Crazy Day

The first stop this morning (21st August) was a small village called Chantani where there is a small museum run by an old man called Santos.

Santos returned to Chantani 17 years ago when his mother became ill and wanted to die where she was born. 

Unfortunately Santos' wife did not want to return to the village as she preferred city life. Therefore Santos returned to Chantani alone with his mother.

During the time he attended to his mother he started to collect natural rocks which resembled animals. He scoured the surrounding area and carried anything back on a sledge on his own. He said the other villagers all thought he was crazy: the rocks he brought back were frequently bigger than him!

Over 4 years he collected a garden full of interesting rocks and started to carve some himself. He also started to build his own house and discovered all sorts of centuries old pottery and tools in the surrounding land.

Santos now runs a museum with these artefacts and gives tours of his garden. Fortunately his wife saw what he had achieved and a few years after his mother died she returned to Chantani to live with him.

After our tour we had a look round the deserted and ruined village which Santos lives in. We were warned not to go too far as one other person lives in the village; a grumpy old lady that doesn't like tourists!

There was a tiny clock tower which we both climbed up giving fantastic views of the salt flats and surrounding mountains.

Once we had seen everything there was to see at Chantani we entered the salt flats. After around 45 mins of driving we stopped. As far as we could see in all directions was salt with the occasional mountain. Perfect for crazy photos!

After around 30 mins of jumping and running back and forth to get the perspective right we decided we'd had enough.

Exhausted (because of the low oxygen levels) we continued on to the only salt hotel on the salt flats. It's now illegal to stay here overnight due to the impact on the environment but you can still visit to see the salt carvings.

When we arrived the hotel was half knocked down as they were in the process of rebuilding it. In a small room at the back all the salt carvings were proudly(!) on display.

Our penultimate stop on the flats was the salt extraction site. At the edge of the Salar they divide it into squares then scrape the salt into large piles where they leave it to dry for a week before it's taken to a processing facility. The salt from Uyuni is not exported and 50kg would cost a Bolivian just a couple of pounds!

The processing is still quite a manual process with the only automation a petrol driven grinding machine. It seems it's not common to sell the salt in chunks and we had to specially ask for some. The salt processing worker was more than happy to oblige, picking up some chunky salt for us while we waited.

The final stop of the day was a train cemetery. This is where all of Bolivia's broken trains get left with the oldest having sat there for over 35 years.

They were all rusted substantially as the "cemetery" is right next to the salt flats. They also have all have graffiti all over them and two have been turned into swings!

The cemetery was quite an odd but beautiful sight in a strange sort of way.

Eli and Johnny dropped us off in Unuyi where we had a 6 hour wait before our bus departed. We said our goodbyes and they set off for their 5 hour drive back to Tupiza.

In less than an hour we had seen all there was to see in Uyuni and settled down in a cafe for the rest of the afternoon.

At 7pm we arrived at the bus station and were loaded onto the bus almost an hour early. They promptly started serving dinner and we even set off on time!

Of the 550km journey almost 200km are on dirt tracks and most of the remainder on basic (non-tarmac) roads.

If you can imagine driving on a rumble strip at 50mph (for vehicle vibration testing) for 4 hours that's what it felt like followed by a slightly less aggressive vibration test for a further 7 hours. This explained why they served dinner before we set off!

Surprisingly though for all the nights we've spent on buses this was my best nights sleep and Stu's worst!

Across the Desert, Around the Lakes and Under the Sea (Not Forgetting the Flamingos!)

We woke up this morning (20th August) in Huaylla Jara with ice on the inside of the window. Luckily it seems that a fleece lined sleeping bag plus 3 blankets is just enough to keep warm at 4600m when there's no heating! Last night the outside temperature was -20C!

After changing extraordinarily quickly we had breakfast which was a real treat: our guide had cooked us some delicious pancakes! We ate them quickly before they got cold and then were on our way.

The building techniques in Bolivia are quite interesting (as I already mentioned in one of my La Paz posts!). 

Out here they use rocks to hold the roof down and our hostel last night was no exception! No wonder it was cold. At least there was glass in the windows!

Our first stop after breakfast was Laguna Colorado again (altitude is 4300m). This morning it was mostly frozen and the red colour wasn't showing as clearly as yesterday. The flamingos (and terns) had more sense than to stand in an icy cold lake, they instead chose to stand around the edge where the incoming water from an underground volcanic vent was warm and steaming.

We were told that we had plenty of time today for pictures and Stu and I could have spent several hours here just watching the steaming water, flamingos, terns, small birds (like a finch) and the reflections. We spent so long (my nose got so cold I couldn't feel it!) that our guide had to call us to tell us it was time to go. Our guide and driver had slightly more sense and had enjoyed the view from the warm jeep!

We quickly scrambled, breathlessly, up the side of the hill back to the jeep and set off to our next destination.

The Desierto Siloli has a famous stone called the Árbol de Piedra or the Stone Tree. It's an odd shaped rock which has a hard, heavyiron heavy top and soft lower half meaning the bottom has been eroded by the wind more heavily creating a tree like structure.

There were several other interesting rock formations. Stu's favorite was one he called "The Slug" and I liked the one that looked like a worm just coming out of the ground. Even though there were lots of really interesting rock formations only the Stone Tree is protected and you can touch and climb all over the other rock formations. The stone tree is the most photographed rock formation in Siloli and it's predicted that it will be irreparably eroded within the next 5 years which perhaps explains why the Bolivian government is trying to protect it as much as possible.

Looking in the opposite direction to the rock formations was a beautiful mountain range. I sat in the car as we drove along with my gazed fixed on the mountain range. The colours were extraordinary and the best was yet to come; one of the peaks had 7 different colors due to the mineral content.

Okay enough about mountains. A camera can't really capture the scale and colours so you'll just have to come and see them for yourself! Further on were 5 lakes, each rimmed with naturally occurring borax. These lakes are a favourite spot for flamingos. 

Due to the lakes having not melted yet (they are only 50cm deep!) the flamingos were close to the edge meaning we could see them close up (and take lots of photos!).

For lunch we stopped where there was the highest population of flamingos at Laguna Hedionda. Stu and I spent more than half an hour just gazing at them. Three different species come here to feed and we could now finally get close enough to see their knees and beaks to be able to tell them apart!

At the final lake we were in for another treat, a herd of vercuñas were grazing and relaxing at the shore line. We were able to get within 10m of the herd getting a good look at the babies which were lying down snoozing. As we got back into the jeep we saw an Andean Fox running off, a rate sight we're told!

After lunch we got as close as we could to another active volcano that is on the Bolivian-Chilean border, Ollague. We could tell that we were close as for the first time we saw clouds on the sky and the volcano is predicted to erupt within the next 10 years! The last eruption was over 3000 years ago and the next one is predicted to be a super eruption; the volcano is growing in height by 1cm per year!

In front of the volcano is a large lava field which we climbed up and over to get a better view.

As we started back to the jeep a huge (to us) dust devil started up in the distance and came directly for us! Exciting! Fortunately it changed course and just went over our jeep instead :-)

Next we crossed another small salt flat, Chiguana, which only had a couple of centimetres of usable salt.

After the salt flats is the town of San Juan. Around a 1000 people live here and in the rainy season (Jan/Feb) the town is completely cut off from the rest of Bolivia as the salt flats to the south, Chiguana, and the north, Unuyi are flooded. They therefore have to stock up every year to last the full two months alone. They can however cross over the border to Chile on foot (1.5 hrs) where there is a monthly market.

Perhaps more interestingly though is that San Juan used to be under the sea and here ancient coral is littered everywhere and its the building material of choice for the houses and tombs.

800 years ago the inhabitants used the giant coral structures as tombs, carving out the inside and placing mummified bodies inside with belongings to help them in their next life. Unfortunately the Spanish found these tombs and took almost all of the gold and silver (one silver brooch remains!), melting it all down :-(

Shortly after leaving San Juan we entered the Salar de Uyuni. The Uyuni salt flats are the largest in the world with an area of more than 12,100 sq km. However we weren't going to see much of the flats today as our aim was to get to Isla Incahuasi, a coral island full of giant cacti, before sunset.

About 30 mins before sunset we arrived at the island and started to ascend it to settle down and watch the sunset. Tonight was the first night we saw any clouds which made the colors even more vibrant. However the sunset was nothing compared to the moonrise. Tonight it was a huge full bright moon that looked golden as the sun set. Normally the island is overrun with tourists but tonight we had the entire island to ourselves making it a really magical evening.

Once the sun had fully disappeared and we were able to take our eyes off the moon we started to descend the coral mound. On our way down we saw several chinchillas who also must have been moongazing whilst preening themselves.

Finally we made it back to the jeep (chinchillas and a beautiful moon, what more can you ask for?) and set off for our hotel, one of the salt hotels on the north shore of the salt flat. 

Unfortunately it was now almost dark and compasses don't work on the salt flats (because of iron deposits in the salt) so drivers have to navigate by landmarks which isn't much help if you can't see them! Fortunately the moon was so bright it was causing shadows and the remaining rays of sunlight meant we were able to make it safely off the salt flats.

The salt hotel was interesting but  not as exciting as we hoped. It looked just like any other building except instead of the bricks being made of mud (like last night) they were made of salt. The chairs and tables in the restaurant were made of salt which was interesting but quite uncomfortable and unfortunately Stu is still determined to visit an ice hotel :-(

The bed in the room had a salt base which was surprisingly comfortable and we even had heating (and tepid water) in this hotel!

Crossing the Altiplano

It was an early start today (19th August). The alarm went at 4.45am and Bolivia is an hour ahead of Peru making it feel like an even earlier start.

The first stop of the day was San Antonio, an old mining town which once housed more than 1000 people. When the minerals ran out the people moved to the new mines, with the last family leaving just over 100 years ago. The village was mostly destroyed when the people left as the workers had hidden gold and silver in the walls and now all that remains amongst the rubble is the cemetery, still visited, and lots of chinchillas!

This was the most chinchillas we have seen to date, with them waiting for the sun to fall on the ruins. As we (well I) tried to get photos of them they kept running away (as you might expect!) and pretty much all the photos I did get of them they appear extremely grumpy. I guess I was disturbing their sunbathing!

Finally, Stu convinced me I'd seen enough chinchillas (and they'd seen enough of me!) and we continued on, seeing several more ostriches running off at speed into the distance but there was more to today's trip than the wildlife. The scenery was also amazing.

So we entered the Andean Fauna National Reserve sitting in the south western corner of Bolivia. But before entering I made a new friend, a kitten with tassels put through her ears like the llamas! She walked along meowing so I bent over to give her a fuss (and to name her Snuffles). However it seems she wanted more than a fuss and promptly jumped up onto my leg and left dusty footprints all over my trousers!

The rock colours in the Reserve range from red to orange, blue to green and black to white depending on their mineral content. Today was mostly characterized by reds and oranges with the landscape making us feel like we were on Mars.

The land was also much drier here with the grass tussocks growing outward in circles in an attempt to find water making the landscape appear even more alien.

The next stop was Laguna Celeste, a 15 sq km  lake that is less than a metre deep! The lake was extraordinarily still making it look like a huge mirror.

After the lake we saw our first salt flat, Salar de Chalviri. This salt flat is a lot smaller than the one we will see tomorrow and only the top couple of millimetres is useable salt.

Before lunch Stu and I took a dip in a natural thermal bath on the edge of the salt flats. The water was lovely and hot and the view was fantastic!

After lunch we continued south to Laguna Verde which is twinned with Laguna Blanca and sits on the Bolivian-Argentinean-Chilean border. The lake was an extremely vibrant aquamarine which is caused by the high concentrations of lead and arsenic. The wind always blows here meaning this lake can remain liquid down to -21 C and due the toxic nature of the lake no-one has found out how deep it is!

Fortunately today was an unusually nice day. The wind wasn't too high making it a very pleasant stop.

However the signs of the incessant winds were obvious in the snow. It had formed into claw-like structures where the snow had partially melted under the hot sun during the day then refrozen with the winds gusting at night when the temperature regularly gets below -20 C!

The last stop of the day was Laguna Colorado a red lake gaining its colour from the algae. The lake is a popular feeding spot for flamingos. 

Unfortunately we arrived a little late (too many photo stops!) and the flamingos had already started to leave. Hopefully tomorrow we'll see more of them!

Just before 6pm, more than 12 hours after setting off we arrived at our hostel. Tonight we are in basic accommodation, no heating and limited electricity. Given it gets to -20 C outside we're in for a cold night tonight!

Onwards and Upwards

Today (18th August) we left Tupiza for the salt flats.

Before we could leave Tupiza our driver, Johnny, had to check in with the local police to register his details. When we asked why we were told it was to ensure he didn't travel too fast through the national park which is dangerous. They record the time of departure and compare it to the arrival time at the next checking, not that we saw a second check point today!

Just outside of Tupiza we came across a herd of llamas taking themselves for a walk in a big long line. There were several mum and babies and this was the first time we had heard them make a noise. It was a soft sort of murmuring which is a call for them to all get in formation and march on.

To get to the first night stop on our trip we had to driving through a dormant volcanic area reaching our highest point yet, 5000m!

Altitude affects people in different ways. Although Stu and I are both acclimatised to the altitude the jeep is quite bumpy. That combined with the altitude made Stu feel sick and headachey. I however just got really hungry at the higher altitudes but feel ill at around 2000m :-\

On the plus side Stu got to sample the local "cure" for altitude related issues: coca leaves. Although we've tried the tea (which I think is vile!) we hadn't tried chewing the leaves. Our guide, Eli, suggested Stu try chewing some leaves (the leaves in larger quantities are used in the production of cocaine). He took a handful and was then encouraged to take more. So there he sat in the back of the car, chewing coca leaves looking like a llama! Supposedly they took the edge of it but I'm not sure he's keen to chew them again!

The rock formations around Tupiza are amazing. Everywhere we've driven through today has been carved by the elements. And of course lots of llamas and vercuñas (wild alpaca whose fur sells for $100 per kg).

For lunch we stopped in a sheltered area that is a favorite munching spot for all the local llama (some travel up to 3km). Even though we were at more than 3500m the sun was lovely and warm and we only needed a jumper to keep warm while we ate our picnic lunch, quite different to Peru where we would have been in full winter gear at that altitude!

After lunch we saw a couple of llamas fighting, biting each other's legs to force the other one to the ground. This went on for around 15 mins with other llamas watching. Then they just walked off together as if nothing had happened!

Further along the road we saw our first wild ostrich grazing in amongst the donkeys and llamas. A few minutes later we saw a pair of them running in front of the jeep which showed just how fast they can run (50kph!), one disappeared off into the distance whilst the other continued to run in front of the jeep for a while before turning and running off up the mountain.

Today was full of wildlife. Last time our guide passed through this area she saw 3 condors and today we were lucky again and saw one flying above the jeep following us along the road.

We got to our night stop at around 4pm, our highest night yet at 4200m.

San Pablo is a small (250 people) mining town 25 miles north of the Argentinean border. We went for a walk through the town and along the river, encountering some more llamas and donkeys on our way.

The town consists of lots of small houses and a church made of mud bricks plus a more modern section sheltering JCBs and a football ground which was is full use.

At dinner we were given (for the first time on our trips) a pudding, and this one was good! An extremely rich chocolate pudding that tasted like they had just melted a chocolate bar in a pan and served it, delicious but too rich for me to finish. However Stu had fully recovered his appetite and had no problems finishing mine off too!