we had to wake up at 4am the next morning, everyone had all the clothes on that they had brought, so packing was easy. And there were no hangovers...maybe it was the altitude?? Anyway, we pack back into the truck and head off into the morning, unsure as to whether Marcelo was really awake or not to be honest...We got to these geysers and bubbly pits of mud, and as the sunlight began to creep over the mountains, it really looked as if we were on another planet. Very cool. We also reached 5000m above sea level here! We continued on to these incredible thermal baths. The sun rose just as we arrived at the baths.
Heads in the hot springs
mmm, nothing could feel better than this at sunrise after a freeezing night! It was so beautiful with steam and sunlight surrounding us - the heat was so welcome too!! We had some breakfast and then donned our bikinis and toques for a little action!
The last day of the tour was spent driving back through Bolivia´s landscape to Uyuni. We had one flat tire, two questionable lunches, three brazilians, a four by four, and way more than 500 laughs throughout our journey on the Salar. It was a trip WELL worth it, and completely unforgettable!!!
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GStarr
non-member comment
half way?
I thought you were making the most of your time, until I noticed how artistic you got here, and how much time you must have wasted coming up with it. haha. jk, loving the GEOGS scenic shots. you must be getting near the mid-point of your trip and ditching one travel buddie for another? too bad its not me. I'm so jealous. also, you are way better than i am at updating your blog, and yours is so much more interesting. i have such a normal life where i go to work, the gym, and sometimes have a social life, but never anything too exciting to share. going to NORTHERN ireland tomorrow for the first time ever. Maybe I'll get stuck in the middle of some Protestant/Catholic War?