Bolivia the Surreal

mmmm the best pizza in south america.
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Uyuni Blivia was not as bad as people said, I had heard it was a dump.  I think other places are worse, and at least Uyuni had some decent pizza, cold beer, and fun people.  We found a tour company (the whole town is made of tour companies) and booked a salt flats 3 day tour. 

The next morning, we bought beer and hopped in our old Jeep (not a 1992 model like our tour company said...), we were also  supposed to have a cook and a guide, but we quickly noticed the only person was our driver and us.  Oh, well.   And we started our journey with a train cemetery just outside of town.  Old steam engines sit rusting all over.  I suppose the iron would be worth a lot, but there is no good way to haul these old trains out of such a remote location.  Next we drove into the salt flats, which was an amazing expanse of white.  You had to wear sun glasses to prevent snow blindness.  We watched people shovelling up massive truckloads of salt to sell for little or nothing.  We visited a hotel made of salt, which was cool, many of the hotels had to be shut down due to contamination of the salt by human waste...

Me in a train- why wont this darn thing start?
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We then went to an ïsland¨ in the middle of the flats where giant cactuses grew- it is thought they are hundreds of years old.  The island was made up of coral- in other words, this area used to be covered with an ocean that used to be teeming with life.  The coral made interesting caves and formations on the island, and I could imagine diving through them at an ancient time.  I guess (but am not totally sure, due to a lack of spanish on my part) that this area used to be part of the ocean but was pushed up from underneath, and now is at an elevation of 4000 meters.  There is still some water which barely covers the salt in some places, the area turns into a mirror after a rain, and it appears as though salt is still bubbling up out of the earth from underneath.  The salt looks different in different locations, some areas look like pebbles, some like craters, others are cracked into hexagon shapes.  Large dead coral reefs line the shores, this ocean must have been warm and amazing during its time- probably full of dinosaurs, it is sad to see it so bleak and dead now.

Train cemetery.
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We arrived at our hostel, which was made of salt (except the roof, for obvious reason).  Someone had mentioned that there were caves with mummies up on the hill, and it was early, so up the hill we went.  Most of the group gave up half way up the hill, and the two of us that kept going did not really find caves, we found some little dents in the ground and no mummies.  We did see some donkeys and a gorgeous sunset, but I have to justify the hellish climb up that hill for nothing...  Anyway we ran down the hill and avoided breaking ankles to get back before dinner and before it got too dark.  Could I mention that there was no salt shaker on the table?...  That evening, our group kept everyone up and got yelled at several times before we finally stopped the drinking games.  The generator turned off after 9pm, but we had candles.  The first time we got yelled at, we went outside and Rodger climbed a pole which cracked and so he fell onto the flimsy roof, which almost broke too.  So we continued inside until finally the drivers yelled at us in spanish.

Salt anyone?
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At 5am we were up, had a cold shower (the shower was free, normally you have to pay), and we continued our journey.  there was a jeep in our fleet that kept breaking down.  We would see them up ahead and know wh it was, and would stp for a while to try to help.  Their vehicle really sucked.  Our driver kept pulling parts out of under our hood and putting them in the other jeep- don´t we need that?  We went to a necroplis where ancient bones were found in the strange coral formations.   Then to a lava flow with bizarre shapes.   This lava flow was at the highest elevation yet, and we could barely climb a rock without getting tired.  There we had lunch, where we had to force the driver to wash his hands prior to preparing our food.

Our group in front of the jeep with driver-cook-guide.
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Now things started to get strange- were there drugs in our lunch?  We rounded a corner and saw a lake full of flaminges.  The lake was white, yellow, and pink and smelled of sulfur.  It was so strange to see such life amidst so much desolation and cold- and such a normally tropical bird.  The flamingoes were eating certain bacteria in the lake.   Dust devils formed on the banks of the lake, on one side from dust and were brown, on the other side they pulled up the white borate powder and were white.  Sometimes three mini tornadoes would form at in one spot and swirl around each other like a dance.  Painted orange, yellow, and brown mountains were in the background.  The ground was covered in rocks, bolders, and strange yellow grass, and the sky was more blue than you can imagine due to a lack of moisture.  As we continued, Vicuñas (which are like small short-haired llamas) could be seen all around on the rocks.  But what were they eating?  There was no grass here, they appeared to be eating rocks.  We passed other lakes, yellowish and reddish in color.  As the landscape became more and more mars like, we decided the only music fitting for the occassion would be The Doors, and it was perfect. 

A Building made of salt.
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We came to another bubbly type of ancient lava flow, and strange moss clung to select rocks like fluorescent coral.  Why the moss only chose certain rocks and completely covered those rocks, while not touching the rock next to them, who knows.  Then came the strangest landscape of all- called the Salvador Dali rock.  This place was so surreal I can hardly explain it well- if you told me I was on Mars, I would have believed you.  The cold wind was roaring so fiercely you could only yell and could barely stand up, and the ground was uniformly covered with pea-sized pebbles that looked machine made.  From this bleakness, a group of huge silent orange boulders stood, carved into bizarre shapes by the constant wind, and in the background there was pretty much nothing but the blue sky- but it was too blue to be familiar.  When you stood behind the rocks, there was instant quiet, warmth, and calm, which was such a contrast.

Huge cacti, 500 years old.
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Our hostel was in a bleak corner around the edge of a sulfurous lake.  Not much to do but contemplate the day and play more drinking games until 1 am.  We played Ï´ve Never¨ and learned way too much about each other.  But we also learned our group of 7 people was the most fun of any other group, and we could not have traded one member or the experience would not have been the same.  Good thing we didnt have a cook, because the experience would not have been the same. 

3 hours later, we woke up and the Surreal started again- we visited geysers and mudpots early in the morning.  Was it elevation 4800 meters, the sulfur stink in the air, lack of sleep, or too much really bad beer (probably a combination) but nobody felt decent that morning.  The landscape was spectacular, with bubbling mud pots belching pink and gray slop, hissing geyers, roaring underground waves, and broiling water, and everything was covered in steam because the air was so cold.  The martian landscape continued until we reached a red lake, which was bright red with white edges and a couple flamingoes, and then a green lake.  The green lake at first did not seem so cool, what was the big deal.  But the guide said wait until the wind blows.  So we waited, slightly doubtful.  And then the wind blew, and as it disturbed the surface of the water, the most brilliant jade green color appeared.  That was amazing.  But our time here was done. 

Island on the salt flats with giant cacti.
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We went to a bus stop and went to San Pedro de Atacama, a town which I found had no visa ATM, was terribly expensive, was dry and dusty.  I was stuck there because the next bus where I needed to go did not leave for 3 days.  Had to western union some cash there.  The most fun I had in this town was sandboarding- we rented bikes and rode in the blazing heat uphill with our boards strappped on our backs for 40mins to the valley of death where there were huge sand dunes.  We drank tons of water, but the instant you swallowed your throat was sore again.   Climbing the dunes was very tough, as you progressed only a couple inches at a time no matter how fast you ran.  I loved going down the huge sand dunes, getting up some great speed, then crashing with a flair and filling every orifice with sand.  I was actually proud of myself that I could do it.  The bike ride home was so fast I thought the wheels would vibrate off my bike, but at least some of the sand blew off.  The ride home took 10 mins or less.  The other highlight of San Pedro was Rodger climbing another pole, the drum party in one of the bars, and the Mojitos there.  It was so sad saying goodbye to everyone I had been travelling with, some since Cusco Peru.  Then I went onto Buenos Aires, Argentina.