nofixedaddress: Bolivia, sleeping in Rock Huts and Salt Hotels

Leaving Chile we spent an hour getting through the Chilean border, which is the main border checkpoint to both Bolivia and Argentina, and it is almost as hard to leave Chile as it is to enter. Then off to Bolivia we go, our driver assured us that the crossing into Bolivia would be a lot quicker. Up over a little rise and there was Bolivian border control, one small building with two border control guys, quick look at the passport, entry stamp and away we go. Five minutes maximum.

Bolivian Border Crossing

After transferring our luggage from Jose Miguel's jeep into Wilson's jeep, apparently the red tape involved to cross the border with clients is incredible, so one driver in Chile, new driver in Bolivia, we set off through the Altiplano traveling north. It is a high altitude rocky desert in the middle of mountain peaks, some of which were volcanic, at least one is still active with steam coming out.

The Altiplano is now a national park and is part of multiple-country effort to protect the sensitive terrain and several species of flora and fauna that are threatened with extinction.
Within the vast mountain desert ranges are a number of lakes named after the color of algae in the water, Laguna Blanco (white), Laguna Verde (green) and Laguna Colorado (red). The brighter the day the more color in the water. All these lakes support massive flocks of South American Flamingo, which was a surprise to me finding these sea level birds at 4500 meters in elevation.

Laguna Colorado

Laguna Blanco

Animals here consist mainly of llamas and vicuña, both of the camel family. Llamas are mostly owned by indigenous farmers and are the largest of the four South American camel families. Vicunas are a much smaller undomesticated animal.

Vicunas

There are also foxes, small wild cats and various types of smaller rabbit and rodents. Most are very rare and sightings are special. We did however find one little rabbit hanging out on the trail looking for treats.

Bolivian Rabbit

The first day we climbed to 5000 meters which is much too fast to acclimatize and we all suffered from a bit of altitude sickness. At lunch we were short of breath and as the day went on we all had migraines and felt like we had the flu.

Lunch in the desert

Then Keenan and Loreen sampled the waters at a hot pool in the middle of the Altiplano.

Hot Pool

That night we stayed in a rock hotel on the Altiplano that is managed by a local Indigenous family. The hotel is totally constructed out of native rock, except the bed frames which were concrete. The generator is turned on from 6:00-10:00 pm, and then lights out. The water is heated with solar power so you have to make sure you take your shower when you arrive. With the hotel located at 4400 meters, the nights get very cold, in fact there was ice and some snow the next morning. We all spent the night with splitting headaches and insufficient sleep. We still enjoyed the day, our guide/driver, the hotel and the staff, if not the night.

Rock Hotel

Next morning after cold water washes (a good way to wake up), we enjoyed a nice breakfast accompanied by cups and cups of mate de coco, a tea made from coco plant leaves that helps fight altitude sickness. Then off down the trail on a 200 kilometer drive to Uyuni and the Salar (salt flats).

We descended through some pretty wild mountain passes, including one that is located on a portion of the Inca trail used to go between Peru and northern Chile and Argentina. This pass is one vehicle wide through broken shale rock with house size volcanic rocks sitting on the slopes above the trail, seemingly just balancing in the shale. I was thinking that this little pass must be pretty wild with water flow as the snow in the highlands melts.

Pass got steeper and the rocks bigger as we descended

The altiplano is located amongst a number of old volcanic mountains that have spewed forth huge volcanic rocks. These rocks are scattered across the altiplano and some are the size of large buildings and come in various shapes. Some of the formations have been caused by wind and water erosion while others are the result of the molten rock cooling. One are called the rock garden is several kilometers in size.

Volcanic rock named the Tree of Life

Volcanic rock named the Condor

Tonight we stayed in a hotel located on the edge of the salt flats. The hotel is totally made of salt formed into bricks and then built like a brick house. Only the roof was not salt, but made of poles covered with reed mats. It did have all the amenities, hot water, etc., but no electricity. Seems a thunderstorm had taken out the electricity between the hotel and the village, so we dined by candle light, not sure what we ate, but it tasted good!

Built entirely of salt

Inside the Salt Hotel

Then the salt flats, an area some 12,000 square kilometers of salt from centimeters to 28 meters in depth. Blinding white for miles and for vast areas no horizon, just a vague line where the salt and sky meet. As it is the rainy season large portions of the flats were covered by water, and as the surface looks like ice, I wondered about breaking through. There are areas where you can get bogged done in the salt, but the tour drivers and village buses that roar back and forth are well aware of the bad areas, so we had no mishaps.

12,000 square kilometers all the same!

Our guide/driver set up a nice picnic table and chairs on the salt for our lunch. We dined on llama schnitzel, quinoa (an ancient grain), green salad and Bolivian wine.

Loreen putting me in my place

Keenan, Wilson and Loreen having llama lunch

Then back into Uyuni to visit the train cemetery. It is amazing what you can make into a tourist attraction, this one, the retired engines and cars from the Bolivian train system. As a main terminal for trains, Uyuni received all these retirees and shunted them off to a couple of side tracks. A number have been cut up for parts, mostly it seems to recover the tubing from the boilers. Now a play area for locals and a draw for tourists, these trains sit there and quietly rust away.