our Bolivian misadventure

Liz-
Erin and I are were so excited to start our Bolivian adventure we thought nothing would get in our way. Little did we know...

We booked our trip into Bolivia via the Salar de Uyuni which consisted of a 3 day Jeep trip through the Bolivian countryside. Starting in San Pedro, Chile and ending in Uyuni, Bolivia. Since we were already in Chile we figured this was the easiest way to begin the next leg of our trip. Our guide book warned us about the tour itself and of the tour companies and that the quality varies not only from agency to agency but from guide to guide. We figured that we had the patience to deal with anything and we were ready to go.

We met up with the other 3 couples going on our trip outside the agency at 8am on Friday. Erin and I were both a bit tired from partying a bit the last few nights. (We made a few friends the last time we were in town and ended up going out with them again...) Our van drove about 30 minutes until we got to the Bolivian border where we went through customs, ate a quick breakfast and then met up with our guides. Our group of 8 was split in half, 4 to a Jeep. Erin and I ended up with a couple from Sweden Per and Elin. In the other Jeep was a couple from Italy and a couple from France. We had no idea how this decision would affect our trip.

The first day of our trip was kind of a blur. Erin suffers from major motion sickness and took a Dramamine. I wasn´t feeling terribly well and thought the drive might make me sick so I took a Dramamine too. For anyone that doesn´t know, these babies put you to sleep! We visited Laguna Verde, which is a beautiful green lake, due to arsenic and other minerals. On windy days you can see the color, on calm days the lake makes a mirror image of the mountain it sits in front of. We all got out for a few photos and then jumped back in the Jeep. At 4300m it was cold! The next stop was Laguna Polques, which was hot springs we had the option of taking a dip in. Since it was cold we opted not to. We did get out and walk around, take some pics then were ready to get going... Emilio our guide did end up going in so we waited (and napped) and then took off. Next stop was the Sol de Mañana geyser. At this point we were at an altitude of 5000m. We walked around and were struck with the sweet sweet smell of sulfur (as Erin called it Bog of Eternal Stench). All around us were boiling pools of mud. After a bit more of a drive we pulled up to a group of buildings. Emilio told us that this was our hostel for the night, while we unpacked he would get lunch. (This was the most he talked to us all day. He gave us a bit of info on the places we stopped at, but not much more than the name, altitude and what we looked at.)


After lunch we relaxed for a bit and then Emilio took us to Laguna Colorada. It is a beautiful blood red lake that we could see from our hostel, all 4 of us were up for it. He dropped us off and said he´d meet us about 200yds away. We took pictures, admired the Flamingos (who would have thought Bolivia would have Flamingos?!) and started walking back to the Jeep. When we climbed in, he asked (as beautifully translated by Erin) ¨You´re done?¨ We nodded and then went back to the hostel.


Erin -
The second day was much like the first. Lagoons, flamingos,yadda yadda. That night we stayed at a refugio and the room we ate in was made of salt. Salt walls, salt seats, salt tables. Very interesting. At dinner that second night our guide told us we had two options. Either get up at 4 30 am to be on the Salar by 5 am to watch the sunrise, or leave at 8 am for just the regular tour. We opted for the 5 am sunrise watching. So, we headed to bed early and set our alarms. The bells went off and we were up. We brought our bags to the door to be loaded in the jeep. But the jeep was no where to be found. And neither was Emilio. The woman who ran the place explained that sometimes Emilio would sleep at home at night. Apparently he is from a small village near by. Not to worry, he should be there any minute now. So we waited. And waited. Liz read a book, I took a nap. We played cards with the Swedes (who, by the way, have no card playing skills what so ever).

Around noon a man came to tell us that there was a party in the small town last night. I guess there was a soccer championship or something. Our jeep was spotted buried in the sand and Emilio was still no where to be found. He offered a solution. There was a radio in the next town over that got turned on at 2 pm. We could use that to call the tour agency in Uyuni. So, we went with him because he was driving there, even though it was only 1230. We went. We sat. We waited.

I was pissed at this point, but tried to keep a positive attitude. Sure we were stranded in the middle of no where, but we really had no where else to be! At about ten til 2 the townsman who was in charge of the radio let us into this little hut. He turned on the CB radio and started in with his yelling, "Americamericamerica" or "Globo uyuni globo uyuni globo uyuni". After about 15 minutes of this someone answered. I tried not to laugh as this man explain our situation over the radio. It sounded quite dire, "Tourists are stranded, guide is missing, please send help!" The agency agreed to pay for this tiny towns only taxi (beat up station wagon from the early 80´s) to take us across the salar. Ok, we´ll do it.
Upon returning to our refugio we spot the jeep. Emilio had returned at nearly 3 in the afternoon. At this point I was spitting fire and it was aimed right for Emilio´s head. "How could you do this? Did you have fun last night getting drunk? We are mad. We are angry. We are furious. Let´s pack up the car and go." I was saying all of this to him as he lay on a mattress on the kitchen floor. I should have realized there was more trouble ahead.


We all loaded in the jeep and set out across the beautiful Uyuni Salar. 12,500 square kilometers of nothing but salt and sky. About 30 minutes into the drive I notice we are swerving randomly. Granted, there is no road, so you could drive where ever you want, but it seemed weird. I look over at Emilio and he is sleeping! Yup, that´s right eyes closed mouth open asleep. And for some reason I didn't totally panic. Instead I turn around to Liz and whisper, "he´s asleep". Liz, with a look of sheer terror pops him on the back and I yell "wake up". He comes to and now I am freaking furious! I start yelling at him to let me drive! "Stop the car and I´ll drive," I said. But he mumbled something and just kept going. The car starts sort of sputtering and acting weird. I ask what in the world is going on and he calmly tells me we are running out of gas. Oh great! We are in the middle of NO WHERE with no one in sight and are now out of gas. So, the car stops and all we can do is wait. Liz and I take this opportunity to take some pictures. Eventually a few jeeps show up and share some gas. Then another jeep shows up. It´s Javier, our savior! He was sent from the agency to pick us up. We didn´t hesitate and loaded our stuff into his jeep to continue our journey. He was a much better guide. He explained stuff about the salar and played good music. We were so happy to be rescued.


Javier took us to an island in the middle of the salar that had cactus and a few animals. We then made our way to Uyuni. He brought us right to the agency where they were very apologetic. After a little discussion they agreed to give us back a portion of the money we spent on the trip. I was shocked, but I don´t think they wanted any bad press. Word of mouth is crucial to these tour operators.
So, with that behind us, Liz and I grabbed a pizza and boared an 8 o´clock bus for Oruro, Bolivia.
This was not such a comfortable ride. The man behind me kept digging his knees into my chair back and the guy in front of Liz kept trying to recline onto her lap. We slept some, thanks to the wonders of Dramamine and Benedryl. We arrived very early in the morning. Before the sunrise. We waited for light and made our way to our hotel.
We spent just one night in Oruro as there is not much to do. But we did enjoy every meal, but not as much as the people seemed to enjoy having us! They were always so grateful. In one place they made us take pictures with the baby there! It was weird, but nice. We felt like celebrities!
We are now happy and safe in La Paz! We took a four hour bus ride here. We were amazed to see the lights over the city as we pulled in around 7. The city is huge and is constantly bustling with people, cars, and noise. We've enjoyed eating great meals for about 2 bucks a pop! Shopping, shopping, and more shopping! And planning our next adventures!!!