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First time Carolyn's ever lifted David Recipe for a memorable birthday: Take 3 jeeps, 15 travellers, 3 drivers, 2 cooks and a guide. Transport to 5000 metres above sea level in Bolivia. Add one guitar, two packs of cards, several bottles of wine and of course a pinch of salt and mix well.
This recipe was followed to perfection three days after arriving in the country. The border crossing was somewhat less officious than we're used to with the Bolivian officials deciding it wasn't worth the bother of looking at our passport photos before stamping us in for a month. All gringos look the same after all. So long as we weren't going to smuggle any llamas it was fine.
Our welcoming committee was actually a stray donkey wandering the main street offering to change Argentinian pesos. We didn't take him up on his offer as his rates were rubbish.
It may have been worth bargaining with him for a ride to Tupiza though as it would have been just as comfortable as the bus and Carolyn's rucksack might have avoided being covered with milk.
We only stayed long enough in Tupiza to sort our tour and eat the first South American
pizza that wasn't 93%!c(MISSING)heese. Having been warned that the food on offer in Bolivia would lead to drastic weight loss, we were pleasantly surprised. And that was before we got fed like royalty for four days on tour.
Cheat Tour, day one There were more pleasant surprises to come as we embarked on our 4 day 4x4 tour of the southwest. The scenery was instantly stunning as we bumped our way up through the valley of the moon past countless donkeys, llamas and a young girl herding goats. With the width of the roads it was clear a head for heights was going to be necessary for the passenger nearest the edge.
After a few hours of driving, a couple of things had been established. The scenery was going to be stunning, and we were clearly in the slow jeep. As we pulled up for lunch (behind the other two jeeps of course) we were witness to some of our fellow travellers partaking in the popular pastime of llama worrying. It wouldn't be the last time on the tour.
However the llamas weren't the only locals we encountered on day one, with an afternoon stopover at
Stone Tree
It's a stone, but it looks like a tree! a small village miles from anywhere. Whilst David (and most of the other guys) had an impromptu kick about in the square with a bunch of young locals, Carolyn managed to get herself invited into one of the small houses that surrounded the square.
You know you're in another world when someone's prized possessions are a dried llama fetus and a dead armadillo. Amongst these treasures there was also room for a touch of modernity with a selection of cassette tapes. A bit of a contrast when you've got your ipod in your pocket and your digital camera at the ready. Clearly we weren't the first tourists to pass through as the local kids knew the going rate for a photo.
Quite what they would do with the money out here was another question. Although judging by their teeth there must be a sweetshop somewhere. Medical and dental access was something they didn't have with infant mortality in the more remote villages running at around 40%. There were even separate graveyards for children. Pale flowers are used to mark the graves of the young with dark blues and purples for older generations.
Thankfully for our group there
Birthday girl
Carolyn's impressed by her surroundings for the day were no serious medical cases, just a few people who found the alcohol going to their heads a little quicker and David displaying a cartoon style heartbeat as the effects of sleeping at 4700m kicked in.
Cheat Tour, day two It was an early start on day two. And let us tell you, it's hard to get up early when it's that cold and dark outside. And inside. Nobody looked willing to relinquish their sleeping bag until they had at least 4 layers of clothes on.
We had just about woken up (thanks to the bumpy ride) when we arrived at the first destination of the day: an abandoned town from colonial times. It was a little eerie in the early morning mist. There were 27 churches in the town to cope with the demands of the 1500 inhabitants who, according to our guide, were into changing their spouse as often as they changed their socks. Actually probably more so - hygiene here leaves a little to be desired.
A few of our group were determined to maintain their standards despite lack of running water and electricity by braving a bathe in the hot springs we passed
later in the day. Thankfully the springs smelled considerably better than the geysers we visited at the end of the day.
By this stage it seemed we had adjusted quite well to the altitude (with a little help from some coca leaves), which was more than can be said for our iPod, which decided to give up the ghost above 4500m, leaving us to be subjected to the driver's choice of 80s euro-pop. Our only respite coming when the jeep took a turn at failing to operate. Unfortunately it decided to do this smack in the centre of a river crossing.
A sterling effort from Señor Beimar got it going again and he put his foot down in an attempt to catch the two jeeps that had left us for dust. Just as we were beginning to close the gap a particularly sharp stone put paid to one of our tyres. It was just as well we were carrying three spares.
Cheat Tour, day 3: Birthday time Who doesn't want to be woken up at 6am on their birthday? But the early start was worth it once again for some brekkie pancakes and then a spectacular scene
at Laguna Colorada. The flamingoes were parading on the mirror-like surface for the perfect photo opp. We took quite a few pics that day before heading onto our refugio for a slap up meal and some furious card playing. Never before has 'cheat' been yelled so many times in one night. Interrupted only by a chorus of Happy Birthday and a tub of pringles with a candle on top.
Cheat Tour, last day: Salt of the earth The best part of the tour was saved for last as we headed for
Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world at 12,000 sq.km. It would keep the local chippy going forever with an astonishing ten billion tonnes of salt.
Sunglasses were definitely a must as the unending expanse was blinding white. On this blank canvas we spent a happy couple of hours playing with perspective. You can see the results in our pics. It is almost without doubt the only time you will ever see David smaller than Carolyn!
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SJ
non-member comment
Wow
That looks amazing, especially the perspective pics... I want a llama. Please send one over to Glasgow!