Day One
I had yet another early start and woke up at 6 a.m. to be collected around 6:30. The bus was half full of sleepy tourists as it raced around San Pedro. Benny, who I met on the Red Rocks tour a few days before, managed to grab the seat next to me and we headed up, literally at 4,000 metres, to the border.
The Chilean side went smoothly, they kindly let me use the toilet and I noticed that they had a table tennis table. We then raced over to the Bolivian side and it was here that I realised I wasn't in Kansas anymore. Now most people seem to travel South America from the north to the south. Either starting in Colombia, Central America or a multitude of other places. I started in the south and am travelling north, which I think and don't quote me, is less common. So I've been told that Argentina and Chile are really well developed, which they are, but for me they are really different to Europe. However for those who have visited the poorer countries in the north they are very close to Europe, expensive and I think as a result many travellers don't stay so long. I hadn't really thought about this as I've been here a long time. It was only when I reached the Bolivian border that I realised things were going to be different from here on in…
Benny has a little trouble with the border owing to him being a US citizen. He had triplicate paperwork, the fee and everything else and still they needed a bribe. Whilst Benny stressed the rest of us ate breakfast and it was here that we met Melissa, Emma, Ruben and Niklas who were to be our friends for the rest of the tour. The company told us to divide into groups and we jumped into the jeeps with Simón, our driver and guide.
The breakfast was great along with all the food on the tour. We were never rushed and stopped for extra photos on request. I booked with White World Travel, going from San Pedro to Uyuni.
We were whisked away and soon arrived at Laguna Blanca. This was after a quick stop to buy tickets for the National Park. After an introduction in Spanish, I would end up knowing little about what we were to see over the next few days so don't ask, we jumped out in the freezing cold to have a look and take photos. As you can see in the group shot below the lake is frozen! So yeah it was cold and this day was really grey so that didn't help much.
We then drove across to Laguna Verde which didn't really look very green to me owing to the cloud. We didn't stay too long.
Then we stopped at this random place in the desert. I don't know why but I took photos.
Then we came to the hot springs. It was freezing and I very nearly didn't go but after missing every other opportunity I figured that I should. So I stripped off to my trunks and very quickly jumped into the quieter of the two pools. After some time we changed pools and found the reason the other was busier is because it was hotter. I dreaded getting out but it wasn't as bad as I thought. Mostly because my body was so warm from the pools. We were told to stay for only 20 minutes and I'm not sure if I stayed too long but this is where the altitude started to hit me.
Next up was the thermals and these were at an altitude of nearly 5,000 metres and there were still mountains towering above. Call me stupid but I never realised that flat land could be this high. I just assumed that it was mountains but no there are tonnes of flat as you can see from the pictures. I think I've said this before but London is 35 metres above sea level. So go outside and look up at the clouds and that is how high I was. Again I don't know anything about the thermals but they stank and bubbled away so I took pictures as any good tourist would.
We stopped for lunch at our accommodation, which had no heating and was well above 4,600 metres. On the first night we were in a six-person dorm but with all the extra sleeping bags and blankets we were cosy and warm. Lunch was again delicious and I broke out the dice for the first time in months and everyone really got into Perudo which was nice.
I was still suffering quite badly so I made myself some tea from the random herbs I brought in San Pedro. It tastes gross but it did help and I drank a lot of water.
After lunch we headed to this red lake with flamingos. Again I don't really know anything about it other than it was so cold. This time I was having trouble walking due to the altitude. If I walked any faster than a crawl I was left fighting for breath. Once I realised my limits it was okay and I felt like an old man hanging out at the back. Benny was kind enough to stay back with me to make sure I was okay.
After the lake we headed back to the accommodation, had dinner and went to check out the local shops. There was a bar that we visited but all declined a drink due to the altitude and ended up in bed by 8 p.m. after another game of Perudo.
Day Two
We had breakfast at the hotel and headed out early to some rock formations in the middle of the desert. There was nothing to say we couldn't climb on the rocks so we did. At one point Niklas and I tried to climb up one set and were blocked. Ruben and Benny scrambled straight up other formations and later Melissa was kind enough to take some photos of me posing.
We moved on to another set of rocks which was home to some rabbits. Well, kinda rabbits.
And then stopped in the middle of the desert. There was a great song on the radio and Simón turns it up so we had an impromptu disco. I have a video but I don't know how to upload it here.
After another long drive and passing a load of cyclists who were doing the same tour as us, but on bikes, some people are just crazy!
We ended up at another salt lake, again I don't remember the name, but Emma helped me take one of the best photos I've taken on the trip. I'll let you decide which one.
I had yet another early start and woke up at 6 a.m. to be collected around 6:30.
We stopped by another lake for lunch.
And when we headed on we all thought that we could see a camel in the mountain. It turned out that we were all seeing different camels but let me know if you can see one.
The next stop was to see an active volcano. There was also a sign saying that we couldn't do something but I still have no idea what.
After this stop I was able to ride shotgun and managed to snap some shots of the dust thrown up by the trucks.
The final stop of the day was the train line. I managed to tick off another bucket list item by sitting on the tracks. Before you worry there are only two trains a week and it's easy to see if any are coming. Melissa took some really nice group shots with her camera and we took Benny hostage for fun.
Again I rode up front and took some more shots. It's really interesting to drive through this desert as you can't believe how far away the mountains are in the distance. We never seemed to reach them despite driving for miles and miles.
We arrived at our second hostel which had salt for carpets and had hot water - in one shower only. We convinced Simón to drive us to one of the shops to get some cactus beer and opted to get up at 5 a.m. to see the sunrise on the Salt Flats. But not before we drank the beer, played a few games of Perudo and were mobbed by the children.
Day Three
I had yet another early rise and it was getting ridiculous as to how many early mornings I had had in the past 12 days. It was absolutely freezing too. I ended up in the front seat which had become much less popular since the door on the passenger side had broken meaning I had to climb over everything but also I was able to get the warmth from the engine which was good. We set off in the dark and soon light started showing over the horizon. I snapped a couple of photos but the jerkiness of the car made it impossible to get anything in focus but I really like the first photo.
Soon we arrived at the Salar de Uyuni and this part was covered in a thin layer of water giving a beautiful reflection. I can't tell you how cold it was here but it was completely worth it. I've never seen so many colours and the reflections with the clouds were just stunning. There are no filters on any of the shots below. It's all completely natural.
After we had watched the sun rise we were taken to an island in the lake where there were lots of cacti growing. Just to give you an idea of scale the lake is 200 kilometres long. That's further than from Portsmouth to London. And a depth of 140 metres. It's huge.
We walked around the island in the middle of the Salt and returned to have breakfast in a beautiful setting.
Afterwards it was time to make the perspective photos and kudos to Melissa as she took charge and without her I don't think they would have been anywhere near as good.
After we finished playing around it was time to leave but not before we stopped by a lot of flags in the Salt Flats.
And then there was one last stop in Uyuni. A train cemetery. I'd like to write so much more but again this is crashing due to the amount of photos so I'll leave them to do the talking.
The Valle de la Luna) is just south of La Paz in Mallasa. There are minibuses that run from the centre of La Paz, just look for one that has Mallasa in the window and you can easily combine with a trip to the La Paz Zoo where I am volunteering (combined entrance is 25bs). Mallasa is where Bolivians come for the weekend so there are lots of restaurants catering to local tastes and the trip will give you a little insight into the area that you otherwise wouldn't get.
I am staying in La Paz for just over five weeks and if I write one long post this is going to crash as with the other posts. I don't like writing about a place until I leave as you can't really tell where the experience will take you halfway through, but I have done several hikes each of which are independent and can be done as separate trips so I'll be publishing these over the next week and then I'll write about La Paz and UpClose Bolivia afterwards.
I seem to have most Mondays off with a Spanish lesson at 4 p.m. so I wanted to make the most of my second Monday in the city. I decided to check out Valle de la Luna as I pass it on the bus when I travel into the city from Jupapina and I also noticed a couple of interesting viewpoints.
I jumped on a minibus (I'll explain these more in another post) and headed to the entrance. There are two routes through the valley, one that takes 45 minutes and one that takes 15 minutes. You can easily do both. After paying the entrance fee of 15bs you get to walk through the gift shop before appearing in a really fascinating rock environment, that if you use your imagination looks a little like the moon.
I opted to start the 45-minute trek and as it was a Monday the park was pretty quiet. The weather was perfect and I was able to enjoy the landscape. Note that it is right in the middle of Mallasa so there is a town backdrop to the views. It's also at high altitude, I'd guess around 3,500 but so is most of La Paz so just take it easy. I found I was very quickly out of breath.
It's a desert landscape and in the background of the above shots you can see the Muela del Diablo in the background which I hiked a few days later.
As I mentioned there are a couple of viewpoints you can visit. Check on http://maps.me but the first is a short 10-minute walk from the valley and it's well worth a detour. Take a left as you leave the Valle de la Luna and follow the road until you get to the steps on the right. There is a sign that clearly marks the route. You go right to the top of the hill that gives panoramic views of the whole area.
After this the other viewpoint is a little out of the way. I walked around and sadly it was barred when I tried to go so you might want to skip and head into Mallasa. Grab some lunch in one of the restaurants or head on down to the zoo and get some food in any of the restaurants near the entrance and enjoy your afternoon there.
I headed down the road and there is a "path" where you can reach a little out of town shopping area with a supermarket, pharmacy, takeaway pizza and a café. I stopped here and treated myself to an Oreo milkshake and wifi before heading back for my Spanish lesson in the afternoon.
