Geysers, Hot Springs, and Stomach Illness
Trip Start
Oct 09, 2008
1
8
67
Trip End
Ongoing
Laguna Colorada,
Bolivia
Friday, October 17, 2008
After a grim 4:00am wake up call, the eight of us piled into the Landcruiser and began a steep uphill climb to the Sol de Manana geyser field (located at an intimidating altitude of 15,900 feet). We arrived just in time for sunrise, by design at a time when the air was so cold that we would be able to see the sulfur gas shooting up from the ground. Regarding the mud/sulfur pools, Cesar's only advice (translated) was, "Don't fall in or you will die!"
This was followed by a wonderful 6:00am swim in a nearby hot spring -- an especially nice treat considering the group had been showerless for three days. Next we stopped by the Laguna Verde, which isn't exactly "green" as advertised but the water is a gorgeous color of blue. It sits at the base of an inactive volcano (Volcan Licancabur). We then drove to the Chilean border and dropped off the Israelis, who were continuing south to San Pedro. By this third day I had been switching back and forth between Spanish, French and English that I'm pretty sure I said goodbye to them in some incomprehensible combination of the three.
On the way back to Uyuni I got my first case of South American stomach sickness. At one point I had Cesar pull over so I could lose my breakfast all over the side of the road. I had been warned a few days earlier (by an Irish fellow on the bus to Titicaca), that many people end up getting sick on the Uyuni trek. I tried to be careful about what I ate and touched but ultimately I guess it was impossible to keep from succumbing to the meager air and unhygienic environment. Anne kindly gave me medicine that helped my stomach but resulted in vivid nightmares as I slept in fits and starts during the eight hour drive back to Uyuni. Not helping was Cesar's music: a casette tape with five or six horribly repetitive, high-energy synthesized Latin American dance tunes that played probably thirty times each by the time we were through. Weak and tired, I boarded an overnight bus back to La Paz, where I would go straight to the airport to catch a morning flight to Buenos Aires.
