Uyuni

Destination of my last weekend in Bolivia. Mainly I lived in a surreal world for four days. Anitawa and I played tourists as we hopped on a bus bound for Uyuni. Thirteen hours later we arrived with ice coated windows just as the sun crept over the mountains to enhance this glistening sign of coldness. Its 6:30 AM and we begin to wander the streets, killing time until the market opens up to relieve our frozen hands with some steaming api.

What's important when you travel? Money? Documents? Well...and a camera. But we forgot the first two. Lets say Anitawa was nonexistent on paper and I was empty pocketed. After five hours of searching we found the town's only ATM--it was empty. I think the Lord likes suspense. As we see a line forming around this ATM I realized they just filled it, so in the end I was able to secure my three day tour. (You see it was yet another holiday and the banks weren't open--hence the exhaustion of this lonely ATM in the town of Uyuni).
We pile into a four wheel drive with two dutch, a New Zealander, an Australian, and our lovely chauffeur. On our roof is our gas for our trek and enough food for three days. It was amazing. Never in my life did I imagine I would see so many wonders in the same trip. Train graveyards, endless salt plains, hotels of pure salt, flamingos, mountains, lakes, volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, llamas and avicunas, and desolate-desolate lands stretching out past my vision. The salt plains were deceiving. The white reflected back the sun and burned your skin. You think its like snow but then you breath in an immense flavor of salt fills your mouth as it slowly dehydrates you. Amongst these plains were a few islands of cacti. They say that it used to be a huge lake and all that is left now is its savory contents...acres and acres of salt. Now I can say that I've sat on the bottom of a lake. Check that off my bucket list.

Who would of thought that in the middle of these desolate empty stretches would you find lakes. Lakes partly frozen over, back-dropped by snow capped mountains and smoking volcanoes. In these borax, sulfur filled lakes were hundreds and hundreds of flamingos. Their bright pink feathers reflecting on the green, blue, red water (surreal like I said, no lake was only one color).

We stopped in one area where Armageddon was filmed--it looked like the moon (since I have been there and all). As we climbed these contemporary shaped rocks in the distance, majestically threatened a smoking volcano. Last time it erupted was 2003. "Thanks volcano for not erupting while I was there"

What's a geyser? A spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. A good way to hard boil some eggs...some tours took their breakfast to cook over steam. There were over 25 of these individual geyser, all different sizes, all releasing steam, and all smelling like sulfur. It was like a dream. Sulfur steam surrounding me as I wander through the uneven, soft ground between the multitudes of boiling earth releasing its pressure. Beautiful.

So after four days of traveling in the desert, you begin to yearn a nice hot shower. And of course hot water in these frigid area is rare. Man were those hot springs welcoming. Cleansing to the skin and soothing to the body as it defrosts my tired-cold feet. Downside--ice hair when I was done.

Llamas are proud animals. The way they strut with their head held high. I ate llama on this trip. Its like tough-gray chicken. Avicunas is like the bolivian deer. Just skinnier and living in the desert.

The trip was a great way to celebrate the end of my two months. Not to mention, I think Anitwaw needed that vacation...she works hard. It was fun to escape together for four days...away from responsibility and all sense of time.

And the countdown begins...so little time left. One last blog entry and then an end to my adventures.