Day 1
We
awoke bright and early and excited about starting our first real trip of the
year out. Once we’d been allocated our
jeep, goods and backpacks loaded on the roof and food stashed in the boot it
was time to go. Well not quite, we got
through the initial awkward introductions and stopped a couple of times on the
way through town to pick up some last minute provisions. Our fellow passengers were; Emma and Alice,
both from England, who proved to be full of information and fun and a pleasure
to be with. Plus; there was Raul (our
driver and guide) along with his girlfriend Iydae (our cook) both of whom
looked after us impeccably well every step of the way. Raul was an excellent, safe and courteous
driver who read the ever changing and difficult terrain very well. Along with that he was a fountain of
knowledge and explained in detail the areas we were travelling through and
answered all our questions. The food
that was presented to us each day was excellent if over plentiful(!) and all
produced with limited resources in challenging conditions.
We
excited town at the northern end so initially the terrain was very similar to
that we’d experienced the day before – that’s not to say we were already bored
of looking at it! The first place Raul
pointed out to us was a small, exceedingly remote mining village where a few
families eke out a living extracting whatever minerals the surrounding hills
contain. In fact Bolivia is very mineral
rich but as we learnt as the tour progressed most of it gets sent straight to
Chile and Argentina for export. In turn
the local people benefit minimally from the natural resources their land has in
abundance. As we crested our first pass
at 4720m we could see mountains everywhere sporting a vast array of
colours. The ever informative Raul
pointed out that the different minerals in the rocks are responsible for the
different colours. Now we all knew this
but none of us would have been able to tell you that; silver, zinc, copper,
gold, magnesium, borax, sulphur (the list is endless) were responsible.
We
drove through a surprising number of hamlets considering how remote and harsh
the conditions are. If the local people
aren’t mining they’re raising llama and we went through an area called
Awanapampa or llama grasslands and indeed there were quite a number of
them. Obviously we stopped to take some
pictures but in fact saw llamas every stretch of the way so needn’t have got
quite so excited! They’re funny creatures
who look at you incredulous as you approach them; they don’t seem to really be
able to work out what humans are or why we inhabit their land. We had lunch in a little mining village
called Cerrillos where we could see snow-capped mountains way off in the distance
along the Chilean border.
After
that we drove up to 4790m to a place originally called San Antonio de Lipez but
is now better known as the Ghost Town.
The Incas had once lived here but were kicked out by the Spanish as soon
as they realised there was plenty of gold in the area. Along with their greed the Spaniards introduced
leprosy and the local people soon declared the area inhabited by bad spirits
and left in a hurry. Today the buildings
are crumbling but you can sense it must have been a busy and bustling place in
its time. The buildings are now home to
chinchillas; a cute rabbit like mammal with a long tail and a preference for
living at high altitude. Check out
Steve’s photo of a mum and baby – if it doesn’t move you to exclaim; “Ahh!” I’d
be most surprised.
As
we reached the apex of another pass at 4855m we found ourselves looking down on
the first laguna of the trip. Laguna
Marucum was frozen solid so we were yet to see any of the flamingos that the
promotional literature had promised us.
By this point we were actually into the second day’s itinerary but we
were making good time so Raul suggested we pushed on towards the national park
and Quetena Chico where we would spend the first night. It costs 150 Bob (Bolivianos) a head to enter
Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa and this money is going towards
protecting the delicate habitats and animals that survive there. We were amazed at how many animals we saw –
not a vast array of species but there were quite a few different birds
fluttering around. The highlight of our
feathered friends sightings was seeing rhea or ostrich as the locals insist on
calling them. Plus we saw lots of small
groups of vicuna which was really good news as these relatives of the llama and
alpaca are very rare now.
The
day ended with us all being pleasantly surprised at the standard of
accommodation – yes all four of us were bumped in together and yes it was basic
but there was something very likeable about it.
Maybe the fantastic sunset we had that evening put us all in the best
frame of mind to accept anything. Not to
mention the fact that we’d had a brilliant day and were looking forward to the
next instalment.
Day 2
The
day dawned clear and chilly with a hot drink being most welcome. It didn’t take us long to pack up, wolf down
breakfast and reload the jeep as we were eager to see what else the national
park had to offer. In the brief time
that we’ve been in Bolivia we’ve witnessed and experienced landscapes so
different from anything we’ve seen before.
I know my limited literacy skills will fail to do the area justice but
as usual I’ll try my best and as always Steve’s photos will back up my
words. Our first place of interest was
Quetena Grande and this village makes a living from trout fishing. It was hard to believe that there was enough
water in this high altitude desert area to sustain such a thing but apparently
it’s true and the fish are some of the tastiest in the world.
It’s
easy to forget just how close the coast is and in fact as the trout swims the
sea is only 45kms away. In the distance
we could see a volcano dominant in its range and on the summit you can walk
from Bolivia to Chile to Argentina back to Bolivia and so on. We then moved on Laguna Hedionda at 4280m and
on again to Laguna Kollpa where we stopped to watch the labour intensive
collection of sodium bicarbonate from the lagoon’s frozen surface. The lagoon is only about 8m deep and the
sodium bicarbonate can only be collected in the dry season where a 60/70kg bag
will fetch about US$220. As we were
taking it all in and basking in the ever increasing warmth from the sun and
flock of flamingos flew overhead and landed on the only defrosted section of
water. Seeing their pink and black wings
mounted on a bright blue background was wonderful. In fact we were all so in awe of what we were
watching that not one of us thought to get a camera out to capture the moment.
The
next port of call was Solar de Chalvri and we were now deep into ancient seas
territory. This vast expanse of how high
altitude land mass was once under the ocean – I can’t give you any dates but
Raul assured us it was 1000s, 1000s, 1000s of years ago guys. Sometimes this accurate timeline was changed
to 1000s, 1000s, millions, 1000s of years ago guys! It was all very difficult to grasp even
though we were obviously looking at a salt flat and we had no reason to doubt
Raul when he told us that the surrounding ridges were made up of coral
rocks. This part of the world would be a
geologist dream not to mention anthropologists and archaeologists. Us mere mortals just have to try to get our
heads round it as best we can.
As
we drove on the terrain became increasingly sandy and desert like with a fierce
bitterly cold blowing across the empty expanse.
We actually drove over a small salt flat before stopping to look at the
strange isolated rock formations the harsh conditions have carved out. With ever the Spanish link the area has been
dubbed Desierto del Dali but in actual fact it was nowhere near was weird as
any of his offerings to the art world.
As we crested the Paso del Condor we could see a classically shaped
volcano (Lincancabur 5920m) looming at the end of the valley across the shore
from Lagunas Blanca and Verde. We were
now in the bottom South West corner of Bolivia with Chile and Argentina a
matter of 10’s of kilometres away.
Laguna Blanca wasn’t particularly but Verde if not green as such was
certainly turquoise. This unusual
colour is caused by high levels of arsenic in the water which along with the
presence of sulphur and magnesium it’s highly toxic.
The
wind was still howling through the area so we had to have our picnic with the
jeep backed up into an abandoned, derelict building. The building material to hand was coral rocks
and this helped us to begin to develop a greater understanding of how this part
of the world had been formed all those millennia ago. What is still difficult to comprehend is the
volcanic power involved to blow out such a vast area and to the retreat of such
a volume of ocean. We could clearly see
black volcanic stones encased with coral rocks; a sight more Dali-esque than the
desert.
Being
in an area dominated by volcanic activity (albeit a while ago) there had to be
a stop at some hot springs. Now I don’t
care how warm the water is in the pool the surrounding conditions made it too
cold for Steve and I to even think about partaking. We tried to go for a wander along the shore
while the others enjoyed an outdoor hot bath but the icy blast blowing across
the water soon had us scurrying for cover.
As luck would have it the only restaurant in the park is right next to
the hot springs so we went for some central heating; that’s to say a hot coffee
each! Once the rest of the gang had
shivered their way back into their clothes we moved on to the next highlight.
We
were now at 5000m and stood in the middle of a square kilometre of
geysers. With this being dry season they
weren’t shooting water and smoke 20/30m into the air just spewing sulphurous
fumes. It was still very interesting to
witness and the resulting landscape was very much how you imagine the surface
of Mars to look. Time was pressing and
we had to dump our bags in that night’s accommodation before taking in the
final treat of the day, namely Laguna Colorado at 4300m. The red lagoon and it really is red; no
dubious titles for once. The colour is
formed by algae and bacteria in the water that in turn attract 3 species of
flamingos and we got to see 2 of them – James and Chilean. There was definitely a couple of hundred on
the lake and many photos later 4 tourists ended the day with huge smiles on
their faces.
We
spent that evening in Hudylla Jam which is a purpose built for tourists i.e.
there is no village in the area. The
place can hold up to 500 people and is often full as this is where tours from
Tupiza and Uyuni cross paths. We weren’t
so enamoured with this place but feel that had more to do with the annoyingly
loud groups we had to share the dining room with. To offset that slight blip we did have
another glorious sunset.
Day
3
Luckily most of the groups were setting off
with a staggered start so we didn’t see too many of the annoying ones from the
previous evening. The tours that are run
from Uyuni tend to be shorter, round trips and the operators often cut corners. I think you’ve already gleaned that we were
very happy with our tour and feel the length of our trip and the direction we
did it in was the best option. By this
point we were only half way through but knew there were more highlights to
come. So what did today offer?
First of all we passed incredibly close to
Chile once again and it made us wonder just where on earth they decide to draw
the lines. Let’s face it there’s not a
lot out there! In fact we passed more
Dali style rock formations poking out of the sand before crossing a vast, empty
desert where not even a blade of grass was surviving. It sounds boring doesn’t it but the
surrounding mountains, volcanoes and brilliant blue skies made it all
wonderful. As we climbed another incline
it was surreal watching snow-capped peaks emerging over the desert
horizon. It’s almost impossible to
describe the scale of this area but hopefully Steve’s photo of vista including
jeep will give you some perspective. The
range of colours in what is fundamentally a bleak, barren landscape is
captivating.
The next section of the trip involved visiting
4 lagunas in turn with the first being Laguna Hondas which is only about 80cm
deep and attracts the main 2 species of flamingos. It was lovely to watch them again but this
occasion was made all the more special by the setting. The area was truly stunning with those
snow-capped peaks reflected in the water’s surface and elegant pink birds
strutting past. We didn’t linger long at
Laguna Charcota as it was really just a large, dull coloured puddle. The second Laguna Hedionda of the trip proved
to be a real treat with over 1000 flamingos and all 3 species i.e. James,
Chilean and the smaller Andean present.
Plus, once again, it was all to be observed in a magical setting and to
top it all off we could get within a couple of meters of the birds. The fourth Laguna, Canapa, wasn’t in such a
glorious setting but it had its own charm with a brilliant white shoreline and
I enjoyed watching a pair of avocets.
For those of you who don’t know they are the bird the RSPB use on their
logo. This final lake was also where we
ate lunch but it was so very windy we all had to huddle up inside the jeep.
Following yet another hefty but tasty feed we
carried on to take a look at Ollague (again in the border) which is the only
active volcano in the area. Apparently
the fumes spewing out of the top are so noxious that it isn’t climbable but
NASA has studied it as they have with much of the surrounding area. I think these recent studies are going a long
way to help scientists understand this part of the world and volcanology in
general much better. It was then a long
drive through a vast empty space so we were very surprised when the jeep bumped
over a railway line. We were even more
surprised to spot a long goods train trundling across the desert! Apparently it was shifting uranium (which is
to be found in abundance in the area) to Chile where the bulk of it will be
exported to Japan among others. From an
outsiders point of view it really doesn’t seem like Bolivia is reaping the
benefits of its ample mineral resources and it remains the poorest country in
South America.
Following another long drive through an empty
barren landscape we bumped off the main track onto a rarely used lane strewn
with tire piercing sharp rocks. We were
at Ejercito de Coral where 1000s upon 1000s of year old coral rock formations
stood in line. This really did help us
to grasp the concept of this entire landscape once forming the ocean
floor. We were now on a slightly
different route from the usual tours as Raul had said we were good people and
deserved a treat. And what a treat it
turned out to be too at the Gruta de las Galaxias for only 20 Bob a head extra. Basically we were on a small mound where a
small part of it would have once been the only area of land for miles
around. The Inca people that lived in
the mountains on the other side of the sea rowed their dead over to bury them
in tombs where they would be able to make the transition into the next life in
peace. There was also lots of fossilised
cactus on the island but these two things paled into insignificance when we
entered the cave.
This goes down as the most amazing cave we’ve
ever visited and by far and away the most unique. Basically we were walking through a
fossilised coral garden where you could clearly see the different corals that
had once thrived there. Plus you could
clearly see the veins in the underwater plants that would have been part of
this ecosystem. It was like being in an upside coral reef and having seen many
living corals over the years it was easy to imagine it in its full technicolour
glory.
The treats didn’t end there as that evening we
checked into the best accommodation of the trip. We still had shared facilities but Steve and
I were given a private double room where everything was spotlessly clean. There was also a lovely little dining room
with nice cosy features and the family made us feel very welcome. To top off all of that the whole lot was made
out of salt. Honest – salt bricks for
the walls and the plinth the mattress was perched on, salt tables with a cute
salt lamp sat proudly atop. There was
even a covering of loose salt on the floors which seemed a little odd at first
but we soon got used to it. I’m sure
people pay a fortune to stay in such unusual places and we got to stay for
‘free’ as part of our tour. Our final
evening meal of the trip was excellent and Raul produced a bottle of Bolivian
red wine to say thank you for booking the trip.
A very kind gesture but in actual fact we needed to thank them for all
their hard work and for looking after us so well.
Day
4
Following a very comfortable night’s sleep we
were up very, very early for the final day.
Now usually these trips throw in some half-hearted highlight mid-morning
but the day basically consists of driving to the finish line. We knew this was going to be different and
for (the other) Emma this was what she’d been looking forward to the most. We packed up in the beams from our headlamps
as it was way before sunrise – why?
You’ll see!
We drove for about an hour and could see the
colours on the horizon beginning to change as the sun slowly made its way
up. We could just about make out the
terrain we were travelling across and it was stark white – we were travelling
across an enormous salt flat. In fact it
covers around 12000km2 stretching 220kms across by 180kms wide and
is up to 150m deep with the average depth being 40/50m. We were still at 3650m altitude so without
the warmth of the sun it was mighty chilly waiting for said orb to show
itself. It proved to be a stunning
sunrise and with the early morning rays glinting of the surface it was hard to
believe we were standing on salt as opposed to ice. The salt crystals were glinting and the early
morning’s colours were being beautifully reflected in the only pool for miles
around.
The whole experience was so surreal that it
addled our brains a little. I started
talking about when we’d been looking at the penguins plus we kept saying snow,
ice, beach, sand anything but salt.
There’s no way Dali should be credited with inventing surrealism as I’m
sure he must have visited here first. I
mean – enormous cacti on an ancient coral island surrounded by salt flats with
distant snow-capped peaks and volcanoes.
Having had our fill of sunrise photos and desperately needing to get out
of the icy wind we moved on to Isla Inchhuasi.
This was yet another of those coral islands but we could walk around
this one and bask in the suns every strengthening rays. The cacti here really are of huge proportions
with some of them being up to 12m tall and over a thousand years old. Apparently they only grow 3cm a year but the
rich supply of minerals means they way out grow the same species elsewhere.
With it being August 1st we’d
happened upon an auspicious day for the local Quechua people who pray to their
Pacha Mama or earth goddess on this day.
The festivities include offerings of coca leaves and alcohol among
others things with the remainder being consumed by those present. The ultimate offering is at the expense of a
llama’s life which I didn’t study too closely but as you can see Steve had a
good nosey. We were sat quietly watching
them going about their business when one of the elders approached us to explain
briefly what it was all about - luckily the girls’ Spanish way surpassed
ours! He also gave us a handful of coca
leaves to go and make a brew with (we donated them to Raul’s stash) and it was
lovely to be included in their special day.
One magical, unique experience after another –
what lucky and privileged people we are.
The contrast of colours, textures and shapes was constantly changing and
each time it was completely new for us.
Following breakfast we walked around to the other side of the island
where we were picked up and driven for miles over the salt plains. We then stopped in the middle of nowhere for
the seemingly ubiquitous daft photo shoot and what the girls had been looking
forward to. It wasn’t our thing but they
had a great time and Raul was well into it too.
So much so that we got roped into a couple of photos and, goodness only
knows how we let this happen, but we had to take part in a video too. I sincerely hope it never appears on You
Tube! The scenery is so stunning in its
own right that I don’t see why it shouldn’t be enjoyed in all its natural
splendour without the need of daft props.
That was almost the end of the tour as the
next stretch took us to the salt mining town on the edge of the flats where there
were lots of touristy gift stalls and we would have a final lunch. It was interesting to learn how the salt is
harvested but we weren’t interested in buying any trinkets. First of all the salt is raked in pyramidal
pillars that are left to dry for 2/3 weeks before being loaded into
trucks. It’s tough, back breaking work
and the families only earn 1 Bob per kilogram.
Each family owns a 25km2 area but it still involves a lot of
hard work to make a living. Not to
mention the fact that the conditions are harsh with bright sunlight reflecting
off the surface leading to many people suffering from eye problems later in
life despite wearing shades.
On the edge of the salt pans luxury hotels
have been built and having enjoyed our previous night’s experience we were
tempted to stay until we learnt it costs over US$100 a night. So we all drove on to the nearest town Uyuni
and the end of the tour where we shared hugs and goodbyes. Wow!
What an amazing, fantastic, wonderful, spellbinding, mesmerising,
surreal etc, etc experience. Thank you
Le Torres Tours who we recommend extremely highly, and thank you Bolivia – we
can’t wait to explore more.
http://www.latorretours-tupiza.com/index.html
