Blogs from Salar de Uyuni, Potosí Department, Bolivia, South America - page 6

Update - Now with photos! _____________________________________ Readers, Tuesday and Wednesday we got into the swing of things. We saw active volcanoes, Chilean mountains, flamingoes, geysers, and washed off the grit from the long drive in natural hot springs. We gained a sense of comraderie with our Irish car mates as well as the Brits and Americans in the other car along for the trip. We drank cheap beer together, took hundreds of photos (or at least I did, and when the Euros tired, they played hackey sack). We ate friend chicken and tolerated Illacio's music when our ipods died. When the second night got as cold as -20c we hunkered down under seven layers of blankets, 6 twin beds in the room with only 3 occupied by the respective couples trying to beggar their significant other's ... read more

Greetings Readers, Jess here! I have been tasked with the daunting job of documenting our three day trip to the southwest corner of Bolivia - the magnificent salt flats, colored lagoons, erupting volcanoes, deep canyons made of metamorphic rock, flamingoes, llamas, christian easy listening, and drunk park wardens. The scenery I think is better conveyed through photos, but I will share a couple humourous anecdotes of our voyage. We took the "princess express" to Uyuni - as in, we flew. The other alternative was a 12 hour overnight bus in subzero temperatures. Cheaper, yes. But definitely a waste of time and definitely not safe. So we forked over the $150 and enjoyed a pleasant 45 minute flight into the ghost town of Uyuni. We visited 3 tour operators to decide which one to use. We ruled ... read more

The last blog was a long one, so i will keep this one brief, and beef it up with photo's... We are granted a sleep in until 6.30 on day 3, but it is still bitterly cold when we leave the homestay. Shortly after leaving we arrive at the Arbol de Piedra, the petrified forest. It is not a petrified forest, but a cluster of large volcanic rocks in the middle of the desert that had been spewed out by a volcano millions of years ago. Soon after we reach Laguna Hondas and find that is completely frozen over, even though it is 100's of metres wide. There are still some brave (or stupid) flamingos walking on the ice hoping that it will melt and provide them with a feed. Next is another lagoon, Laguna Negra, ... read more

12/03 to 18/03/13 - Tupiza - Salar de Uyuni We started our tour for Salar de Uyuni: 4 days trip / 3 nights with Alessandro Adventure Travel. We paid a bit more than through other agencies but the difference was in the fact that we weren't following other fellow travelers or at the same place than other jeeps. The places we went to were incredible and the landscape was always changing. 1st day: We started a 8.00am. We were 2 couples in the Jeep, our guide and driver Zolando and our great cook Noemie. We pass through the Valley El Sillar with natural red rock formation, San Antonio Ruins which is a nice place made of stone and used to be a miners villages, we saw the Morejon lake at 4850m about see level and spend ... read more

Highs: Sunset over the valley of the moon. Perfectly mirrored lakes. Moonset over the Salar de Uyuni Lows: Our tour group changing plans in Spanish and not telling us (despite speaking perfect English). Mild altitude sickness. Having to spend 2 nights in Uyuni. Food: 2x steak, chips, salad and rice with 2L of coke for less than 4 quid. EMPANADA WATCH: Probably the best empanadas of the trip so far were from San Pedro, with rich cheese, fresh tomato and Basil - num! Blog: Our journey to San Pedro de Atacama was perhaps our most epic. The first bus to Santiago, crossing the Chilean border was a mere 6 hours. Probably the most scenic bus journey we slept through! We managed to then get an onward bus from Santiago to San Pedro that same day, a ... read more