Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
So the photo that goes with this entry is from Punta Arenas, not where I am right now, which is in the desert. I´ll have photos up in a few days though, so hang on!
But yes, you read that right...back in the motherland! Chile! I crossed the border yesterday, and it almost feels like going home. The conversation in Spanish that I had with the bus driver coming down from the mountains was laced with "po" and "huevón" (some of them supplied by me) and I just felt like laughing.
So a recap (like all of these things are): I successfully took the train from the mildy boring Oruro to the intensly boring Uyuni. The ride was nice--better than a bus, and we crossed a lake, with flamingoes taking off in our wake. Watched a bad french action movie dubbed into Spanish, and hooked up with an Israeli guy to find a place to stay when we got to our destination around 9 at night. We woke up the next day to find a tour agency to go out on the salt flats with, and with his crazy bargaining (I might even call it badgering) skills, my newfound friend got us on a tour for only $70 plus a free room at a hotel that night. Finding that there was nothing more to do in Uyuni after booking the tour, we lounged around outside with a couple of beers, talking about Israel and Palestine (his theory--kill however many palestinians as necesary to hijack their education system).
The morning of the trip, we found out that you get what you pay for. The three day trip is done in a Toyota Land Cruiser, and ours looked like it was from the 80s. The lack of heating or any cushioning whatsoever was made up for somewhat by our amiable Bolivan driver/guide (more driver) named Juan. We drove out to the crazy salt flats, and got a couple of perspective-defying pictures, which you can see later! We slept in a small residencial made out of salt bricks. I nibbled at the wall in my room, although we were told not to eat to much, as the salt contains Lithium.
Second day consisted of a drive through some crazy desert scenery, some of which we got out and climbed--cool rocks. We also went by some lakes with strange colors, the second of which had flamingoes! Being the snap-happy tourists that we were, we couldn´t get enough. Nice stuff.
The second night was spent at a place rather high, rather run down, and rather cold at night. I was okay with my long johns and sleeping bag, but the other people on the trip had a rather tough night. I told them that Alaskans aren´t more resistent to the cold, we just know how to dress better. Got a few dirty looks about that.
On the third day, we woke up bright and early-4 am-to view some geysers. They were beautiful, but you can only see them when it´s cold, and it was COLD. We reached our highest point that morning, on the Cordillera (the Andes) at around 4870 meters. That´s pretty damn high in feet.
We had a consolation for the cold, though--we ate breakfast at a place with heating and--wonder of wonders--there was a hot springs there with a pool. After a good soak, we got on the road again, passed another lake, and I got dropped off at the border for my trip into Chile.
It really felt good to have another breakfast of bread and palta (avacado, really chilean) and get my passport stamped. I´ve spent a relaxing couple of days here in San Pedro, but my mind is definitely turned homeward, and I decided to get back to Santiago earlier rather than later. Had a good bike ride yesterday, with an actually decent bike, though my body was screaming at me that I need to get back in shape. Beautiful desert scenery. Next post will be in a couple of days, back where it all started--Santiago. Love to all.
- comments