Hi everyone,
Again, sorry it´s been a while but we´re now in Bolivia where the internet isn´t great as expected so here goes with our trip from Mendoza, Argentina to Potosi, Bolvia...!
We spent a couple of days in La Rioja from Mendoza which is a nice city but not much going on.. Very Spanish with orange trees and old colonial architecture so we had a chilled out time there. It was also a local fiesta so there were lovely market stalls selling arts and crafts and lots of people milling about. We caught a night bus from La Rioja to Salta which was pretty good considering and arrived at a nice hostel where we checked in a for a few hours kip and then explored the city. Again, similar to La Rioja but on a larger scale, Salta is a lovey city with a big plaza and lots of street cafes where you can kill time people watching and drinking beer.... As we did! We went by cable car to the top of Cerro San Bernardo where we took pictures of Salta because it sits in the middle of the Lerma Valley. We also visited a Museum of Mountain Archeology where there are the remains of some Inca children who have been preserved by the cold of the high altitude in the Volcano where they were found buried in. Very interesting. We enjoyed some really nice meals in Salta and met some great new friends.
From Salta we travelled north again to San Salvador de Jujuy which was more a stopover en route to the border with Bolivia but they had a GREAT VEGGIE restaurant there so Carl indulged me and let me eat lots of greens and lentils. Mmm yum. Cuisine in Chile and Argentina so far has been very greasy and deep fried... Everything comes with bread and chips and of course they have lots of pastries and empanadas....
We travelled from Jujuy to La Quiaca which is the border town of Argentina with Bolivia by bus which took 5 hours and when we got there we both experienced a headache from the altitude. We approached the border and saw lots of people in the distance but didn´t think much of it. We got stamped out of Argentina and then into Bolivia and as we departed the immigration office we came across about 200 protesters in Bolivia who weren´t letting anyone through, tourist or local! We waited for a while until some tourists who spoke Spanish asked how we were supposed to get through.. A kind local mentioned there was an álternative´crossing to the side of the road... So we followed them and about 10 locals and had to climb under a wire fence, down a dirty hill to a sewage filled riverbank where we jumped across and then had to scale a wall to get into Bolivia! All the while carrying our full backpacks and it was pretty hot and smelly too...! Quite a story and one for the grandkids! On arrival in Bolivia the difference between the 2 countries was immediate. There is a lot more poverty and the streets are dirty and dusty and there are a lot more beggars. We got some Bolivianos and bought two tickets to Tupiza, home of the final resting place of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid... The scenery on the bus, apart from very bumpy (!) was amazing.. Lots of large cacti and red mountains in the distance.... Really Wild West countryside.
In Tupiza our hotel was lovely and very friendly and we booked ourselves on the four day, three night Salt Flat tour departing Saturday. Friday we spent getting acclimatised to the altitude and also kitting ourselves out for the tour.. Lots of toilet paper and warm clothes were advised!!!
So we headed off on Saturday, four tourists, one guide/driver and a cook in a 4X4 jeep to the Salt Flats of Uyuni. The World´s Largest Salt Flats. Day 1 saw us travel through the countryside of Tupiza through some incredibly high mountain ranges (highest point we visited was 5200m!!) and some tiny villages with houses made of mud bricks to our first hospedaje for the night. This was a tiny homestead, again made of mud bricks, with a generator for power and run by a family of llama shepherds who spoke Quechua. It was an amazing honour to stay in their home and an incredible experience. We slept on beds made of mud bricks which were very cold, -15 degrees at night!! I bought a pair of llama gloves which were much needed!!
Day 2 we woke at 0500 (urgh)and headed to the National Park where we saw Laguna Verde, a very very green lake backed by Volcan Licancabur and also Sol De Manana, some high altitude (4950m) thermal springs and mud pools. We stopped for lunch at Termas de Polques, a hot pool where we took a very deserved warm dip! We saw lots of wildlife, llamas, vicuñas, emus, viscachas and condors. In the afternoon we visited the famous Laguna Colorado which is a red lake with hundreds of flamingoes!! The pictures are great. Our second evening was colder...! -20 degrees but we found some red wine to warm us up and Lydia the cook made some great veggie soup!
Day 3 we had a lie in and left the accommodation at 0800. Today we visited 5 different lagunas and also a Flamingo reserve where Carl got pretty close to some of the birds so took some great pictures. We spent the night in a hospedaje at the edge of the Salt Flat made out of salt..! The beds and dining tables and chairs were made out of salt! A slightly warmer night...!
Day 4 was the big one! The Salt Flats! We woke at 6 and headed straight out to see the sun rise over the salt...! Crazily beautiful. We then drove to Isla Incahuasi which is an island in the middle of the salt flat which has giant cacti and a population of marooned viscachas, rodent like animals. Had breakfast there and then drove across the salt flat stopping to take some crazy photos where the people in the front of shot look giant and those at the back look tiny. These are some of my favourite pictures yet.... so funny! Not on Flick yet but will be soon....
So ended Day 4 of our tour. The other 2 tourists were an American girl called Julia who spoke fluent Spanish and a crazy French guy called Roman who was also lovely. We had a great time and the whole tour was excellent. The cost per person was 90 pounds and included all food accomodation, guide and transport... What a deal!
So we arrived in Uyuni, the main town next to the Salt Flat at 1400 and decided to head off straight away to our next stop: Sucre which was a 10 hour bus ride away. Booked ourselves on a bus which didn´t leave at 1900 but 2000 instead and it arrived in Potosi at 0300 two hours later than planned so that there was no connecting bus to Sucre waiting for us! We had to catch taxis, 2 hrs 30 mins, to Sucre where we arrived at 0600! Fortunately the hostal we had booked were open and had our room ready so we slept for a few hours and then showered and headed out for my birthday! Bolivia was also celebrating that day, it is their Independence Day so there were lots of people in traditional outfits and sitting in the main plaza. Sucre is our favourite town in South America so far... It has a beautiful town plaza with lovely colonial buildings and churches, some great bars and great accommodation. For my birthday we had lunch in a balcony restaurant overlooking the plaza and then found a great bar where we had dinner and some drinks in the evening. A nice birthday, one to remember!
So on Thursday we spent our 2nd day in Sucre where we visited some real life dinosaur tracks which were pretty cool and then spent the rest of the day in the same bar eating and drinking!
Today (Fri) we caught a bus from Sucre to Potosi which is the World´s Highest City at 4060m and we have just visited a museum which once housed the Royal Mint. Potosi used to be the richest city in the world because there are very lucrative silver mines here. Tonight we´re off to La Paz on a night bus where we´ll spend 2 days and then head to Lake Titicaca and cross into Peru. ...... All being well because there is a referendum on Sunday where the people will vote to keep/lose their President, Evo Morales and there could be lots of road blocks and protests for either outcome!
We have to be in Cuzco, Peru by the 17th because we have the train to Maccu Pichu booked...! Fingers crossed!
Love to all,
Becs and Carlos xx
