Last Sunday we began our four day tour - we left Tupiza heading west through high desert country, then circled north to the Uyuni salt flats. The highest elevation we experienced during our winding in and out of desert and the mountain passes was approximately 5000m. The air was super dry, the wind and sun very intense, much colder than we imagined. The scenery was spectacular, our guide and his wife were passionate about showing us the highlights of the area. It was a challenge to communicate as they don’t speak English, but google translate helped and Jim knows enough Spanish to get the gist of what was being explained, I listened a lot!  Nico was the driver and guide while his wife Vilma cooked all our meals. The places where we spent the nights were a cross between a hostel and a hotel, we enjoyed having a private room with bath. The kitchens were used exclusively by the tour operators to prepare meals for their clients who shared a communal dining area. It worked out to be a great arrangement. 
Each day started early and was filled with driving on gravel roads through country only experienced guides would venture out on, often driving ‘off road’ to get to a particular destination to show us something spectacular! The climate in that high country is harsh and unforgiving, it was amazing when we did see a settlement and we wondered how they coped with the wind, scarcity of water and intense sun.  The wildlife we saw mostly were vicuñas, ostriches, and flamingos. The domesticated animals were llamas, goats, and  a few donkeys. Tourism seems to be a mainstay in the region and we could feel the appreciation many locals had for our coming to visit their country. There were many highlights, one that really stands out is driving across the Uyuni salt flats. They are the largest in the world, it felt as if we were on a frozen ocean or on the moon! 

The internet access has been sketchy at the best of times this past week. Tonight we’re back in Salta, Argentina where life seems quite modern compared to Bolivia. We’re hoping that going forward the connectivity will be more reliable…

Exploring Bolivia 

We left Argentina yesterday morning on the earliest bus available taking us to the Bolivian border. None of the public buses offer the convenience of taking passengers out of one country into another. So when we reached La Quiaca, Argentina (very close to the border) we had to find our way from the bus station to the immigration offices of both countries. It was a short distance, no hassles or delays and seemed very casual (thank goodness!). Once into Bolivia (the town of Villazon) we found our way to the very small bus station which hardly looked like a station as there were no buses, just minivans lined up. The drivers were asking people as they showed where they were going and filled the minivans - tourists and local alike. So no more waiting, we were on our  way to Tupiza, our destination. We arrived safely, found our hotel and once settled in for the night we slept soundly. The altitude here is approximately 3000m, enough to make us feel oxygen deprived. We are taking medication which seems to help, neither one of us feel sick or have a headache, just notice how quickly we feel winded and exhausted! We’ve also been drinking lots of coca tea, chewing the leaves and even sucking on coca candies. Coca products are readily accessible everywhere, and we see people walking around with cheeks puffed out with what we think must be coca! Also the air is extremely dry, the sun super intense, and once it sets the air cools off almost immediately. 
  Today we took a private tour of several parks in the surrounding area. It was another day filled with incredible sights of geological formations. Bolivia is rich in natural resources, we haven’t seen much recent mining evidence but on our park visits we’ve seen lots of raw tin, lead, copper and salt. All the gold and silver is found in different regions of the country. 
  Tomorrow, Saturday, will be a restful one. We planned to stay here a few days to be ready for our four day tour starting Sunday. It will be a private tour led by a local couple. The itinerary takes us in a big circle, travelling west then north to the city of Uyuni. The largest salt flats in the world are there! Nico, our guide told us we will be out of cell range for most of the time, even electricity will be scarce! Having mentioned that, I probably won’t be able to post anything until we get back here to Tupiza on Wednesday night. I’m having internet problems right now so if I get this post finished I’ll be really lucky! 



Leaving Argentina, catching a bus to Bolivia 

These past couple of days have been travel days. We left Tupiza very early catching the first minibus that was available and headed for the border of Bolivia and Argentina, backtracking the way we had come. We were very lucky to connect with the various modes of travel (minibus, uber, gigantic long cushy bus, airplane and lastly a ferry) without any delays, just rather exhausting making sure we’d coordinated them all properly! Yesterday evening we arrived in Colonia, Uruguay where we spent the night, then most of today. It’s a small city with lots of character known for its cobblestone streets and historic buildings many from the time of its Portuguese rule. We noticed a distinct difference in the level of prosperity in Uruguay from that of Bolivia and even Argentina. The lifestyle here is more affluent, the cost of living higher and      the general atmosphere feels more like a European country than the other two. We have travelled south by bus and now arrived in the capital city of Uruguay - Montevideo. We’ve rented a small apartment for a few days with no specific plans other than explore the city and slow the pace down a bit! 



Where the path takes us!

Heading to Uruguay…

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Exploring Bolivia

Leaving Argentina, catching a bus to Bolivia