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Published: June 15th 2011
One excellent reason for visiting Bolivia is that such money as you have will go so much further than in most other countries of South America. Far more important than the money though is that Bolivia has the majority of the Altiplano and the bit we have seen so far puts this country up in lights for us as having some of the most spectacular country in the world. Also, on evidence to date, gained only in Villazon, Tupiza and Uyuni, Bolivia is a place where we have been made to feel welcome possibly as a source of potential income but also as people who might be interesting.and who come from interesting places.
You can travel into Bolivia from a lot of countries. Some of the most spectacular parts of the country are very close to the borders of Peru and Chile and can be easily accessed from there. We decided to come in from Argentina. For us it made more sense to us to work our way relatively quickly down to the far south before it became too cold for us. We figured we would be able to stand the cold in Bolivia in June more easily than we
might have done in Ushuaia. So far, it looks like we might have been right. But, make no mistake, it can get bloody cold at over 3,500 metres in Bolivia in June.
Interestingly, it was a comfortable feeling for us to cross the border at La Quiaca in Argentina to Villazon in Bolivia. Getting out of Argentina required the bureacratically induced wait we have become used to in Argentina but, as soon as we made it to the Bolivian side, a nice old feeling floated back. A bit Central American, perhaps a little reminiscent of Africa. We were taken control of by an official who instructed us to wait at a particular window. We were t the head of this particular 'queue'. There was no one behind the window but then neither was there anyone behind the next window and, at that one, there was a queue out the door and 200 metres up the street. Eventually, the officials returned and we were dealt with by a friendly bloke who took care to remember and use our names, and processed our visa applications effectively and efficiently, with no suggestion of any requirement for a bribe – contrary to the
A long ride
We were told that most of the pushbike riders are French. This one wasn't/hints in the guide book.
Oh, and I should mention for the interest of others, that I had lost my Argentinian tourist card that had sat happily in my passport for most of the time in that country. They say that getting out without the card can be a problem. It wasn't for me. No comment whatsoever.
Once properly in Bolivia you feel the difference. More noise, more people walking, less cars and less speed. We caused some hilarity at the bus station. None of this quiet sit behind the counter stuff here. The touts were in full action and voice. We established that most buses to Tupiza would go at 2.00pm. That was a 2 hour wait so we hunted for an earlier one. One man asserted that his bus would leave 'mas temprano'. (much earlier) Turned out that it might go at 1.45pm. We took that as a con and went back to the first lady we had talked to. The other sellers thought this was very funny. Great bus. Looked the part of a Bolivian bus that is used to rough roads.
We were worried when the bus didn't arrive at 2.00pm but it
rolled in at about 2.40 and we dutifully hopped on. It seemed that no one else was in much of a hurry. They climbed on in dribs and drabs chatting and mucking around. Finally on the dot of 3.00 it left. It was an hour into the trip before we realised that Bolivian clocks were an hour behind Argentina, and we needn't have rushed our lunch to be in time for the bus.
Tupiza is not a bad little town. A lot of tourists and related facilities but not a particularly 'touristy' place. Nothing much to see in the town really. The surrounding country looked pretty good though and we thought it was worth a look. With just a little trepidation – with 2 of us not having been on a horse for any length of time in the last 20 years and Klaire having been on horses only rarely – we booked a 5 hour ride. The small child who was our guide turned out to be 15 years old and he was excellent. Size didn't matter in this case. Before we set off we were asked pleadingly whether any of us had any experience. The others furiously
shook their heads and I admitted that I had seen a horse before. I was given 'Terrible' to ride. He wasn't so bad. Just a bit of a mind of his own. We had a very enjoyable day riding through some beautiful country. Maybe just a little like Central Australia but with cactus and a lot more prickly acacia. The rocks and land forms were stunning.
A lot of people do the trip from Uyuni to Tupiza. We had decided to go the other way and booked a 4 day tour. With 4 of us it was slightly more expensive but we were a lot more comfortable than the people we saw who were 6 to a vehicle. Our vehicle was a nice deluxe Landcruiser, probably about 15 years old but very well cared for. We had a driver/guide, Pitar, and a cook, Lucy. They did an excellent job. Careful, considerate driving, good information at relevant times and some of the best food we have had in South America prepared by a lady who could chat with the best.
Tupiza is at a height of just under 3,000 metres. For the next 4 days we moved between about
Salt worker
Salar de Uyuni 3,800 in the lower country and reached 4,900 meters on occasion. The altitude was an issue for Adam and Patricia who needed some extra chemical assistance to deal with the headaches. For the most part though chewing coca leaves was enough to get us through.
I really should find some new superlatives to try to describe the country we travelled through but will have to make do with what I have. Stark, harsh, fragile, bleak and unbelievably beautiful. Mountains and valleys with vicuña, llama and, occasionally, sheep grazing, normally in small herds. Roads which varied between excellent gravel to some very rough 4WD tracks. Streams and crossings covered with sheet ice until well into the afternoon, creating interesting conditions for our driver who didn't want to see his tyres slashed to ribbons. Massive twisted and knotted rock formations that continually impressed you with the power that had created the altiplano so many years ago. Beautiful lakes formed in depressions where minerals leached out of the rocks provided colourful displays – with quite a bit of harvesting/mining of borax by the locals. This tour took us through country that is as spectacular as it gets.
We had one very
early start, at 4.00 am, to ensure that we beat the many other Toyotas to some of the sites. Some of the roads were very rough. The accommodation was basic – little power and no hot water – but comfortable enough for all that. Everything that could be done to make us comfortable was done.
Our track took in Laguna Celeste, Quetena Grande, Quetena Chico, Kollpa Laguna, and a number of borax lakes plus one lake with minerals used to make shampoo, and Volcan Licancabur which is right on the border of Chile, Bolivia and Argentina. We also saw the Dali Desert and the flamingos on Laguna Colorado. We drove along the Rio Colorado and saw the Onda, Dionda and Catchenbru lakes. The Valley of the Rocks was surreal. 50 square kilometres of volcanic rock twisted and knotted into shapes that inspired the imagination to delve into the parts of our brains where fantasies are buried.
One lousy bit of news was that one of the other drivers, a friend of Pitar, was killed the previous night in a car accident. He was driving a tourist to the Chilean border, as a favour, and was taken out in
a head on by a drunk driver. The tourist was badly injured but survived. Road accident statistics are appalling in this country and it is not hard to understand why.
As I said earlier, Pitar and Lucy were excellent in what I suspect is a pretty high quality – and very large – group of guides/drivers and cooks. Pitar understood English pretty well I think but wasn't prepared to speak it often. He provided information in very clearly articulated Spanish and we spent a lot of time along the trip talking about both Bolivia and Australia.
Lucy provided highlights with each of her meals but outdid herself in bribery of officials. I stupidly diced our tickets to the Eduardo Avaroa National Park only to find that we needed them a second time. We still had one ticket that hadn't been discarded so decided to see if we could talk our way through. Rolled up to the gate, ticket handed over, explanation given, guard looking very doubtful. Lucy gives a big grin and hands over some of the left over pancakes we had been served for breakfast. Big smile and we went on our way. Not really sure that
it counts as bribery really so Evo need not get upset.
The last day of the tour was dedicated to Salar de Uyuni. We were on the salt for the sunrise. A slightly weird feeling. This is a 12,000 square kilometre lake of hard baked salt. There is water underneath. When it rains the water simply seeps through the salt into this layer. Under the water there are other layers of salt. A massive expanse of featureless white where it could be easy to get badly lost. It is very cold out on the lake but then it was cold in Uyuni as well.
There is actually not a hell of a lot to do when you are on a salt lake. You can drive around very quickly but that is not so interesting after a while. We amused ourselves taking perspective type photos, that is, after we got over the amazement of where we were. This has to be a major natural wonder of the world. Some localised harvesting of the salt is taking place but the product is sold only in Bolivia and it is all relatively low tech. Salt is shovelled in to heaps by
hand and then loaded onto old trucks again by hand. We went to a place where it is processed and had a look at a low tech process that can handle 3,000 kg per day when they have gas. They aren't making a huge dent.
Next we will post on Potosi, La Paz and then Lake Titicaca which is another high altitude lake but this time filled with water rather than salt.
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beinak
bill e in alaska
Another great blog, thanks,
and don't miss the big museum in Potosi.