Advertisement
Nit Picking
My first photo in Bolivia. It seems to be a public sport, first but not last time I witnessed this...The border crossing at La Quiaca/Villazon is amazing! From the bus you have to get a taxi to the border which is a street with a bridge. On one side you are in Argentina and the other side Bolivia. The locals just pass between the two sides as if it is just any other street. It is so unobvious that it is a border crossing that we had to ask where to go to get our exit stamps. There is no queue to enter Bolivia. On the other side of the street there is the Argentine Customs going through the luggage checking for coca leaves. Obviously they do not do a great job as there are coca leaves in Salta - but there goes.
I was traveling with a Belgian from the hostel in Salta as two single travelers we decided security in numbers was good for the border crossing. Walked over to Bolivia, got our entry stamp, got our Bolivianos and got screwed at the first opportunity when we both wanted to go to the loo and the woman refused to give us change afterwards since the price magically doubled between giving her the money and after peeing! After
Salvador Dali Mountains
These are some of my favourite mountains. Well so far.... arguing for a few minutes we decided that 5 euro cents was not quite worth the effort (it was of course the principle that we were arguing over) and went off to find a taxi to the train station.
Of course the train station is closed for siesta time so we got to sit in the sun and watch the locals including a nit picking session. You know those postcards of Bolivian women in traditional dress with a baby in a sling on their backs? Well it is not just for the postcards. That is simply how they all dress with lots of layers of skirts, hair in two plaits and a bowler hat to protect themselves from the sun….
The train trip to Tupiza itself was another experience. When you open the windows the dust just comes piling in. It is red rocks and soil everywhere. This is Butch Cassidy country so just see the film and that is what the train trip was like. I felt I was in the Wild Wild West….. Tupiza itself is a little town with a small main square. At the hostel I met Helen and Paul an Irish/Brit couple who
The Rock Tree
The landscape was always changing. Suddenly some boulders and a Rock Tree appears.... had spent all day comparing the different tours to the Salar and had a convincing argument for me to jump on the tour with them the following day. Along with them on the tour were two Belgians guys who are traveling around SA on motorbikes. We went off to have dinner which was llama with salad and chips. So much for my promise to eat no meat and salad in Bolivia to avoid tummy problems!
So the following morning after a quick dash to buy some food supplies, (so much for scarcity - you can buy oreo cookies, twix and snickers here) we set off on a four day tour…..
One hour into the trip and we are climbing or I should say clinging on to the side of a gorge. It was literally a sheer drop down hundreds of metres. Helen and I were terrible as we would just look at each other and freak each other out. Neither of us could understand why the driver kept insisting on being 3inches from the edge of the cliff when he could be on the inner part of the road. All I can is thank god that we did
Hand Painted Coca Cola Sign
I loved this... 4000+m high, little village hours from anywhere and still someone is selling Coca cola (and Pringles for the record) not meet another car. At the top (we are now talking about 4000m+) the Alti Plano starts - the lands flattens out and you have kilometers of undulating hills. First sightings of llamas and we are all jumping out taking loads of photos without of course realizing we would see hundreds of them over the next couple of days…. The scenery is also constantly changing from large boulder rocks (very important to hide behind for toilet breaks) to grass land and everything in between.
The first evening we arrived at our first refuge. We were told it would be basic and basic it was. We had a driver and cook taking care of us. At each refuge they would offload the gas, little stove and cook us great meals - hot soup, meat and loads of carbs before the cold of the night set in. Basic also means no heating whatsoever. We were in a hut with blankets, hired sleeping bags and loads of layers of clothes. Altitude sickness was setting in and I had a storming headache which I could not shift with Ibuprofen. Luckily Coca tea did the trick. Coca tea I have to say was a
Sunrise in the Salar
4.30 am start, but it was worth it.... the Salar was one of the main reasons for coming to Bolivia and it did not disappoint! little disappointing. A leaf which creates so much havoc in the world produces a tea which tastes like chamomile. Apparently chewing them leaves a very bitter taste in your mouth and I was not in the mood to try.
What is also amazing this high up is the stars. You don´t have to tilt your head and look up to see them… the big dipper is literally straight ahead at eye level. Also with no light pollution you can see the milky way very clearly.
Next day (4.30 am start) and as we climbed higher the altitude sickness kicked in. I was in total agony and feeling extremely nauseous. I was about to curl up into a ball and refuse to go further when the cook gave me an altitude sickness tablet. Twenty minutes later and I was as right as rain. It is effectively a heart stimulant which pumps the blood through much faster and eliminates the headache. At the height we were at, (we were just shy of 5000m at one point), everything becomes harder. Closing up my ruck sack requires sitting down to catch your breath. Everyone just moves at a much much slower pace.
The Salar
This is what I came to see ... salt and sky It also plays havoc with your digestive system - there is a lot air in your tummy and you can not digest protein easily. If you want the gory details let me know.
We came across Laguna Verde (green in color due to arsenic!), and some thermal pools (I was too chicken to go in as they were not hot and it was freezing out), and geysers which bubbled and steamed away…. Llamas, deers and flamingoes to keep us entertained.
Second night and we were even higher up which meant only one thing - it was well below freezing. I went to bed that night with my emergency pair of thick tights, two pairs of socks, pajama bottoms, t-shirt, two long sleeve tops, sleeping bag liner, sleeping bag and three blankets and still managed to feel cold…. One of the women who ran the refuge had these bandages on her face, had one baby slung on her back and a toddler in tow constantly crying his eyes out. Michel one of the Belge is fluent in Spanish and the next morning we found out that the bandages were because this lady had terrible tooth ache and was not able to get to the doctor for at least another 5 days… the toddler had had diarrhea for 24 hrs. I gave her my supply of ibuprofen and we managed to find some medication gentle enough for toddler…. I can´t believe that people have to live in these conditions.
First stop that day was to the Laguna Colorada, (which is red due to algae) with lots of flamingoes. The only problem is that as you inch close they inch away. Every lagoon we stopped at there was the continual game of trying to inch closer without them moving away, or getting them to fly so we could capture them in flight! More deers, more llamas - I tell you we were becoming complacent! The axle on the truck broke in the afternoon. According to the boys we were lucky we did not flip over at the speed we were going at. Exactly what I needed to hear when I watched him fix the axle with a piece of elastic…..
The third night was luxury. We were down to just over 4000m so it was warmer (only one pair of socks and tights required), and there was ´hot´ water for a charge of 50 euro cents. Though not hot enough to entice me to wash my hair it was nevertheless nice to be able to shower…. Had a potter around town and loved the hand painted coca cola sign…..
The final day was the highlight of the trip as I knew it would be. A 4 am start to get us to the salt flats for sunrise. In the middle is this island - lots of boulder rocks and cacti. From there you have the perfect vantage point to watch sunrise over the flats. It was a glorious sunrise and as we climbed down our cook was waiting with scrambled egg sandwiches and hot tea - bliss!
It is totally amazing. Except for the mountains in the far distance (and this is what they use to guide themselves across the flats) there is nothing but the whiteness of the salt and the blue of the sky….. We felt as if we were alone in the world and we got out of the jeep and played around taking photos. Then a short drive to Uyuni and another 4 magical days were at an end…..
More photos at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/foodiefloozie/my_photos
Advertisement
Tot: 0.06s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 14; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0239s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
anonymous
non-member comment
Stars in your eyes!
Hi Nats, loved your last journals especially the salt flats. When you were on the phone I enjoyed listening and wanted to add 'the stars must have been amazing' but we ran out of time, so I'm so glad you mentioned that...its true to say with flat land there is milesand miles of sky and one is more aware of it in all its moods and nuances. It is my abiding memory of Patagonia: The Sky and The Stars...Continue to marvel and enjoy... - Mae