Uyuni, the salt flats and stinky geysers!
The journey from La Paz to Uyuni in the South can only be described as the nearest thing imaginable to hell on earth! We left La Paz the same day as we returned from Rurrenabaque to make sure we could be in Chile for the next England match…nothing is being left to chance from now on! Now we were warned the night bus could be cold so I wrapped up (Chris made claim to his Geordie roots stating he did not feel the cold…hah …mistake no 1 on Chris´part) and we both took our sleeping bags on board. Well the bus wasn´t cold….it was freexing with a capital F….. 13 hours on a bus which is bumpier than a pneumatic drill (if minors get white finger we surely have white asses!) and to make matters worse there was ice on the inside of the window……Chris who had the window seat was pressed up againt the ice and I swear I heard the odd whimper! By the time we arrived in Uyuni we had no feeling in our feet and Chris claimed no feeling in his right leg from the knee down……picture him dragging that leg behind him all the way to our hostal!
Well needless to say Uyuni does not hold a fond place in our hearts…….even once we adopted the four pairs of socks strategy (Chris later upped this to five but I´ll get to that).
The purpose of our visiting Uyuni was to get ourselves on to a three day tour of the salt flats and through into our third country of the trip – Chile (aptly named don´t you think?).
Our group consisted of me and Chris and three Austrian lads who had just finished their national service and the driver who doubled up as cook. First stop the salt flats……now I could write paragraphs explaining the slat flats which span for 12,000km square but the photos will tell you everything you need to know…..it is madness….all you can see is white salt leading to the horizon.
After visiting the salt hotel (yep…a hotel made solely of salt) we continued the tour to an Island in the salt flats called Incahuasi, or more fondly as Fish Island ….named because it is shaped like a fish! (couldn´t see it myself). The Island is covered by huge cacti …some reaching over 10m high.
Night 1 was spent at a hostal run by the tour company on the edge of the salt flats. Now night 2 was the night which had been billed as being freezing with the accomodation described as a ” basic refuge” …now I wasn´t sure what that actually meant but I knew it wasn´t good….. but we were not taking any chances on night 1 making sure we were wrapped up in layers of clothes and maintaining the “four sock system”….the night however turned out to be toasty thanks to multiple blankets….however when visiting the toilets the next day we were unable to flush the damn things as the cisterns had froze over!
Day 2 began with a visit to the antiplanic lagoons (Canapa, Hediona and Ramadita) and then a trip to the Siloli desert to see the famous stone tree. I say famous…..well it is in all the Bolivian brochures but we had never heard of it before. After a photo session at the stone tree in which everyone we asked to take a picture of us managed to cut off the top of the tree or we were out of focus,, we proceeded to the Red Lagoon which sits at 4278m above sea level and our “basic refuge” which sat on its bank. At the red lagoon the temperature fluctuates between 25 degrees C during the day and minus 20 dgerees at night. It was cold….we basically ate and went straight to bed after raiding neighbouring dorms for blankets ….clearly each man for their own at these temperatures….and Chris upping the anti by donning an extra pair of socks (five pairs!)
Day 3 began at 5.30 am with an hours ride to natural geysers. Five minutes into the hour journey we soon learnt that one of our Austrian friends clearly had an upset stomch from the vomit-inducing, putrid smells he was emitting. Chris and I who were placed directly behind him had to pull our hoodies over our noses to stifle the wretching noises we could not hold back. We arrived at the geysers which were fantastic (our favourite part of the trip) but smelt of sulphur. However….(now I have been working towards this….just go with it!) they were not a smelly as the Austrian Geezer in the 4×4…boom boom!
Here comes the scientific bit… lava boils in craters and the fumaroles emit mixed vapour which reaches heights of 10 to 15m high and sprout to a temperature of over 90 degrees C minimum. It is also said that the area is home to goblins and devils for the height and the abundant scent of sulphur….in which case a goblin had clearly crawled up the Auistrians butt!
Following a visit to a natural thermal pool we went on to visit Laguna Verde (the green lake), and laguna blanca (the white lake) named after the colour the lakes appear. The lakess marked the end of the trip.
The Chilean border crossing was slightly more vigilant than that we experienced entering Bolivia, with our bags being checked for fruit, dairy products and drugs but we passed through with flying colours. We are now in a town called San Pedro de Attacama which sits on the edge of the Atacama desert….it is a backpacker haven and consequently extremly expensive…..so tonight we leave on a 23 hour bus ride for Santiago ready for our flights to New Zealand next Monday. We have booked a de cama bus which has seats that recline into beds on the basis that the head rests on every bus we have been on to date sit firmly at the height of our shoulder blades.
A couple of closing points:
Chris no longer resembles big foot having finally shaved of his beard
If anyone knows the world record for the longest bout of diarrheoa then please let us know…..I reckon it could be matched if not beaten
And to end on a high note …its not so Chilly in Chile
Tags: Bolivia, Uyuni
Chris and Charl
Just loved this blog,if a bit graffic at times..
Laughed so much, must have a toilet sense of humour…
Glad you are seeing or feeling the other side of life….
Love you so much..keep safe
S.xxxx
You can rely on me to lower the tone!
Been hearing wicked things about your strawberry flan…..expected more from you!
Have you raided those black bin bags yet? Are you officially the trendiest mum (over 50) in Deal yet? A word of advice….leave the hot pants well alone!
Lots of love
CHARL