Hey Folks!
Stace and I are now in Potosi, the highest city in the world at 4070m. We´ll be walking slowly here!
The last three days we were on a 4x4 tour of the Bolivian backcountry. It had to be some of the most incredible landscape I have ever seen in my life. It was a three day tour so I´ll give you all a nice recap on what we saw and how it went!
DAY 1We were told to meet at the tour agency at 10am. Keeping true to South American timekeeping, our guides drove up in the necessary Toyota Land Cruisers around quarter to 11. After sorting out the gringos into the 2 vehicles we drove to pick up our cook and the food (the eggs were shoved under the front seat in front of my feet), we soon headed out of town and onto the gravel, pocketed roads that were to keep us company for the next 3 days.
Our guide introduced himself as Obed, and began talking to us in Spanish. I was perfectly fine with that as I understood him for the most part but we were told that we would have an English speaking guide. When asked if he spoke English he said ¨un pocito¨ (A little bit). Great.
Our first stop was a train cemetary where we were told (by Obed who suddenly began speaking perfect English...sneaky) that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid had killed the trains. Crazy!
After a quick bathroom break we drove onto the incredible salt flats. These flats stretched for more than 40km and with the bright sun overhead, the reflected glare was really strong. More than a few people ended up with tomato faces at the end of the day. Stacey and I felt almost right at home as the vast white land reminded us of good ol´ snowy Canada!
That night we stayed in a salt hotel! It was really cool until in the middle of the night it started raining. Although the roof itself wasn´t made of salt, it wasn´t made well and I woke up to hear the drip-drop of water in our room. I figured it was just on the floor and decided to ignore it until I heard Stacey yelp ¨Oh crap!¨ and realized she was getting a nice little shower in bed. After trying to stuff toilet paper in the leak and holding a water bottle underneath it, Stacey just shuffled against the wall and went back to bed.
DAY 2After a nice 5am wakeup call, we all grumbled our way out of bed and shoved back into the Land Cruisers for a nice bumpy ride to wake us up more fully. We drove until 5pm, visiting a lagun filled with hundreds of amazing flamingos, as well as the train tracks that connect Bolivia and Chile. We also visited 2 incredible groupings of boulders, both with so much potential for climbing that Stacey and I were running and bouldering everywhere, always the last ones back in the car. The only and very devestating drawback to these areas are their isolation. They are more than a days drive over very rough terrain from any main town or city. One place was very famous for having a giant boulder that looked like a tree. It was really impressive and my fingers were itching to climb it!
After a flat tire which was fixed with incredibly speed by our guides, we arrived at our hostel. It was so cold that snow was flowing around us, which excited both Stacey and I but no one else. Crazy Canadians..live in igloos!
That night, the cold and a promise for a 4am wakeup drove us to be around 9pm.
DAY 3Yes we woke up at 4am. I was not a happy camper, yet our first destination brightened my moods immensley! We got to see a huge group of geysers set in a Mars-like landscape. It was pretty incredibly, with these geysers reaching heights of almost 30 metres and temperatures of more than 85 degrees C. There were pools of water where the steam poured out of, which were the colour of clay and bubbling up. Apparently people have died in them, so we stayed away from the edges!
After that we drove to a point of 5060m, where Stace and I hopped out of the car and went for a little jog that made my head spin and my lungs heave.
Breakfast was served near hot springs. Everyone lounged around warming their bodies in the toasty water!
After that we visted Laguna Verde..Green Lagun, which was extremely beautiful with a volcano in the background giving a perfect reflection in the water. Then most of our tour group was dropped off at the border of Chile and we began the labourous drive back to Uyuni, the town where we began our journey. Along the way we stopped at another incredible group of boulders with solid rock and great potential. And once again it is far too isolated for any development.
We arrived back in Uyuni at dinner time and after a much needed shower we ate the most amazing pizza at Minuteman Pizza, and then dragged our very sour behinds into bed.
All in all it was a fantastic tour, and I had alot of fun!
Stacey and I are now in our last city together before we part ways, with Stacey heading into Argentina to meet her friend Jay for Christmas and New Years in Buenos Aires. I am going to retrace my steps back to Lake Titicaca where I will fly back to Lima, Peru for a few days before I head back home to Canada!!!
I hope you´re all enjoying yourselves and are excited for the holidays!
All my love,
Vikki
