16-19.02.11 Tupiza & Uyuni, Bolivia

Our first stop in Bolivia was Tupiza, an isolated mining town marooned in the harsh desert landscape of the Southern Altiplano. We understand that the Bolivians do not allow Argentine buses to travel into the country and it is only possible to catch a bus to the Bolivian frontier, where it is then possible to catch the 1-a-day 3.30pm train to Tupiza. Our bus from Salta was delayed which meant we got to the frontier at 3pm instead of 1pm.  Missing the train meant spending 24hrs in the ramshackle frontier town of Villazon with literally nothing to do.  The queue at the Argentine immigrations was huge and ‘Latin-American’ slow. We were stamped out at 4pm before walking across the bridge over the river to be stamped into Bolivia. Miraculously the Bolivian immigration process was 10 minutes max with no questions asked or dubious looks. A Spanish traveller asked me if I was getting the train. ‘We’ve missed it’ I replied ‘It’s 4.15pm’. ‘No it’s 3.15pm, Bolivia is 1hr behind’ replied the Spaniard.  ‘Go go go…' With 15 minutes to spare we exchanged some Peso’s into Bolivianos and dived into a taxi, at least we think it was a taxi! Our driver, oblivious to traffic or people, sped to the train station like a man on a mission. With no time to even buy a ticket we were ushered onto the train to Tupiza. We were literally the last people on the train as it started to move. Welcome to Bolivia…

The train from Villazon to Tupiza - through the cactus-strewn badlands

After a spectacular train journey through stunning cactus-strewn badlands and canyons Tupiza itself was a let down. We decided to stayed one night and took the opportunity walk through the nearby canyons we had viewed from the train window.  We got lost and I got sunburnt –again! 

That day I went for a hair cut.  It cost £1.50 and the guy, in his 70’s, used similar scissors to the ones I cut bacon with at home.  It was worrying to say the least.  I nearly passed out when he got the cut-throat razor out to finish off.  Yes, really! 

Check out his scissors - and my worried face in the mirror

That evening we caught a train to the cold railway town of Uyuni, the jump-off point for exploring the Salar De Uyuni, by far the largest salt lake in the world.

The Salar De Uyuni covers 9,000 square kilometres, which is a lot of football pitches. The salar is not a lake in the traditional sense. It’s upper layer consists of a thick crust of salt though below it is mainly saturated with water. In the rain season (Dec-April) the surface is mostly covered by water, usually only a few inched deep, but it is possible to drive over the surface. We hired a guide with a 4x4 which we shared with some other travellers. As we approached the salar the lake seemed very deep yet our guide, armed with his Land Cruiser, ventured into what felt like the ocean. 

 At this stage is wasn't at all what we expected!

After 2km or so the water became much shallower and we were able to venture onto the salt flats on foot to take in this natural phenomenon. It felt like floating in the sky and at times it was difficult to determine where the land stopped and the sky began. The photos say it all, here you go Mum.

The Salae De Uyuni - The following photos say far more than words

 

 

Back in Uyuni our guide took a slight detour to show us the Uyuni train graveyard. These trains have been resting here for at least 30 years, subject to the harsh desert environment. An ideal photo opportunity made even more atmospheric, in my opinion, in black and white.

 

Bolivia itself is completely different to any other country we have visited so far. The majority of the people here are of indigenous origin, unlike Argentina or Chile which are very European. Here the majority of the people are very poor, the buildings crumbling and the roads unpaved. It seems unorganised and chaotic yet so far everything has run like clockwork and the culture and the people are bewildering. We can’t wait to see more. La Paz and 'The Worlds Most Dangerous Road' next…Gulp.

10-15.02.11 Salta, Argentina

We had planned to cross the frontier from the Atacama Desert into Bolivia, that was before some friends recommended we spend a few nights on a 'Sayta' ranch (known as an estancia) in Salta, Argentina to exprience the gaucho lifestyle, the cowboy way of horseriding and farming. Not to mention endulging once more in the Argentine tradition of the asado. Immense BBQ's of fillet steak, pork and sausage. We decided to cross back over the Altiplano of the Andes at altitudes in excess of 5,000 metres above sea level back into Argentina. We had 2 days exploring in Salta prior to our horsriding adventure where we walked up Cerro San Bernardo for panoramic views of the city before heading into the micro centre to explore. Plenty of walking made us less guilty about the parillada, a mixed meat banquet, we had eaten the night before!

Iglesia San Francisco, Salta city centre

The following morning we were picked up by Roberto who drove us to the estancia called Sayta for our 2 day stay. Upon arrival we were greeted by our hosts, the hilarious and out-going owner Enrique, his daughter Laura and other family and friends. In Enrique's broken English 'Ryan - this is my effing ex Mother-in-law'!! The ranch itself was awesome and full of rustic charm. After breakfast Catia, the very friendly German volunteer ranch worker, gave us our chaps and led us to our horses. Rachel's horse was called Gypsy and I had Scruffy. A bit like they knew we were travellers I suppose. We were taken on a 2 hour ride through tobacco plant fields led by the uber cool Sergio, an experienced gaucho who made it look so easy. Although somewhat perplexed by Rachels high pitched 'yeee haaa's' Sergio was very patient and full of good advice.

Rachel on Gypsy with the uber-cool gaucho Sergio

Ryan and Rach on Scruffy and Gypsy

After our ride Rach and I were invited to join the family for the asado. Enrique had been slowly BBQ-ing the meat since we stated our ride. We were served copious amounts of fillet steak, sausage and pork with all the trimmings washed down with far too much vino tinto before our afternoon ride. For a further 3 hours Sergio took us through some very challenging terrain through rivers and streams. I thought we would just be doing circles in a small field.  After 5 hours on the horse for our first day were were shattered and ready for bed but not before Enrique cooked us pasta washed down with yet more vino.

Enrique´s and Laura´s family and friends

The hilarious Enrique with his asado

The following day 7 more guests arrived to join Rach and I, who had been the only guests on the ranch.  We had a 2 hour ride in the morning where we were able to gallop a short distance. Once again, this was followed by yet another huge asado. Enrique's BBQ's are the stuff of legends and need to be seen, and sampled, to be believed. Enrique is a larger than life character and when he says 'eat' you eat. After dinner we simply could not move so opted out of a further ride in favour of a lazy afternoon  relaxing on the ranch. As the other riders returned it was obvious we, and some other guests, had been 'relaxing' a little too much, made evident by the empty wine bottles. Most of the other guests left that evening apart from German and Alicia, two Argentine friends from Buenos Aires. That evening we all ate another huge dinner washed down with more vino. We had a fantastic time laughing, joking and practicing our Spanish with new friends.

Enrique's legendary asado lunch enjoyed with fellow guests and gauchos

Rach, Alicia, Ryan, Catia, German, Laura saying goodbye at Sayta

Rach on Gypsy

The following morning we were driven back to Salta with German and Alicia. We met up that evening at 7pm to go for drinks in the Balcarce area, the prime nightlife area in Salta. It was fantastic to meet such friendly people who were extremely patient whilst we praticed our Spanish. After a couple of Fernet and Cokes it was time to say goodbye to our new friends. Our last night in Argentina could not have been spent with two nicer people. A lasting memory of times in our favourite country so far. Boliva tomorrow, things are going to get a little more unpredictable.

05-09.02.11 San Pedro De Atacama

San Pedro De Atacama is a small unpaved oasis town of single storey mud and clay 'adobe' houses in the middle of the Atacama Desert at 2,436 mtrs above sea level. Needless to say, it’s hideously hot during the day whilst temperatures plummet at night. The town draws travellers from all over the world who come to see the volcanoes, geysers, sand dunes, lagoons and salt flats.  The bus ride here was unique. Vast planes of nothingness interspersed with ear popping changes in altitude. 

It hadn't rained here for 3 years but it rained heavily a couple hours after we arrived and were told it was the 3rd day of rain. The rain comes between 6 and 7pm but heavy down pours here have catastrophic effects on unpaved access roads meaning the El Tatio Geysers and the Ojos De Salar were not immediately accessible.

For our first day we booked a guide to see the antiplano salt lagoons. Rach was suffering from a stomach bug so we very nearly postponed the trip. Forever the brave, Rach decided to go ahead with the tour. Our man Pedro picked us up from our hostel at 6am in his 4x4 and drove for 2 hours on unpaved roads to Lagunas Miscanti and Miniques at 4,200 metres above sea level. We were quite literally left breathless both by the stunning scenery and the altitude. Unfortunately Rach wasn’t feeling too well and decided to chew on some coca leaves, a well known, and legal, local remedy for altitude sickness. No joy, it just made her feel more sick. We are not sure of it was the bug or the height but it was a stark reminder that altitude needs to be respected and proper acclimatization is vital. 

Early moring at Laguna Miscanti where we had breakfast

 

Rach with our guide Pedro

The huge pools of azure blue were ringed by white ribbons of salt with herds of wild llamas, known as vicunas, grazing along the shore. After visting a couple of other high altitude lagoons we arrived at the salt lake Lago Tuyajto. The salt formations were staggering an unlike anything I have ever seen. Later in the afternoon our mate Pedro drove us to the Salar De Atacama’s Laguna Chaxa, a weird lake of bizarre salt formations doubling up as a national reserve for numerous types of flamingos.

Rach and I at Salt Lake Tuyajto at 4,000 mtrs

Agua Calientes salt lake with volcanoes in the distance

Incredible array of colours. Hot to cold

Flamingos in the desert

Lake Chaxa, Salar De Atacama

Upon our return Pedro stopped on the ancient Inca route to Lima where rocks are formed into cairns to make a wish. Oh, not touristy at all, not one bit. Yes, of course we did!  See below...

We had originally planned just 3 days here but a lack of buses meant we had 5 days. In reality this was a bonus allowing the quagmire on the El Tatio access road chance to dry up. With time on our side we decided to hire some bikes and cycle through open desert to the Valle De La Luna, Chile's Moon Valley.  Luckily the 20km ride to the valley was beneith a blanket of cloud away of the sun's brutal rays. The valley itself was stunning and more like mars we thought. We took occasional stops through the valley visiting strange otherworldy geographical formations. Our favourite being the Star Wars-esque canyon with pitch black caves where head torches were necessary to complete the loop. An experience made even better given the fact we were completely alone.

Enroute to the Valle De La Luna, the Moon Valley

The start of the canyon loop

 The cave. It was actually pitch black in here without the flash, and 'no' there was no booze involved!

The formation on the right is known as the ampitheatre for obvious reasons

With luck on our side we were able to get to the famous El Tatio Geysers on our last day in San Pedro. We were picked up at 4am to get to the worlds highest geothermal field (4,320 mtrs asl) where the geysers are most active from 6 to 8am. The 2 hour journey took 3 hours as our driver worked his magic through landslides and rivers to arrive around 7am. The geyser were sporadically spewing steam and jets of boiling water. They seem to be alive 'erupting' every 3 to 5 minutes. An incredible sight but to be honest I was expecting them to be a little higher and a bit more dramatic. Not that I am asking for much of course...

 The geothermal field from a distance

Up close and personal. Well over boiling point

I took this without even knowing the bird was there. Lucky eh?

San Pedro is amazing. A true oasis in the middle of the desert and an absolute must if visiting Chile. Just watch out for the dogs. Like any other town in Chile, they roam the streets in gangs and chase anything with wheels, they even sandboard.

Gang of 5 dogs on their way sandboarding, the 6th wasn't invited...

Sorry, it must be the altitude!

02-04.02.11 La Serena & Elqui Valley

We had banked on a bit of walking to find a hostel for our stay but we turned up at our hostel of choice without a booking to find they had two beds left in a private room – result. 

The following day we jumped on a bus to the Elqui Valley with Sam and Julie, a really nice couple from our hostel.  We bought a ticket which allowed us to hop on and off the local bus at any of the towns and villages on route so we headed to the last stop on the line Pisco Elqui.

The Elqui Valley - a lush green oasis

The main attraction of this sleepy village was the Mistral Distillery, where the Chilean national drink ‘pisco’ is made.  Luckily, we had missed the 11am tour (a bit early to get on the alcohol) so we wandered around the village until the next tour commenced. 

Pisco Elqui main square

The tour was only in Spanish but we managed to get the gist that the Pisco making process was the same as making wine and then distilled to make the liquor.  We finished off the tour with some tasting – one a bit like brandy and the other a bit like tequila.  I expect both of them taste better when mixed with coke or made into a pisco sour!  After a relaxing half an hour sat in the pretty gardens sampling the pisco sour with our friends, we hopped back onto the bus to the nearest town Vicuna.

Giant cactai in Pisco Elqui

Mistral Distillery terrace

We split with Sam and Julie on arrival to explore at our own pace and quickly realised that apart from the main square and a couple of churches, there wasn’t much for us to see. 

An artist at work in the main square in Vicuna

 

We walked down a couple of streets and found a cheap bar to contemplate our next move.  We picked a cracker of a bar that basically had 2 drunks, a bar man and a duke box playing awful Chilean country and western style music.  We are certainly not saying that all Chilean music is awful just the music the drunks were selecting!!!  We somehow got chatting to the resident drunk.  Well, perhaps chatting is a bad description.  He kept mumbling a load of drunken Spanish to us, the bar man then translated into normal Spanish and we got the gist of it.  Mostly it was having a go at the Argentineans saying that Chile was a better country serving better wine and pisco and has better men (indicating himself we could only assume!)

Somehow I was persuaded to start dancing with the crazy fella, something I instantly regretted as the man got far too close for comfort.  It gave Ryan and the bar man something to be chirpy about though!!  Safe to say, we left shortly after in a cloud of embarrassment…

Rach and some strange man dancing to Chilean country and western

 

We headed back to our hostel to be picked up at 830pm for a night of star gazing at the Observatorio Cerro Mamalluca, located 9km from Vicuna.  We arrived for the English speaking tour at 11pm to be wowed from the instant we arrived.  The Elqui Valley has between 345 and 360 cloudless night skies per year making it one of the best places in the world to star gaze.  The night we arrived was no exception, and without telescopes we could clearly see the Milky Way, Orion, the Seven Sisters, Taurus, Gemini, Scorpio, Cancer, the Southern Cross and Beatlejuice amongst others (with the help of our guide and laser beams of course).  We also used several of the public telescopes to view clusters of stars - 3 or more stars are called a cluster.  One of the clusters we viewed had 250+ stars within the cluster, of which our naked eye could only see one.  It was amazing and to top it all off, we saw several shooting stars as clear as day (or night!).  The guide was brilliant, really enthusiastic and engaging and made quite a complex subject really fun.

Telescope at Observatorio Cerro Mamalluca - one of the only photos the camera could manage to take! [James Bond I thought...Ry]

 

The following day we spent some time walking along the beach front at La Serena before jumping on the night bus to San Pedro de Atacama, our last stop in Chile.

Sun setting behind a church, La Serena