Late Dec to mid Jan 2012
La Paz
Established in the basin of Mount Illimani in the Andes, as La Paz's grows it spraws up the surrounding hills that look down into the city. It is unlike any other capital city I've been to; the city's massive congregation of inhabitants create a very congested and chaotic city - not even street maps prevented us getting lost multiple times.
The city centre where we stayed was a labyrinth of street markets where traditionally clad local women sell you everything from fruit and veg, tourist/backpacker tat and electronics to tupaware and hair extensions. Should you find pesky evil spirits a problem, there is a witches market where you can buy a llama foetus to ward them away. Just remember that the water here boils at 80 degrees thanks to the high altitude.
In the aftermath my illness I was left to endure an ear infection that left me virtually deaf in my left ear. After a few days of asking everyone to repeat themselves and nodding without knowing what I was agreeing to, I realised my audibility was not improving so on New Year's Eve I finally went to see a Bolivian doctor who was the British Embassy-appointed physician (only the best for me!) to help cure my ailment. He was great and sent me off with an armament of strong pain kilers, antibiotics and eardrops. Now I just need to put in that health insurance claim...
That evening we got dolled up and made our way to La Paz's answer to Mayfair. We had a Thai dinner and saw in the new year at a very cool bar above the restaurant. Thankfully, we spent new year's day nursing our heads and continued our deeper exploration of Bolivia the following day.
A landscape of brine
After a 1-night pitstop in the quaint ex-silver mining town of Potosí, we arrived in Uyuní - the gateway for tourists wanting to explore the world's largest salt flats, Salar de Uyuní. The most popular (in fact, possibly only?) way to see this renowned saline landscape is by taking a locally operated 3-day, 2-night 4x4 that transverses the Altiplano region of Bolivia (formed during the prehistoric uplift of the Andes) to eventually end at the Bolivian-Chilean border. The tour comes with its very own driver, cook (Dora!) and guide to supply us with hours of transportation, homely meals and a fountain of knowledge on this geographically unique part of the world.
Although Uyuní is a very small town, only really in existence to cater for salt-seeking gringos and a small army base, it does house an excellent pizza restaurant serving "the best pizzas in South America", as quoted in various guide books and reviews placed proudly on the wall. So with our stomachs lined with quite rightly reputed food, we begun our 4x4 adventure into southern Bolivia.
Arriving on the salt flats in the morning's stark bright sun, the fantastic contrast between the blue sky and the pure white of the salt was at its most astounding. Formed by the merging of a few massive lakes, the flats span an area of over 4000 sq miles and are so level that there's only a few meters difference in altitude across the whole thing! They are incredibly rich in lithium and supply around 40% of the world's lithium for batteries.
The following day we had a 4am wake up call and ascended to an altitude of 4,800 m to visit the geothermal ‘Sol de Mañana' (Morning Sun) zone. Wading through a thick aroma of sulphur fumes emitied in this volcanically active area, we saw the heat of the earth escape through numerous bubbling mud pots, steam pools and fumeroles. We then passed through the Siloli Desert, a spectacular landscapes with multicoloured volcanic rock formations and hot springs. The location was believe to be the inspiration for many of Dali's surrealist paintings - although he'd never been there, he saw pictures and was inspired.
Continuing our iPod DJing and the end of The Hangover, our final Bolivian site was the red lagoon, a pink spance of water coloured as such due to the algae and plankton that thrive on the minerals within. The lagoon is also a hotspot for a unique species of flamino, answering that QI favourite: how do flamingos get their pink colour?
From the moon to a city
Our first Chilian stop was San Pedro de Atacama, right at the border of the Atacama desert - one of the world's driest. But this was no stereotypical boarder town; this small but perfectly formed location also charms Chillians into spending the odd weekend break there.
Some beautiful weather and a hotel with an amazing pool meant a lot of lazing and tan work was done, but we also found time to explore and watch sunset at the eroded salt mountains of the Valley of the Moon - named due to the differing rates of erosion of each layer of rock, creating visable striations and a unique lunar-like landscape complete with dinosours...
That night the Aussies gave us a typical Aussie barbie - complete with snags - further strengthening my desire to get my Oz working visa when I arrive. Oooh and not forgetting that I puchased a backpacker's essential: a travelling hat, and yes I'm wearing it in every photo from that point on.
The next day we hopped on an overnight bus to the coastal town and beach resort of La Serena. We had great weather and were able to enjoy long lunches in the park and a whole day sunning it on the beach, as well as the best all-you-can-eat Chinese I've ever had! (And I'm not usually a fan). From here, it was time for our much-awaited final Latin American bus journey across the beautiful, fertile heartlands and vineyards of Chile to arrive in the European-style capital, Santiago.
