After a, especially for Rob, quite crowded bus trip to Uyuni in the south, we went on a four day tour to the salt planes in this area. It is a sea, that once was pushed up with the mountains, the water evaporated, and left enomous snow white planes with salt in no less than 70 m depth! Since we came in the end of the rainy season, most of the planes were covered by a layer of water, which created a beautiful effect, when the mountains and the blue sky reflected in the surface.
But one of the most bizar sights I have ever seen, was Isla de Pescas (or something like that...) where 12 m high cactusses were shooting up from coral covered rock, which again shot out of the snow white "ice sea". After lunch with this incredible view, we drove on the camp. The next days we experienced so much that it is impossible for me to describe, not to mention doing it chronologically. We drove through Salvador Dali-like landscapes with snow peaked inactive and active volcanos in the background to green lagoons with pink flamongos, again all perfectly mirrored in the water. And then there was Laguna Colorada, with its red water, with blue sky and green vegetation mirrored in it. And the flamongos! Of course, our photos don�t show half of it, but it does give an impresion, which can be seen on this page.
The third day we had to get up really early, to get to the geysers before sun rise. It was freezzzzzing (we were over 4000m) but the geysers were impressive in the red colours of the rising sun - even with the easily recognizable smell of farts from the sulfate...
We were so cold, when the sun finally came up, that the next stop was welcome: A 30 degree Celcius hot spring with the view upon another clear flamingo lake. I was so cold that even the thought of getting out of my clothes was anxiety provoking, but once my feet were in the water, there was no way back - yummie!!!
The last part of the trip offered rocks that had so bizar shapes that they actually WERE named after Dali which as mentioned is very suitable. There are lamas everywhere with colourful "feathers" in their ears, indicating their owner relations and which by the way makes them look extremely cute and clowny. And then there were the bunny-like creatures with a long tail that we saw in the rocks and of course clicked a thousand photos of!
Last stop was a so-called train cemetary where old trains simply stand to rust. According to Rob, old metal is quite valuable right now, so this is a bit of a sad sight, considering how poor the country is. Besides, in this area, they found a tremendous amount of valuable minerals but instead of making use of it themselves, it has been sold to a big Northamerican company...
We decided to go home the same day we came back, and we slept well in the overfilled bus. People were almost desperate to get on, and they simply pressed themselves through the closing doors, even though the intesively coca-chewing bus driver tried to deny them entrance. But we still slept well, and as a result we woke up with our hand luggage stolen. Nothing really of value was stolen, but my prescription sun glasses and my brace were pretty important to me... And that little creep can�t use it for anything - GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!
Today we have been in the Moon Valley which is an area that has eroded into sharp clay-like spears, sticking up in the landscape. A beautiful sight! On the way home we looked into the richer part of La Paz, where we saw the biggest contrast between rich and poor, we had ever seen. Suddenly, we found ourselves in a world of over-prizes and 12 year old girls snapping their fingers at the waiters! And palm tree lined boulevards on an altitude of 3660m...
We are now figuring out what else there is to do in La Paz, before we go to Lake Titicaca on the way to Peru. The plan is to go to Cusco to walk the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, but first we have to say good bye to Bolivia, with all its diverse landscapes: the rain forest in the north, the salt planes, geysers, and vocanos in the south, and high altitude La Paz in the middle!