Butch was enjoying South America until we arrived in Bolivia.
Our driver was to pick us up at the hotel at 8:00 am. As we were packing, the front desk called down to our room to see if we needed them to create breakfast boxes for us for the trip. Like I said before, the service at Alto Atacama is first class.
On our way out of San Pedro we had to stop at the immigration office to get stamped out of Chile. We arrived to find a long queue of people. All of the guides go through a complicated negotiation process to place their people in line. We were immediately jumped to the middle of the line and then bumped up near the front before too long.
Our driver then drove us up into the mountains to the Bolivian border where we purchased our Bolivian visas and switched to our Bolivian guide. The Bolivian border is at 14,000 feet and at the entrance to a national park.
I was told that the ride to the salt flats in Bolivia would be 8 hours but it took 12. I'm not too happy about that as I would not have agreed to a 12 hour car ride. 8 was at the edge for me.
The ride was fun for about the first 4 hours. We stopped at various places along the way and went as high as 16,000 feet. The elevation was bothering me but did not bother Butch at all. The guides were laughing at each stop when Butch would walk all around. They kept telling him he is ready to ascend Kilimanjaro.
The Green Lagoon gets its color from the arsenic in the water which also explains the lack of life around the lagoon
The Red Lagoon gets its color from the microbes in it. This is also where the flamingoes hang out before wintering down by the Atacama Salt Flats. I had no idea there were flamingoes in South America let alone at 14,000 feet in this cold and harsh climate.
There was also a white lagoon but too boring to include pictures.
We also saw llamas
This was all great for about 4 hours and then we were sick of the bumpy dirt roads. You live. You learn.
Butch was really worried about the condition of our hotel after we stopped at the best hotel in the Bolivian highlands for lunch. I'm not nearly as big a snob as Butch but this hotel was too horrible for me to even bother to take pictures. This is when Butch started to have concerns about Bolivia. It is a much poorer country than Chile and they have not invested in the infrastructure for tourism.
Fortunately, the hotel at the salt flats is really nice. It is directly on the flats and entirely made out of salt blocks. We arrived after dark so I don't have pictures of the flats or of the hotel.
Tomorrow, we have a tour of the salt flats. The Uyuni Salt Flats have been on my bucket list for some time now. Stay tuned to see if they meet my expectations.
Our driver was to pick us up at the hotel at 8:00 am. As we were packing, the front desk called down to our room to see if we needed them to create breakfast boxes for us for the trip. Like I said before, the service at Alto Atacama is first class.
On our way out of San Pedro we had to stop at the immigration office to get stamped out of Chile. We arrived to find a long queue of people. All of the guides go through a complicated negotiation process to place their people in line. We were immediately jumped to the middle of the line and then bumped up near the front before too long.
Our driver then drove us up into the mountains to the Bolivian border where we purchased our Bolivian visas and switched to our Bolivian guide. The Bolivian border is at 14,000 feet and at the entrance to a national park.
I was told that the ride to the salt flats in Bolivia would be 8 hours but it took 12. I'm not too happy about that as I would not have agreed to a 12 hour car ride. 8 was at the edge for me.
The ride was fun for about the first 4 hours. We stopped at various places along the way and went as high as 16,000 feet. The elevation was bothering me but did not bother Butch at all. The guides were laughing at each stop when Butch would walk all around. They kept telling him he is ready to ascend Kilimanjaro.
The Green Lagoon gets its color from the arsenic in the water which also explains the lack of life around the lagoon
The Red Lagoon gets its color from the microbes in it. This is also where the flamingoes hang out before wintering down by the Atacama Salt Flats. I had no idea there were flamingoes in South America let alone at 14,000 feet in this cold and harsh climate.
There was also a white lagoon but too boring to include pictures.
We also saw llamas
And Vicunas
You need the wool from 3 adult vicunas to make one pound of wool and vicunas are difficult to domesticate which explains the high price. They are also a protected animal in Bolivia and it is illegal to kill one.
We also saw an ostrich like bird and this rock that looks like a tree. It was formed by the wind.
Butch was really worried about the condition of our hotel after we stopped at the best hotel in the Bolivian highlands for lunch. I'm not nearly as big a snob as Butch but this hotel was too horrible for me to even bother to take pictures. This is when Butch started to have concerns about Bolivia. It is a much poorer country than Chile and they have not invested in the infrastructure for tourism.
Fortunately, the hotel at the salt flats is really nice. It is directly on the flats and entirely made out of salt blocks. We arrived after dark so I don't have pictures of the flats or of the hotel.
Tomorrow, we have a tour of the salt flats. The Uyuni Salt Flats have been on my bucket list for some time now. Stay tuned to see if they meet my expectations.
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