I’m
not kidding, we really did do a triathlon today but I have to say it goes down
as the least strenuous but probably most spellbinding on the planet. Our triathlon was to consist of a jeep ride,
short walk and horse ride – did we enjoy it?
Find out for yourself!
The
first bit of good news of the day was there were only Steve and I on the tour
with our driver and guide Eddie. Eddie
is a retired doctor originally from Tupiza but he practised in La Paz and
couldn’t bear the thought of sitting around doing nothing. So the hotel said he could help out and I’m
sure he is a great asset as his English is excellent and he is a very careful
and considerate driver. That’s very
important in a country where very few of the roads are sealed and almost all of
them are only just wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass.
The
tour started in the jeep (well 4x4) at the north end of town – luckily we
bypassed the area we’d walked to yesterday.
We turned off down the main road to Uyuni which is over 200kms away and
where we will end up at the end of our 4-day tour. I say the main road but it really was only a
dirt track. As we were going along the
scenery was magnificent in all directions and at times it was hard to believe
it was all totally natural. The rock
formations look very much like ancient kingdoms have been chiselled out of them. Honestly so many of the formations looked
like palaces or cathedrals had been etched out of the natural landscape as we
could see perfect column structures. Our
first stop was one such column but this one was very phallic and is even called
La Poronga which is the local term for penis.
An interesting start to the day!
The
surrounding valleys and mountain ranges can only be described as mesmerising;
you just want to stand there taking it all in and soaking up the pure peace and
quiet. As you drive through the area you
get a strong sense of the powerful, destructive, shaping forces of wind, rain
and ice. Our next port of call was the
tunnel not far to the south of town that has been blasted into the rock. Well the new one that only opened a couple of
months ago was but right alongside it is the original hand dug tunnel. How on earth the buses and lorries managed to
squeeze through is difficult to imagine.
Just
beyond the tunnel we stopped at Entre Rios i.e. where the rivers Rio Tupiza and
Rio San Juan Deloro meet. The former
runs clear and the latter flows with a greyish brown silt suspended in it. We walked down to Rio Tupiza and crossed the
small streams it consists of at this time of year via a couple of tree
trunks. We then walked down the dry
season rocky river bed of Rio San Juan Deloro as far as La Torres (The Tower)
rock formation. Now I need to tell you
to add orange to that ever expanding rainbow of colours on show.
Our
next stop was Toroyoj where we stopped to walk a little way up another
impressive valley. Unfortunately we
didn’t get very far as we kept having to stop to hide our faces from swirls of
sand and dust being kicked up by a fierce wind.
It was a real shame the elements were against us as this was our
designated picnic spot but in the end we had to tuck in in the car. Nicely full up once again – Bolivians really
do believe in feeding you – it was time to meet our horses. On pulling up outside the corral the lady of
the establishment enquired if we had any experience. Since I’ve never been on a horse in my life
and don’t even recall partaking in donkey on the beach fun the answer was a
firm NO! She didn’t seem to think that
was a problem so we instantly relaxed and looked forward to a new adventure.
Obviously
the horses are all extremely well trained and are very used to novices like
us. Plus the lad that led us on our
2-hour ride was very attentive, excellent with the horses and gave us advice
where necessary. It was just as well
really as the pre-ride briefing lasted no more than 30secs and was all in
Spanish! Getting on the horse was the
biggest challenge for me as the stirrup was at my armpit height. All that hauling myself up through jungle
roots paid off and I actually got on without making a complete fool of
myself. And we were off!
I’d
like to say that we trotted along the road looking like natural born cowboys
but you know I’d be lying! The horses
progressed at a slow walking pace which was just fine by us and of course don’t
forget we were still enjoying gawping at the amazing surroundings. At one point Steve’s horse got spooked and
set off at a trot, setting mine off too, but we soon had them under
control. Well actually our guide softly
whistled, hissed and chucked at the horses whenever he needed to give them a
command. There were times when we felt
like we’d directed the horse to do something, such as stop, but in truth the
beasts knew exactly what they were doing and where they were going. It made us feel good for a moment though!
Best
of all was the stunning valley, well more like a mini canyon really, that we
clip-clopped through. I can’t do the
area justice but hopefully the photos will give you an impression as to how
fabulous this part of the world is. At
the end of Canyon Del Inca we dismounted for 10mins or so to inspect the narrow
channel on foot. It was quite nice to stretch
the legs but we felt surprisingly good considering we’d just sat on a horse for
an hour for the first time ever. To get
back we had to return the same way but the scenery is so varied that it felt
more like a round trip. We bid farewell
to our trusty steads and left feeling we’d like to do that again some day. It was only about a 20min walk back into town
and we spent that time reflecting on what a great day we’d had and felt it was
good value for money at US$40 a head. It
was a great warm up for the 4-day adventure that will begin at 8am tomorrow.
