Salar de Uyuni

Mon 22nd Aug

First of all HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Nanny who is 89 years young today xxxx :)

Salar de Uyuni is the worlds largest salt flat. It is exactly what it says, a massive flat entirely made up of salt! It is 10,500 meters squared and was basically formed when salt lakes dried up in prehistoric times.

There are many different tours that you can do of this area. We chose a 3 night/ 4day tour that would take us from Tupiza to Uyuni and then onto San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. Our tour would cover the salt flat and the surrounding area. I couldn't wait!..... an amazing 4 days were ahead of us.

Day 1

We left Tupiza at 9.30am in our 4x4 land cruiser .There were the four of us, our driver Rico and our cook Norma. Everything we needed for the next four days was packed into the van; food water, mobile kitchen and our rucksacks were tied down on the roof. The agenda for the day was to drive from Tupiza to Uyuni, a drive that would take the full day. The scenery on the way was amazing, Tupiza and the surrounding landscape really is just like the wild west. There were certain points along the way that had spectacular views where we stopped to walk around and take photos. There were parts of the land that were desolate and hadn't a person around for miles. There were also parts of the land that were desolate and DID have little houses dotted around the place, I have no idea how people can live in such isolation.

As we drove the landscape was constantly changing. One minute we were driving through the mountains and the next we were driving through desert. At one point we hit a sandstorm and actually lost the road!! Our driver had to get out and walk to try and find the trail we meant to be following.

I was delighted when we stopped for lunch as I was starving. We pulled into a spot where there was an old deserted farm and used an old shed to shield us from the wind which was coooold! This was our first taste of what the food would be like over the next few days and we weren't disappointed! Norma whipped up a storm and when we headed off again we were all full and happy.

We arrived in Uyuni that evening and had a half an hour to walk around.... a half an hour too long. Uyuni is not a nice place. We then set off to the edge of the salar to watch sunset. AMAZING! The salar was some sight, if you didnt know it was salt you would think it was snow. It was freezing so we didnt hang around too long after sunset and went to where we would be staying that night..... a house made of salt.

When we pulled up I was very apprehensive it was literally a house made of salt!! When we got in though things weren't as bad as they seemed! We were shown to our beds... that were made of salt and then we were given snacks and tea while we waited for dinner. Dinner was again a lovely meal and afterwards we played some cards and had a few rums!

DAY 2

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

Brekkie today was amazing as it was a BIRTHDAY CAKE made especially for me by Norma. I was so delighted when I went out for brekkie and found the cake with candles waiting for me. The lads had bought the candles in Uyuni and sang a beautiful rendition of happy birthday. I was chuffed!

We set off at around 9 for the salt flats which were spectacular! Every direction you looked there was salt salt and more salt. I even had a little lick just to make sure it wasn't some kind of conspiracy ha. After a good drive we all got out of the jeep to take some of the famous photos. Something to do with the flatness and the horizon gives an illusion of you being smaller or bigger than you actually are. Id say we spent a good hour messing about here trying to get the photos perfect. Its actually hard to get right!

After this we had a choice to either visit a volcano or some thing else that I cant remember!! Anyway we chose to go to the volcano which turned out to be a very good choice. The salar used to be a massive lake so the volcano was once an island in the middle of the lake. We parked on the 'island' and Norma started to prepare lunch. In the meantime we went off on a little wander where we saw our first sighting of pink flamingos.

After lunch we drove up to a view point on the volcano where we could look out over the salar. Then we walked a little to where we were show Inca mummies. This was shocking and scary. Our guide had got the key to a cave that was locked and let us in. Inside the cave were 8 skeletons of Inacs including 2 children. We were told that they had locked themselves in the cave and starved themselves rather than be taken into slavery.

Our next stop was Cactus Island. As the name suggests the island was covered in cacti! We did a little trek here and afterwards had a few birthday beers!!

Our accommodation that night was a slight upgrade on the night before. The previous night we were on our own where as tonight it was ore like a hostel and there were other groups staying there. Again it was made of salt! More cards and more rum tonight.

DAY 3

Early start today. We were up at 6.45, breakfast at 7 and packed up and on the road at 8. It was a long drive today towards 5 different lakes all with unique features. The weather was freezing. We were lucky to be able to do this part of the tour as just a few weeks previous there was too much snow for anyone to drive this route. Luckily for us the snow was melting so we could take this route.

At our first lake we had lunch. The scenery was just spectacular and yet again we saw flamingos. This area is know for its flamingos and sometimes if your lucky you can see thousands at a time.
We spent the day driving from lake to lake. We didnt get out at the all as the wind was fierce and it was baltic!

That night was one of the coldest of my life. I slept in 3 layers of clothes, 2 massive blankets and a sleeping bag. Brrrrrrr

DAY 4

We woke up this morning and headed off before to catch sunrise at Geysers.

IT WAS -12.

Geysers are the pipes of steam that blow up from under the ground. Probably not the most scientific explanation ever but thats the gist of it. Nedless to say as it was -12 we didnt hang around outside the jeep for too long. Out, photos and back in to try and get some warmth back into our freezing bodies.

The next stop on our final day was hot springs beside one of three more lakes we were to visit that day. I did not indulge in the hot springs as i was about 9am and still in minus figures! No way was I jumping into a bikini and freezing my ass off! We had brekie at the hot springs  and headed off again towards the Chilean border.

The second lake we visited today was a red lake, turned red because of the minerals from the mountain. And finally we stopped at a green lake! Again turned green because of the different minerals that were in the soil.

Our final stop of the day was the Bolivian/Chilean border. Our guides dropped us off and helped us sort out our passport exit stamps and then said their goodbyes.

I have to say that the scenery I saw on the past four days was the most spectacular and diverse I have ever seen. It was stunning and the photos I took just cant do it justice. An amazing four days spent with a sound bunch of lads!


SIDE NOTE:

26 years of age and still messing about with no real 'life plan' mehh who cares Im having a ball!!!

Ha I will admit that I was a bit worried about where I would spend my birthday and who with but it turned out to be an amazing day and one I wont forget in a hurry!!

Tupiza

Sun 21st August

Tupiza is called the wild west of South America due to its uncanny likeness with the wild west in the states! It is also said that the famous American out laws Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid met their demise here at the hands of the Bolivian army, ending their string of bank robberies! Pretty cool eh?!

Our stay in Tupiza would be short. Tupiza is a starting point from where you can do the Bolivian salt flat tour so the plan was to book a trip the day we got there to leave the following day.

We arrived in Tupiza at stupid O Clock (4am), we had no hostel booked but luckily reps from different hostels were at the station to meet the bus and catch the gringos. So we found one easy enough and fell into bed.

It was an early-ish rise today to head off and look for a company to head on the tour with. There were four of us in the group, Todd, Simon, Rich and myself. We went to a number of different companies until we found one which we were happy with. Its so important when booking tours like this that you get a good company and ask the right questions; Is water included in the price, do we get sleeping bags? Is there a cook? Can the guide speak English? Are soft drinks included? Where will we be staying? etc etc It really is worth taking the little bit of extra time so you get it right! So we were all happy and booked to leave the following morning.

With that done we had the rest of the day to ourselves. Unfortunately it was Sunday.... South America is old school when it comes to Sunday's and EVERYTHING is closed. I went for a little walk around but there wasn't really much to see or do. I decided that Id head back to the company we booked the tour with and see if the could sort me out with a bit of horse riding ... after all we were in the wild west... it would be rude not too!!!

I haven't been on a horse in about 15 years so I was a little apprehensive but excited!!
Ah it was great!!! We went out on the horses for 3 hours, on a tour of a canyon just outside Tupiza. The scenery was spectacular, red earth and cacti everywhere!

I thought that the trip would be at a nice slow pace but jesus can them horses run! ha They just take off and gallop at certain points on the trail. It was an experience and needless to say I had a very sore bum by the end of it ha :)

When we got back to Tupiza we headed for a little walk to watch the sunset from a viewpoint over the town. Dinner that night was pizza and then there was a quick shop for supplies for our trip..... toilet roll, smokes and rum.

                                                         The shop of champions!

Death Road

Mon 15/Aug

So I flew back to La Paz nice and early this morning (my flight was at 9). Took it pretty easy today but I also booked DEATH ROAD for tomorrow Aghhhhhhhhhhhh.

Tue 16/Aug

Death Road (officially known as Yungas Road)... let me explain:

The road of death is located about an hours drive outside La Paz, it is 61 km long and was christened death road by The Inter American Development Bank.
The road was built in the 30's and it was up until a few years ago the only road that connected the capital of La Paz to the Amazon region of the country. It is estimated that when this road was the primary route between La Paz and the Amazon 200/300 people died on it per year.
The road features extreme drop off's of 600 meters (on the left hand side as you are descending), a width of a single lane of traffic (most of the road is no wider than 3.2 meters) has very few guard rails and it is gravel.
On 24 July 1983, a bus veered off the Yungas Road and into a canyon, killing more than 100 passengers in what is said to be Bolivia's worst road accident. AT LEAST 18 cyclists have died on the road since 1998, the most recent being a Japanese girl..... two months before I did it.


So I signed up to do it with the company called Gravity, they are a little more expensive than most but they have a zero fatality rate and it was the founder of Gravity that was the first person ever to bring tourists down the road! 
It was an early start, I meet my guide and the rest of the group (which included a 13 year old boy and his Dad) at 6.30am. The reason we had to meet so early is that there were strikes over transport going on in the city so we had to try and leave the city before they set up the protesters set up the road blocks!
We got to our starting destination with no problems where we were given our bikes and safety gear. When I signed up I was measured for everything; bike, gloves, helmet, knee pads and high vis vest.

Our guide Clint was from NZ and a former stunt and overland bike rider. He was nice but firm on the rules as he went through them. After he had gone through everything it was time to make our offering to Apacha Mama (mother earth). This is a tradition done by everyone who cycles death road and involves sipping 97% alcohol which BURNS!!!!! Then we headed off!

The first part that we cycled is not death road, its a lovely downhill, tarmacked road that is part of the new road built to replace Yungas. So this was lovely and easy. Halfway down we had to get off our bikes and walk through a military drug checkpoint. The reason for this is that we were entering the valley in which most of Bolivia's coca leaves were produced. Bolivia has now over taken Colombia in the production of cocaine and the Bolivians are very active in trying to curb the production and exportation of the drug.


And then it began.... Death Road..... Aghhhh
It was not a race and I went as slowly as I felt comfortable with. To be honest I didnt really have time to take in what was around me as I never took my eyes off the road. We were warned not to or basically we would die. 

We went down the road in stages, I think there were 6 in all. After every stage we would stop and take a break and the guides would make sure everyone was OK. All the time we had one guide at the front of the group and one guide at the back. We were also followed all the way down by our van, so if anyone at any stage wanted to take a break they could! Halfway down we stopped for lunch so it gave everyone time to rest and get back on it again.

As we descended the thing I found most uncomfortable was the crosses and  memorials that were along the road, placed there by victims family's. There were a lot but apparently there were 3 times as many but a public committee in La Paz said they were bad for tourism and went along the road one day removing two thirds of the crosses and memorials.
Also the road was very deceiving, in parts where the cliff was there were trees and plants which gave you a false pretence that there was no 500ft drop on the other side.... 

So I reached the end of death road....alive! WAHOOOO! Obviously I did not dare have my camera with me while I was going down but one of the guides had a camera and took videos and photos for us.


The day was not yet over. As part of booking with Gravity you get to go to an animal refuge and have lunch there. The animal refuge was amazing! I stayed in with the monkeys the whole time who were sooooo cute!!! One of them did eat part of my hair braid though....

The ride back to La Paz was pretty interesting as we had to go back up death road to get home! It was here that we got to appreciate what we had just cycled down. It was also here that Clint told us the horror stories of the road... 
The latest person to die on the road was a Japanese cyclist two months previous. Her and her boyfriend had cheap'd out and gone with a 'pop up' company on a two for one deal. Her brakes failed, she went straight over the edge and died. Another French girl died when she lost balance as she was straddling her bike. She was close to the edge so when she fell over she fell off the side. That's why the number one rule is when you stop your bike you must dismount straight away and dismount to the right, not the left which is the most natural side anyone one get off there bike. He also told us of one poor English boy who just cycled straight off the ledge. He died and his parents donated £30,000 so that an ambulance could be put in place around the clock on the road. All very very sad stories.


Despite the horror stories it was a great day. I fully intended going out that night but I woke up from my power nap at 2.30am and didnt make it out of bed.

Amazon Pampas Tour - Rurrenabaque

11th/Aug

Jesus .... the plan fits 15 people and you can see the piolets. I am not a nervous flyer at all but this thing (plane) made me worry a bit. Luckily Barry a lad from Limerick entertained myself and Donna (a girl I met in line for the checkin) feel very at ease by telling us the story of the Andes crash where the rugby team were forced to eat their friends who had died after the plane crashed.The film about it is called ALIVE I think? It happened in the mountains we were flying over. Jesus.

Well obviously the plane didnt crash and Im still alive. We got to Rurrenabaque safe and sound and its like we landed on a different planet. No more cold, I was back to extreme humidity and heat. You never know whats around the corner when you travel... we tried to book into a hostel that was highly recommended but it was full and so we ended up going next door which was an army barracks that rents rooms. Well I can tell you now if there is ever an army you want to join for a good time its the Bolovian Army! ha It was a gas place where all the old army guys hung around listened to 80's classics and drank beer!!! It was actually a nice place with  a deck overlooking the river.

I hadn't booked my trek in La Paz just flights so I went with Donna that evening to the company she had book with to see if they had any space on her tour the following day. And success they did. I opted for a Pampas tour instead of a jungle tour. This basically meant you were foucsing on the animals of the Pampas  landscape rather than random things in the jungle. Very exciting!!!!!

12th/Aug

At 8am our group meet at the tour operator's office. There was Dan, Rich, Donna, 2 german girls whose names I forget, Joe, John and myself!!! Let the adventure begin. We had to drive for 3 hours first in a jeep to get to where we would meet our guide.

When we arrived we unloaded the jeep with all our supplies and loaded them into our baot that would take us down the river to our camp. After everything was loaded and we were introduced to our guide.... who Im going to call Ben because I actually cant remember his name and I never wrote it down........ off we went. The boat ride down the river was unreal. Literally every meter on the river bed there was an alligator. There were spider monkeys, countless types of birds, some crazy hamster like creature that was the size of a hippo and get this..... PINK DOLPHINS. WOW. The boat ride took nearly 3 hours as Ben went slow so we could see everything.

We eventually pulled up to our camp that would be home for the next two nights. The camp was cool. It was all built on high wodden stilts (so the alligators dont eat you when your sleeping) and we had a cabin to ourselves. We were fed a snack and then watched the sunset over the river which was stunning. We then had dinner and amazing meal and headed to the common room for cards and beers.

13/Aug

ANACONDA HUNTING..... Yes you heard, I was actually going into swamp land to look voluntary for Anacondas Ha. After a delicious brekkie (I have to note that I have been so so lucky that any of these types of trips Iv done I have eaten like a King!) off we went to the SWAMP. God I can tell you it was tough going. Walking through mud, in wellies and in the baking heat is not easy. I think we walked for an hour in this type of terrain before we headed into dryer land. We had zero luck with finding any Anacondas in the swamp which everyone was pretty dissapointed about. We then walked through some more jungle-ish terrain, all the time still on the hunt for the Anacondas. Our guide and co-guide knew exactly where to look for them but we had zero luck. We did however manage to find lots and lots of snake skins about the place. They were pretty cool but stank!

And then just as we had given up Ben lept into action and nabbed an Anaconda! I was releaved and dissapointed that it wasnt the bad boy that ate Jennifer Lopez in the movie, but I suppose if it was that guy Id have been eaten. Anyway we caught a snake wahoooo. I toucjed it for a split second but Il admit I was too chicken to hold it much longer than that. The poor guy got tormented but us for a while and then we let him off to do his thing. We were the only group fro our camp to have caught an Anaconda that morning.... they are shy little guys!

On the trek back to the boat we came across something very sad. A poor cow had gotten its self stuck in some ud. It had apparently been there for a few days. It was still alive but barely. Our guide and the lads from the group did their best to try and get it out. They did but it was so week it couldn't stand up. It was all bud dead so the most humane thing to do was to kill it. We walked off and our guide slit its throat :(

After lunch and a well needed siesta we went Parahna fishing. Like Im typing these sentences and  Im likexcuse me you did what?! ha Yes Parahnas, the guys that will rip the flesh off your skin in a second! 

On the way back to cam our guide got very excited. There was a Tapier swimming in the water! They are very rarely seen by anyone and so it was a rare and wonderful treat for all of us.

We headed up the river in the boat and hopped off at a small bank where there were no alligators. The fishing was tedious... I was the first out of everyone to catch something but unfortunatly it was a sardine not a parahna! We did a miserable job with the fishing, we only caught two.... and it was our guide who caught them!

We then headed further up the river to a spot on the riverbank where there was another camp. Here we watched sunset and even had a game of football against one of the other groups.
After it got dark we headed back to camp for dinner. On the way we all got out our torches and shined them at the water. By doing this we were able to see all the alligators eyes glowing! It was so cool. They are evil things just staring yellow eyed at you from the water.
After another serious meal, beers and many many games of Uno we headed to bed.

14th/Aug

Today was the last day of the tour. Up at 6am to go and watch sunrise. A very early start but worth it!! Then it was back to the camp to have some grub. Today was probably the most anticipated day as we would get to go swimming in the river with the pink dolphins.
Apparently when the pink dolphins are around all the other bad guys that might be in the river swim away! So we got the boat down to a spot in the river where the dolphins are known to hang around ..... AND IN WE GOT. Ugh it felt rotten, the bottom of the river was muddy and slimy and there was always that fear that a gator was going to eat your leg off! What was scary was the alligators on the river bank that were just staring at us like we were dinner!!! But it was great fun, the dolphins were there although they didn't come too close to us.
After lunch we got the boat back to where we had started the trip and then got the jeep back to  Rurrenabaque.

We all checked back into the Army Base, cheap and cheerful! After a little siesta it was party time in the Jungle ... cocktails and tequila all round!

La Paz

Im sitting in a bus station in Tucamon, Argentina waiting for my 1am (14hour) bus to Mendoza. I have a two hour wait but Iv no internet.... I dont fancy ready the book I have its hard work, so Im catching up with the blog in Windows note pad and I will copy it over later.... I am a genius!!

La Paz

La Paz again is a city I really liked but one which I had heard really bad stuff about! Again it just goes to show that you can hear all the travel talk you want on the trail but it really does come down to your own opinion. I had heard off a number of people that it was dangearous etc but I felt fine walking around DURING THE DAY. Once again the usual rules apply.... be safe etc etc. Now Im not silly even the hostel had signs up saying DO NOT GO OUT ON YOUR OWN AT NIGHT. So I didnt and all was well.
Im up a little higher again. La Paz is at 4000ft above sea level. The air is getting thinner all the time and its a city full of hills, damn it!!

7th/Aug

We were up at a decent hour this morning to run across to the Wild Rover and see if we could get a dorm. We did, success!! After getting comfy into our new home myself, Ash and Edel decided to go walk about. We were keen to explore the 'witches market' and see what it was all about.

The main square in La Paz is a busy place, the traffic is so heavy that .... listen to this ..... they have volunteers that are dressed up as Zebras to help you cross the road! It is the weirdest thing ever! And they people in the suits are jumping about the place happy as larry. I used to love holding hands and walking across the road with one of them hahaha!

We walked about the place and did the usual exploring. Then we got to the market. MY god, Iv said already how cheap Bolivia is but Il say it again. Bolivia is cheap. I could have shopped non stop but Ijust dont have the room. The main items that are on sale is 'Alpahcha' wear. Alpacha is an animal similar to a Llama, Im not 100% sure of the differences but I know Alpacha live higher up the mountains and their fur is warmer. Anyway every Gringo will have a piece of Alpacha on them!! Gloves, scarf, hat, socks, leg warmers you name it you can get it. You may have seen my photos where Im sporting my red Llama jumper.... a bargin at €8 (although I did pick this up in Cusco not La Paz) I love it and I never take it off. So as you can imagine we spent hours walking around the hundreds of places you can shop and it was great!! All I picked up was a tiny purse that cost me a euro, like I said I just dont have the room, my case is already bursting.

We finally came to the 'witches section' of the market which was a little dissapointing although we did see some weird shit such as dead baby Llama featuses. SICK.

Now every Sunday the wild rover sends a bus from the hostel to Bolovias version of WWF wrestleing. Yes I cant believe it either but I said Id go alone for the craic. The bus left the hostel at 4pm. On the way to the wrestling we stopped at a view point overlooking La Paz. My god its some city, it is VAST and sprawling and pretty impressive.

The wrestling I can honestly say was the worst 3 hours of my life. Ok maybe the first 10 seconds were a novelty but after that it was SHITE. I dont even want to waste my time talking about it. Luckily I was with the girls so we made our own fun.
We decided to treat ourselves that night and headed to The Steakhouse. This is the type of place you go to at home and pay €50 for a steak. I paid €18, expensive by Bolivian standards but well worth it. And it wasnt just any steak it was a Llama steak. Yes I went there I ate one of the cuttest animals on the planet and it was delicious ha!
After dinner we headed back to the Wild Rover for some serious wild antics :P

8th/Aug

Hangover day.... We managed to leave the hostel for a Korma at about 10 that night but apart from that the day was a write off!

9th/Aug

Spent today walking around La Paz, chilling in the square and the girls went mad in the market again. Ash and Edel are both teachers and were on the good aul teachers holidays so they had loads of roo to stock upon Alpacha crap! ha After the shopping spree we went for a loverly GnT. We really know how to spoil ourselves (dont we girls ;) It was their last night in La Paz so a far well night out was in order. We went mad..... again. Oooops.

10th/Aug

Not in the greatest of shape today and the girls left me this morning for Rio Booo :( Its the hardest thing about travelling, you meet great people but everyone has their own route and has to go their own way in the end.
I did manage to do somthing productive today and booked a trip to the Amazon!! Bolivias share of the Amazon is in Rurai, located on the opposite side of the country to La Paz so an inexpensive internal flight is required to get there.
Bag packed (again), early night.... the jungle awaits me.