La Vida Errabunda

I have always wanted to walk on clouds. They are fluffy, beautiful, and possess something instinctively poetic. At the Salar de Uyuni, where the sky and the ground meet, not only did I feel like I was floating on a cloud, but it looked like I was. We woke up early and scuttled out of Uyuni, heading straight for the promised land. I had a splitting migraine, so I curled up in my seat and ignored the world until our driver said " Chicos, estamos aqui You guys, we are here." My eyes fluttered open to see the low light over the land. On one side the sun was rising; the other, the moon was setting.   From dark to light We ventured out and because the Salar was mostly covered with water due to the rainy season, my feet instantly froze in the cold morning. I withstood the pain to take in the absolute wonder of it all. The rising sun was breathtaking with the Salar's blue hues. Puddles on the Salar We kept going until we reached a dry place and a Sa...

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). W...

Donde estoy? Porque Bolivia? Que es la fecha? Where am I? Why Bolivia? What day is it? These thoughts swirled through my head early Sunday morning. Oh right, my 21st birthday. In a third world country. In the middle of nowhere. A town with no wifi. Certainly not conventional, but it ended up being one of the best days of my study abroad experience. Starting with a traditional Bolivian breakfast of bread, coffee, and milk, my lovely roommates surprised me with white chocolate m&ms! Oh the joy! Notice GIANT water (less than 1 USD) A Tupiza tourist staple is montar los caballos horseback riding, less than 15 USD with tip for three hours. After walking to the edge of town, we met our 15 year-old tour guide for an exhilarating few hours. I have always ridden Western, not English saddles. English are much more difficult to ride (there is no horn), but that is Bolivians ride. After getting settled, my speckled horse and I were really getting along. I was seeing amazing sce...

Done estoy? Where am I? This was my thought for the entire spring break trip. Where am I? This looks like Hawaii! Oh no, it's just Salta. Las colinas verdes The green hills We landed in Salta and hung out for a few hours until our midnight bus to La Quiaca at the Argentina/Bolivia border. Hanging of course means dinner and wine for $10 USD. And then the adventure began. Our bus wasn't the comfy large seats from our past travels- that is not an option to La Quiaca. So eight hours crammed in a sweaty smelling bus began our week of travels. We woke up in La Quiaca in bone chilling cold at 7 am. Where am I? It was clear were had left luch Hawaii the dry mountains, cold air and dust. We crossed the border with ease (thank goodness) and once again...where am I? Why, Bolivia. Bright colors, yelling people, coca leaves, a rank smell, street food. Villazon was bursting with life at 7:30 am, everyone trying to make a few bucks off us extranjeros foreigners.  Eyes forward, ...