Bolivia here we come a must if you travel here
Trip Start
Jun 15, 2007
1
20
104
Trip End
Dec 06, 2008
Uyuni,
Bolivia
Friday, August 10, 2007
"Hello" I´m on the phone
. The border was just 10 minutes after taking this left. Look at the photos bloody hell what a gaff, thereīs a volcano in the background in the photos. And so it goes, we paid the unofficial 15 Bolivian peso (bribe) to get an entry stamp on our passports as is customary. Greasing palms as Kealan calls it. As we got our documentation sorted and took a few photos our guide put a spread of breakie on a table outside, beside the bus. Grand job, yoghurts and all! From here we were to take a 4x4 land cruiser to far far away. Our entrusted noble steed arrived and it looked like the bomb. Because there were only 4 of us and not 6 it meant that instead of parking our luggage on the roof we had the easier option of shoving it in the back of the jeep. We loaded up, got acquainted with our Uyuni native driver Alberto and hit the road gravel and dust flying. Alberto seemed dead on and seen as our Spanish is progressing a bit we were able to have Mickey Mouse chat with him at this stage and also understand the stats he was living us on the surrounding landscape which was awesome, truely a unique experience so far. First stop was Laguna Blanca, the white lagoon, beautiful. The second Laguna Verde, the green lagoon also beautiful with the backdrop of a volcano towering at 5850m. The green colour of the lagoon was due to copper minerals in the bed which were stirred up by the wind. Next stop was the Dali rock desert, Decierto Rocas del Salvador Dali which really did have the look of one of Daliīs paintings, and so a just name
Bolivia border view 1
. It consisted of huge rocks spat out from and blown off the top of another near by volcano, and the rocks fell totally randomly in sand.............. Unfortunately before we got to this stop we had a bit of a "mucho problema" = big problem! We were bombing along in our 4x4 on a relatively good track and next thing gggggrrrrrrrrchchchchchcgggggg, bit of swerving, bit of "O SHITE" and then to a brief halt. We thought it was a blowout but on one very quick inspection we saw that it was a lot lot more serious than than. Amazingly the bloody front axel had snapped in two. Believe that, did you ever hear the likes of it? Brilliant, no fixing this one in a hurry. Alberto thankfully didnīt loose it or anything, known any Irish person theyīd be fīn and blinding. . . . We whistled for a cab and when it came near the liscence plate said . .. . . well not that easy to get a taxi in a place like this. . . . bottom line though was that there were numerous jeeps converging on the finishing stages of the trip coming in the opposite direction, luckily enough for us we were only at the start of day one and returning was still a possibility. Alberto hopped onto one of the jeeps and left us stranded and promised heīd be back in 30. We had no choice but to get on well with our Scottish friends now. No worries tho! Before we knew it Alberto was back a little overdue by an hour and a half or so but never the less with a new jeep and driver. Soon we were on our ferry way under the guidance of Valerio another native Uyunian
Bolivia border view 2
. We were kind of sorry to see the end of Alberto but it turned out that Valerio was lovely too. Before the day ended we got the chance to go for a dip in some more thermal pools, some bubbling mud ponds and a red lagoon with flocks of pink Flamingoes.(This entry for day1 is written is at the end of that day, on paper, and now itīs getting transcribed) Had a Munich earlier, all inclusive of the tour price and right now sitting eating delicious soup with spuds, coca leaves and what not in it and round two to come.
Thereīs a little stove beside us blasting out the heat burning some invaluable dried out pland and a generator out the back producing just enough energy to make the light bulbs glow dimly.
It has been such a great day that I just had to get it on paper before I forgot.
Just had a look in the bedroom there and the bases of all the beds are made from stone, they look cumfy though. Hopefully warm too for when weīre peeled away from this stove.
Two little bolivian girls just did a dance and sang a song for our entertainment, cute
Bolivia border view 3
.Thereīs really unique distinctive bolivian traditional music being played in the background on a small radio.
Just got word that the generator will be turned off at 9 so gota get torch, alarm, clothes etc. ready under the pillow before that happens.
Just gona polish of a bottle of red plonk to help fight the cold. Had a look outside at the stars, itīs incredulous, k-billions of stars.
Stove is getting cold and itīs nearly 9. Poor Lindseyīs feeling terrible, poor lass is puking her ring out. Think itīs the altitude!
One of the more interesting days in the life. Lights out!
DAY 2
In the morning there was ice on the inside of the window
Choo choo
. I had some crazy dreams too. Lindsey survived the night and Hughe was totally relieved that he didnīt have to go back to San Pedro with her which would have totally ruined his trip. Nice guy eh! (only messing) Thereīs no doubt though that Valerioīs herbal medicines consisting of a peculiar blend of matte and also some aromatic herbal smoke produced by putting red hot embres on a metal plate on the ground and sprinkling cut up shrubs on it helped. Swallowed a light breakfast and headed off at about 9. Ultimately the day was not as exciting as the previous but never the less an Arbol de Pierda (stone tree), lagoons with more pink Flamingoes, Vicunas (wild animals like springboxes that can travel up to 60 km/h), an active volcano called Ollague with plumes of ash coming from the top and our final stop in our salt hotel, made the day, once again, unique. The scenery changed so much all throughout the day that if you closed your eyes for 10 minutes and then opened them the difference in scenery would make you think you were in a different part of the world. . . We passed through a village alter about 5 or 7 hours of seeing nothing but abyss called San Juan de Rosario. Man how do they live there.
Our residence the salt hotel.
The beds, walls, floors, tables and seats were all made of salt cut from the salt flats. It looked the bees knees
Crikey
. We wined and dined in style, roast chicken, chips, rice and yummy soup again. Our chauffeur Valerio bought us a bottle of plonk too, if thereīs any man that deserves a tip itīs him. Heīs a ledgened. Keeping in line with the previous night we were entertained by a kid playing a few tunes on panpipes. Also keeping in line was the cold and the lack of electricity alter about half 10. No worries though an early night was needed as there was an early start the next day to see the sun rise over Salar de Uyuni.DAY 3
Day 3 of our trans Salar de Uyuni had the early departure from the hotel of 6:30 which meant we were up at 5:30 to pack in the pitch darkness. Electricity was solely between 6 pm and 10 pm or so. Delicious pancakes, youhurt and sugar puffs were the trets awaiting the four of us for our candle light breakfast on a salt table. While munching we watched the sun rise and colour the sky red over the salt flats.. . . We loaded up our gear and got on our merry way. The Salt flats are the biggest in the world at 2000km squared. They were formed by an ocean drying out millions of years ago and rose to a high altitude forming a plateau as a result of plate tectonics. There an amazing sight. The salt can be up to 10m thick at the centre and there are veins of water feeding a central pond all underneath. Randomly plonked in the middle of the flats was an island, Incahuasi or Isla de los Pescadores, fishermans island as itīs known
Don´t think the jack is of any help
. Itīs sprinkled with thousands of cactusīs some over 2000 years old. From it thereīs klass views to the horizon in every direction and from it you can spot 4x4īs of other groupes as tiny dots in the distance. On the edge of the flats thereīs a small town of 800 people where they process the salt. There isnīt a great deal to see there, there is a museum which is shit but still for 50 cents you might as well have a gawlk. Half an tour more driving brought us to the end of our final day and to our final destination of Uyuni, the home town of our guide. On first impressions we thought it was an abysmal dive but alter walking around for a bit it Grez on us. Before Valerio dropped us off there was one last stop. We went to the symmetry of all the old steam engines. A place where all the old antiquated machines were left in peace to rust and fall to bits. A kids paradise I would imagine. Interesting to see.We stayed in the Marith Hostal in Uyuni. 2.5 Euro each for a twin room. Itīs a good sign of how cheap things to come in Bolivia are.
Excuse my spelling, itīs a general disaster, I blame the computers!
