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Bolivia.
Salt flats, cactuses, desert, volcanoes, train skeletons, red lakes, a giant meringue, rocks, snowy mountains, misty jungles, waterfalls, a tropical animal oasis, gushing rivers, and the chaotic city in a cliff lined hole called La Paz.
We pulled a long haul. A 12 hour bus from Cusco to La Paz and then another 12 hour bus to Uyuni. The second bus had a traumatic final 3 hours on the bumpiest road of my life. One bump actually catapulted me out of my chair as I was trying to sleep. And we must have been going fast cause we arrived 2 hours early to the deadest most freezing town at 5am. A man later named Kermit for his violently green attire let us into his office and hotel for a hot shower and a bit of yearned-for horizontal time.
This began the grumpiest morning of my life. To start, Uyuni sucks. It is purely a stop off town on the way to the salt flats - so everyone who lives there works in tourism. And those people have a way of getting under your skin when your tired and don't want to be scammed. We flocked from cafe to cafe slowly finding out that there was no electricity in the whole town. Which not only meant we couldn't have pancakes but also meant the ATMs weren't working and the banks were closed. So we actually couldn't afford our salt tour. However with a lot of negotiating we struck a deal with a good lady and finally got ourselves into two jeeps stocked with water, food, petrol and a driver (Claudio) who would be with us or the 3 day tour.
And we bounced back immediately after leaving that hell hole. Playing in a train cemetery like little kids, running around the salt plains, tasting the salt piles and the salt buildings and taking trick photography. My favorite being Claud pooing out Grace, Penny and Tori - what a well positioned jacket I must say!
We stayed in a hotel made of salt -sitting, eating and sleeping on slabs of salt. Which was surprisingly warm and comfortable. Besides the girl who lives there who enjoys annoying all the tourists. Most of us got a punch on the back, had her looking through our stuff in our rooms - I even got a slap on the butt!
We saw flamingoes the next day at a huge lagoon, and later at a huge bright red lagoon with this Giant Meringue I mentioned earlier. It looked like an iceberg on the lake but no, after boarding the mound we found like everything it was salt. Fluffy looking, crumbly salt-meringue.
We got a sleep in to 5 the next morning as the others had to wake up at 2am to do their volcano climb of death. Glad I missed that boat - their guide didn't show and only Myles and Jasper made it to the top, suffering hallucinations from the altitude. A great Birthday experience for Mdog - happy nineteenth..?
Meanwhile the girls went to what we thought was 'seeing the sun rise' as our friends had raved about seeing a sunrise where the salt rises into the air. But we were on a different tour it turned out. No one was more upset to see the sun in the sky than Grace who was not calmed by Claud insisting "no look, it's going back down!" when it went behind a mountain. Instead we went to Giardia planet. The natural steam stuff near the volcanoes that smells like the eggy farts and burps many of us have experienced during the placement. It was very Lion King like though, and was actually really cool once we'd gotten over the no sunrise thing.
The hot springs was the real highlight though. 7am, at some high altitude, nearly minus degrees, we painfully stripped down to our undies and raced into the pool. It was 38 degrees and heavenly! Sun shining on the bright blue lake, steamy and warm and most of all - clean for the first time in days. Needless to say, it was hard to leave.
Our tour ended that afternoon with a group squatting incident, the discovery of Clauds rotund arse, and a car of Spanish men who never knew what was coming. We dashed quickly through Uyuni - forgiving an angsty bartender for being rude cause we decided "anyone would be angry if they lived here" So finally got an even worse bumpy bus back to La Paz.
Death Road was next for us. A day later we got picked up and taken up the mountains. Absolutely gobsmacked to see snow lining the road as I was sitting in shorts and a Tshirt in the van.
The two Argentinian boys were a most welcome addition to the group - whos dreamy eyes made us even more excited for Argentina later in the trip. Geared up with elbow and knee pads, sexy gear and hard core helmets we were soon ready. Holly with plaited slut strands and all. Gliding down through snowy mountains, past waterfalls, through clouds so misty we were soaked in seconds. The road isn't used anymore so we didnt have to worry about traffic - just on staying away from the cliff and avoiding big rocks or the "ugly" parts of the road as our guide said. He also should have said not to break too much on the ugly parts as I did and flew over the front of my bike, somersaulting twice. Quite the stack. But I got back on the bike a little jittered but okay. Two stops later though the old wrist was not happy and too sore to use the han break I thought it best to give in and get in the van. Resigned as the only stacker of the group.
We feasted at the buffet, going back for fourths when our guide asked us if "we go now please?".
He dropped us at La Senda Verde at the bottom of death road - an animal sanctuary that Grace had researched over a year ago now. Reunited with the four now called "The Budgeters" Henry, Makenzie, Ruby and Trish. Eating Tori's leftover mashed potatoes in their bare hands was a real high point.
We stayed in a treehouse reached by a rickety bridge. The monkeys would sneak Ito your rooms if not careful - Tori learned this the first morning when a monkey woke her up swinging on her bunkbed - even better Grace locked the door from the outside the night before so she was trapped inside with it. We heard the cries for help from the treehouse but... we didn't help. Soz toz.
The volunteers introduced us to the monkeys, teaching us that we shouldn't interact too much with them. A hard thing to do when a monkey lies on your lap. Or when 3 squirrel monkeys attack you on a rickety bridge when your a cripple. Yeah that was me. That was the reason the monkey got slapped if u saw the video on Facebook.
I made it back to la Paz again a little travel scarred with my bamboo splint hand and sadly camera-less. Lost somewhere on the way back from the jungle. Some monkey probably stole it.
Finally a week off from partying was ended with un grande fiesta. Reunited with our lost Argentinian man, uniting with other Aussie travellers singing land downunder on the bar, and basically making bloody fools of ourselves all over La Paz.
3am street Anticuchos did not do me well the next morning and so I stayed home in my poisoned state while the girls went for a shopping spree. I believe Holly won with enough leather bags to start up her own street business.
The volcanoers returned weary and worn. I think the intensity of their expedition and the close confines of the jeep made all of them happy to be back with the rest of the group.
Last trip was to Copacabana and Isle de Sol on Lake Titicaca. Where serious eating and relaxation took place. Smish earned herself 50 points for Gryffindor in my opinion for ordering 3 main meals a juice and I think probably desert? All of which probs cost her under $20.
We ate trout, sunbaked and read on the top of the boat, ate trout, sunbaked on the beach. We arose at 5 for a sunrise walk that the other group told us about. Determined this time to see it, we walked up the hill a man told us about. But we were walking away from the sun. It was the wrong walk. We rushed back to the other walking track we now knew as right. But alas we missed watching the sun rise AGAIN. However it was a lovely coastal walk anyway - mum and dad you' be proud.
(but maybe not so much about us catching a boat halfway)
The island was beautiful, though some made it back a bit less beautiful and a bit more red. The sunburn lines Grace, Claudia and Holly put on show was impressive.
All in all it was a splendiferous trip. We returned to our doting families a little sick and worn, but pleased to be back. It really did feel like home, I missed my host mum's cooking, my roomies, the shop owner and even our lanky German dj friend whose wormed his way into the group's heart.
Only one more month of group shenanigans ! I don't know what we'll do without each other at the end of this.
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