Getting Smashed in La Paz

When I last wrote we were about to get on a bus from Uyuni to La Paz. It was an 8 hour overnight bus ride and we were hoping to get some sleep. On first inspection, the seats seemed nice and roomy, so that it might be possible to sleep. We even got served a half decent meal.

Amy felt so comfortable, she took a sleeping tablet. This combined with the intense tiredness of the last few weeks made Amy somewhat delirious, actually it was like she was intensely drunk. As we started to leave she decided to go to the toilet (I do have permission to tell this story by the way). The bus began rocking and rolling and Amy’s first issue was staying on the toilet. The window was also open so she was also waving to people as they went by. Next issue arose as Amy tried to get re-dressed. She managed to get her undies on, started pulling up her thermals when a big bump bounced her against the door which she had forgotten to lock. She bounced out, basically into the astonished laps of a couple of guys in the backseat! Resurrecting her dignity she returned to us, raving slightly incoherently about the adventure that had been.

We expected at least Amy to be able to sleep after this, but then people started putting their seats back, causing everyone else to do the same and the space between the back of the chair and the next seat was not enough for a grown human leg, well at least a western grown human leg! Add to that the Bolivian roads. La Paz is the capital, Uyuni is the capital of a major province. The road linking them is constantly corrugated, to the point where your skin starts to itch like you have had a massage (not that it feels like a massage) and the bus has to be stopped every now and then to check for mechanical stability!

Anyway, we got to La Paz at about 5.30am and made it to our hostel. We were really lucky in that our room was ready so we went straight up and crashed out for all the morning. We emerged to eat some lunch, find an ATM, catch up on some email and have dinner, before crashing again.

Today we were up for a bit more action. After a slowish start we headed out to find a museum of gold antiquities. We headed up the hill. For those of you who don’t know anything about La Paz, it is built in an incredibly steep valley. The poorer you are, the higher you live (i.e. at the higher altitude) but everywhere you go, you go up and down stairs. It is really hard to describe just how vertical this city is, and being at 3,600m (given the steepness of the city I’m not sure where they take this measurement) it is hard work walking about.

We found the museum and there was a bit of confusion about how to get in, so first we went to a museum of musical instruments. It was actually really fascinating! It even had a mummy in it, and many instruments which fit the description “blow your own trumpet”!! We enjoyed it a lot, although the birds in their really cute little house in the courtyard (some kind of parrot) were a highlight.

From there we went though a couple of other random museums till we got to the metal museum which was great. The various crowns, pins, coins, earrings of the Inca and Tiwinaki (a tribe who were very predominant in this area prior to the Inca for hundreds of years) etc were fascinating and beautiful.

We headed to find some lunch and found a really cute place but it was only serving drinks so we each had a juice then headed to find some more food. We stopped on the way to find toilet paper and tissues and were headed to a bakery we had seen previously when I got hit by a truck.

At this point I should tell you a bit about Bolivian traffic. It runs to rules which are invisible to us, on roads with no line markings or few signs, however we have figured out when it is safe to cross roads. I was standing well inside the pavement when a truck mounted the pavement and I got hit in the back of the head with the side mirror. This spun me into the door handle which caught me square in the middle of the back before Anna pulled me out of the way before the sharp corner of the truck’s tray could get me. Amy reckons he took a good foot off the pavement so I was lucky not to get a foot run over.

I was initially a bit shaken but am fine. It is a mystery to all of us as to how he didn’t see us, as I am roughly twice the height of many people here. I kid you not, I keep walking past women who quite literally come up to my waist and most men don’t even make it to my shoulder.

Anyway, we found the bakery (see I really was fine, I was still focused on food) and got some lunch. We headed back to our hostel and could hear band music playing. We had been there a little while when I looked out the window and saw a procession going by a street up. We headed up to the fourth floor (you have no idea how exhausting it is sprinting two floors at altitude) but Anna and I decided we wanted a close up view, so we took off up the street. The procession was great, a brass band with heaps of groups of dancers. There were men in masks, ladies in full skirts, younger women in tiny outfits you would more expect to see in the Philippines. At each street the police cut off the traffic, it was all a bit chaotic but great. As far as we could work out it was a parade in support of the electrical workers union, but it is hard to figure it all out.

Amy had a bit of a nap in the afternoon, Anna and I have been planning our trip to Cuzco in a week or so, and have spent the afternoon in the bar which is very warm and comfortable (we haven’t been drinking all the time – really). Tomorrow we are off to the Amazon.

Blog Update

Hi All,

We have been offline as we toured around south western Bolivia, but I have kept blogging, even if I couldn´t post them. To catch up with the adventures start with the post ¨Horsing about town¨.

I hope you are all happy, health and enjoying our adventures.

Love,

Lisa :)

Salt Lakes Tour - Day 4

After getting to bed after 11pm, not having had a good night´s sleep since the tour started, we weren´t thrilled about the idea of getting up at 5am. But get up we did.

We were quickly in the car, and on the road. It was so cold that our breath froze on the inside of the car windows, so our driver and guide kept having to scrape the ice off the INSIDE of the windscreen!!!

We arrived in the middle of the salt flats about 5 minutes before sunrise and boy was it hard getting out of the car (Anna and Amy didn´t) but I´m really glad I did. It was simply stunning. Hopefully when I get a chance to add some photos to the blogs (we have been only able to use Internet cafes recently) you will get some idea, but really, despite being so cold it felt like my toes were going to fall off, it was a wonderful experience.

The salt flats are the largest in the world, to give you some idea of scale, you could fit Hong Kong in them 10 times over. We went from the spot we had watched the sun rise to an island in the middle of the salt flats which is covered in giant cactuses, some over 900 years old. We walked to the top, then came down for breakfast.

After food, we headed out into the middle of the white and took some fab photos which play with perspective. They really are great, come back in a few days and hopefully I will have them up.

Our final stop was a small town where I bought my first Alpaca item, a scarf, for the equivellent of $A7. It is lovely, and importantly, warm! We had lunch then made the final trip to Uyuni. We are getting a bus to La Paz from here tonight, so to fill in time we found a hostel and had showers - our first since we left Tupiza. It was one of the grottiest showers I have ever been in (thank god for thongs - jandles for you in NZ) but the water was warm and it is wonderful to feel clean, rather than dust crusted.

The tour was great. At the beginning Archie told us it was Adventure Tourisim, to be positive and to be flexible. We have lived by each of those and at times have been freezing and frustrated but overall, it has been a really great 4 days.

Salt Lakes Tour - Day 3

We had to be up and ready by 8am even though it was unlikely the car would arrive before 10am, so after we had packed and eaten breakfast, we headed out into the sun to try to get warm. Best estimates put last night at something less than minus 10 degrees.

The kids of the area quickly swarmed around and we played games with them. First we taught them ¨Twinkle Twinkle Little Star¨and then Ïncy Wincy Spider¨then we played hopscotch (which they already knew), had piggy back races and kicked around an empty bottle. It was then that Anna suggested we play Duck, duck, goose - but they had their own version, llama, llama, alpaca! It was so cute, we had a brilliant time. Anna, Amy and I ended up sitting in the sun with the smallest ones on our laps while Nida and Matt played a kind of skittles game with the kids.

As you might have guessed from all these activities, 10am had come and gone with no sign of the car. Archie told us it looked like we would have to spend another night there, so we had lunch, unsuccessfully tried to light the fire with damp dried moss (which is what they burn) and anything else to hand, then rugged up to read in bed.

At 3pm the car arrived, having been fixed overnight, and Archie told us we were going on. We quickly packed up and first stop was the red lagoon. This is where the flamingos breed in Summer, but even being winter, there were flamingos to be seen. The red colour of the lake is due to the plankton in the water which is what the flamingos eat, and also what gives them their red colour. It was really exciting to see them, although it was incredibly windy and pretty cold by then.

We continued on past a few more lagoons, including one where we got quite close to young flamingos (they were still grey) and saw several volcanos etc. The scenery is rather spectacular, although Anna couldn´t help comparing the sight of lagoons and volcanos to New Zealand and found she really rather prefers home.

The original plan had been to take a road which would be a bit easier on the newly repaired car, however it was much longer and it was getting late so we went the tricky route. This meant at one stage we had to walk down a rocky hillside in the dark, went through a small salt flat and ghost town in the dark, and generally missed out on seeing a big chunk of countryside.

We couldn´t make it all the way to the accomodation originally destined for us, so we got into our alternate accomodation at about 9.30pm. They served us up a fantastic meal - at about 10.30pm - but by then we were all too tired and cold to enjoy it. Add to that, we have to get up at 5am tomorrow to see the sun rise over the salt flats and we are not really happy campers.

It was lovely playing with the kids this morning and they especially loved it because the tourists never stay around long enough to do that, and the flamingos were great but the rest of the day has been a bit of a let down.

Salt Lakes Tour – Day Two

At dinner last night (a huge meal of soup followed by llama schnitzel, potatoes and salad), Archie our guide broke the news that not only was it likely to be minus 10 overnight, we had to get up at 5am. Thrilled by this news we went straight to bed – and all lay there awake. In the middle of the night, Amy made a midnight dash to the toilet. Anna followed with warm jackets etc and she was ok. We think it was an altitude related issue.

We had a bit of a delayed start due to the alarm not going off, but dressed quickly due to the cold. After breakfast we jumped in the truck (knee blankets in hand) and headed off. First stop was the ruins of a Spanish settlement founded in 16th century. It was absolutely freezing!!!! But really interesting, it was founded there to mine silver and the ruins were great. In them we saw these cute creatures. Related to the chinchilla, they look like big rabbits with long tails.

As soon as we could we got back in the truck. I was so cold my fingers were incredibly painful.
Next up was the white lagoon, the first of a series of lagoons, the stinky lagoon, the soap lagoon and the green lagoon. They are all named after the properties they get from the various minerals in the lake. In summer this is where the flamingos come, but of course being winter there are none around. What there are is vicunas they are like small llamas and have incredibly soft wool, but they are protected here in the national parks.

We were heading towards lunch and most of us were nodding off when we came to a screaming stop. Anna heard something and though we had blown a tire but when we got out we discovered the front axel had broken! We were incredibly lucky that they driver (Marty – we love him) could stop us safely, it must have been so close to flipping and given none of us were wearing seatbelts, I was in the middle and there wasn’t even a seatbelt to be had, we would have been in big trouble.

Luckily the tours travel in a kind of convoy and we were in the middle so it wasn’t long till another truck came by. Our guide jumped in their truck and headed to the next town to get help. We helped Marty jack up the truck by carting big rocks over in the driving wind.
Archie was soon back with another truck which we loaded with our stuff. Marty has jerry rigged the truck and is getting it fixed at a borax refinery tonight and will pick us up tomorrow.

We headed to lunch which was at a hot spring. Matt, Nida and Amy got into swimmers and dived in but Anna and I couldn’t face getting changed in the freezing cold so we just dangled our legs. Anna unfortunately also managed to dangle her track pants so needed a change of pants as well!

After lunch we continued on to the various lagoons, saw the Dali desert which resembles the rocks in his paintings Melting Clocks and The Metamorphosis of Narcissus then saw some boiling mud. As most of us have been to Rotorua it wasn’t too impressive.

Finally we arrived at our accommodation for the night. It is a big domintary type building, although our group has its own room. Tonight we have been told it could get to minus 25 – mmmm, looking forward to that. Luckily Archie can make empty 2L water bottles into hot water bottles so we should be ok, but I’m already blowing steam as I type this in the room.

We have a later start tomorrow as Marty is coming back for us in the repaired truck so at least we will be spared getting up super early. Still having a brilliant time though.

Salt Lakes Tour – Day 1

We had a few issues getting our tour paid for, so were slightly concerned this morning about if we were on it or not, but sure enough we were. There had also been some issues about having an English speaking guide and they wanted us to pay extra but we were able to prove they had never told us of extra costs, so we have one without payment. We paid, collected our packs which were loaded on top of a 4 wheel drive and met the other people coming on our tour, Matt and Nida. They are both from Perth (Nida from Germany originally) and are really lovely.

We set off out of Tupiza and up into the hills. It was pretty cramped in the back of the truck but we were fine. Just outside of Tupiza we came across a really lovely sight, a caravan of donkeys being driven down to town. They were beautifully decorated, with little tassels on their ears and big lumps of salt on their backs. The caravan was at the end of a 3 month journey from the salt flats in the highlands, they bring the salt down to Tupiza, along with herbs that come from the highlands to sell, then make the journey back. It was a real treat seeing them.

Our first stop was this hugely high point where you could see the Valley of the Moon. It was amazingly weathered, a stunning sight!

From there we continued along really high mountain passes, we have spent most of the day at over 3,500m and are staying at 4,220m tonight. Our highest spot was 4,500m!

We stopped for lunch in a small town. It is all mud brick and thatch roof but solar powered (PV of course but I took a photo for you Dad). As we arrived they were sending out a herd of goats. After they had left, another herd, this time of kids (baby goats, not children) accompanied by a puppy were sent out. They were training it to herd goats, very cute!!!

We had lunch, tamales, which are made of a kind of corn meal dough wrapped around llama meat flavoured with chili and pepper. They are steamed inside corn husks and taste fantastic. We also had rolls filled with cheese, ham and salad. It was great.

After lunch we played soccer with some of the local kids. Dad you will be pleased to know that your lessons paid off and after a couple of practice air kicks, I managed to stop the ball and kick it back quite effectively. While we were playing the oldest little boy suddenly stopped and took off at a run. The kid goats had got on the roof of one of the houses (they are sort of built into the hillside) and were eating the thatch. He chased them off but it was incredibly cute.

We continued on, but not long later we blew a tire. I heard it go and we pulled over. While we were waiting the radio was left on so Anna and I did a bit of ceroc in the desert. It is hard though, dancing on rock and lose soil at altitude.

Our next stop was when we came around a corner and saw a ute which had its back tire out over a ravine. It was mid afternoon and they had been there since last night which must have been freezing. Another tour was just behind us so the drivers, guides and all the guys from the tours got in and helped them lift it out. The women of the tours contributed by clapping and taking photos, we were a big help. They got clear, but hopefully they continued ok because they had kept themselves warm last night by drinking.

We drove on for several hours through some great landscapes. It was beautiful, but very cold. Even in the sun (which is really hot when you are in the car) there are big ice sheets in the creeks. At one of the river flats there were some girls selling things made out of llama wool. Amy and I each got a beanie with ear flaps and Anna got a headband/ear warmer. They also had ostrich feather gloves which were really soft and interesting but we doubted we could get them home through quarantine.

Finally we arrived at our accommodation for the night. It is a little local place, room is ok but it will be absolutely freezing, thank god for thermals and sleeping bags. We have donned our thermals, had a lovely cup of tea (getting to the end of our Twinnings English Breakfast) and are awaiting dinner while the guides fix the tire. It has been a great day.

Horsing about town

Amy woke up with a migraine today. We think it had been brewing for awhile but the altitude change probably didn’t help. As a result, after breakfast she went back to bed.

Anna and I headed over to our tour operator for the salt lakes tour which is starting tomorrow to finalise things. We have to go back later tonight to pay as they were still waiting on the last people to confirm and the price changes depending on numbers. While there we also changed some of our US dollars into Boliviarios. Tupiza is really a small town and there are no ATMs at all or any banks open on a Sunday!

We then headed off on our horse ride. It was a real pity Amy missed out because it was great fun, just me, Anna, our guide who looked maybe 12 years old and our horses. Anna’s horse was nice and placid, mine was a bit of a bolter! Also according to Anna who was mostly behind me, my horse was a farter. Unlike trail rides in Australia or NZ there were no waivers to sign, no helmets to wear (when I can put up photos you will see we did get great leather gaucho hats) and the minute we were off the road we were cantering. Given the length of time it has been since I’ve been on a horse I thought I managed ok, although it wasn’t very graceful and I will admit to holding on the saddle a bit!

Our tour took us up to some major landmarks, the devils gate and the Inca canyon. Both are pretty spectacular rock formations but after the amazing landscape around Salta they weren’t that brilliant. At the canyon we got off our horses and walked up for a bit to take photos and do a quick strip off of thermals away from prying eyes as the day had got nice and warm. It was lovely. We met another tour group including a girl who had decided she didn’t like her horse and wanted to walk back. Now we had been riding for about 1.5 hours at this point and the tracks we took were intersected with many varied other options so Anna and I didn’t think she was making a wise decision, but we have seen her in town so she did make it.

We left the canyon, this time with my horse third and started another canter. The path was wide so my horse decided this was his opportunity to bolt to the front! It was a pretty wild ride but I stayed on, kind of got him under control (I think he was just happy to be at the front) and everyone caught up. From then on he looked for any opportunity to get away so I had an interesting time keeping him on the straight and narrow.

The trail got a bit more interesting from there. We had a couple of small jumps over eroded channels, up and down some steep trails and through quite dense scrub. The bushes are covered with long thorns and there are lots of cactuses, both the tall, many armed ones as well as low groundcover ones. Unfortunately there is lots and lots and lots of rubbish everywhere. Just think of one of our national parks filled with old garbage and stray dogs. Towards the end of the ride we came across an old, traditionally dressed woman driving a huge herd of goats. It was really cute as they wandered along eating anything and everything and with tiny little kids crying out for their mums.

In that section, we passed a couple of dogs who barked as us. As we headed up onto the road however, they tore after Anna’s horse barking and biting at him. Anna kept him under control really well as our guide raced back to hold them off. We picked up some speed to get away but they were really tenacious, chasing after us and trying to get to the horses with our guide in between for blocks. It was a fairly exciting end to a really fun morning.

By the time we got back Amy was feeling lots better so we had a nice lunch and then a wander about the town. We were pretty tired by then, so we ended up sitting on the curb in the sun opposite our hostel watching two very cute little dogs managing their patch of turf from a door stoop. Since then we have had showers as last night all the pipes froze so we are not planning on being able to have showers in the morning before we head off to the salt lakes.