Bolivia – Tupiza and the Uyuni Salt Flats Tour.

Thursday: We arrive at the Bolivian border and disembark our comfortable bus onto the paved concrete road below. We then decide to walk to the Border control which takes just under 10 mins but then realise that everyone else took a cab from the bus station – so we find ourselves at the back of the customs queue! Wow – it took a long time to process – and this was the Argentinian side! It did however give us time to take in the surroundings and spot a road sign telling us Ushuaia is 5,121 km away and that we have travelled that whole distance by bus within the last month!! A short walk across the bridge at the border control and we entered the more painful Bolivian border control – a sign of things to come perhaps!!

Walking into the Bolivian town of Villazon, on the gravel road, the first order was to exchange some cash amid the craziness (memories of the Colombian Caribbean coast were brought swiftly back), as Tupiza, where we were heading, doesn't have any ATMs! We headed for the bus station and were mobbed by the crowds of ticket sellers before almost being almost bundled onto a “bus” heading for Tupiza, our first stop in Bolivia. It took the whole journey (3 hours) to adjust to the fact we had left level concrete roads behind and comfortable seats as we tried to settle into the cracked, smelly, leather seats – not updated since the bus was manufactured cerca the 1960's. There is evidence of a new road being built, although we saw no machinery during the whole journey so we don't hold out any hopes for it being finished any time soon!

Arriving in Tupiza we were met by a number of hostel owners, we chose one of them on the promise of hot water showers and so headed off behind her to her hostel. We were extremely surprised to find a clean, large, triple room with en suite and cable TV, especially after all the fear mongering we've heard about the level of accommodation in Bolivia. We weren't planning to spend too long here, although it is a cute little town, so we started round the tour agencies to book a days horse riding for the next day and our 4 day Jeep tour round to the Uyuni salt flats for the day after. We booked both at the HI (Hostelling International) hostel. For the Salt Flats tour we chose not to opt for an English guide in the hope we'd be able to build on our Spanish that flagged so badly in Argentina!

For dinner we opted for some local cuisine... pizza and salad – damned good in-fact! We'll also add that we started to feel the altitude even here at only 2950m, climbing the stairs of the hostel with the rucksacks left us requiring a few seconds to regain breath. This was surprising after we both felt fine back in Bogota which lies at ~2,500m.

Friday: We met our horse-riding guide at 10:30, having being promised very tranquil horses based on our zero experience. We chose to do horse riding here after reading that it was the area that The Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid were killed after holding up a local bank – true cowboy country!!! After the initial hilarious attempts of mounting the horses (Lynne's attempts were not particularly lady-like – there is a photo but it is strictly not allowed to feature on the blog!) we set off, just the two of us and our guide – who spoke no English. It wasn't long before we realised that we'd been incredibly stupid (all will be revealed soon enough) and booked the full day 7 hour tour instead of the shorter 3 or 5 hour options.

The first 3 hours were brilliant fun; we made our way round through some fantastic 'cowboy' landscapes of intimidating looming red rocks and huge cacti. The horses were well behaved and we were holding our own in conversation with the guide. We even learnt to trot and at one point broke into a canter although both Lynne and I soon put an end to that with both if us feeling that we wouldn't last too long in the saddle! The fact that the guide was pushing us to this level so early was a sign of things to come!

We stopped for lunch next to the Rio del Oro (River of Gold) which in the not so distant past was filled with Bolivians sifting for gold and silver – the area is now a popular spot for the locals to cool off in the water from the hot sun – and hot it was!!! This was quite a striking area and feeling comfortable in the saddle the Henderson's started to believe they had a hold of this horse-riding lark! It was all soon to change! We were initially happy that the way back was via a different route, often on these tours you cover the same ground, and we enjoyed the first few water crossings in the gentle flows of the wider parts of the Rio del Oro. Gradually though, the crossings became more frequent and more powerful. We eventually came across one where we both had reserves about the strength of the current and suggested to the guide that this might be a bit much for us, however, he was not to be dissuaded and so we ventured into the river on horseback with the guide following behind. About three quarters of the way across the river both our horses buckled and fell in the deeper, stronger current, the water reaching right up to our waists, the sudden collapse of the horses sent us both off the side of the saddle and Lynne was thrown into the water, whilst David was able to just cling onto the saddle while his horse recovered and exited the river. It was a scary event as if the horse had fallen on top of Lynne things could have been much worse! What this also meant was that guide's horse saw this and then didn't want to follow, so Lynne and I ended up on one side of the water with the guide on the other. Before we could try and plan our way back David had to ride on and retrieve Lynne's horse which had run on ahead, somehow he managed this! Things were made worse as the guide – stranded on a muddy island in the river was thrown from his horse when he entered deep soft mud! Lynne was not hurt but was drenched head to toe, with no dry clothes to change into, luckily David had a spare jumper so first job was to exchange t-shirts with David, who spent the rest of the day sweating in his jumper, what a hero! We spent roughly an hour watching the guide try a suitable crossing point for his horse before he crossed on foot to help take us back over (NB: he intially told us to try and cross back at a weaker point but the horses didn't even budge when we kicked them and shouted “Vamos”, they knew we were beginners and didn't have a clue!) Once back across the river the guide gave us two options to get back to town, firstly, to go back the way we came, or secondly, to continue ahead along a mountain path that was “un poco peligroso” in English – a little dangerous! So it was, we headed back the way we came although after over 5 hours on the sadde it wasn't quite so much fun anymore! To make matters worst, David's horse started to misbehave, running off for food at every opportunity and breaking into trots constantly leaving him way up ahead, where he was hounded by packs of stray dogs nearer town which only forced the horse to go faster!! The last few hours were tiring and sore and we were very relieved to finally dismount!!

In summary, (neglecting the enjoyable part), the day had one dangerous incident and two very sore bums too many! After a warm shower we headed back to the tour agency office to confirm the details for the next morning departure to Uyuni; David took the opportunity to complain to the owner about the fact as beginners we should have never been made to cross such a strong river – but it soon dawned on us that Bolivian tour companies don't quite have the Health & Safety regulations we are used to in the UK! We left with nothing but a few “I very sorry Lin” (the Spanish have great difficulty pronouncing Lynne)!

Before an early bed to rest those sore musces and tired heads we headed to a local popular haunt for our first traditional Bolivian meal, pollo dorado for a mere £1 each, it was really good and we left impressed with the price and quality.

Saturday: Arriving at the tour office we met our travelling companions for the 4 day tour to Uyuni: Eduardo and Carolina (a married couple from Mexico) and Joaquin (from Rosario, Argentina). All spoke English but we agreed that we would try and speak only Spanish so we can practice (they did however agree to help translate the guide for us when required). We then met our guide, Fraulan and his wife, our cook, Rosemary, two locals. David was happy to see Rosemary was carrying a few pounds, just his type of chef! Our Nissan 4x4 was comfortable enough for the five of us, guide and chef with the backpacks thrown on the roof with the other equipment. We had read varying reports about some of the tour companies, especially around the quality of the 4x4 and the tyres. David had company from Eduardo when checking out the tread on the tyres including the spare; the only concern being that the spare looked a bit well worn! We were to later learn that there are three parties involved in the operation – the guide (a freelancer), the vehicle owner and the tour agency. Effectively what this means is that there is no-one party who takes responsibility for the maintenance of the vehicle and most importantly it's tyres. We were appeased, however, to learn Fraulan was a trained mechanic, who would over the four days be a saviour for several other tourist groups whose 4x4s blew tyres or had engine problems!

As soon as we reached the outskirts of Tupiza, we started a rapid climb off-roading along a mountain “path” with no safety barriers obviously, it was scary at times, particularly when Fraulan was showing off or being a bit careless by driving right up behind other jeeps or trying to overtake them, what's more the dirt flicked up by the jeeps meant visibility in front was at times non-existent! Fortunately, Carolina politely ordered him to calm down! We reached well over 4,500m by the end of the day, a considerable climb from Tupiza which lies at 2,950m. We were warned about the altitude sickness but we were all able to keep it at bay by chewing on cocoa leaves supplied by Rosemary (the locals eat them constantly – though they are not very nice!).

The first day's journey supplied some fantastic views across the region from up high, not quite as spectacular as the following days but impressive nonetheless. We didn't have much opportunity to have a walk when we stopped at viewing points but this suited everyone fine as we found ourselves seriously out of breath after the shortest of gentle climbs. Lunch was served alongside the other touring jeeps (~12 in total) on a grassy plain filled with llamas, which gave us our first opportunity to get up close with the animals and for David to familiarise himself with what will be filling his belly over the coming weeks. It was also our first meal on the tour and we were pleasantly surprised by the grub that Rosemary whipped up – with David taking to the strange meat parcels better than Lynne.

The final climb in the afternoon introduced us to the varying nature of the environment here and we enjoyed sand swept mountain tops amidst rock valleys. At every turn we were treated to sensational panoramic views across the mountain / volcano tops for as far as the eye could see – it took a while to comprehend the vastness of the wilderness here and made us hungry for more. I'm afraid that the photos taken of the valleys just don't do it justice so you'll just have to take our word for it. Amongst the mountains, Fraulen also pointed out several small communities who still spoke the indigenous languages and whom continued to mine the lands for precious metals, mainly silver.

We stopped for the night in a small community called San Antonio. The place was made up of small adobe houses and exists primarily for the tourists. The five of us had our own dormitory room equipped with nothing more than a well-worn bed each and plenty of warm woolen covers to combat the cold temperatures at night. Before dinner, David got involved in a football match with some of the other tourists and the local kids. All the tourists soon regretted their first few sprints as our lungs emptied and had us keeling over, whilst the kids ran circles round us. However, David had some very talented local girls on his side and he helped mastermind a victory that will go down in local folklore – so he tells himself! As darkness arrived we had dinner in our own little dining room and enjoyed the warming 3-course dinner laid on by Rosemary. The rest of the evening was spent playing cards.

Sunday: We were up at 4:30am, to vamos at 5:00am after some breaky. David really struggled to sleep during the night and didn't feel too hot as the jeep headed off – altitude sickness had taken him! Gradually, as we made our way through the first few stop-offs he felt worse and worse until the jeep had to be stopped. After a few minutes sat on the mountain side he was given some tablets by Fraulan and filled his mouth with cocoa leaves – the result, 30mins later he felt like a new man!

Shortly afterwards we reached a new high on the journey, 4,855m with views of the inactive Volcano Uturuncu which stands at an impressive 6,008m. After a wait at a checkpoint for Fraulan to attend to his and his mates jeeps we were off to enjoy some incredible scenery on desert plains surrounding by imposing mountains and volcanoes whilst catching our first glimpse of the local flamingo population feeding on several large lakes. The area is so peaceful, we felt we could sit in some of these places for hours just enjoying the silence and 'other worldy' views. One of the most impressive sights was Lago Verde. After being informed we would be having lunch at some thermal springs we briefly stopped at a smaller lake that is covered in a natural white powder (we can't remember the chemical name) but it is farmed and sold to the shampoo industry; this would be the first of many lakes we would see where this chemical covers lakes – but don't worry we won't be giving a geology lesson mainly because we couldn't fully understand Fraulan! But we have made a point to research this on wikipedia one day!

The thermal springs are situated at the base of a stunning lake, one which the Bolivian Government is trying to promote as one of the new seven wonders of the world – we're not sure about that, but it is a beautiful spot. The thermals meanwhile, are constrained to a smallish man-made bathing area where hot water flows up from springs in the rocks below. They were full of the other tourists as everyone waited for their respective chefs to cook up a hot lunch. The baths were really warm and soothing (especially for two retired horse riders who still struggled with very sore muscles) and the fact they were filled with lots of smelly tourists didn't bother us. Lunch was consumed very quickly, David being taught a lesson on how to eat by Eduardo, much to the surprise of Lynne.

The afternoon took us on a wondrous tour of the so called Dali Deserts, named after the famous Spanish artist Salvador Dali once it emerged they had inspired much of the sandy red schemes and desert landscapes he used in so much of his work, however, we were a little puzzled once we found out he had never visited them and we're pretty sure in his age colour photographs and the internet were not readily accessible (perhaps we lost the translation)! Ignoring this though, the colours were incredible and we all just sat back and relaxed taking in the stunning surroundings.

The trip took us to another picturesque lake sitting at the base of another inactive volcano 'Volcan Licancahur'. Racing back across the deserts we had one more stop at some natural geysers called 'Sol de Manana' at a staggering 4,870m, these were the first geysers either of us have ever visited and we regretted rushing in close when the strong sulphur smells hit us hard! We persevered though to get a photo for the blog! Base was only a short drive away close to Laguna Colorado – our first stop in the morning. The base camp for the night was again a string of adobe buildings with very basic rooms. We worked up an appetite taking a brief walk with Eduardo and Carolina round the camp before dinner and playing cards till bedtime. Fortunately, we all got a good night's sleep as we were up for breakfast at 6:30!

Monday: There were less stops scheduled for today (not surprising considering yesterday was 12 hours on route!) with a shorter drive much to the relief of the boys mainly whose knees a bit cramped given the space on board. Arriving at the side of Laguna Colorado shortly after sunrise we were allowed to take some time to wander round the laguna edge and enjoy the stunning tranquility and views. Like many of the lagos and lagunas we had stopped at so far, the flamingos were present in numbers.

The next stop was the 'Arbol de Piedra' in English, the Tree of Rocks. This is an area at an altitude of 4,260m where in the middle of a desert are a set of naturally formed tree shaped rocks (well, in truth there is just one, but all the others form just as crazy shapes). You are free to climb and explore and its difficult to imagine how on earth these rocks were shaped and left here in the middle of no-where.

Lunch was enjoyed in an area that resembled the moon's surface – just another example of the varied landscapes of this region. A great place to relax in the warmth of the sun and an occasion for the lads to exchange sporting anthems – needless to say the jeep was treated to a rendition of Marching On Together!!

The last attraction of the day was a set of five smaller lagunas set one after the other. As a group we decided to visit three of them as they were all in truth fairly similar – looking back it seems silly how we could start to take such environments for granted and miss the opportunity to spend time next to all of them – but that just goes to show how spoilt you are on this trip for sensational views. As we drove to our base camp for the night we were also treated to views of smoking active volcanoes including 'Volcan Ollague' in the distance!

Our base for the night was near a place called Puerto Chubica sat on the edge of the 'Salar de Uyuni' – the Uyuni Salt Plains, the climax of the trip! The hostel was made of salt blocks cut directly from the salt plains and consisted of a “cosy” five bed dorm for us all, the other rooms taken by a bunch of Israelis we had stayed with previously. We arrived early at 15:30 and enjoyed just chilling in the common room overlooking the salt plains playing cards and music. The view from the front of the building was once more mesmerising (we feel like we're repeating ourselves in this blog, but it all has been so amazing!), never before had we felt we could see for so far in the distance – Norfolk looks mountainous compared to this! We struggled to enjoy dinner as much this night as when delivered by Rosemary it was accompanied by a strong pungent smell – one we had started to notice more and more since the second morning; this smell was Rosemary herself, now we don't want to be too mean here but we noticed she had not showered the whole trip, we all struggled to maintain our appetites a bit after this and ate smaller portions this evening. The lack of hygiene in Bolivia in general is very noticeable especially in this part of the country where water is scarce and often runs out to the point toilets are flushed manually using buckets of water from a communal tub and where there is little washing of hands by the locals! All of this started to bug us a little, but what can you say!! After dinner, we taught the others the card game 'shithead' – now we're sure most of you are aware of the rules and perhaps know it under a slightly less offensive name but they seemed to go for it was the only game we played all night! The games were interrupted briefly by 20 minutes storm watching, as we watched lightening flickering above distant mountain tops, visible due to the clarity of the night sky here.

Bedtime was forced at 21:30 due to the electricity being turned off (the building uses solar panels like all of the settlements in the area) and everyone retired to bed looking forward to the next day on the Salar de Uyuni!!

Tuesday: It was 10 minutes drive from the lodging before we were driving on the salt plain, this was ~ 6:00am and so in complete darkness with the sun edging upwards. We stopped, disembarked and watched the sunrise over the plain. The salt plain covers 12.000 Km2 and it is situated more than 3600 meters above the sea level.

Due to the pristine white surface it didn't take long for the dark to be replaced by blinding whiteness and we were able to take in this truly amazing place. Soon enough it was time to start playing around with cameras; in this environment photos are unable to gain any perspective so you can get some amusing and unusual shots. Next, we headed for the 'Isla de Pescado' known as the ' El Corazon del Salar' The heart of the Salt Plain. This is a remarkable rocky island that rises in the middle of the plain covered in huge cacti, some over 1000 years old. Being a protected park, access was included in the tour and we enjoyed panoramic views from the top of the island across the plain, absolutely fascinating! Breakfast was served shortly after with Rosemary (who we were happy to say had her first shower last night and smelt much better) pulling out the stops with a heart shaped cake much to David's delight! After shifting our cake-filled tummies back onto the jeep we headed across the other side of the plain. Here, Fraulan stopped to fish out some salt crystals from water pockets which helped him explain its structure. This place is also known as “The mirror of the sky “. It is considered the biggest lithium reserve of Bolivia: it is estimated that it contains 64 thousand millions of salt tons. The salt plateau (120 meters deep) is formed by 11 layers that vary from 2 to 10 meters.

We all bagged a handful of salt crystals although we're not sure ours will survive another 4 months of travelling in our backpacks! At the edge of the plain we visited the Salt hotel (an illegal structure; although it is still a tourist destination and souvenir shop) before having lunch in Colchani a small touristy settlement. The drive from here to Uyuni took 45 minutes where we disembarked the jeep for a final time hereby ending the most remarkable trip! A real highlight, so far equal to that of the Amazon and Torres del Paine.

The last task was to fill in a feedback form. There were a few sentiments felt by the group, none more so than the fact the tour operators should be proactive in promoting eco/ethical tours. This was prompted by the fact that at all of the amazing sites we visited tourists and staff(!) were going to the toilet in any secluded (or in some cases not so secluded) spot they could find and leaving toilet paper littering the ground. It was very upsetting that people couldn't do more to help but until the tour operators push this agenda it might not improve. However, in a country (not too dissimilar to the rest of the Continent thus explored) where the locals seem only too happy to discard their litter wherever and whenever they wish we do not hold out too much hope. Come on Bolivia!!!!!

We had planned to stay one night in Uyuni but it didn't take long to realise there is very little reason to do so! Therefore, we headed off with Eduardo and Carolina to town and booked an overnight bus to La Paz leaving later that night. The booking was with a very touristy operator at slightly more expense than others but this suited us fine as all the other passengers were gringos and so we felt much more comfortable knowing we didn't have to watch our bags on the bus! However, no matter which bus you take you still have to take the same roads, and the first 200km out of Uyuni are unpaved! To relax and prepare our selves for the journey we relaxed in the town square with a couple of beers and some Mexican food, although unsurprisingly Eduardo and Carolina would not classify it as Mexican! The first 200km were indeed horrible and it felt like the bus driver was going far too fast! You honestly couldn't tell if you were on a road or back on the jeep crossing boulder ridden valleys but we made it to La Paz to tell the tale...