Travel report from bolivia and chile

Travel report from bolivia and chile...

Hi there,

This is it, my last groupmail! Have been home for exactly one week today, but more about that later. First, let me tell you about my last 2 weeks of travelling...

When we got back to La Paz after the trekking, I realised that I didn't have too much time left. So I didn't hang around much longer and after a day of resting and eating i continued on to Oruro with the idea to catch a train to Uyuni there. A change from bussing around. But i did have to wait till the next evening to get on the train, which also ruined the idea of watching the landscape pass by. The train was fun though: two movies dubbed in spanish and a cheese and ham sandwich were included in the ticket. Eat that, Belgian railways! But honesty compels me to say that the average speed of the train was about 40 km/h. Actually, that is the average speed of ALL transport in Bolivia, and i'm even throwing in the planes just to get the number up.

So you get into Uyuni at 2:30am, a town not even worthy of the word desolate. Fortunately the local hostals are prepared and waiting for you at the station, busily waving leaflets at you. Got some sleep and checked out some of the tour agencies in the morning, and ended up leaving for a 3 day jeep ride with exit to chile at noon. And people think that travelling in these countries is hard, ha!

Seven people and a grumpy driver in the jeep, it's not gonna be a cold ride... The first stop is the Salar, an immense salt lake of about 10 000 square km (for the non metric people amongst you: good luck). We take a brief look at the salt factories and then drive onto the lake, a place where a driver can easily take his hands of the wheel for 10 minutes. Everything is as flat as...well, a salt lake i guess...and whiter than the north pole in winter. Isla de pescado is an island in the middle, old coral covered in 10 meter high cacti, some over 1000 years old. The contrast with the with plane around it provides a fantastic view, the bright blue sky and the mountains in the distance make it into one of the most magical and surreal places in the world.

At night, we sleep in a salt hotel. Like the eskimos make iglos out of snow, they cut blocks of salt here to build hotels for the tourists ;-)

The next day, we go and see a few lakes, mainly inhabited by flamingos. They're probably immune to the sulfer smell around the place. We also take a ride through the siluli desert. Rocks, dust and jeep tracks surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. It continues to be an impressive panorama. The arbol de piedra (the stone tree) was taken right out of a Dali painting and fits into the landscape perfectly. At the end of the day we end up at the Laguna Colorada, a lake painted red by algae and minerals.

On the last day of the trip we visit a geyser and some boiling mud pools (looks better than it sounds) and Laguna Verde. The last time i was in bolivia this lake was frozen solid (it was slightly colder then too). This time however, it's a beautiful sight, the green make with a big volcano in the background.

The whole Salar trip was absolutely worth seeing a second time, although a lo of things had changed. Last time, in four days we maybe met 1 other jeep, this time there were constantly people around. On the isla de pescado a few buildings had been erected and you had to pay an entry fee (also to get into the 'national park'). The viscachas (a crossover between a rabbit and a squirrel) approached to within a couple of meters (to eat food scraps) while last time you needed a big telelens. All new. Even places like bolivia 'modernize'. Even more important to visit them now.

After a little wait at the border a minibus picks us up and takes us to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, 2000 meter lower (almost the whole salar trip is above 4000 meter, the border's at 4700 meter). San Pedro counts 4 streets and a square and is a generally lovely place with lots of trendy bars, a lovely church and hostals with hammocks. Oh yeah, and it's WARM. Finally!

I hang out (literally) there for 3 days, maybe because we discover a bar on the first night where the owner enjoys giving us free Pisco Sours (probably has more to do with the two lovely girls in my company than with me). But in the end i do manage to get away and fly to Santiago (do NOT feel like a 24 hour bus ride). In my last days i go snowboarding for a day (excellent!) and get to admire the president of chile on the national holiday (yes, another parade).

Then some plane and two pinches of train and i'm home. Where it starts raining the next day and doesn't stop...
So I'm home now, nursing my depression ;-) People who wan to come over and cheer me up are of course very welcome (though that might be difficult for most of you ;-) )

Anyway, it was fantastic again. You discover a lot, you get to meet great people from all over the globe, and you push your boundaries in every way. Go forth and travel!

Hope to hear and see you all later,

take care,
nico