Bolivia

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Entering Bolivia by land through a border crossing from Peru was smoother than anticipated, and I soon found myself in the little tourist town of Copacabana, on Lake Titicaca, see http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Lake+Titicaca. From there, took a boat to the isla del sol, see http://www.images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Isla+del+Sol+Bolivia&gbv=2

Given the altitude of around 14,000 feet, it was a challenge to climb about 1000 stone stairs to my hotel. However, the frequent rest stops gave me plenty of opportunities to take in the scenery. The island is free of roads and cars, making it serene and conjuring up images of times long gone. The locals engage in some farming, but clearly the tourist trade helps to supplement meager incomes.

From Copacabana took a bus to La Paz, the highest capital city on earth. The city is surrounded by mountains and is essentially in the bowl below. First impressions were good, not as undeveloped as I had anticipated. I took a city tour the following day with the highlight being a stop at the Valley of the Moon, see http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=valley+of+the+moon+bolivia
Other curiosities included a stop at the witches market where you can buy countless strange brews, as well as a dried llama fetus, something used in ceremonies.

Took a tour of the Tiwanaku ruins, see http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=Tiwanaku+bolivia
Much of the ruins, including the pyramid, still being excavated by archaeologists, was plundered by the Spanish long ago, they sought the gold and silver and cared little about art or history. Much focus on the sun god here, with remaining monuments attesting to this, particularly those aligned to mark the summer solstice precisely each year.

Took a bus and train to Uyuni from La Paz, offering about 10 hours of mountainous countryside views.

The city of Uyuni is the starting point for the 4x4 tours of the famed salt flats, see http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=uyuni+salt+flats+bolivia

Without question the highlight of the 3 day tour was the salt flats, evidently the size of Belgium... The salt is a remnant of the time when this part of the earth was at sea level (volcanic activity pushed it up), the remaining salt is still a pristine, blinding white as far as the eye can see. The crystals can get about the size of your thumb, but most are smaller, though not quite like sand. During most of the year, when there is no rain, the salt is harvested, processed and sold for human consumption. The fish island stop on the tour, (no idea why its called that-no water or fish...) was a relatively small bit of volcanic rock and some large cacti and other succulents. Walked around it for half an hour to test fate and get some views of the area, and we had an al fresco lunch prepared by our driver.

I should point out that the entire 3 days were almost exclusively driving through mountainous, desert-like conditions. There were no roads, the sand and scattered rocks made excellent driving and navigation skills mandatory. No signage meant that knowing your mountaintops as reference points was critical. Other stops during the tour included volcanoes, about 10 different lakes with their own unique features, from flocks of flamingos to those filled with arsenic (naturally), borax and one that shone a strange green due to a particular algae. We also stopped at some geysers and hot springs. Another peculiar stop included a weather-worn ¨stone tree¨, check it out at http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=bolivia+stone+tree

Our two nights in the middle of nowhere include one in a hotel made of salt blocks, with the finer salt as floor covering, like being on a white sandy beach indoors. Tables, chairs and even the bed frames were also of salt blocks. See http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=uyuni+salt+hotel The doors to rooms did not close properly, so I awoke at 5am to find a strange Bolivian man sitting on the extra bed in my room fumbling with his shoes. I turned on the lights, asked what he was doing, and not getting a response I ushered him out without much incident. Discovered the next morning that he had entered at least 5 other rooms, and actually ended up in bed with some poor Japanese man who evidently didn´t want to offend the guy! We all lodged our complaints in the morning to hotel staff, none of whom seemed to care. We concluded he was likely drunk and the husband of one of the traveling cooks with another group. The second night was absolutely spartan. The large hostal (to be generous), had few amenities (no doors on toilets, no showers, electricity by generator only, 4 hours at night). Excellent stargzing however, given the location and lack of any light. That Milky Way sure is a crowded part of the sky. One of the coldest nights of my life (below freezing, no heat), made worse by having to get out of bed before dawn to cactch the geysers at full strength.

My 8 days in Bolivia left me with a sense of gratitude, for many things, particularly the decision to go there. I had thought about skipping it as it seems to be one of only a few in S.A. that require visas and the attendant bureaucratic formalities from US citizens, and a $100 fee. It will be interesting to see how the government and people proceed, as it is leaning left and seeks even closer ties with Hugo Chavez and his policies. Bolivia may be the poorest country on the continent, but is rich in culture, nature and highly recommended.

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Comments

[S. Y.]

Wonderful blog, Marc!
Hi, You've done a wonderful job on your blog, Marc. 'Really have enjoyed reading it. I especially liked reading about the lengthy journey across the salt flats and the forlorn places you stayed on the tails of that experience. I hope you have long since thawed out. I'm so glad you put the blog together. Very cool and full of far more travel details than your emails although the emails are full of more about you so please keep both of them coming. Wonderful! How is your ankle? Really hope Patagonia has given you beautiful experiences of peace and ample opportunity just to gaze at the surroundings while you rest your ankle. Sending a hug your way!