Bolivia. Arguably South America´s poorest country, with around 60% of the population suffering in poverty. From a traveller´s point of view, this can sometimes make for the best experiences. Bolivia is known for being the cheapest country to travel in, and what it lacks in monetary value, it makes up for in its wealth of nature.
We arrived in Bolivia, tired and hungry, and with most of Bolivia being at extremely high altitude, we instantly felt pretty ill. Altitude sickness is a big problem for travellers arriving in Bolivia, as most of the country's main sights are up in the mountains. I had already been made aware of this, and had recommended remedies such as chewing on coca leaves like the locals, or if not available, chocolate and lots of water. At short notice...chocolate was my preferred option! Dosage, self diagnosed.
Our first stop was Tupiza, in the South West of the country. Known as Bolivia´s wild west, we were taken in a rickety old bus through the rough roads, into the mountains. It was "so long" and "farewell" to the comforts of Argentinian transport, and a rude awakening to the rough, dusty and cramped buses of Bolivia. Amongst our fellow passengers, packed shoulder to shoulder in the aisles, were a couple of cockerals, and a dozen chicks. Viva South America!
Tupiza, the small dusty town, geared around organizing tours of the surrounding countryside and mainly for the infamous salt flats, offered little else to keep us there. Don't get me wrong, the views surrounding the town were stunning, with the orange and red mountains dominating the landscape, but we were short on time, and eager to sort our tour of the salar.
In the end, we opted for the four day tour, with 'La Torre' tour company, which would take us through the mountains and the national reserve for the three days before we even get to the infamous salt flats of Uyuni. It was a great deal, with all food and "basic" accomodation included. All we really needed to invest in was lots of warm clothing and sleeping bags, because it was going to be cold.
We had NO idea.
The first day was mainly ploughing through the mountainous deserts, taking us towards the reserve for our first night. We were introduced to our tour family. First there was "Super" Mario, our gangster looking driver, who had little to say, but lots of attitude (chewing on his coca leaves, and smiling wryly when we did something silly). Then, was our mama, Margarita. A wonderful classic Bolivian lady, dressed in her flowing skirt, wooly jumper and with her hair in long black plaits. She cooked us Bolivian feasts, three times a day, and called us her "chicas locas". Then were our fellow tourists, Liam the scouser who we'd met in Tupiza, and the French-Canadian brothers Eric and Charles. Sure, it was bit of a squeeze for four days in our jeep, but it was warmer than outside!
Never in four days have I been so blown away by the most varied landscapes I've ever seen in one province. We went from the barren, dusty, rocky red deserts around Tupiza, through deserted ghost towns, up into the icy lagoons at 4,855 ft above sea level, snow topped mountains, to white sodium filled lakes. Once in the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve, we were to stay our first night in the below zero temperatures, with no electricity or heating, but to be able to look above and see the milky way clearer than ever before, was worth all the shivering pain!
Each day kept our trigger fingers busy on our cameras, with countless Kodak moments. For example, Laguna Verde, one of my favourites, dazzled me with its sparkling emerald green water, overlooked by the majestic grey, snow topped Volcan Licancabur.
We were able to relax in natural hotsprings over looking the snow topped mountain ranges and frozen waters. We had loads of crazy rocks to climb, and we found energy from out of nowhere. Running around the geysers, billowing out clouds of sulphur, at a casual 5000 meters above sealevel, probably wasn't the best idea, but it was all part of our delirium.
After this came another breathtaking lagoon. Laguna Colorada, famous for its fiery red and pink waters, dazzled us in the afternoon sun. To add even more to the view, groups of pink flamingoes clustered together on the waters, feeding on the plankton that gives the waters its fiery hue. It was as great a sight as Laguna Verde, if not better.
We stayed nearby that night, and made the near fatal error of drinking, as a bonding exercise! At such high altitude, drinking alcohol is strongly advised against, and I suffered the consequences. I woke up in the middle of the night, with the worst headache I have experienced, and everyone was suffering the next morning. I did as the locals do, and turned to the magic of the coca leaf. Trust me, its a miracle. Yet, it didn't give me enough energy to climb all the crazy shaped rocks, such as the gravity defying Árbol de Piedra.
We passed through the desert, to Uyuni town, and on to our most unique accomodation; we were staying in a hotel made entirely out of salt. Yes, the walls, floor, fireplace, tables, chairs and beds were all made out of cold hard blocks of salt. Despite how it sounds, we were relatively comfortable that night (obviously apart from the cold).
That evening, we took our first trip to the Salar...for a stunning sunset. The Salar de Uyuni are the largest salt flats in the world, at 3650 meters, and have a unique weather condition. With the thin air and radiating sun, there is a drastic contrast in temperatures in and out of the shade. Winds can be strong and bitterly cold, with temperatures in the winter reaching -20 degrees celsius. We happened to be there in the wet season, so that the pools of water laid out on the flats, created a brilliant mirror reflection of the clear blue sky.
Needless to say, the sunset was beautfully clear, on a bare, flat white horizon. The next morning, we returned in the early hours, to watch the sun return to the sky once more. It was a slow sleepy morning, as the fourth and final day of our trip. Yet, we still managed to take some cleverly crafted photos of Tash and myself standing on an apple, me stepping on Tash, and a scruffy human pyramid.
After this, our tour was sadly drawing to an end. We had run out of time to see more of the flats, and all of us wanted to catch the daily bus to Sucré. So we said our goodbyes to our wonderful guides, Mama Margarita and Super Mario, and headed off to our next destination. Dirty, smelly, cold and tired, the salt flats had worn us down, but not one person complained. The previous four days were worth every shiver.
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