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Published: August 27th 2006
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Well, we arrived in Bolivia after a fun wait at the border, and it's a very different world from the riches of Argentina and Brazil. From dusty Tupiza we picked up a 4 day tour taking us to the most remote (and coldest) part of this planet we have ever visited.
In our group were a splendid English couple called Lucy and Miles (Nottingham Forest fans bless em!) and the formidable Kim - the biggest South Korean in the world.
We set off on day one in the jeep (that was to become our home) with our driver Javier and Marta, our less than accomplished cook. Tupiza is at 2900m above sea level, and is essentially a dust bowl of a town surrounded by bleak mountains of different shades of red and not a tree in sight. The first day was pretty much spent in the jeep winding our way through dramatic canyons on bumpy tracks. The scenery was incredible, so bleak and dry, the only living things being cacti and the odd llama. We stopped only a couple of times (once to let Kim be sick- the altitude was affecting the big man) in the whole day, so
by the time we reached our first night's stay we were pretty tired. We stayed in basic dorms in a tiny village of mud houses under the shadow of a snow capped mountain and surrounded by nothing for miles. Watching the sunset over the smoky village and taking in the thin air as the sun dropped down was an amazing feeling.
Dinner arrived after dark and despite the tour agency's assurances, Marta hadn't a clue what vegetarians ate. So it was back to the good old reliable favourite - cold fried egg for us! On queue Laura had a little damage from both ends in the night, which was to be just the beginning!
Day two - we set off at sunrise for another day on the road. We continued to climb in altitude and reached three amazing lakes. At the the white lake (the first) we saw flamingos and wondered how anything could live in this moon like place. The next was the Laguna Verde (Green Lake) at 4900m...the colour is due to the acidic chemicals in the water, and also arsenic (not good for swimming we were assured), from the volcano that towers above it. It
was some sight and the edge of the lake was iced over it was so cold. At the end of the day we reached our dingy sleeping quarters close to the Laguna Colorado. The lake was blood red and full of happy flamingos. The lake takes its colour from microrganisms that the flamingoes eat and gives them their pink colour (well I never!). After another day of Marta's food, Tim had joined the diarrhoea train and poor Kim had started to turn a worrying shade of blue whilst he was collapsed on the bed. We drank coca tea and hoped for the best trying not to notice the cold that was ripping through our five layers.
Next day we were treated to a lie in until 7.30am and we woke to iced up windows and a slight feeling of dread! Laura's stomach was a touch better but Tim was making regular trips to flush free toilets (self flush with a bucket of water) throughout breakfast. We got on our way in the jeep and eventually started to feel our feet again. Our first stop was a desert like area scattered with strange shaped rocks, one which looks like a
tree. The scenery seemed to change every few minutes to an even more barren landscape. After more driving we reached a natural thermal pool that some crazy people were stripping off and getting in to. Being English we didn't partake in any such nonsense and watch quietly from a distance.
After lunch (of which not much was eaten) we reached our highest point of 5000m at the gurgling geysers. They stank of sulpher as we watched the smoke flow from the ground. Behind a big rock, Tim had a flow of a different kind that couldn't be contained any more. Kim was making progress and began to enjoy himself as we reached our final (thank sweet Jesus) night at the edge of the enormous salt flats of Uyuni.
On the final day we woke early and drove the short distance out into the salt desert to watch the sunrise. It was beautiful to watch the salt sparkle like snow as the sun came into view. The salt lake was once the ocean floor (they think) and after lots of volcanic activity the water evaporated to form a 12,000sqkm sheet of white. We drove to an island in the
Our home
Javier does some quick repairs salt which had amazing views of the salt lake, stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions, and a 12m cactus on it that is 1203 years old! Finally, we sped across the flats to a hotel made completely of salt (even the furniture) and observed the salt extraction that goes on there (2 men and a shovel). Eventually we arrived in Uyuni where we had Marta's final lunch (thank god) in a graveyard of rusty trains from the 1930s.
We said our goodbyes to the jeep, and Javier and Marta, and headed for our first shower in 4 days, some clean clothes and warmth. We had seen some of the most amazing things over the few days in some of the most difficult conditions. We're really happy to have done it, but not sure if it's an experience we we'd wish to repeat!
Thanks everyone for your comments, we do read them all, keep them coming.
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evis
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elegant flamingoes
Hey guys, you had a cook with you to remote areas, very posh indeed...although obviously she wasn't an expensive one :-) The pictures of the lakes looked really beautiful, the one with the flamingos is my second favourite so far (the first being that cafe with all the letters everywhere, remember?? seems so long ago now, not even sure which country it was) BUT slightly disappointing you didn't try the thermal pool :-) take care guys, thanks for the great entry. bye for now, evis x