Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. It has Inca roots, a native language, and tons of llamas. It's poverty has allowed it to stay undeveloped, which we noticed as we left for our four day trip to the Salar de Uyuni.
Tupiza is at 10,000 feet. We left at 8:15 and immediately started our climb. Four of us, a driver and a cook in a Jeep, about to conquer wild Bolivia.
After a short, steep climb, we stopped at the
Sillar, named for the points and looking like a horse's back (which I honestly don't see).
We turned around and around the curving ledges, climbing and dipping. We did a rather significant decline to a valley and saw the
Awanapampa. We enjoyed the llamas, and had our first "baño natural" experience. We were in the middle of nowhere and keeping hydrated to ward off the elevation effects, so it was, and continued to be, the only option (as it turns out, it was generally the best option when compared to Bolivia bathroom horrors).
We had our first of many delicious meals with our cook, in a deserted part of a house. There were many of these throughout our journey, as well as some tiny villages. It amazes me how people actually live out in the wilderness, there isn't a grocery for hours. I guess the definition of "live" must change depending on your surroundings.
We decided to make the first day long, since we had made good time. We passed through a larger pueblo,
San Pablo de Lipez. Ashley said to me, "Think you're bored? Try living here."
 |
| La torre de reloj Clock Tower |
After the pueblo, the sky became black, angry, and showered us with first rain and then hail. The dirt road became a mud road as our jeep teetered on the side of the mountain. We slipped and slid as we climbed up the mountain and over rivers. It was extremely nerve wracking with
los relampagos lightening since we were nearly 15,000 feet in the air. We finally got to the top and the hail stopped for a few minutes. We had reached our highest point of the day, 4855 meters or 15928 feet and saw
Laguna Morejón.
 |
| 4855 meters means there is NO oxygen (glad Katie didn't pass out!). |
 |
| Los Granizados Hail |
 |
| Laguna Morejón was beautiful as the clouds parted |
We teetered along for a few more hours until we finally reached el pueblito,
Sol de Manana Quetana Chico. After warm delicious soup, tea, and dinner, we were asleep before 10:30, ready for a 7 am alarm.
Highlights
-Getting suckers, which help with altitude sickness
-Seeing llamas run
-Hours of bonding conversations
Comments
Post a Comment