The eerie, the odd, and the fantastic: Bolivia.
Our jeep climbed higher and higher as the journey to the world’s largest salt flat continued, forging through rivers of frozen sludge and eerie landscapes at 15,000 ft. People on our tour were starting to get altitude sickness, but fortunately for us we had 4 newly graduated Irish Pharmacists in our group, who generously handed out Diamox pills like they were Reese’s pieces. We stopped off at the natural thermal hot springs of Kollpa Laguna. The water was as inviting as a hot bath but getting in was tricky. The slippery rocks on the bottom made for some very ungraceful entries. Then we came up to our first Lagoon, Laguna Verde. Its hypnotic green color is from a high content of arsenic and magnesium. Do not drink this water! Rising up out of the lagoon is an inactive volcano, Volcano Licanabur. As we drove the landscape continued to get more and more fantastic. Beautiful pink mountains captured our imaginations through the Desierto de Dali Forests of intriguing stone formations seem to crop up out of nowhere and surround our vehicle. We reached the far off geothermic land of Sol de Manana (Sun of Tomorrow). Fitting name, because it was there where I begin to wonder if I was still in fact in South America or if I was indeed trapped in some sort of futuristic world of another time. Here the ground is littered with craters of lava and boiling mud, the air is filled with the deafening screams of hundreds of geysers, and the smell of sulfur is thick signaling intense volcanic activity. The Laguna Colorado is indescribably beautiful. Its brilliant red color is due to the pigments of algae chlorophyll deposited at the bottom of the lagoon. The large deposits of alga is what attracts the large number of flamingos. It’s a very odd and surreal thing to see flamingos at almost 18,000 ft above sea level in such raw environment, but just because their pink doesn’t mean that they aren’t tough. We enjoyed some more beautiful lagoons.. and flamingos. And watched the steam come off of an active volcano that is actually located in Chile. That night we settled in our hostel made completely of salt; salt bricks, salt floor, salt chandlers, salt furniture, even salt beds. It was warmer here then any of the other places we had stayed so far, so Ben and I dragged our sleeping bags outside for alittle stargazing. The sky was the clearest I’ve ever seen. I guess being also 18,000 ft up has its advantages. We saw millions of stars and satellites, two falling stars and a one meteorite bursting into flames as it reached the earth’s atmosphere. I think I could have sleep outside all night under those stars, for the first time I actually felt like I was stuck to the side of a giant rock cruising around the sun....
Read MoreOn our way: Surviving the Bolivian Altiplano
There are no paved roads through the mountainous Bolivian countryside from Tupiza to Uyuni only narrow, dirt paths clinging to the sides of mountains. Land travel here is slow at best and fatal at worst. After it rains, dirt paths turn into muddy slip and slides giving nothing for vehicle tires to grab onto.
Read MoreJungle Adventure: Anacondas, Caimans, and Dolphins
We left the cold city of La Paz on a 10 person airplane headed for Rurrenabaque, Bolivia, home to the Beni river and gateway to Madidi National Park. Madidi National Park is Bolivia’s chunk of the Amazon Rainforest and the start to one of our best excursions to date.
Read MoreCholita Wrestling! …oh and La Paz
La Paz is the highest capital city in the world. We can attest to that. We were winded just walking around. La Paz is basically a plateau in the midst of the Andes. It is a great central point for excursions to the rain forest and the amazon basin. As well as some great choilta wrestling.
Read MoreNew Camera!!
Finally!! I lost my camera while sliding down a waterfall in Brazil back in March. Now I have a replacement! We are in Lima and this has been the first major city we’ve been in since Buenos Aires.
Read MoreBolivia Wine Tours in Tarija.
They have a saying in Tarija, “Si usted no va a beber el vino en Tarija entonces por que venir a Tarija?” Translation, “If you are not going to drink the wine in Tarija then why come to Tarija?”
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