¿Is it me or is the air a bit thin up here?

Greetings from La Paz, the world´s highest capital city, sitting at a mere 3660m elevation. Yes, indeed the air is a little bit thin up here. For me, however, La Paz is feeling pretty good as I´ve just arrived this morning from what is arguably the world´s highest city (depending on what population defines a ´city´), Potosi, at 4060m. If you had told me that I could be winded by changing my pants, or taking a shower, I might have once scoffed. Now I know it to be entirely possible. And, while Potosi´s hight sounds impressive, a few days previously, I visited and slept at elevations nearing 5000 feet. So, to me, the La Paz air is (arguably) refreshing.

So much has happened since I sat in the lovely town of Tupiza. Things move so quickly. I did finally manage to leave Tupiza on a four day tour through the southern Bolivian altiplano (high planes of the Andes) headed towards the salt flats of Uyuni. These tours in and around Uyuni are breathtaking and take you through a diverse variety of georgeous landscapes and natural wonders. Most standard trips are three days, but a trip from Tupiza adds a day to the journey. The first day we spent driving through red rocks, impressive volcanic carvings (El Sillar) and general mountain views. While it is lovely to see, it is certainly not the most impressive part of the journey. The first night´s accomodations lived up to the promise of ´basico´(basic) as we slept in simple concrete rooms with little to no insulation (a common trait in a country that has extreme temperature fluctuations).

The second day was an early one as we awoke to the frigid cold (somewhere in the range of -2-5C) and were off to visit the deserted town of San Antonio. Our guide informed us that the town was abandoned due to problems with water, but it´s more fun to believe the ghost stories that surround various Gods-spirits angered by gold exploitation. The remainder of the day was filled with more beautiful sites as we drove along side various volcanoes and numerous volcanic rocks that have been died glorious shades of pink, white, brown and sometimes hues of orange, red and yellow by millions of years of volcanic activity. The first markable volcano that we saw was Volcan Uturuncu. Nearby the rocks begin the change and soon take on the colour of icecream. One of the most beautiful mountains lacked a name, so I took to calling it Neopolitan for obvious reasons. For me, one of the most breathtaking parts of the four day tour was The Piedras de Dali (or Dali´s rocks). The rocks are named after the artist due to their vibrant and surreal appearance. These rocks are a vivid red, yellow and orange colour and as you approach them, it is hard not to imagine clocks melting and stick men with oversized legs bearing down on you. It is as if Dali himself willed them there. The day continued with lunch at volcanic hotsprings and while the morning had been cold, midday proved to be a perfect time to strip down and soak. Certainly the warmest part of the four days. After lingering somewhat at the springs(much to the chagrin of our guide), we were back on the road and headed in the direction of impressive Volcan Licancabur. When we finally arrived at the volcano, the sun had moved and the wind was bittingly cold. Nonetheless the view of the volcano and the famous laguna verde (green lake--green due to various mineral deposits--recently the site of the world record breaking ´world´s highest dive´with a diver diving in a crater at nearly 6000m) at its foot is lovely. By now the day had grown late and we rushed our way to a field of very active geisers. It´s amazing to see the power and force with which they shoot hot air out of the earth. It was, however, hard to get out of the truck as the winds were blowing at full speed and they were cold! It is here that we hit the highest altitude of our journey, measuring at 5000ft. Almost nothing lives up there... By now we were tardy. This was both rewarded and punished as we both enjoyed a georgeous sunset and subjected our guide, Christian, to unnecessary stress as he was forced to navigate dirt, desert roads in the dark. After a slight detour (and a slight miss with a ditch), we arrived at our second (and coldest) night´s basic accomodation. Our cook Esmerelda delivered another tasty meal and we were off early to bed as the temperature that night reached a temperate -15C. Thin air too!

Day three, up bright and early to see the absolutely wonderful Laguna Colorada (Coloured lake). This mineral rich lake can look red, brown, green, blue...and reflects a proud volcano situated behind it. It is also the home of flamingos!! Sadly, not too many at this lake... It´s winter here and a bit frio. But more of those later. After the laguna we were off to some volcanic rocks that have been worn by millions of years by water and wind. The most famous of those is a rock there resembles a tree (Arbol de Piedra). Shortly after, the landscape once again changes drastically as we approached a series of lakes shadowed by snow capped mountains/volcanos. The often frozen lakes are majestic and beautifully dot the landscape reflecting the impressive mountains. The last of these lakes, Laguna Canapa, is home to a good many pink flamingos. It is here we lunched. The remainder of the afternoon was spent driving in the mountains, checking out volcanic rocks and marveling at a smoking volcano. At a more reasonable hour than the previous day, we checked into a hostel made of salt. Salt bricks, salt floors, tables, chairs, ceilings, light fixtures. A veridable salt shrine. Common on the borders of the salar (prohibited inside--except for one instance), no visit to the salt flats is complete without a night in a salt hotel. The evening was spent playing cards and licking walls (well, I only licked once!).

Day four, the salar. The magical, psychedelic, surreal, salar. The world´s largest salt flat. A sea trapped in mountains. Water evaporated and salt left behind, sometimes as thick as 20m. The formidable highlight to any visit to this region. And I, was sick. Yup, I believe it was the potato-cheese balls that constituted my vegetarian lunch the day before. Whatever it was, I was surely uncomfortable that day (and the night previous). So, when our truck failed to start (a fairly common occurance as our jeep seemed to be the worst in the pack), and we missed the supposedly spectacular sunrise in the salar, I was only moderately annoyed. I cannot say the same for my travel companions, as seeing the sun rise out of a stark white desert of salt is meant to be a lifetime experience.... A bit late, we were off. Me properly sedated by various medicaments. We stopped at the incorrectly labeled Isla de Pescadas (Island of Fish__The island¨s real name escapes me). The flats have 14 small islands, but only one was included in our tour. In the middle of this vast sea of salt is this small, rocky island inhabited by tons and tons of huge cacti. A stark sea of white and a small island permitting life. It is here that I saw the weird cousin of the rabbit (another name that escapes me): Nice to wander about the island. Then we were off on a several hour drive through the stark desert of salt. As mentioned (and documented by photos) in a previous blog entry, the salar makes a great spot for optical illusion photography as the stark white messes with one´s sense of perspective. We, of course, stopped to play with photos and I mostly slept as we crossed the salar (I am officially calling this endemic 'Bolivia belly', or 'Boli belly' for short). Our tour ended in the town of Uyuni with a visit to a train cemetary, an impressive and interesting site where trains go to die.

An amazingly beautiful and enjoyable adventure. If described somewhat late and in scattering detail... I am days behind on blogs (this is my third time attempting this entry)...sit tight, more to come.

Much love from Copacabana, Bolivia (I´ll catch us up soon),
Amy