Geysers, Hot Springs, and a Missing Jeep

June 10, 2010 (Day 23)

It's five o'clock in the morning. Time to wake up. We're leaving in 30 minutes. 
Yes, morning has finally arrived!

We boarded the jeep and made our way to witness the sunrise amongst the geysers and hot springs.

It was time for breakfast and the other jeep wasn't behind us. Perhaps, they stayed back at the geysers a bit longer. Maybe the Australian girls were still in bed at the lodge. Maybe the jeep got stuck.  These were all theories that passed through our minds as we waited for our English-speaking tour guide and cook to arrive with the other jeep.  Our Spanish-speaking driver did not have a radio to communicate with the other jeep, and was just as clueless as the rest of us.  We had to be at the Chilean border by 9:45am to catch our bus. Time was quickly ticking away. Around 8am, our cook arrived and informed us that the other jeep broke down by the geysers.  She hitched a ride to the cabin to prepare our breakfast while our guide and that jeep's tour group stayed behind to attempt to fix the jeep. Luckily, we weren't in that jeep.  We rushed through breakfast and continued on our journey towards the border.  Our driver was flooring it. Even though the jeep's speedometer did not work, it was evident that were driving much faster than the posted speed limit. I still don't know why they have speed limit signs there but perhaps it just meant that we were slowly approaching civilization again.


We arrived at Laguna Verde, where the water is a hint of green in colour. Once again, definitely not as vibrant as in all the photographs, but beautiful nonetheless.

We then headed off to our final destination, the Bolivian-Chilean border, where we waited by a little building until our shuttle bus arrived.


Now for a quick review of Andes Salt Expeditions Tour Operator:

On the plus side, we arrived at our final destination safely and on time without any incidents.  That being said, I found that our tour wasn't very time efficient, and from what I could see (and what do I know), our entire tour could have easily been completed over a 2 day / 1 night period.  By the time our tour started, it was already past noon on the first day. We could have easily started earlier and traveled further on our first day (or stayed longer at the two main stops to take even more funny pictures or further explore Fish Island, if the location of our lodges was the reason for our late start). The second day definitely ended too quickly as we were at our lodge by 3pm with nothing to see or do for the rest of the day. We could have easily continued onto the geysers and hot springs for a late afternoon dip before heading back to the lodge.  I assume the location of the lodges was again the issue but since they were so basic, why not build new lodges in more convenient locations.  But anyways, this is probably an issue common to all the operators. As for our English-speaking tour guide, he was in the other jeep so we really didn't benefit from any of his services outside the few comments he made at the stops. He also did not hang out with us at the lodges in the evenings. Luckily, we didn't pay too much extra for his services because we ended up relying mostly on the explanations our Australian friends received from their personal English-speaking Peruvian tour guide. As for our driver, he was a bit adventurous, taking the road less traveled in many instances, which was more than fine with me, yet he wasn't too friendly or considerate. He was never drunk and did get us to our destination safely so that should be recognized as we heard tourists talking about a drunk driver (from another tour operator) who apparently flipped a jeep the day before our trip began.  You definitely don't want that to happen when you're in the middle of nowhere in a salt flat or desert. As for the jeeps, ours was ok, despite the band-aid on the passenger door ;) These jeeps take a lot of abuse under a variety of conditions so it is to be expected that they wouldn't be in the greatest condition but it should be noted that the other jeep had mechanical problems that disrupted the tour.  All in all, Andes Salt Expeditions showed us the sites as promised so while they might not be the best organized tour operators, they managed to get the job done for us.

Now, back to the day's events.  We crossed the border into Chile in what can only be described as one of those modern airport shuttle buses you see in North America, 

and made our way down a paved downhill highway to San Pedro de Atacama, where we got our passports stamped and belongings thoroughly examined by hand. The officer checking my backpack noticed my first aid supplies, and asked me if I'm a doctor. I giggled under my breath and said no.  Apparently, if you have a first aid kit in Chile, you're automatically considered to be a doctor!


Welcome to Chile!  Home of the $5000 pitcher of beer!

The menu prices are, of course, priced in Chilean Pesos, but besides the extra zeros involved in the currency conversion, things were still considerably more expensive than in either Peru or Bolivia.

San Pedro de Atacama is a quiet little town, once again geared towards tourists, as it acts as the Chilean starting point for a lot of eco-tours and outdoor expeditions.  Unfortunately, we didn't have more time to explore the local natural attractions as we were soon on our way on our next overnight bus trip to Arica, Chile.

Sleepless in Bolivia

June 9, 2010 (Day 22)

Oh, what a night!

Besides observing the spectacular star-lit sky in the middle of a Bolivian desert, there's nothing like spending a night with a completely drunk stranger as your room mate, who passed out in your shared bedroom in a freezing cold salt hotel.  I have never heard anyone snore so loud!  So there I was in my bed, trying to fall asleep all night long while this guy snored pretty much the whole night away.  And when he wasn't snoring, he wasn't breathing!  Oh yes, he finally stopped snoring. Oh wait, is he breathing? Hmm, it doesn't sound like he's breathing? No, he must be breathing really quietly. Hmm, that's a pretty long time without hearing any breathing? Should I get up and check?  Ummm... I just can't hear him breathing.. oh wait, maybe I should check.. Nah... Is he dead?  Ok, I'm getting up.... and then the snoring begins again. Sigh, that's a relief. Oh wait, is it really? I can't sleep! And I can't breath! And random body parts are becoming numb. This is not good...


So there I was, wide awake all night long, tossing around in bed, under a couple of alpaca blankets, in multiple layers of clothing, trying to maintain body circulation. All while I made sure my roommate didn't die on my watch... so frustrating... 

Morning finally came with breakfast at 6... let's just say that my roommate didn't take the wake up call very well... with verbal threats of slicing our guide's neck wide open with a butter knife, and his violent tossing of his own belongings out of the room, it was time to grab my stuff and get out of there before it got any worse!

After breakfast, we departed for Laguna Colorada, passing other lagoons on the way as we passed through the Siloli Desert.  Our route reached an elevation of approximately 5,000 metres above sea level as we passed through ever-changing landscapes that were simply spectacular.

At about 2pm, we reached Laguna Colorada, where we appreciated its red colouration, which is derived from algae and plankton that thrive on its minerals. It was a very nice sight to see, especially with the flamingos strutting their stuff in the cool water, along with the alpacas, llamas, and vicunas grazing along the shoreline. 

That being said, I was honestly a bit disappointed as the red colouration of the water wasn't as vibrant as in all the photos we saw. I guess I was a victim of Photoshop.  

We then continued to our salt lodge, where we arrived around 3pm, and had nothing to do for the rest of the day but keep each company and staying warm as we nibbled away on the crackers they provided.  I'm not sure why they were in such a rush to get us here.

This night was going to be the coldest night of the trip, and it definitely measured up to those expectations. Slowly building up layers of clothing as the afternoon and evening progressed, it became progressively harder to stay warm, especially after dinner, and by 8pm, everyone was in bed. Not only were we in basic salt lodge accommodations at high altitude sharing a bedroom with all our fellow tour group members, but we were also sleeping on a thin mattress that was the only thing separating us from the concrete slabs we were laying on, and it was quite a long walk through a drafty hallway to the washroom. Definitely basic sleeping quarters.

This was without a doubt the most difficult night of the trip for me. After putting on all my layers, getting into my sleeping bag, and covering myself with the blankets, I still found it cold (even with my toque). I somehow manged to fall asleep, probably from the lack of sleep the night before, but then I woke up around 11:30pm, only to find myself extremely hot. I overdressed. I started shedding layers and then found it too cold. My favourite new buddy was snoring again, and I couldn't fall asleep. I walked around in the hallway a bit and took in the breathtaking night sky, and headed back to bed. I think I fell asleep for a while and then woke up again, breathless.  Oh God, I thought I was dying. I was taking deep breaths and it wasn't helping. To top it off, my snoring neighbour was breathing very heavily and quickly so I think that I must have been subconsciously thinking that I had to breath that quickly as well, which I couldn't, and I started panicking. Definitely not good. I took an altitude pill but those don't work right away. But eventually, I was able to settle down. Morning couldn't come soon enough.

The Blinding Salar de Uyuni

June 8, 2010 (Day 21)

Like I mentioned earlier, the only reason we went to Uyuni was because that's the starting point for tours of the Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat.  There are tonnes of tour operators offering pretty much the same tour itinerary and price so even though there isn't much to do in Uyuni, comparing countless operators is basically pointless because they will all promise you the same thing.  We selected Andes Salt Expeditions Tour Operator because they were recommended by some fellow tourists we talked to earlier on our trip and they also offered an English-speaking guide for a minimal extra cost.

The tour was scheduled to leave at 10:30am but by the time the tour operator figured out (after asking us countless times) who was going in which jeep, who was vegetarian, who needed a sleeping bag, who was coming back to Uyuni (vs. Chile), who was on the 2-day trip (vs. the 3-day trip), we did not actually depart until after 11:00am.


We were on the 3-day trip that would take us to the Chilean border and save us another visit to Uyuni and a long bus ride to our next destination.  Hence, we had to get our passports stamped with post-dated Bolivian exit stamps at a little office, just down the street from the tour operator, without any questions asked. The officials did this many times before and it showed.


Here is a map of our Salar de Uyuni journey over the next three days.

So we got into our jeep along with a couple of Australian women, their Peruvian English-speaking guide, an American, and our driver, and we were on our way on our tour of Salar de Uyuni  Another jeep full of tourists, the group's cook, and our English-speaking guide were also involved in our tour group.


Our first stop was just outside the outskirts of town, where you can find the place where a series of nineteenth and early 20th century steam engines, locomotives, and rail cars have gone to die at the train cemetery. Had I known that the graveyard had been so close to town, I would have journeyed over here yesterday when there was absolutely nothing to do!

After about 20 minutes of climbing onto the trains like a little kid in a playground, and snapping a few photos, it was time to get back into the jeep, and head back into town to pick our food.  I'm not sure why they couldn't have done this before picking us up for the tour but anyways, just go with the flow, Mike. After a 5-10 minutes wait to load the jeep, we then proceeded to a garage to have the air pressure checked on the jeep tires. Once that was done, it was time to pull out the big sunglasses as we were finally on our way to salt flats!

We arrived in Colchanilies, which lies beside the Salar de Uyuni, and is the home of the Cooperative Rosario where we observed the methods of salt extraction from the Salar and its preparation for national consumption.

After our llama-steak lunch at a little restaurant made out of salt,

and taking a number of "funny pictures,"

we headed off to Isla Pescada which is located in the centre of the Salar (about 100 km from Uyuni). Surrounded by the blinding white salt flat, we hiked the trail that weaves its way around the spectacular “island“ that is covered in trichocerus cacti and home to a number of viscachas that look like huge rabbits.  

If you are curious about the feel of the salt flat, I can say that it has a pretty unique feeling.  It looks a bit like icy snow, crunchy and hard, but definitely a bit different. And it obviously, tastes like salt!

Just as the sun was setting,

we arrived at a salt hotel, just off the Salar.  Picture the ice hotel but made out of salt and not as luxurious, but just as unique. After settling into our rooms for the evening,

we headed to the dining room to talk with our fellow travelers and enjoy dinner as a group of kids sung and played musical instruments for us.  After dinner, the generator was about to go out and most people headed back to their rooms, but a few of us stayed behind, and treated the kids to the plentiful leftovers.  At first, some of the kids were reluctant or shy to accept our offering but considering we, unfortunately, did not have anything else to offer them, we insisted that they join us at the table and eat the untouched food left behind.  I remember there was one boy who appeared to be too scared to join us, perhaps he was afraid that he would get in trouble, but I finally convinced him to join us by treating him just like one of us by calling him “Amigo“.  It seemed like that was the magic word that convinced him it was ok to eat with us.  That was a very moving moment for me as the kids were apparently really hungry as they tried eating as much as possible as quickly as they could, and it really put things into perspective as to how lucky we really have it.


The lights turned off soon thereafter and the kids were shooed off by the kitchen staff as they cleared off the table, and we were left to share our travel stories in the candlelight.  As the candle got shorter, it was time to head to our rooms.  It was the end of a memorable day and just the beginning of a memorable night...

A Little Town Called Uyuni

June 7, 2010 (Day 20)

After boarding our "heated" tourist bus in La Paz the previous evening, we woke up in the morning, freezing cold, even under our blankets. After scraping the frost off the bus window, I figured that we must have reached our destination, Uyuni, slightly ahead of the scheduled arrival time. I guess when they advertise a bus as having heating and cooling, they don't necessarily mean actual heat or air conditioning, but blankets and the cool night air. But enough about that, we stepped out of the bus to be greeted by a bunch of people soliciting business for their tours and hostels. It's not even 6:30am, barely light outside, we're a step off the bus in the freezing (and I mean, freezing cold), and they want us to sign up for a tour right there and then?!?  Please! Get out of my way! Thank you very much! Let me grab our bags off the bus before they disappear! 


We were expecting it to be cold but not this cold!  The frigid cold temperatures caught us a bit off-guard and we weren't really prepared for it as we didn't reserve a place to stay, thinking it was a small town and could find a place within a few minutes.  But in fact, the city was sprawled out and the bus dropped us off in a non-commercial area so we, smartly or foolishly, accepted the first hostel offer we received and we were getting into a stranger's jeep to get to it.  Hmm, there's two of them and three of us. Certainly, we can take them on if they were planning something foolish with us! 


So we arrived at Hostal Marith in downtown Uyuni

and entered the lobby

where we noticed the locked-up rolls of toilet paper

and then we walked across the courtyard

to our room (sorry about the mess but we're backpackers after all)

and yes, that is a styrofoam ceiling with styrofoam crown molding. We were certainly living it up in style in Uyuni!

And well, I guess I forgot to take a photo of the washroom but I'll try to illustrate it to you in words. Picture a regular washroom with a shower, toilet, sink, and a floor drain in the middle but there's no barrier separating the shower from the rest of the room. So when you dared to turn on the shower with its copper coil heating element, not only did you have to worry if you'd get electrocuted but everything in the room got wet as well.  Nevertheless, Hostal Marith protected us from the elements that night so I won't complain.


Well besides sleeping, there really isn't much to do in Uyuni. Probably the biggest attraction in town would be the big slide in the local park, and yes, we tested it out. The goods news is it became considerably warmer by 10 am.  

Other than that, there really isn't much to see or do besides walk around town, watch the locals congregate around the propane tank delivery truck, eat at a restaurant (they all appeared to sell the same type of food catered to tourists - i.e. pizza), exchange some money, get your hair done at a salon, watch the military do their thing,

and oh yeah, the only reason why we were here, to book a Salar de Uyuni tour with one of the local tour operators.