Hi everyone ! Well, I'm actually in Chile now but to catch you up on my last few days in Bolivia ...
One of the main reasons I went to Bolivia was to do a tour of the Salt Flats of Uyuni, I saw a photo in a brochure before I came away and it just looked so different and it certainly is !
I arrived in Uyuni after probably the coldest overnight bus journey ever, we got into town at about 5am and the temperature was well below freezing, managed to find a really cheap hostel so I could crawl under some covers and get some sleep but unfortunately I could feel my toes and couldn't get warm and that tends to disrupt sleep activity. Horrible.
So wandered around the small town of Uyuni, looking for an agency to book my tour and chose Oasis Odyssey Tours on Avenida Arce, on the plaza. The reason I am quoting the name is in case anyone reading this is trying to find a good operator out of the 60 or so available - these guys were fantastic, choose them !
So, we set out the following day, 6 of us plus a cook (Felicia) and our guide (Mauro) in a jeep. With me were Denis (German) and Mathilde (French) and Shayma, Sebastian and Annalise - all also French.
First point of call was the train cemetery just outside of Uyuni which was actually quite fun (and a kids dream I would imagine as all these old steam trains are just there and you can climb all over them and in them etc. If that was in Europe there would be risk assessments and H&S issues all over the shop and they would probably be displayed behind barriers, no here we just walked across the train line that heads towards Chile and had a damn good play !
From there we headed to Colchani where we were shown how the salt is prepared from the flats and then we headed into/onto the flats. Wow, it's so white and such a huge expanse, it looks like we are driving on snow but of course it isn't, such a weird feeling. Nothing but white for miles around. We stopped for lunch at Isla Pescado (Fish island ??) no fish but basically a rock island in the middle of the salt flats covered in Giant Cacti. The whole set up is so organised, while we tourists wandered around the cacti Felicia was preparing our lunch on a camping stove. Really good food too.
We also spent a fair bit of time taking the obligatory "standing on a beer bottle" photo which is actually more difficult to get right than I imagined ! By this time the 6 of us are getting along quite well and having a really good laugh. That night we stayed in a small hostel in a tiny little town called San Pedro de something, Felicia cooked us a great dish, we had some beers and Denis got his guitar out and a great evening was had, the temperature though was apparently 15 degrees below zero - seriously cold here.
Next morning we were heading to see various Lagunas with lots of wild llama and Vicuna hanging around and the journey took us through some stunning desert landscapes. We saw the Arbol de Piedra (tree of stone) which was probably a relic from when all this area was under water and we all had a damn good laugh at a random "no-parking" sign just stuck in the middle of the desert. Then we haeded to Laguna Colorada which is a red coloured lagoon, very strange, something to do with some minerals or something. That night we stayed in another hostel by the lagoon and we enjoyed a few bottles of red wine (the french influence) and I taught the guys the name game thing where you go round the table saying famous people's names and they have to give another famous person starting with the first letter of the previous surname - we had a great night !
Unfortunately the next morning we had to leave at 5am to see the geysers so we were all feeling a little worse for wear and ridiculously cold ... we got to the geysers just before sunrise. To be honest it was so cold outside we disn't hang around long, jumped out of the jeep, saw the steam coming out of the earth, smelt the sulphur, heard the mud bubbling and then jumped back in the jeep for some semblance of warmth. Then onto the hot springs about 40 minutes away. I have to hold my hand up and say I didn't go in, Denis, Shayma and Sebastian braved getting undressed in the middle of nowhere, in below freezing temperatures to get into the water (which was apparently lovely) but I couldn't bear the thought of getting out, wet, cold and having to dry off and get dressed in those temperatures. Like I keep saying - it was seriously cold apart from the middle of the day when the sun is shining.
Then we headed off past a place called Salvador Dali, I didn't quite understand the reference but maybe the colours of the stones infuenced him or something ?? Then our penultimate destination Laguna Verde which is very near the border with Chile, one final group photo shot and then it was going to be goodbye for me and Denis, we were getting dropped off at the border whilst the other guys were going back to Uyuni.
It was 700 Bolivianos (about 50 quid) well spent. Great value for money and we got to see some of the most unusual and beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. The 6 of us all got on really well and had a great time together and it was a sad farewell at the border. Hopefully I can pop into Paris on my way home to see Shayma, Sebastian and Annalie.
So, me and Denis left Bolivia and entered Chile, the bus transfer to San pedro de Acatama (where I am now) was about an hour and included in the price of the 700 Bolivianos too. It was a bit weird getting stamped out of Bolivia but not getting to Chilean immigration until San Pedro - and it was the first time I've ever had all my bags searched on entry to a country. Mind you, I suppose coming from Bolivia - the world's second or third biggest coca leaf producer it's understandable. By the way chewing coca leaves is foul and I'm not too fond of Mate de Coca (a sort of hot drink made of the leaves).
So, I'm here in Chile and it is horrifyingly expensive - San Pedro is a really nice small town but very touristy, it's all low houses and dusty roads, reminds me of old Western movies, good old Clint Eastwood wouldn't look out of place here wearing the ol' poncho and chewing hi cigar stub. Heading off to the coast tomorrow, La Serena, not sure it will be sunbathing and sea swimming weather but I hope to find somewhere affordable where I can chill for a bit !
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