Having not slept well overnight, and needing to get up for the loo twice in the middle of the night, I was relieved when the 430am alarm went off.
The night sky was the most amazing I think I have ever seen, millions of stars and the milky-way clearly visible.
We headed off at about
6am, a little later than expected, which meant I had time to jump back into bed after breakfast while stuff was getting organised.
Our first stop was a an old town from the colonial era, totally abandoned and the stone buildings falling apart. Named the 'ruinas' it is thought various spirits still roam the buildings. Arriving at sunrise certainly added to the eerie atmosphere.
We headed off ascending gradually and making our way over a high pass, where the view of Laguna Morejon dominated the landscape in the distance and we were at an altitude of 4855m and we certainly felt it! Just a few quick paces and we were panting for breath.
Further on we entered the national park, and 150 bolivianos later we entered the 'Reserva National de Fauna Andina'. Spanish is easy!
Many more great views, a lama farm in the middle of nowhere and a quick stop in a valley was awesome. We also saw a 6000m volcano called Uturuncu which was pretty cool. More amazing lagoons, bright colours and flamingos seemed to be the Bolivian salt flats trademark. These salty lagoons are essentially trapped sea water that were once upon a time connected to the sea before the plates collided and created these mountains. As they dry out the salt is left behind, so during the wet season sea water is formed once again. Amazing really! In addition they aren't totally frozen despite night temperatures reaching -10 degrees or more, again because of the salt.
We headed off through the deserted dirt roads and a little while later we came across a little Bolvian lady in tears walking alone in the middle of nowhere. We quickly established that her land rover was now upside down and her and her husband had made a miraculous recovery, and not a single scratch. I was relieved my services would not be required on this occasion.
As we approached we saw the car on the side of the road, windows smashed, items everywhere and leaking petrol and oil. This did not seem to concern anyone and within a few minutes there were enough people to turn the car over again. Our guide then spent the next three hours trying to get the thing started, while the emotional and shocked couple watched in awe. We were recruited to try and jump start the car, and at 5000m it was truly exhausting. In addition it appeared that despite now 4 cars at the scene, not a single one had a tow rope.
Finally having established that oil had overspilt into the cylinders, once that was removed by taking out the spark plugs, the engine roared into action. We were on our way once again and our guide the hero.
Now running a little behind schedule, we headed to the natural thermal pools, which we didn't get into because of the fear of cold once we got out (leant the hard way in NZ), and then headed to a region of significant geothermal activity. Roaring geysers and called 'Geisers sol de mañana' which has something to do with the sun and tomorrow - were spectacular and even more impressive than those in Rotorua NZ. Giant slashes of water and roaring steam dominated the area. With the sun setting it was a special atmosphere, smelly too!
Finally we arrived at our hostel spot, perched at 4370m, surrounded by flat plains and mountains in the distance. Our late arrival meant a late meal, and we were starving!! A wood burner heated the room and we sat chatting the night away.
I also had to attend to some guy that thought going from sea level to 4300m in a couple of days whilst drinking whisky was sensible. So his severe altitude sickness was no surprise.
Overall an eventful and interesting day!
