SALT OF THE EARTH BOLIVIA - La Paz, Uyuni, Bolivia Nov 2017

SALT OF THE EARTH  BOLIVIA

La Paz, Uyuni, Isla del Sol, Bolivia  Nov. 2017

Our trip to Bolivia will go down in the annals as one of the most fascinating trips we've taken--and also one of the most challenging by any standard.

A long way up

Start with the highest altitude we've ever encountered (5,000+ meters, or over 16,500 feet), in one of the less developed economies in South America--the highest level of poverty--and add in less-than-human-friendly terrain, with extreme temperatures, limited travel infrastructure, volcanoes, geysers and hundreds of miles of salt flats...well that about sums it up.

Ah, the views!

Oh yeah, and then there was 10 hours of driving on dirt roads, altitude sickness, insomnia...

And yet, vale la pena. Truly. We started our experience on Isla del Sol, after making the trip via Bolivia Hop from Puno, Peru via Copacabana, Bolivia.

We kinda missed the part about the vertical climb to get to our hostel and, as luck would have it, was just past the time that burros were available to assist. So we lugged our suitcases upward, with Mike doing double duty in the end. 

Our welcoming hosts

Our hosts at Hostal Tawri could not have been more welcoming. While the trek up to the village was arduous, the views were extraordinary. 

A local wedding closed all the restaurants the first night, but we were able to find great places to eat thereafter. The views of Lake Titicaca were stunning. On the return trip downhill it was a relief when their trusted burro was at our service.

Salt of the earth

After a short stop in the capital city, La Paz, we joined our group in Uyuni for a three-day, two night tour of the salt flats and other assorted sights. 

Guess where we are?

Our tour was divided into SUVs and we were matched with a family from Ottawa. 

The younger couple, Tricia and Eric, were on an extended South America honeymoon and Eric's mom, Patricia, and her partner Terry joined them for the final two weeks of their adventure.

Fortunately we all got along well since we would be in close quarters for the next 3 days. Patricia and Eileen bonded over their insomnia at the high altitude.

A salt house

Abandoned rail cars

Our first stop just outside Uyuni was a railway cemetery. It is a surreal scene right out of a Mad Max movie. These locomotives were left behind after local mines went bankrupt 70 years ago. Enough years went by where they transformed from rusted eyesore to tourist site. 

Dinosaurs are real

There is a village on the edge of the salt flats where buildings are constructed from salt rock bricks. There are mounds of salt everywhere as that's their primary export. Mike also saw signs for a new lithium processing plant. It was good to see this rural community plug into the global economy through the huge demand for Lithium-Ion batteries.

Holding my "little lady"

Our introduction to the Salt flats didn't disappoint. It's one of those places that's impossible to describe and pictures do not do it justice. The perspective goes well past the horizon as there are unseen mountains at the far edge due to the curvature of the earth. It is almost perfectly flat; NASA uses it to calibrate satellites. 

Getting the point

Of course we had to pose for the famous perspective photos that can only be done here. 

The terrain is truly other-worldly. There's an island in the middle of this salt sea, Isla Incahuasi, that's covered in Saguaro-like cactus. Other spots have wind eroded rocks in wacky shapes. This must be what it looks like on Mars.

Rock on

How is it possible flamingos exist at over 13,000 feet? They feed on the algae in the lagoons which give them their color in the Red Lagoon. 

Our hostels both nights were at very high elevations; the second night was at 4,400m (14,435ft). That latter was the tough one.

               Seeing red

Eileen tossed and turned all night, gasping for breath, while Mike thoroughly annoyed her by sleeping through. The hostel only had electricity until 10 pm when they turned off  the generator. It was really dark and really cold and the two working toilets were reeking. 

Hot springs were at the bottom of the hill about 200m walk away but there was no way we were marching outside in our bathing suits at that temperature. There was frost in the morning to confirm we made the right choice.

"The Survivors" in front of the volcano

It was a long haul back to Uyuni, made all the more difficult since our driver kept closing the windows when there was too much dust from the vehicles ahead of us. The stuffiness led to a battle of wills to get air in the car. 

We finished with a couple nights in La Paz before taking Bolivia Hop back to Puno, Peru. It was an exhausting but exhilarating adventure packed into 10 days.