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We arrived into Tupiza and got settled into a hostel before setting about finding out the different tours that were running and what our options were. This was made a little more challenging by the lack of internet!!! We wanted to get recent feedback on the tours to make sure we picked the right one but couldn't get online to read any reviews!!! In the end we picked Alexandro Adventure Tours, as they seemed to offer a slightly different package to the other tour operators, and they were all about the same price so that didn't matter.
At the moment the National Park is partly shut due to strikes, so we weren't able to see a couple of the most southerly lagoons. The tour groups were offering alternatives though so the trip was still worthwhile.
Day 1
We set off from Tupiza in our 4 x 4, through stunning scenery- canyons, mineral rich rock formations, hills, mountains, cactus etc etc. It's hard to describe how stunning the scenery was on the first day. The pictures attempt to show it, but it really was breath taking.
We aren't able to give you too much information on what we saw, as all the tours are all in Spanish! We were lucky that our guide, Rolando, spoke a bit of English so we got the basics, but anything more detailed and it was all Spanish.
We drove most of the day, stopping in the middle of nowhere for a tasty lunch, where there were breath taking views of snow capped mountains. We stopped to see the wildlife along the way and had a stroll through San Antonio, the Ghost Town. An old mining town, set up by the Spanish, which was abandoned when the gold ran out!!!
We also saw the first of our Lagoons, the Celestre Lagoon was up first. It was in an amazing setting with all the mountains and snow in the background. So we stayed in a tiny little 'town', the first night in basic accommodation. We were doing the tour with 2 Italians, one of which had no English at all, so our evening was spent playing cards, once the son had translated the rules to his dad!!
Day 2
We set off driving again and hit the Lago Verde, which was teaming with flamingos, and changes colour as the day progresses. We drove up past it early on, out to see the geysers. This part was a mad moon like landscape, with mud bubbling in pools and steam shooting from the ground.
Then it was back towards the Lago where we climbed up some rocks to get a good aerial view of it. Once we had taken in the beauty of the area we climbed down and headed towards the jeep for a picturesque lunch. Then we got dropped off next to the lake to walk along side of it....which was great apart from the super strong winds which Shane is convinced was giving him wind burn!!! Once we were finished getting blown over we headed to the new alternative hot springs!!! The usual ones were shut due to the strike, but our guide found us an alternative, which was in its very early days as they wanted feedback on it!!! It was pretty amazing to see this little warm pool in the middle of nowhere!!
From there it was to our resting place for the night, for food and more cards!
Day 3
We were up and on the road reasonably early as there was a lot to see today.
First up was the World Cup, Copa del Mundo, a rock formation infamous for being like the World Cup. And from another angle Ace Ventura (guess that one doesn't have the same appeal!!!)
We then moved on to the area of rock formations know as the Lost Italian, after an Italian tourist was left behind by a tour some time ago. We then moved onto Valle de Rock, which is why there are so many pictures of rocks for this tour!!! They are all amazing to see.
But up next was definitely one of the unexpected highlights of the trip. We were driving through a 3-5meter high rock canyon, when all of a sudden we came across an oasis. There was green grass and an amazing Lake. This is called the Condor Canyon, and we were lucky enough to see a condor, even though the guide had said it rarely happens now and the name is from long ago. Hopefully the pictures give a small indication of amazing how the place was. It really took our breath away and we were lucky as no other tour operators come to this spot so we had it all to ourselves. What emphasised how mad this place is are the donkeys, llamas, sheep and numerous birds were feeding and living here. A spot surrounded by rocks and desert!
From there it was off to a spectacular lunch spot, with a viewpoint overlooking a very deep canyon.
After that it was a long drive to the salt flats, again passing some amazing lagoons and scenery. We stopped at a town where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were supposed to have met their demise!!! Now it's just a small town with a few old train carriages. Once we were at the edge of the salt flats we climbed up a hill to get a good look at the salt flats, but even this didn't do justice to the scale of them! As the salt flats are 4068 sq miles, 100meter deep, with layers of water and salt the whole way down.
On the last night we got to spend the night in a salt Hotel, where the walls, tables, chairs, beds etc were all made of salt!!!
Day 4- New Years Eve
We were up at 4am to get out to the Islas de la Luna for sunrise. It was really cold but well worth it. We were the only tour who was on the island for this time. We got to see the sun come up and transform the surroundings. What a great way to start the last day of the year!!
We then had breakfast on the flats before driving off to find the perfect spot for our pictures!! Taking the pictures was loads of fun, it took us a while to get into the swing of things but we are pretty pleased with the results!!
Then we were shown how the layers look and how the salt crystals form. In perfect rectangles! This is hard to believe until you see it!
That was pretty much it for the tour. We had chosen to head back to Tupiza straight away as we heard that Uyuni was a dive (which the quick drive through town more than confirmed!!!) so we set off on the 6 hour drive back! We arrived in around 5pm, found somewhere to stay, and headed out for dinner about 7.30pm. After we were finished we went for a wander to try finding some kind of New Years Eve gathering, but the one pub we came across didn't have a sole in it!!! So we headed back to the hostel for a few drinks and that's when the tiredness hit!!!!So sadly we were asleep by 10.30pm, but we did awake at midnight when the fireworks were going off to wish each other a Happy New Year!!!
That's it for Bolivia; we are onto Argentina, first thing on the 2nd Jan.
Happy New Year to everyone...bring on 2013!!!!We can't wait!!:)
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