The Skinny on South America Travel

Many people have been asking us for details about our South America trip so we dedicate this blog to the nitty-gritty details of how, who, what where and why of our 6-week trek through Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina:

Daily Budget

We had a strict budget of $15 US per person, per day for food and $15 US per person, per day for lodging. That meant that we we could not stay in a hotel room over $30 per night or eat more than $30 of food (and drinks, yes wine included) per day. This was mostly always possible everywhere we went. Sometimes we would splurge on food and drinks one day but we balanced those days out by being frugal on other days and cooking for ourselves in the hostel instead of eating out or eating street food or bread and cheese from the markets instead. 

Lodging

We stayed in a combination of hostels, hotels and couch surfing homes during our trip. Hostels, with shared rooms, were fine for a few nights but when we were staying in one city for longer than 2 nights we usually looked for hotels with private rooms (and decent showers were a priority and sometimes worth spending some extra cash). Our couch surfing experiences were positive everywhere we went. We highly recommend getting on CouchSurfing before you travel to build yourself a profile, get verified and scope out the places you plan on visiting to see if there are many hosts in the area who might be able to host you. CouchSurfing is not just for a free place to stay, it is about meeting people and sharing cultures so keep that in mind. Also, we knew that we might not always find a CS host so we budgeted enough money to pay for lodging every night. When we did have CS hosts and free lodging, we used that money to go on adventures with our hosts or buy them extra groceries or cook them meals.

Our Route, Step by Step
Okay, so I can't remember the exact details of our travel in terms of what buses we took and how much they cost but it was pretty easy to get a fair price for bus tickets at most bus stations. Also, travel books will give you a general idea of how much travel will cost. Base your budgeting off of that. Before we left on the trip, I spent a few hours looking up estimated prices of all legs of my travel so that I could make a general budget. We usually rode in semi-cama seats because they were cheaper than the full cama tickets. The difference was that our seats didn't fully recline whereas if we had paid more we might have been more comfortable. The price might be worth it for you for extra long trips. In any case, here are all the legs of our journey:

1. We flew from Guyana to Lima, Peru (via Trinidad then Panama. We booked a one-way flight from GEO to POS and another one-way flight from POS-LIM to save money).
2. Lima to Cusco via bus. This trip was supposed to be 18 hours, but ended up being 23 because of landslides.
3. From Cusco we headed off on our 4-day trek up Salkantay to Machu Picchu and then returned back to Cusco.
4. After Machu Picchu and Cusco, we took a night bus to Arequipa. The bus took about 9 hours.
5. From Arequipa we booked a guided tour (at one of many offices in downtown) to the Colca Canyon. We left most of our gear in our hostel while we were on the 2 day trek and came back to pick it up after the trek, before taking another night bus to Puno.
5. Puno was just a stopping point to get into Bolivia. We had to go there since we couldn't find any direct buses to Bolivia. The bus from Arequipa to Puno was not nice. But once we were in the Puno bus station we were able to buy a hot breakfast and easily find tickets to Copacabana in Bolivia.
6. Puno by bus to Copacabana. The bus ride is quick and easy but this border crossing sucks. Be prepared and have with you (not in your luggage under the bus) a copy of your passport, YF vaccinations, a passport photo and US cash in exact change to obtain your Bolivian visa. This will make the trip easier.
7. Copacabana to La Paz. We didn't have to book anything here. Just head to the central square in Copacabana and find a bus that is marked La Paz. Buses leave all day, the last bus is at 6 or so.
8. La Paz to Coroico via a harrowing and awesome bike ride tour down the Death Road. The tour returned to La Paz (if you want to go directly back) but we wanted to stay in the Bolivian high jungle for a few nights so we asked to be dropped off at the local bus stop to take us to the town of Corioco.
9. Coroico to La Paz (no need to book bus tickets in advance, just go to the bus terminal when you want to leave).
10. Once back in La Paz we decided not to book the next step of our journey with a tour agency in La Paz because it was very expensive. Instead we just took another night bus (we bought tickets at a tour agency on the same day we arrived back from Coroico) from La Paz to Uyuni. We arrived in Uyuni very early in the morning and had to wait for the tour companies to open. When they did we were easily able to find a 3 day tour of the Uyuni Salt Flats and the National Park that left that same morning.
11. We didn't stay in Uyuni, instead we took the standard 3-day tour of the natural wonders in the region. After the tour, instead of returning to Uyuni we had arranged for the tour to drop us off at the Chilean border. People do this all the time and the tour operator will make it easy for you and book you a ticket directly to San Perdo de Atacama in Chile.
12. Bolivian border to San Pedro de Atacama was an easy 1.5 hour bus ride.
13. San Pedro de Atacama to Santiago. We booked a bus ticket a day ahead of time with a bus company in San Pedro. This is one of the times when we should have splurged on a cama ticket. The journey was over 26 hours! Bring food.
14. Santiago to Vina del Mar by bus. We traveled with a friend to his family home out there, I don't know if I would recommend going to Vina if you are backpacking. It is expensive to find lodging and quiet if you don't know where to go.
15. Vina del Mar to Valparaiso by bus. Half an hour on public local buses and its cheap.
16. We hitched a ride with our friend's mom from Valpo back to Santiago but I know that the bus tickets are cheap and the ride is only a few hours.
17. We just passed through Santiago this time (our friend dropped us off at the bus station where we bought a ticket) and headed on yet another night bus to Mendoza, Argentina. I would not recommend taking a night bus because there is an immigration checkpoint in the middle of the night where we had to wake up, get out of the bus and stand in the freezing cold for a few hours to cross into Argentina.
18. Mendoza, Argentina back to Santiago (this time on a bus in the daytime).
19. Santiago airport to Los Angeles, LAX. We got a one-way ticket with a connection through Mexico City. Then we were home in the U.S.A.

This trip was certainly a whirlwind tour. There were so many other places along the way that we wanted to visit but we only had six weeks so we crammed in all the important things (to us at least). If you have more time, take it and explore more.

Our Favorites. If you are in South America, you shouldn't miss:
1. A trek to Machu Pict
2. Lake Titikaka (from either the Peruvian or Bolivian side it is nice but we LOVED the Isla del Sol from Copacabana)
3. The bike ride from La Paz to Coroico and a few days in the Bolivian jungle
4. Tour of the Uyuni Salt Flats and surrounding marvels
5. Valparaiso
6. Mendoza and a bike tour of Argentinian wine country

I hope this little summary of our trip helps those who have asked, and anyone for that matter, plan your South America adventure. We certainly had a blast on our trip we hope you do too! Let me know if you have any other, specific questions. I am happy to help in any way. Happy travels!

-Chelsea

Days 42-45: Spas, Malls, Musicals, and More

This is our last ‘official’ day on vacation. We’re back in Santiago with our friend Sebastian.  We fly out of Santiago airport tomorrow night and arrive around noon on Sunday in LA (WOW!!!!).  We have another day of explorations tomorrow, but tonight is our final night in South America. 

Today has been a relaxed day. We arrived in Santiago last night and hung out with Sebastian watching old American musical numbers (don’t judge us nerds!), while drinking wine and Piscolas (Pisco and Coke). Chelsea and Sebastian sang and danced along, while I contributed by own paltry selections that I remembered from Oxnard High School Drama. I then was given a list of musicals and movies that I need to see: Pink Floyds The Wall, Oliver Twist, The Jungle Book, and Nightmare Before Christmas. I promise to watch those when we get back to the States.  Anyway, today Sebastian had a law exam, so he left Chels and me to our devices while he went to do last minute studying and take the test. We haven’t done much today, just some laundry, and reading, and wandering the city blocks of Santiago. We plan on having sushi tonight when Sebastian gets back, and then see where Friday takes us.

The last few days in Mendoza were both perfect and preposterous; filled with relaxation and intense stimuli. Tuesday (day 42) we met with our new CouchSurfing friend Walter. It was his day off work and he wanted to go to the nearby hot springs (about an hour outside of town) so he invited us to come along. Not having any other plans we agreed to join him.  As the bus drove outside of Mendoza the scenery went from city to the Lujan Valley (another huge wine making area) to arid desert and then to orange mountains.  I was surprised to see what the actual countryside looks like outside the tree-lined streets of Mendoza. It was so dry and barren (but beautiful) and sun blazed down from a blue sky. Walter explained that all of Mendoza is lined with trees only through the industry of man. The trees were all intentionally planted along the sidewalks and only due to the water that flows through the Mendoza trenches that line the streets (at the base of the trees) do the trees survive; without the water all of them would wilt then die within weeks.

As the bus approached the hot springs we stared awe-struck at the mountains.  The hot springs were both inside and outside the thermo-spa complex and they were the best springs we’ve visited within these six weeks of travel. The baths had all different temperatures. There were cold ones, warm ones, and Jacuzzi hot ones; all arrayed within the most beautiful valley. Towering walls of rock rose on each side of the springs and no matter where we sat, in whatever temperature, we had great vistas of the mountainous country. We spent all day lounging, eating, relaxing, turning prune-like and red, and meeting new friends and acquaintances, fellow travelers (even ones from UCSD!) and retirees from all over place. We talked, we laughed. The day was near perfect. When we finally returned to our hostel, we made a wonderful pasta dinner then socialized at our hostel’s bar with travelers from all over the world.

The hot springs looked pretty goofy from the outside!

But they were beautiful inside!

Whereas Tuesday was perfect, Wednesday was pandemonium. We didn’t have any set plans, but we had a feeling it would be our last day in Mendoza. We thought to maybe take a bike ride, maybe eat a fancy lunch, but since we were waterlogged and tired from the previous day’s activities, what we settled on was going to the Mendoza MALL.  Now, it has been a solid two years since either of us has been exposed to such a materialistic, capitalistic place like a shopping mall. Guyana sure didn’t have any and we really didn’t go to one when we were in the States during our two vacations.  It was a mission. The minute we walked in STIMULI assaulted us from all angles: food courts, bars, clothing stores, electronic stores, department stores, sales, beauty supplies--it went on and on. All we needed was to get a couple pairs of pants that weren’t ripped up or stretched out, and maybe a jacket or something else to help us look presentable as we stepped of the runway in LAX. We needed focus. We spent a good four hours in the mall, and as we stepped outside, looking like overwhelmed zombies, we breathed a collective sigh. That night we met with Walter for the last time for a good meal and some drinks and then said our goodbyes.

Thursday we caught an early bus to Santiago because we wanted to see the landscape between Mendoza and Santiago. We had read that it is pretty stunning and we weren’t disappointed: mountains, glacial lakes, and vineyards (both Argentinian and Chilean) flashed by our window. When we arrived back in Chile, Sebastian welcomed us and the rest you know. Good times. It is almost sad that our time is almost up, but the experiences we’ve had are priceless.  

Now on to the next adventure: readjusting and reconnecting in America!

Chelsea and Walter chillin' in a cool pool in the hot springs

No matter which pool we were in the vista was amazing!

From the tree-lined streets of Mendoza to the dry desert

Walter and me on a suspension bridge near the hot springs

Days 37-41: Mendoza, Argentina

The days are slowly ebbing away. We are filled with all sorts of emotions. We are excited to finally be coming home; we are nervous to start a new chapter; and we are already missing some of the travelers and individuals we’ve met along the way. I guess it doesn’t help (or maybe it does, depending on how you look at it) that we have had a lot more time to reflect and think over these last few days. We are no longer hectically backpacking from one place to another, staying so busy and stimulated that we don’t have time to think about much else but travel details. But maybe it is a good thing that we decided to make a long stop in just one beautiful town in Argentina because we are slowing transitioning back into a more modern culture, mindset and pace of life. 

To give you an idea of what I am talking about, or as Tim would say, “show you, not tell you”, let me describe our daily lives as temporary Mendocinos: 

On Friday morning we arrived in Mendoza (the third largest town in Argentina), checked into our hostel and went out to find some lunch. The first thing we learned is that siesta is a common practice here! As we walked down the beautiful, streets lined with autumn-colored trees, we noticed the shopkeepers of fancy boutiques, restaurants and coffee shops closing the grates and heading out. If Peace Corps taught us anything, it is to do as the locals do, so we hiked back to the hotel for a nap in the afternoon sun.

On Saturday we had siesta figured out, and spent the morning meandering the streets window shopping. There really isn’t much to DO in Mendoza if you don’t have a job, aren’t a student or aren’t participating in an organized tour of the surrounding mountains and/or wineries. It is just another big city, with no outstanding museums or cultural sites. So instead we, again, did as the locals do and spent a few hours in a coffee shop, reading, chatting, pondering our futures and people watching.

On both Friday night and Saturday night we decided to treat ourselves to fancy cuisine, since food is so cheap comparatively. On Friday we had empanadas, steaks (a must in Argentina) and a dessert of lemon mousse and raspberry jam. And a bottle of wine, of course. On Saturday we went to the best Italian food restaurant in the city (according to locals and tour guides alike) and spoiled ourselves with cocktails, an appetizer of stuffed olives, pastas and (of course) wine!

On Sunday, after siesta, we met up with our new friend Walter, someone we had met via Couchsurfing, and he showed us his favorite parks and plazas, where we spent a few hours lounging in the afternoon sunlight on the grass, chatting and getting to know one another. Then we went to his favorite bar for snacks and cocktails.

If it sounds to you like all we have been doing is walking, sitting, eating and drinking, then you would be completely correct. We are on vacation and we deserve to spoil ourselves a little and it is a nice change from trekking miles and miles a day, sleeping in tents, and eating bread and cheese to save money. And as I said,  it also leaves us with plenty of time to think.

Today however, we decided to mix up our routine and we headed out to the smaller, outlying town of Maipu. Maipu is one of the major wine producing regions of Argentina and we wanted to really get to know Argentinian wine, so we rented bikes and peddled around to a few of the many, many bodegas (wineries) for tours and tastings. We hit up a museum and 3 bodegas and enjoyed wine tastings with a variety of flavors, good company of fellow bike/wine enthusiasts, and the beautiful scenery of the vineyards in fall. Here are some of the many facts we have learned about wine so far:

• The “legs” or “tears” in Spanish, which we had thought indicate quality of wine, in fact only indicate alcohol quantity. The slower or fewer the “legs” when you swirl the glass the more alcoholic the wine is. 
• In general the color of the wine indicates age, among other things, not quality. The darker the wine, the older it is. 
• Many vineyards play rosebushes and lavender every 5 rows to help prevent pests and determine the needs of the vines. One can see the pests first attacking the flowers and then take preventative measures to save the grapes. Also roses won’t bloom without enough water so you can tell if the vines need water if the roses aren’t healthy. This was an Italian idea. Smart Italians.
• A vineyard’s worst enemy is hail. 
• There are two types of oak barrels, French and American, in which red wine is aged. French barrels bring out more suave flavors like vanilla and American barrels bring out more powerful flavors like smoke and leather.
•  It is said that Malbec was named thus by the French in Argentina who thought that it had a bad taste in the mouth (something about “mal” and “boca” became Malbec). 
•   Wine is great! We are enjoying drinking it and, if you are lucky, we will bring you some home….  

Finished with the wine tasting, about to ride off into the sunset

Tim, happy to be biking the wine circuit

Wine cups about to be filled (no, we didn't drink ALL those....)

Huge, old barrels

Enjoying a beer and a mid-day snack at a local artisan brewery while waiting for a wine tour

I found a stubborn bunch of grapes on the fall vines

At the Trepeche super-marco-corporate bodega, looking at 800 barrels of the fancy vino

The Trepeche owner built his own railway t get his wine out to the public at the turn of the century

Drunken monkeys!

Beauty all around!

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Days 35 – 37: Con Con, Viña Del Mar, and Valparaíso

These few days have been amazing. Not only have been treated like royalty, but we’ve made some really good friends in the process. As Chelsea wrote in her last post our new friend, Sebastian, took us to his family’s house on the Coast of Chile. Not only is this place a noted resort spot, but it is also a wonderful place full of Chilean modern culture, from literature, to art, to old architecture, amazing spray-painted street art, “dive” bars and drunken artsy poets.

There is such a touch of home here too. The climate is similar to California; the bay (that Valparaíso, Viña and Con Con surround) reminds us of the Monterey Bay with seals, pelicans, cypress trees, and a military school, while the beaches, sunsets, and overcast mornings   remind us of Oxnard/Ventura. Part of why we’ve felt so at home here because we were living in a home for three nights! Sebastian introduced us to his mama who showed us how to make Chilean food (choripanes: toasted bread with chorizo and a salsa-like pico de gallo sauce with Chilean chiles) and cocktails (Chilean pisco and Chilean sweet vermouth) and barbecue, Chilean-style.  

Taking a stroll in Con Con

Sunsets remind us of home

The only way you can tell it is not Cali is the Chilean flag!

After a few days of the home treatment, Chelsea and I wanted to check out Valparaíso. It was on our agenda for Chile and it was only a short public transportation ride to the city center from his family’s house near Con Con. Sebastian had to go back to Santiago to study his law books, so he dropped us off in this amazing city. The part where we’re staying is the heart of the old city. It’s full of street art, cafes, bars, and restaurants. We’re only staying a night, so we tried to make the most of it when we arrived.

Walking amongst the street art

As the sun went down the town became more alive. As we walked around during the day, it seemed sleepy and slow, but when we went after dark there were people walking all the twisty streets, standing in front of trendy looking bars and cafes, talking and plain enjoying each other’s company. We found a small restaurant/bar in the back streets that looked kinda empty, but gave off a good vibe. We sat drank some Chilean Pisco Sours (the jury is still out on which came first and/or is better: Peruvian Piscos or Chilean…) and had some creamy, buttery, Chilean sea food (scallops and crab! Yum! Even Chelsea took a few bites!) We relaxed and sat for a while, then paid out. 

View from the mirador of Valpo harbor

We were about to call it a night with a 6-pack of beer on the mirador (lookout point with a great view of the city at night), but as we were walking to the lookout spot we heard this voice echoing down the streets. It was beautiful, passionate, and definitely live. Chelsea stopped, looked towards me and said, “If there is live music we need to stop!” I heartily agreed. We walked another block following the Spanish vocal progressions and found this hole in the wall, mom and pop type bar. Not too full, mostly Chileans, and a woman sitting on piano seat with a microphone belting out these wonderful songs. We walked in, sat and enjoyed a good glass of organic Chilean wine.

After the woman finished her set, an old gentleman with three-piece Italian looking suit, stood up and broke out his violin. He played amazingly getting the entire bar (all 16 of us) to sing along (well I tried, but it was still in Spanish). Then, he put his violin down and took out a cat-gut stringed, classical guitar. He played such runs and progressions in such a cool flamenco style (I really need to learn to play like that). Singing and dancing the bar clapped along in ¾ time. It was really enjoyable. As the bar shut down, we paid our bill then returned to the hostel a smile upon our lips.

This morning (day 37, May 10, 2012) we woke up and ate a great breakfast provided by our hostel (Casa Aventura, great place in the heart of the city if you’re looking for a place to stay), and are going to wander around Valparaíso some more and check out Pablo Neruda’s house. And then tonight we are going back to Santiago to catch a bus to the last country of our trip, Argentina. Tomorrow we should be in Mendoza enjoying some Argentinian wine and steak!      

This one is for you, Phil, Banksy?

Day 31-34: Getting to Know You, Santiago!

Our new friend Sebastian and our old friends Mamut and Bernie

How do you not get lost in an urban metropolis of 6 million people? How do you find culture amongst the Starbucks, Pizza Huts and McDonalds that occupy the urban populations of every big city around the world? Will we be able to get to know Chile in a few short weeks without visiting Patagonia or small pueblos in the North and South? These were our questions as we came into central Chile from Bolivia last Thursday on the 24-hour, overnight bus. As it turns out, the answer was simple. We Couchsurf.

For those of you who haven’t heard about this wonderful organization, it is basically this: generous hosts (and usually fellow travelers with temporary roots in one place) around the world offer to host us globe-trotting travelers in their homes, free of cost, in exchange for a sharing of culture, friendship and the assumption that their guests will pass on the goodwill someday and host another traveler on their “couch” (or bed or hammock, or whatever). If you plan on going somewhere new, you can look online for free couches, scanning many profiles and learning about your hosts via their confirmed information online, and send out couch requests. If your host likes the look and sound of your request and they have the time and interest in hosting you, he/she/they will write you back and meet up with you. Tim and I started Couchsurfing on this trip and so far we have been incredibly lucky. In Cusco we found an amazing host who not only gave us lodging, a tour around his city but hooked us up with a budget trek to Machu Picchu, taught us card games and shared delicious meals with us. We decided to try our luck with Couchsurfing again in Chile and didn’t find any hosts in the North, but lucked out big time with an excellent host (and now friend for life), Sebastian, who is giving us an authentic, firsthand perspective of Chilean city life. 

On Friday, after our grueling bus ride, we arrived at the Santiago bus terminal and were assaulted by modernity! Lights, advertising, commercialism, clean, busy, bright. Overwhelming. A young man, we had still yet to meet, had given us directions to take the metro (yikes, modern public trans-p!!!) and then walk a ways to his downtown apartment. When we arrived, tired and funky feeling, we were greeted with such a warm welcome. Sebastian, a law student at the (second?) best law school in Chile who is now studying for his Bar exam, had coffee and warm showers for us, good conversation and an open invitation to treat his apartment like our own. Within minutes we felt like we had known this guy forever and we were joking, opening a bottle of Chilean wine and making plans to meet up with his friends at a Salsa bar. Sebastian took us out dancing, teaching us a few suave salsa moves and we thoroughly enjoyed dancing until dawn.

The next morning I woke up and decided to brave the supermarket. Now, keep in mind that I am not accustomed to SUPERmarkets, having shopped primarily in open air, developing-country mercados for the last two years. Walking into a supermarket in a Spanish speaking county was a little overwhelming. I walked around the store at least twice before putting anything in my basket. There were SO many brands of things and SO many things in general! Plus it didn't help that I had to work my brain to translate all the Spanish labels on things! Anyway, I did manage to find ingredients to make omelets, coffee and yogurt and granola for breakfast. After breakfast the three of us lounged around the apartment, chatting and getting to know each other, sharing music and Youtube videos and plenty of laughs. Then Sebastian invited us to meet his Dad at a rugby game in the afternoon. I don’t know much about rugby (Tim does from his time in England) but we both were able to enjoy the feeling of family-time with Sebastian and his dad outside the city, in a beautiful park, surrounded by sports lovers and a grand sense of community. 

Rugby is crazy!

Tim and Sebastian in a beautiful park in central Santiago

On Sunday morning we went out, on bikes borrowed from awesome neighbors, on a mobile tour of Santiago. We rode through the well-maintained public parks, along the river and plazas of the city and finally we met up again with Sebastian’s dad to ride up into the hills surrounding the metropolis. We had a blast (despite me huffing and puffing) riding up the bike path in the rural hillside outside Santiago, observing the health conscious Chileans running, jogging and biking and walking up the steep climbs to get to the giant Virgin statue/church at the apex. After our ride, we made tuna melts to share some "Americana food" with Sebastian and then he introduced us to his neighbors who we sat with to watch a local football game and drink some Chilean wine (I LOVE even the cheapest Chilean wine!!!!). Then, in the spirit of Couchsurfing, we decided to share some Guyanese culture with our hosts by making them a meal of curry and rice. Sebastian and his friends loved the curry and, as we ate, I got the chance to practice my Spanish with the very fast-speaking, self-proclaimed bastardized-Spanish-speaking-Chileans. It was a great night! 

Today we went with Sebastian to his home town of Viña del Mar, a little beach town 1.5 hours outside of Santiago, to spend the week with his Mama. We ate home cooked lunch(!), walked and drove around his town and heard all the stories of his childhood. We feel so included in his family, Chilean tradition and culture. It is a great feeling and we are grateful to our hosts and to Couchsurfing for making this global interaction possible. 

The monkeys made it on the ride up to the Virgin too

Biking with locals in Chile!

We found, in the giant dizzying metropolis of Santiago, a way to belong. The answer to our question, "how do we navigate around", is we make a friend and borrow bikes to tour the city as locals do on the best bike paths and routes. The answer to: "how to learn culture and history?" is to make a friend and meet his mother and amigos. Basically the answer to any of our traveler doubts and problems is to make a friend and get a firsthand perspective on their city, culture and life. We are so grateful to have had this experience, spending some time with a passionate, proud Chilean. Because of him, we have learned to love Chile, even in the hubbub of the big, urban mess.VIVA CHILE!

Day 26-30: Touring Bolivia in a Jeep and San Pedro “The Wild West”

Lunch on a boulder.

Any minute now I expect tumbleweeds to roll across the courtyard of our hostel. Dust floats in the air reflecting the noon time sun. We’re in San Pedro de Atacama, we arrived yesterday after days in the salt flats and a natural reserve in southern Bolivia. San Pedro is a tourist town that looks like it belongs in the old west, adobe houses and all, but instead of gunslingers wandering the streets its tourist touts. When we arrived, our bags hanging off our backs, we were like lambs to the slaughter, but luckily we found a reasonably priced hostel on the edge of town and we’re heading to the capital tonight by bus. 

But besides the present let’s talk about these last few days. The tour began in Uyuni, a 9-hour night bus from La Paz, we arrived early in the morning; it was freezing. We found a small café for some breakfast and then found tour agency to book the tour for the next few days. 

When the tour started we were kind of worried because we were told one thing, but then we were given to another tour company.  But after we met our tour-mates, mostly mid-to-late-20-somethings, who work in youth development, education, and pharmacology, we were happy to be with them.  They were from all over, two were from Australia, two from Ireland, us, and one from Switzerland. We had tons of great conversations while we sat for hours in the back of our Lexus 4x4. 

The first day, we went out to the salt flats. These were awesome, it looked like snow, but definitely tasted like salt (yes, I did lick some). We took some funky perspective photos because it so flat that if someone is closer to the camera they look so much larger then someone who was further back. Here are some examples:

Look I shrunk!

No!! We're getting blown over!

Mini sock monkeys!

Jump on the Salt Plains!

After the flats we drove a little ways to our first night’s stop. The next day we didn’t know what to expect, it seemed like the second day’s activities were an afterthought when they told us about the second day in the tour office, but after driving a little ways we saw such a different beauty than what we’ve seen before. Red volcanic rock valleys of all shapes and sizes dotted the side of the road. Rock formations that looked like condors, pumas, faces, and so many other things, our imaginations were our only limitations, created such a rugged landscape.  We continued on and the lands around became so barren, empty. It was so haunting, but amazing at the same time. Snowcapped volcanoes rose up in distance, some were in Chile, some were in Bolivia, all were inactive (well except one, but really that only spits smoke every once and a while). We made it to several lagoons that reflected the nearby volcanoes and mountains. We ate lunch atop a boulder next to another body of water that flamingoes frequented, took some photos, and then drove on. As day turned to afternoon we entered the national park, Eduardo Avarroa. We saw this amazing lagoon called Laguna Colarada. The water was pink, pink, (from the algae) and again more volcanoes surrounded it, creating an amazing panoramic. We walked to our hostel and spent the night relaxing, talking, and drinking some beers.

Look Ma! I am a condor!

The rock landscape

The rock tree!  Looks eerily like a tree.

The pink flamingos with pink water!

The last day of the tour we started early: 4:40 am. We ate a breakfast of yogurt, cereal, and cold pancake s and then went to see some awesome geysers spitting heavy steam. The morning was cold, but then we made our way to a hot springs that sat in the middle of the reserve. It was cold and we all had to do a quick deck change since the changing rooms were closed. We all were miserable for about 10 seconds but once we entered the water a collective gasp of relief and amazingness escaped all of our lips, and we sat in the hot water watching more tourists do the same struggle against the cold, but then once they entered, each had the same exact response as we. 

Geysers!

We moved on from the hot springs and saw the Laguna Verde, which wasn’t so green, but still was amazing to see.  From there we drove to the end of the reserve to the Chilean Border. It was so cool to see all the different soils (sand, dark, white, crazy!) and rock shapes fly by as we drove on. Once at the border we said goodbye to our tour buddies, except Fabienne, the Swiss girl, who came to Chile with us and waited in biting cold for our bus to show up. 

We arrived in San Pedro, passed through customs without much delay, and found our hostel. We had an amazing dinner last night with Fabienne, GIANT EMPANADAS and good Chilean wine. And now we’re at the hostel gaffing with Fab and waiting for our bus tonight. 

So far Chile has been good to us.   Let’s see what the next chapter brings. 

More flamingos

Such gorgeous scenery

Lagoons!