Salt Flats

The trip to Uyuni on the bus from La Paz was, I think, the worst bus ride in history, but definitely worth talking about.  Before we left the guy at the hostel said, ¨On this bus ride your¨- and he made the sign of eyeballs popping out.  I wasn´t sure what he meant at first, and figured he was probably exaggerating.  Then came the road- well, I don´t think what we drove on should be considered even a road, and it was a 5 hour trip from 8pm to 3am.  It started out with a friend having to chase down the theif who snatched his backpack in the bus station (the robber dropped it, thank god, so all was well, however exciting). 

All through the night, locals kept piling on the already full bus and were sleeping in rocking heaps on the floor, which was likely more comfy than me constantly banging my head on the wall, or the person next to me, or the ceiling.  The bus rocked and shook so violently, I didn´t think it could have been possible.  The locals all appeared to be asleep- how???  The windows didn´t open, but weren´t really closed either and icy cold wind blew in.  The amount of ventilation was not enough to prevent rivers of condensation from running down the windows (and I had a great window seat).  After 5 hours the bus pulled into town, and it was the best feeling in the whole world just to step off that vehicle.  Luckily no bags of chickens or piglets sat next to me- that would have made it only slightly worse.  Got a hostel for $1.50 and woke at 7am to blaring rock and roll music from the streets below.  Booked a tour for the salt flats-etc for tomorrow. 

I need to mention a few things- the beds are for short people- even shorter than me.  My feet go all the way to the end and I have to untuck the sheets or my feet will go numb.

Also, the elevation.  If you have not experienced elevation, it is something different.  When I first came to the Andes, I had a headache for about 3-4 days, but did not feel out of breath until I went to Cajas at 4100 meters, and then again in Quito.  You walk up a couple steps or a mild hill and you are panting.  As the elevation gets higher, sometimes you are just brushing your teeth and accidentally hold your breath for a minute.  You are left panting and heart beating fast until you get enough oxygen again.  Anything strenuous like hiking and climbing are really tough, but you just rest a minute when you feel out of breath, and then continue.  I am used to the elevation for the most part now.  

I do best in the afternoon or evening, and feel best if there is nothing in my stomach during a hike.  Right after breakfast is the worst time for me to do anything like hiking.  Some people almost panic when they have the feeling of not enough oxygen.  Sometimes sleeping at night is difficult because you take a couple deep breaths, then forget to breathe, then wake up gasping in panic.  It is fun to listen to people in the dorms breathing, because it is so irregular.  But that only happened once to me, and only after a night of drinking.  If you fly straight into La Paz from sea level, you can actually die from acute altitude sickness.  Luckily I acclimated slowly.