Bolivian Altiplano

Our first week in Bolivia was not easy. We were bombarded by problems that did not facilitate a smooth transition from the southern Latin American countries to the more third world ones. Our first obstacle was getting a Bolivian visa which at $135 costed more than we usually spend on housing for a week! We walked around the border town of Villazón for hours in search of a place to get a visa photo taken, popping in and out of stores that advertised picture taking services. This "service" seemed like it was unavailable to non-Bolivians as we were refused in 20 places or more and told to "try the place around to corner." Tempted to enter Bolivia as illegals, we finally found a place to take our picture and forked over the money for entry. Once legally inside, we waited for a train that comes only 3 times a week, to take us to Tupiza, a small town on the way to Uyuni.

Bolivia is clearly unlike anywhere we´ve been! The starkest difference was the indigenous population and the preservation of native culture through clothing styles. Many older women wear traditional clothing that consists of a long, multi-tiered skirt, a full-body apron, a shawl, and a small but tall hat covering their hair that is done in two braids and fastened at the end with decorative bead attachments. They are called "cholitas" and are usually found selling different goods like juice, fruit, coca leaves, and other popular products. We were also blown away by the price gauging that foreigners are faced with in Bolivia. No prices are listed in stores and vendors will quadruple the price when they see that they are selling to gringos (white people). We found ourselves shopping in 10 stores before buying toilet paper that we thought was being sold at a fair price!

Once in Uyuni, our goal was to buy a reliable tour package so that we could take a jeep trip around south eastern Bolivia and see the famous salt flats. Finding an honest agency is near impossible, so we were forced to sign up with the sketchy Juliet Tours. After being promised the best food and car that money could buy, we were put in a group with 4 Korean girls who were very nice and excited for the 3-day trip. Within the first hour of our trip, all promises were broken and we were stuck with a crappy car from the 80´s, no cook, and a driver who didn´t know where we would be staying for the first night. Regardless, the scenery was breathtaking and we got over the company´s dishonesty after seeing that other tour groups along the way were in a worse position than we were. The salt flats were astonishing and all that can be seen for miles is the white ground and a few jeeps passing by. The whole span of land was covered by water millions of years ago leaving only a salt residue behind along with a few islands made of rocks and coral. We stopped at Fish Island for lunch and marvelled at the huge cacti covering the land. The sun was so bright that we used the Koreans´ extra supply of umbrellas to protect us. At the end of the day we found an open hotel made of salt in a small, rural town and settled down for the night. A hot, dark shower costed 10 Bolivianos, but Phil and I were glad for the chance to wash the days´ dust off.

Day two was filled with visits to serene lagoons that had three species of flamingos inhabiting their marshy shores. Many of the small lakes appeared multicolored because of the mineral-rich composition of the land. One of them was yellow due to the sulphur base and others were green because they had arsenic sitting at the bottom. Borax, copper, and silver ore also served to reflect brilliant colors off of the mountains. We saw a rock tree and drove through the dusty desert as Phil started to suffer from altitude sickness... we eventually got as high up as 5,100 meters! Our Korean friends offered remedies, but it did not stop Phil from skipping dinner and going to sleep early in our cold, Laguna Colorada habitat.

The last day of our tour started at 4:00am. We started early in order to see some geysers that are more powerful before sunrise. We were careful not to get too close since we heard a horror story that a Brazilian had gotten his leg stuck in the sulphuric mud surrounding the geyser mouth. When he finally got it out, his leg was severly burned by the chemical and he had to return to his country for treatment. Just after sunrise we made it to the hot springs where we got relief from the cold morning air. This was one of my favorite parts of the tour since we could see flamingos hanging around the springs and enjoy sharing stories with other tour groups who had also made it as far as us. Unfortunately, our camera ran out of battery before day 3 so we couldn´t take any pictures of our last adventures. However, we made it all the way to the Chiliean border where we dropped off our Korean friends and returned to Uyuni alone with our guide. Enjoy the following pictures of our Uyuni tour.

Incredible Photo Album