Saturday, June 2, 2012

San Pedro to Uyuni

(May 14-16)

Time to move to Bolivia, one of the least developed countries in South America. From the very first day that we arrived, we met travelers that invariably repeated us how gorgeous and authentic is Bolivia. You can understand how high our expectations were. 

Being in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, we were very close to the border with Bolivia. There is a number of agencies that offer a tour through the border. It is a 3 days 2 nights tour thorough the desert, to see Lagunas and the famous Salar de Uyuni, a big flat salt lake. There are so many companies that we could not easily choose the one, but as soon as we talk to Cordillera, we understood that they were professional enouogh, and certainly more than the others, that we could trust them. And we did not regret our choice. 

The tour is done with a 4x4, filled with the driver/guide/mechanic and 6 other people. The driver unfortunately did not speak English, and during the travel there was very little exchange with him. But that turned out to be a minor problem. This place is really any others that I have seen. I was impressed mainly by lagunas:


And the salt lake. But on the way there were plenty of other beautiful and barely describable landscapes. The driver provided us with food and we were also given a basic accommodation. I was expecting worse, especially for sleeping, but this did not make me feel any better when I got sick, probably because of the altitude, the first night. We were sleeping at 4300 meters and coca tea did not seem to help that much. An aspirine in the morning of the second day, instead, did help a lot. 

Definitely different than what we were used to in Chile.


Numbers: The tours costs 75 USD, and the price is the same, no matter which company you do it with. Some offer a discount, but what I learned is that Bolivia is certainly cheap, but you also get what you pay for. So better not to look for too cheap prices. The temperature at night, especially in the first refugio, was below zero outside. If you happen to read this blog before doing the same trip, do not forget to bring a sleeping bag with you.

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