Day 36
A freezing cold 6 am welcomed us to La Quiaca, the border town between Argentina and Bolivia. We shivered our way across the border to the Bolivian town of Villazón and were immediately struck by the contrast. Nearly everywhere we looked were picture-perfect ´Cholitas´ (Bolivian women wearing the traditional dress of pleated skirts, bowler hats, long hair and massive shawls), street stalls and posters of Evo Morales (a former coca grower and current president of Bolivia).
As our train to Uyuni didn´t leave for another 9 hours, we were forced to sample the delights of this border town. A short stroll through the town centre brought us to a medicinal stall selling shriveled llama fetuses.The locals bury these under the proches of their new homes for luck and good fortune. I thought it best however not to upload a photograph of this delight.
We ended up spending most of the day in a cafe run by a battleaxe of a Bolivian lady. We immediately warmed to her as she commented on how attractive the four of us were. However, Tom then somewhat soured things when he commented on how attractive he found her - the battleaxe´s face immediately turned and she walked off. My favourite dish over the course of the day was a potato and noodle soup.
Having spent the last night on a bus, we treated ourselves to first class tickets on the train. As the train sped through the Bolivian countryside at an impressive 5 miles per hour we indulged in several variations of butter-biscuits in the restaurant cart. There are only 5 trains a week on this route and it was somewhat endearing to see the locals wave at us as we passed; very "Railway Children". The safety video shown on the television was so unnecessarily sexual that the entire carriage erupted into hysterics as, for instance, the bikini clad model fondled the toilet handle. I took this moment to finish reading "Any Human Heart" and have now moved onto Chaucer´s "Canterbury Tales". It may be a little dry to be reading on holiday, but it certainly beats Tom´s choice of Dante´s "Inferno".
As it got dark outside the televisions in our carriage started to show a horror film. Needless to say at the scariest points in the film the train would suddenly lurch sideways or, in a particularly opportune moment, a rabid dog would decide to jump at our window.
We eventually arrived in Uyuni at 1.30am and swiftly overtook the continuing train as we walked to our hotel.
Day 37
The town of Uyuni lies at 3669 meters/12,037 feet above sea level and exists mainly as a jumping point for the extraordinary salt flats. Taking a day to acclimatize to the altitude, we bought some pretty fine alpaca jumpers and I got to try some of the local foods. Indulging in my favourite pastime of blind-ordering (that is ordering dishes without understanding what they actually are) I began my lunch with a mote salad. Mote is a broad term for grain in South America and this salad contained corn grains cooked still within their husks. They tasted very similar to chickpeas.
Next I tried a potato soup containing many large black balls (one of which you can see below). Tom convinced me that these were llama testicles and I have to admit I almost lost my appetite.
A bit of googling later and I now know they are called ´Chuño´ and are a potato product traditionally made by the indigenous communites of Bolivia. A frost-resistant variety of potato is exposed to the very low temperatures of the high Andes. The potatoes are then trampled by foot to eliminate the water content and remove the skins, then they are exposed to the intense sunlight of the Andean day. This process continues for 5 days.
The girls got the adult room in the hotel and Tom and I shared the adjoining kids´ bedroom. The Toy Story alpaca sheets were particularly appreciated.
Today incidentally was results day. We ended up celebrating with a group of 4 Irish girls over some traditional Bolivian beers and Mojitos.
Day 38
Today was day 1 of our 3 day Salt Flats tour, organised through the company Red Planet (helpfully next door to our hotel). The name of the tour is a bit of a misnomer as the Salt Flats comprise only part of day 1, with the rest of the trip being dedicated to the amazing natural beauty and fauna of the Andean Altiplano. The Altiplano is a vast network of plateaus amongst the volcanoes of the Andes with an average altitude of 3,750 meters (12,300 feet). As our guide Oscar kept reminding us, the whole area looks more like a Martian landscape than anywhere you could find on earth and the low air pressure certainly added to the other-wordly effect.
We began at the train cemetery; a field littered with the rotting remains of Bolivia´s British and German made trains. A further carcus was almost added to the pile as in the act of climbing on top of the train I fell through an unforeseen rusty hole. According to Josie I just disappeared from sight. Luckily I emerged with only minor cuts and a wounded ego.
We then visited a salt factory where the locals package the salt harvested from the ground.
And a very tacky salt hotel where we had a llama lunch.
According to Lonely Planet, the salt flats are the vast remains of a dried up salt-water lake. However, our guide Oscar told us the true story. Two of the surrounding volcanoes were married and had a baby. The father volcano went out as usual one day to the local mine when suddenly he realised he had forgotten some of his tools. When he returned to his home however he found his wife in bed with another volcano. In his anger he grabbed him son and tossed him into the far distance. The mother continued to lactate (creating the salt) and her tears added the thin layer of water on top. This explains both the salt flats and the positioning of the surrounding volcanoes.
Due to the vast plains of featureless reflective salt, the ground blends in with the sky and the eye is unable to discern distance. The result is many fun perspective photos.
Day 39
Day 39 was spent steadily gaining altitude in Bolivia´s South-Western corner. We drove in our 4x4 for hours on end through vast plateaus surrounded by smoking volcanoes. Often there was no road and as the car made its own journey through the desert you could almost believe you were the first humans to visit this other-wordly area. Every now and then we were treated to llamas, viçunas and flamingos or colourful outcrops of quinoa.
Almost every second of the trip brought scenes that, were they to exist by themselves, would be attractions in their own right. However, places of particular note were the red lagoon; a vast lagoon coloured red by algae and populated by thousands of flamingos.
... the green lagoon; a lagoon of arsenic which Nasa often uses as a laboratory for studying potential extra-terrestial life ...
... the geothermal springs where we spent an idyllic afternoon ...
... and then for sunset we drove to a dizzying 5,000 meters/16,500 feet into the crater of a semi-active volcano. The temperature was below zero, but as we walked amongst the steaming, bubbling pits it got pretty hot indeed. In a land where every sight seems pretty other-wordly, this perhaps took the crown as the most alien. At the precise moment the sun set we took turns jumping through a jet of volcanic gas. Jumping through it was akin to being a fly knocked around by a giant sulphurous fart and even though I avoided the burns that another member of our group received, I immediately began to feel very sick. This combined with the extreme altitude led to a very uncomfortable car journey back to our mountain hostel.
Day 40
Every one of us bar exception is now sick due to a heady combination of altitude/food poisoning/sulphur/dehydration/heat-stroke. The show had to go on though. Through my ill eyes I mistook this rather attractive llama for one of the girls.
A stone tree
My lion king moment
A mountain rabbit with an amazing moustache.
At 6 in the evening we returned to Uyuni and feeling a little the worse for wear we were not looking forward to our 1am train. Committed as I am to food blogging though, I made sure to drag myself to Uyuni´s most famous restaurant - Minuteman. Minuteman is the world´s highest pizza restaurant and not only produces delicious pizza - I had the spicy llama pizza with pesto - but manages to do so using ingenious technology to overcome the logistical problems of firing an oven at altitude /there ain´t much oxygen/. The rest of the evening was spent curled up in a ball on the floor trying not to be sick.
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