Being on the move and struggling to find decent Wi-Fi has meant this post is a little later than planned sorry (you can find part 1 here)!
On the salt flat tour the first day of the trip was definitely the best but even having nothing to do with salt the next two days were filled with eye wateringly beautiful natural views it was hard not to be impressed. Bolivia seems to be a very underrated but stunning country but we were lucky to have all this space to ourselves to roam around the lakes, lagoons, volcanos, deserts and mountains alone.
After a good sleep in the salt hotel we were up early and back in the jeep trundling over dirt roads to a huge space of dried lava that has formed into jutting out caves and hills after an eruption from a nearby volcano many years ago. It felt like we could have been on another planet.
We stopped at quite a few lagoons including flamingo lake and the red lagoon that were so pretty before heading to Salvador Dali Desert which was bloody freezing! Back in the car we were off to see geysers which let out the eggiest fart smell you could stand down wind for just a matter of seconds before gagging, mmm isn’t nature beautiful!
That night we slept in a hostel in the middle of nowhere 5,000 metres above sea level – the highest place we have slept. They had natural hot springs which after this experience in Peru we were desperate to do, however I don’t know if it was a mix of the altitude, Bolivian cuisine or the cold but we both got sick : ( so decided to stay wrapped up indoors. We hired a sleeping bag with the tour agency and I’m so glad we did as at night the temperatures dropped to minus 10 degrees brrr.
Even though it was ruddy freezing we couldn’t miss out on a bit of stargazing before bed. As we were so far from other civilization the stars were so bright and close it was as if we could touch them. I’m gutted my camera isn’t good enough to capture what we saw to share it with you, as well as three shooting stars we spotted.
The next day was very short and after a quick breakfast and stop at a lagoon where apparently NASA test equipment used for trips to Mars as at certain times of the year it is so cold here (minus 40 degrees) which matches the similar climate as the planet! Cool huh?
We were dropped at the Bolivian border and driven an hour to the Chilean border where our trip came to an end. Desperate for a hot shower, running water and a cold drink we were happy to be in our next country but what a great experience that I would recommend everyone to do!
If you are planning on doing a similar trip here is my top tips:
- Take a torch – the electricity is dodgy and can just cut off at any moment
- Take big bottles of water and loo roll as both are hard to find or quite pricey
- Make sure that your camera is charged as you won’t want to miss a moment!
- Baby wipes and hand gel will be your best friends if you want to stay kind of clean as you will be roughing it for three days without a shower
- Whether travelling solo or in a pair it is a great way to meet other fun travellers
We booked our trip with red planet expeditions which had fab English speaking guides, great food and the best reviews.
