211218: The wrong trousers - Salar de Uyuni
So, for the last two nights we have barely slept and finally we are in a nice hotel with proper beds and a private bathroom. Bliss! Then, just as we were preparing to have a good night's sleep, there comes a knock on our door, and our driver tells us we must be up and away by 4.30 am.
The alarm went too soon and we were off again heading towards Incahuasi island in the middle of the salt flats. It was so early we didn't have to pay to access the Salar de Uyuni. Our driver switched off his lights as we headed across the salt, but we were too tired to be even bothered, never mind impressed. We could see other headlights in the distance heading towards the island. We parked up, were given a chocolate snack and were told to take a path to the top of the island. It wasn't what we were expecting. The climb took about 15 minutes in the dark and let's say, Joan was decidedly grumpy. Then with about 50 other people we stared east as the sky turned blue and pink and awaited sunrise. There was a bit of hassle as some late arrivers stood directly in front of folk who had been waiting patiently, sitting down.
The irony of the date was not lost on us. This was 21 December - that is, the longest day in Bolivia so today we had to get up the very earliest of all year. It's always nice to see the sunrise but it wasn't the awe inspiring moment as billed. Frankly the option to stay in bed longer would have be welcomed.
However daylight did reveal that the island was populated with huge cacti, some in bloom.
Then it was a slow descent via an exhibition which told about the ritual of llama slaughtering, complete with graphic photos. Nice! Bizarrely they blindfold the llamas first.
Breakfast was on a salt picnic table. Each jeep had its own parking spot and table. It felt very regimented. Now around 6.30 am we were looking forwards to some sustenance, but dry cake and pink yoghurt had to do.
So, then we headed off across the Salar and found some of the geometric shaped patterns that make the salt flats so photogenic. The driver told us we had an hour to take photos. We took a couple and went back to the jeep to sleep.
Our French companions seem much livelier today and played around doing the perspective trick shots that the salt flats are so famous for. Our driver encouraged us to do the same but we slept.
Then it was across the salt again to a salt hotel. This is the only hotel actually built on the Salar and now building on the salar is discouraged.
By the hotel was a monument to the Dakar rally which took place here in 2014.
Next we moved on to some bubbling springs. If we understood right, there is still water below the salt and it occasionally rises to the surface. For the record, the water was cold.
To be brutally honest, this trip with Tupiza Tours has been so packed with stuff that it has been hard to make sense of it all. Hopefully writing this blog will pull it all together. We have four days blogging to catch up on. We were so tired today that the amazing salar trip mostlikely was not fully appreciated. In fact yesterday, we jokingly started a count down asking each other every hour or so "When do we escape?"
We enjoyed the train cemetery and may return,and we tried to recreate a scene from the Lalala video for our "nieces" Ava and Erin. It took a while and we didn't realise that the other jeep had left. Our fellow travellers just disappeared.
So our driver took us to the hotel where we are staying - Inn Beliz on Mexico. Our cases were unloaded and an old gent came to help bring them in. It was at this point that our driver said that Sylvia from El grano d'oro Hotel in Tupiza had asked him to collect the "lost" trousers for us. We knew they weren't the right trousers as Kevin had found them. So Kevin went off with the driver and Jocelyn and Patrice to get the parcel from the Tupiza Bus company office. It was a bit chaotic and one lass said we would have to wait for the "Secretary" to come before we could retrieve the trousers. Our driver could not wait that long as he had to return Jocelyn and Patrice to Tupiza. It was all a bit embarrassing as they were all being so helpful but we knew they were the wrong trousers! But eventually they left and finally Kevin and I were alone.
Our hotel is the top floor of a dentists. We thought we were hiring an apartment but it is a series of rooms built around a lounge and kitchen. Payment was by cash but we only had enough for two days out of the three we are staying.
We walked back to the Tupiza bus company and the same lass who had told us to come back at 2.30 was now the Secretary. We opened the parcel, confirmed the trousers were not ours, (no surprise there then!) and then repackaged them and sent them back to Tupiza. What chaos we have caused!
Next we looked for a cash machine. The first machine turned down both our cards, the second was out of order. The third initially turned us down too as we had asked for too much. We recalled on previous trips to South America that the amount you can take out per day is not uniform. So we asked for less and were successful.
On Arce street, there were plenty of cafes with tables outside so we pulled up a couple of chairs and ordered a beer. It was about 4 pm and too early for dinner so we shared some delicious fried nachos with guacamole. We had indeed escaped Tupiza Tours!
Back at the hotel we decided to rest before going out. Kevin fell asleep on the bed whilst Joan caught up on emails. When he awoke, Joan had a rest, fell asleep and when she awoke it was just too much like hard work to go out and eat so we went to bed dinnerless.
The alarm went too soon and we were off again heading towards Incahuasi island in the middle of the salt flats. It was so early we didn't have to pay to access the Salar de Uyuni. Our driver switched off his lights as we headed across the salt, but we were too tired to be even bothered, never mind impressed. We could see other headlights in the distance heading towards the island. We parked up, were given a chocolate snack and were told to take a path to the top of the island. It wasn't what we were expecting. The climb took about 15 minutes in the dark and let's say, Joan was decidedly grumpy. Then with about 50 other people we stared east as the sky turned blue and pink and awaited sunrise. There was a bit of hassle as some late arrivers stood directly in front of folk who had been waiting patiently, sitting down.
The irony of the date was not lost on us. This was 21 December - that is, the longest day in Bolivia so today we had to get up the very earliest of all year. It's always nice to see the sunrise but it wasn't the awe inspiring moment as billed. Frankly the option to stay in bed longer would have be welcomed.
However daylight did reveal that the island was populated with huge cacti, some in bloom.
Then it was a slow descent via an exhibition which told about the ritual of llama slaughtering, complete with graphic photos. Nice! Bizarrely they blindfold the llamas first.
Breakfast was on a salt picnic table. Each jeep had its own parking spot and table. It felt very regimented. Now around 6.30 am we were looking forwards to some sustenance, but dry cake and pink yoghurt had to do.
So, then we headed off across the Salar and found some of the geometric shaped patterns that make the salt flats so photogenic. The driver told us we had an hour to take photos. We took a couple and went back to the jeep to sleep.
Our French companions seem much livelier today and played around doing the perspective trick shots that the salt flats are so famous for. Our driver encouraged us to do the same but we slept.
Then it was across the salt again to a salt hotel. This is the only hotel actually built on the Salar and now building on the salar is discouraged.
By the hotel was a monument to the Dakar rally which took place here in 2014.
Next we moved on to some bubbling springs. If we understood right, there is still water below the salt and it occasionally rises to the surface. For the record, the water was cold.
Then we were taken to a village called Colchani which is meant to be famous for salt mining and textiles. There were loads of stalls selling textiles, but to be honest, they all looked similar and were similar to other textiles we had seen on sale in Sucre and Potosi. We suspect they were not manufactured locally.
Our final stop for the day was for a very early lunch. We pulled into a back yard and were again told to look around until lunch was served. A small boy played with a small white llama, which didn't seem to mind meeting people.
Lunch was quinoa, vegetable stew and tuna fritters for the non-veggies. It was served again on plastic tables covered with oil cloths. When we first arrived started on the tour, Jocelyn and Patrice only drank water like us but in a few days they are now on the brightly coloured fizzy stuff!
Our final visit of the day was to the train cemetery at Uyuni. Joan was excited about this as it is one of the locations in the Lalala video. It's a shame to see these grand machines left to rust in the desert. They have been vandalised Seemingly there are plans to protect them but we guess in a country so poor, the trains are not a priority.
We enjoyed the train cemetery and may return,and we tried to recreate a scene from the Lalala video for our "nieces" Ava and Erin. It took a while and we didn't realise that the other jeep had left. Our fellow travellers just disappeared.
So our driver took us to the hotel where we are staying - Inn Beliz on Mexico. Our cases were unloaded and an old gent came to help bring them in. It was at this point that our driver said that Sylvia from El grano d'oro Hotel in Tupiza had asked him to collect the "lost" trousers for us. We knew they weren't the right trousers as Kevin had found them. So Kevin went off with the driver and Jocelyn and Patrice to get the parcel from the Tupiza Bus company office. It was a bit chaotic and one lass said we would have to wait for the "Secretary" to come before we could retrieve the trousers. Our driver could not wait that long as he had to return Jocelyn and Patrice to Tupiza. It was all a bit embarrassing as they were all being so helpful but we knew they were the wrong trousers! But eventually they left and finally Kevin and I were alone.
Our hotel is the top floor of a dentists. We thought we were hiring an apartment but it is a series of rooms built around a lounge and kitchen. Payment was by cash but we only had enough for two days out of the three we are staying.
We walked back to the Tupiza bus company and the same lass who had told us to come back at 2.30 was now the Secretary. We opened the parcel, confirmed the trousers were not ours, (no surprise there then!) and then repackaged them and sent them back to Tupiza. What chaos we have caused!
Next we looked for a cash machine. The first machine turned down both our cards, the second was out of order. The third initially turned us down too as we had asked for too much. We recalled on previous trips to South America that the amount you can take out per day is not uniform. So we asked for less and were successful.
On Arce street, there were plenty of cafes with tables outside so we pulled up a couple of chairs and ordered a beer. It was about 4 pm and too early for dinner so we shared some delicious fried nachos with guacamole. We had indeed escaped Tupiza Tours!
Back at the hotel we decided to rest before going out. Kevin fell asleep on the bed whilst Joan caught up on emails. When he awoke, Joan had a rest, fell asleep and when she awoke it was just too much like hard work to go out and eat so we went to bed dinnerless.
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| Rhea in a churchyard |
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| Christmas tree made from pop bottles |
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