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Published: February 26th 2009
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042 - Bolivia - Tupiza
01/30/09 - 02/06/09
A Bolivian Safari: The most diverse terrain per square mile in the world
Imagine driving past a deep-red lake with Mars-like rocks in abundance, through a desert with boulders named after the artist Salvatore Dali, and onto another lake, this one white with yellow streaks from the salt and borax deposits. All this, from the comfort of your Land Cruiser, and seen in less than one hour! Add in a few more days of exploring and you'll see active volcanoes, hot springs, natural geysers, and the largest salt plane in the world. Welcome to Bolivia's altiplano, offering the most diverse terrain per square mile than anywhere in the world!
Crossing into Bolivia from Argentina is like taking a step back in time. Whereas Argentina feels like an affordable, friendly Europe, Bolivia feels like a Spanish Ethiopia, with undeveloped roads (only 5% of the countries roads are paved), poverty stricken pueblos (communities), and people that are content with a simple, just-like-their-grandparents-had-it-and-their-grandparents-before-that lifestyle.
The border crossing itself was the most unorganized of any country we've been to. As soon as the border agents found out we were American we were
Nico in front of Laguna Idioma
Photo from Francisco Rosell Gueto rushed to a window and asked for $135 USD each to gain entry into the country. Hmmm, can you please show me some documentation with the price list? And, while you're at it, how about some identification since you're not even wearing a uniform? Nope. Nothing. No price list, no identification, nada. Just a guy that doesn't speak English, probably makes the majority of his income illegaly, and doesn't give two shits about how unfair it is to charge only Americans such an exorbinant price. Anyways, long story short, they ran out of visas for Americans that day (really?!?!) and we were granted entry without a visa with the understanding that we pay upon exit. I can't wait for the border crossing when we exit!!!
Our first exposure to the Bolivian country side was a train ride from the Argentinian border town of Villazon to Tupiza, a city about 3 hours north. Bolivian climate being what it is (lots of rain) we got stuck in the mud for about an hour while some workers dug the mud from under the train!
We made it to Tupiza and booked the aforementioned four day Bolivian safari through the altiplano. Our
tour guides consisted of a driver and his wife, the cook. They even brought along their one and half year old daughter that, surprisingly, hardly ever cried or complained, even over the most horrendous '4x4 only' roads. Also in the truck were a Spanish couple, Francisco and Barbara, that we became very good friends with. Our driver, cook, and Barbara spoke very little English so for four days our primary language was Spanish! You'd be surprised what four days of immersion does for your language skills (I was actually dreaming in Spanish by the end of the tour!).
All six and a half of us, including gear, food, water, and gasoline fit inside (or on top of) a Toyota Land Cruiser and explored some fantastic remote areas of Bolivia. The circuit is pretty well established and other trucks were present at the viewpoints. Seeing others was quite reassuring for us since our truck had been abused by the thousands of miles of bumpy roads, and consequently, broke down more times than I have fingers on both hands. Luckily, our driver was an expert Land Cruiser mechanic, and eventually got us unstuck every time!
The tour was one of
the coolest excursions we've taken on our trip so far (right up there with our Masia Mara and Ethiopia safaris). The terrain was incredibly diverse and the viewpoints were breathtaking. The biggest challenge was trying not to take too many pictures in an effort to conserve my camera's battery (we had no electricity the first two nights so I couldn't recharge).
The most publicized highlight of the tour was the Uyuni Salt Flat (Salar de Uyuni), the largest of its kind in the world at over 12,000 square kilometers. The flatness and vastness of this plain is truly amazing. At times, we couldn't see a horizon, only a mirage of where the end should be. We also took advantage of the flatness by taking some fun 'perspective' photos. Click
here for the photos (all of these are Photoshop free, I promise!).
This amazing tour of Bolivia's altiplano took us through some of the most fascinating terrain on the continent, at places unreachable by conventional transportation. If you ever get a chance to visit Bolivia (or South America for that matter), I highly recommend you make an effort to take a safari through this amazing region!
Enough 'on-the-go' traveling,
it's time to settle down for a bit and donate our time towards a good cause. Next, we head to the fourth largest Bolivian city, one known for its amazing Carnaval celebration, where we will spend two weeks volunteering at a girls' orphanage and a soup kitchen for underprivelaged children. Next stop, Oruro, Bolivia!!
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Mary (mom)
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A Bolivian Safari
The Land Cruiser reminded me of our Ethiopian safari. Coincidentally, the Bolivian flag has the same colors as the Ethiopian, only reversed (Green, Yellow, Red) and with a star in the middle. Check it out: http://www.ethioworld.com/CountryInformation/ethiopianflag.htm Wow, those photos are awesome! Keep having fun! Love you. Mary