We made it to Bolivia a few days ago. From San Pedro, many tour companies offer a three day trip which ends in Uyuni. There is also a four day option which takes you back to Chile. Our trip started with a bus ride to the Chilean border. From there, we wer split up into groups of 5-6 people. Each group had their own Toyota Land Cruiser (fron the early 90s) and Bolivian driver. Our group consisted of an American couple from NYC, Justine (French girl), Jane, and me. It was really funny since Jonathan and Molly (NYC couple) saw us in San Juan about month ago. Also, Justine stayed in the same hostel as us in Mendoza back in May. All of us got along very well. We also made friends in another SUV which had a Scottish couple, a girl from Holland, and an American girl from San Fran.
Before this trip, we heard so many stories about how cold the temperature was going to be. He also heard stories about the altitude sickness. The first day, we got to see many high alpine lakes which were different colors. The scenery was fantstic. The highest elevation was approximately 5000 meters above sea level. We stopped at a place where gasses were bubbling out from hot mud. The place smelled of rotten eggs and this is where people started to feel the altitude. The first day finished at Laguna Colorado where we saw flamingos still on the water. Everyone took a ton of pictures at the mirador and hurried back before the sun went down. It was an early dinner, then bed. Our group was lucky because no one got sick that night. However, the Dutch girl and Scottish guy were throwing up all night long. It was the longest night since the room was at 2 deg C and we were at 4200 meters. Morning finally came, and we were off to the second stop at the salt lake.
The second day was like the first, we made a number of stops checking out the scenery. The highlight was a small valley filled with llamas. Jane was going crazy with the camera. Jon and I tried to herd a few closer to the girls so they could take close up shots. Our SUV reached the salt lake in the afternoon just in time for sunset. The pictures I have do not do justice to the views. The second night was not as bad since we were under 4000 meters and the rooms were a bit more insulated.
The last day of the tour was highlighted by a sunrise on the salt flats and a visit to Isla de Pescado. The two SUVs spent about an hour taking goofy photos of each other in different poses. Since the salt flat is totally white, it is easy to play tricks with the camera (no depth perception). We arrived in Uyuni at 1:00 PM, which gave us enough time to look around and find accommodations for the night. After getting my travel visa for Bolivia, we had a drink with the other group and said our goodbyes as the left to go back to San Pedro.
Justine decided to travel with us for a few days. She does not speak English so well, so we are communicating in Spanish. We are also stuck in Uyuni since there is a miner workers strike in Bolivia now. More on this later....
Before this trip, we heard so many stories about how cold the temperature was going to be. He also heard stories about the altitude sickness. The first day, we got to see many high alpine lakes which were different colors. The scenery was fantstic. The highest elevation was approximately 5000 meters above sea level. We stopped at a place where gasses were bubbling out from hot mud. The place smelled of rotten eggs and this is where people started to feel the altitude. The first day finished at Laguna Colorado where we saw flamingos still on the water. Everyone took a ton of pictures at the mirador and hurried back before the sun went down. It was an early dinner, then bed. Our group was lucky because no one got sick that night. However, the Dutch girl and Scottish guy were throwing up all night long. It was the longest night since the room was at 2 deg C and we were at 4200 meters. Morning finally came, and we were off to the second stop at the salt lake.
The second day was like the first, we made a number of stops checking out the scenery. The highlight was a small valley filled with llamas. Jane was going crazy with the camera. Jon and I tried to herd a few closer to the girls so they could take close up shots. Our SUV reached the salt lake in the afternoon just in time for sunset. The pictures I have do not do justice to the views. The second night was not as bad since we were under 4000 meters and the rooms were a bit more insulated.
The last day of the tour was highlighted by a sunrise on the salt flats and a visit to Isla de Pescado. The two SUVs spent about an hour taking goofy photos of each other in different poses. Since the salt flat is totally white, it is easy to play tricks with the camera (no depth perception). We arrived in Uyuni at 1:00 PM, which gave us enough time to look around and find accommodations for the night. After getting my travel visa for Bolivia, we had a drink with the other group and said our goodbyes as the left to go back to San Pedro.
Justine decided to travel with us for a few days. She does not speak English so well, so we are communicating in Spanish. We are also stuck in Uyuni since there is a miner workers strike in Bolivia now. More on this later....
1 comment:
hey Sam, it's Ed from Fl. I've been following up the blog since January. You're having a blast, man.
BTW, a few of us are coming down late July / early August. I land in Buenos Aires on the 23rd and will meet up with the rest of the crew in Santiago on the 30th. I head back on the 5th and the rest fly out the next day. I don't have your email so drop me one when you get a chance (edporras at gmail dot com).
Keep posting, man. It's awesome!
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