Hello friends and family,
We have yet to tell you about our 4 day jeep trip through the Bolivian salt lakes. The trip really started with our 13 hour bus ride to Uyuni from La Paz. I had just gotten out of the dentist, finding out that my tooth was OK, but going to hurt for a few days...and we finished off La Paz with a few last minute minor shopping purchases (more alpaca wool stuff...bring quite cool in Bolivia, we figured it´d be good for the trip), a visit to the Coca Museum (very interesting...but essentially we sat and read a 30 page english translation of the museum while chewing on coca leaves...giving us about 28mg/litre of blood of cocaine as compared to the 1000mg you´d get from an IV injection...needless to say, neither of us felt any different), and a wonderful meal (bacon and egg sandwich and fish `n chips) at a British pub. That was also the first actual PINT I´ve had, and bacon, since being away.
We boarded our bus at 9pm...a luxurious coach where we were fed 3 times, had wonderful reclining chairs, and climate control. They explained to us that the last 180km of the ride would be very bumpy as the roads weren´t yet paved...but hey, that gave us about 10 hours of good sleeping time...RIGHT?? Wrong. First, we had a 45 minute wait at the airport during our `direct`trip...no explanation except to the one person who complained loudly...and all I caught was that it was for some `important person`. Then, the isreali crew sitting behind us started singing obnoxious songs (during the movie...which was inaudible anyway)...and finally when the songs quieted, and the lights lowered...the bumps started. No joke...there were perhaps 8 hours of QUITE bumpy roads...and 3 hours of VERY bumpy roads. It was the worst sleep we could imagine, but arrived in Uyuni at 7:30am, walked the desolate desertic town for 2.5 hours watching all the funny kids going to school...seemingly at any time they wished...and then went to our tour operator at the designated time of 10am. At 11am, we asked what was up...and only then they decided to usher us to our jeep to meet the rest of our group and start the trip.
Our group was once again an excellent crew...2 people (Nicolas and Sylvie, peruvian and spanish) who ran the ENIGMA tour company for the inca trail (sound familar to Chris and Nicole!!), and 2 young girls from germany who were on a year of travel (Lisa and Uulie). Our driver and cook were 10 year veterans of the salt lakes...an older quiet couple who were VERY nice, but who spoke no english. Lukily the people in our group tranlated all there was to translate. We saw some incredible scenery along the way...pictures will be added when we can...learned how they dried the salt, bagged it, and the ridiculous price they sold it for (50kg for about 1$...bagged in 1kg bags). Julia and I both had wonderful marketing ideas for these people...but somehow they seem content to eek out their existence earning about 27$/day to go around to 400 people in the small salt village. We visited a salt hotel...entirely made of salt, including the beds, where tourists will stay for a novelty...moved on to a very neat island covered with cacti, some of which were upwards of 1200 years old and 25 feet high. The island was actually a coral reef at one point where the whole salt lake was actually an ocean. Who knows how long ago. The wildlife along the way consisted of many alapaca, lamas, and a lama like animal called a Vecunia. Their wool is supposedly the finest in the world, selling for perhaps $800/kg, and at one point in history, was more expensive to buy than gold! We also saw an ostridge...a real rarity in that altitude and climate...but there it was. It is a VERY barren land, and surprising that ANYTHING can survive there in my opinion. Most of the villages along the way were there because of tourism...and by villages, I mean a few mud huts, a few families for every 100 square km. The salt lake is something like 1600sq km, and was once attached to Titicaca! We also came across an old pre-incan burial groud. Kind of neat to see the empty tombs...supposedly emptied before the spaniards had the chance to loot them...contained in the side of a big cace on a cliff...with a few skulls still on display.
The first night, we stayed in a wee village with perhaps 20 families. Mostly tourism based...but they also grew a lot of Quinoa...the grain they use in soups...high in protein, very tasty! ANyway...to our surprise and excitement...our rooms and beds were made out of salt as well!! They had matresses, but it was so funny walking on a salty floor, salty walls, salty furniture...everything was salt. We both actually had a VERY good sleep too...considering we didn´t sleep the night before. The fun we had in that village was when Julia and I pulled out the old frisbee (to test my theory that it would fly MUCH farther at high altitude), and had not only our jeep companions...but 10 of the village children (age 7-10??) join us for a good game of frisbee, and then the real sport of FUTBALL (soccer). Quite funny...by the way...what do you think the frisbee did??
Day 2 was a little more relaxed. We woke at 5am to see the sunrise...which was nothing more than the sun rising...we figured it might be a spectacular salt/light show. Drove to several lagoons with beautiful flamingos...amazing scenery and mountains...passing by volcanoes galore. ONe volcano was still smoking...we stopped for photos in the lava covered landscape, and as Julia was climbing a lava boulder for a good shot...she damn near fell to her doom when a chunk of rock used as her handhold broke off. Yikes!! The days were beautiful, the sun was HOT, the wind howling, mornings COLD, and altitude of about 5000m. We felt fine though...and had a good time all squished together in the jeep sharing stories and music, and in the wilderness. That night we stayed at another tiny village with a dormatory room. Not great sleeps that night as the beds were QUITE small and curvacious...but, cést la vie. Up at 4am this time so that we could get to the guysers while they still had ´good pressure´. They were kind of impressive...but smelled like ####, and burped liquid earth goop all over us if you got too close. Big bubbling holes in the ground with oodles of steam coming from them. We were quickly guysered out...particularly because of the simultaneous cold! Onwards to a HUGE flamingo lagoon...crazy birds...27000 of them staying in a large, shallow lake all year round, even in the snowy winter. This particular lake was blood red due to the bacteria or algae (no comprendo) in it. These birds deal with some seemingly VERY toxic situations...sulphur, borax, copper, etc. Next we arrived at the ´hot springs´. At first glace...it seemed to be a VERY muddy and shallow lake where we´d be bathing with the flamingos. Not many were interested, until our guide pointed us towards the shallow pool where the source of quite hot water was coming. After 4 days with no shower...we all endulged in a rather luxurious soak, followed by breakfast (by the way...the food was once again excellent on this trip), and our final drive to the chilean border.
I must leave you here temporarily...so if you read this before this is finished...check it again in the next few days for the final update on our current situation in the AMAZING Chilean city of Vina del Mar...and a few tid bits of interesting info on Bolivians.
Talk soon,
Tyler
Hello again...to finish this chapter of the story...I will start with some interesting info about Bolivians. Their average lifespan is 60yrs for men, 63 for women...but their retirement age is 65!! They also get free healthcare once they´ve reached 65, and free education I believe for life (not sure about university). ABout 42% of their poplation is UNDER the age of 14. The average annual income is 1200$...not much...but the politicians make about 4000$ per MONTH!! It calls for corruption! Anyway...just a few tid bits that we found astounding.
Onwards to Chile. We didn´t feel like staying in a mud brick city any longer, so as soon as we arrive in San Pedra de Atacama (chile), we got a 20 hr bus ride to Vina del Mar...home of Gatis Puide (gus)...my friend, wine coach, and a former rugby coach. I unfortunately sat beside a WIERD dude (who refused to switch seats with Julia so we could sit together because he HAD to be near the bathroom...which he ended up using 1 time in 20 hours...ass hole). This guy spent about 10 hours on his cell phone, 8 of which were listening to partial songs he´d saved as ring tones...everything from rap to classical...top volume in the twangy cell phone style. I was thrilled...we rocked the bus the whole way!
Vina...amazing little place. I´m almost tempted to NOT give it too good a rap in case all of you decide to go and visit it, and the little known secret gets blown!! BUT...I´ll tell you this, we had a perfectly relaxing few days in Vina del Mar and Valparaiso!! Gus was a fabulous host, tour guide, and party friend...giving us the run of his house and wine racks!! We tried MANY chilean wines with Gus...who has adjusted his opinion of Chilean wines to say that they are the best bang for the buck...and in a few years, will have some SUPERBE vintages. We tended to agree that they were fantastic drinks...and for 4-10$ per bottle...can´t beat it!
Valparaiso, right next to Vina del Mar...is a hippie like city, made up of about 40 hills, and cable lifts used to get up and down the hills. Many artisans call this home...it is clean, quaint, and full of things to discover! We spent a nice afternoon there, but figured that there was enough to discover in Vina that we stayed closer to home for the remaining days. The weather was ALWAYS sunny, but with a cool breeze due to the cool ocean current that comes into the harbour. Indeed the ocean was COLD...and I only braved it once just so I didn´t look like a wimp beside all the chileans that were freely swimming in it. The beaches are beautiful too...but we also had the pleasure of a back yard pool at Gus´house...so not much need to freeze our toshies in the ocean. Two nights, we went to a bar called MUNDO BAR...owned by a rugby player of Gus´...who happens to be the captain of the Chilean national team (Edmundo...nick named Lunga) and had some rum, beer, pisco...good conversation with some great people. Essentially though, these days were for relaxing, enjoying some of the local shopping stores, we ate some fantastic croissants at McDonalds one morning, and enjoyed every minute. We´ll for sure come back to this area...and hope to visit with Gus again someday, and hope he´ll pay us a visit some year when he can.
Next entry will be about our trip to Argentina...Mendoza, wine, busses, mountains, Montevideo (uruguay) and more...
Take care until then,
Tyler
