Salar de Uyuni & High Andes (E)

I met three other travellers in the bus to Uyuni and we decided to join up for a tour through the salt flats and the Bolivian altiplano. Claudia & Lars from Germany, Joanna from Poland and two girls from England & the US were part of our group for the next three days. Our Backpacks were loaded on top of a Toyota Land Cruiser 4WD together with food, petrol and other essential equipment for the trip through desert and rough terrain.

The first stop was at a train cemetery where dozens of rusty locomotives found their final resting place. The British built railway had once been used to transport minerals from the nearby mountains and transport them to Chile and the coastal ports. The trains were abandoned in the 1940's, producing an eerie train cemetery, one feels like being in the middle of an old western movie.

We continued our way onto the Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat at 3,656 meters above sea level. The ancient lakes are covered with a thick crust of blinding white salt which expands for miles and miles until it meets the horizon. Only very few mountains are visible in the far distance and they seem to be floating in mid air, an optical illusion caused by salt and light. We stopped in the middle of nowhere to take some funny pictures playing with the optical illusion of not having any point of reference.

The first night was spent in a nice Hostel made out of salt blocks and cactus wood so we didn’t have to suffer from the cold temperatures of the desert night. Early next morning we left the salt flat and salt hotel behind us and headed for the high Andean mountains & lagoons. The barren landscape above 4,000 meters with its mountain peaks, bizarre rock formations and colorful lagoons was literally breathtaking and we couldn’t stop taking pictures. It was one of the most fascinating sights I’ve ever seen!
All seven lagoons we visited were shimmering in different colors and we could watch flamingos searching for food in the shallow water. The second night was much colder than the first one with temperatures dropping to around -10 degrees. The thermal clothes were much needed as was the sleeping bag I rented for the trip.

Arbol de Piedra - Stone Tree

Laguna Colorada - Colored Lagoon

The third day started at 4:30am with an early breakfast in freezing conditions. We packed our bags and headed towards the Chilean border, stopping on the way to see an impressive geyser field where we watched the sunrise. Once we reached the border post in the middle of nowhere, it was time to say good-bye to some of our group members as they were heading back towards Uyuni. A few days later we learned that their/our car had a major accident on the way back to Uyuni, overturning and landing on the side. Fortunately Susannah, our English group member, had the good idea that everyone should wear their seat belts just minutes before the accident happened and therefore no one was seriously injured and they could get out of the car through the broken windscreen.

Claudia, Joanna and I made our way across the border and were picked up by a Chilean bus bringing us to San Pedro de Atacama.

Salt flat

Our car

Susannah, Lars, Joanna & I

Vicuña

Jungle Tour (E)

 

I spent two relaxed days in Rurrenabaque waiting for Ulli & Suse to arrive. To my great surprise they quite enjoyed the bus ride although much of it is on roads similar to the “world’s most dangerous road”. Together we shopped around for jungle trips and found an agency who offered trekking tours through the rainforest.

We opted for a four-day trip and set off into Madidi National Park on a small boat on the rivers Beni & Tuichi. It took us three hours to reach our first night’s camp where our guide Juan-Carlos took us to a short tour through the dense forest. We learned a lot about the local fauna and how plants & trees are used by the local tribes to treat illnesses. After sunset we took our torches and went to the jungle to see all kinds of insects before enjoying our last night in proper beds & huts.
The other two nights were spent on thin camping mats under a mosquito net and a plastic sheet to protect us from the nasty crawlers and the odd rain shower. Our camps were in the middle of the jungle without comforts such as bathrooms or showers so we had to improvise and use the rivers to cool off after the tiring treks. The days were spent by walking through the rainforest with all our gear, food and water for the entire journey – hard work considering heat and humidity levels. To make things a bit more challenging, sandflies waited at the riverbanks and in our camp, leading to dozens of itchy bites that would annoy us for many days.

Despite the inconveniences the three of us really enjoyed the tour. The sound of the jungle without any noise pollution was amazing and living without electricity or mobile antennas a nice change from everyday life. We saw fewer animals compared to the pampas tour but the odd encounters left us stunned as we were hiding behind trees to watch huge herds of wild pigs crossing through the forest, spider monkeys climbing high up in the treetops or seeing a young Pucarara (one of the most dangerous snakes of the Amazon) crossing our path.

Back in Rurre I packed for my flight to La Paz and said good-bye to the girls as they took the night bus back. We met again in La Paz the day after where we celebrated our successful trip with a good dinner and delicious chocolate cake.


Our guide Juan-Carlos coming home from a successful fishing trip

Pucarara Snake

Caterpillar

  

Another nice caterpillar

Flight back to La Paz

Pampas Tour (G)

Mit einer kleinen Propellermaschine der Fluggesellschaft Amaszonas ging es in 35 Minuten Flug von El Alto auf 4‘088 MüM über hohe Andengipfel runter auf Rurrenabaque auf gerade mal 172 MüM. Die Umstellung von der trockenen Andenluft zur tropisch feuchten Hitze Rurres war nicht ohne, aber der wieder ausreichend vorhandene Sauerstoff machte das Atmen einfacher.

Mit der Schweizerin Sandra, die ich in La Paz kennen gelernt hatte machte ich mich auf die Suche nach einer Agentur für eine dreitägige Pampas Tour durch das Sumpfgebiet Boliviens. Mit Fluvial Tours fanden wir eine der alteingesessenen Agenturen und starteten am nächsten Tag mit einem Geländewagen über staubige Pisten in Richtung unseres Camps. Nach drei Stunden unangenehmer Fahrt stiegen wir in ein Boot um und tuckerten weitere zwei Stunden den kleinen Fluss Yacuma hinauf, bis wir unser Lager erreichten. In unserer fröhlichen 9er Gruppe waren Leute aus Deutschland, Katalonien und Israel und wir verstanden uns auf Anhieb super.
Auf dem Weg zu unseren Holzhütten für die kommenden zwei Nächte konnten wir am Flussufer schon etliche Tiere bestaunen – da lagen hunderte Sonne tankende Kaimane, Capybaras (auch Wasserschwein genannt und übrigens mein Lieblingstier zusammen mit dem Esel) grasten friedlich nebenan und auch bunt gefederte Vögel sahen wir zuhauf. Vom Camp aus unternahmen wir dann die nächsten Tage Safaris mit Booten oder zu Fuss. Dabei sahen wir weitere exotische Tiere wie z.B. Anakondas, einen Tapir oder verschiedenste Affenarten.

Die drei Tage in der Pampa vergingen viel zu schnell und ich hätte es bestimmt noch einiges länger dort ausgehalten. Nachfolgend einige der Tiere, die wir in den drei Tagen zu Gesicht bekamen:

Kaiman - Caiman

Rotbrustfischer - Ringed Kingfisher

Nasenbär - Coati

Totenkopfäffchen - Squirrel Monkey

Capybaras

Anacondas

Hoatzin - Bird of Paradise

Brüllaffen - Red Howler Monkeys

Tapir

La Paz & World’s Most Dangerous Road (E)

We safely arrived in La Paz and found a nice hostel in the centre of the city. Hostal Loki is part of a party hostel chain but we found it to be a very relaxed place with spotless rooms and all the amenities – really recommendable… There isn’t much to write about the four days we spent in La Paz as all we did was planning the next weeks in Bolivia, trying to find decent restaurants and going for walks around the old town.

The one thing I wanted to do whilst staying in La Paz was biking down the “World’s Most Dangerous Road”, named by the Inter American Development Bank in 1995. The 64 kilometer downhill ride, starting at chilly 4,700 meters down to the Yungas valley at 1,200 meters, is one of La Paz’ main tourist attractions since a new road has been opened to cater for most of the motorised traffic, leaving the old gravel road for the bikers. Parts of the road are just wide enough for one car to drive on it - crossing would be impossible and many monuments & crosses remind visitors of how dangerous this road once was.

The downhill ride was great fun and not quite as frightening as I thought. It’s manageable with some biking experience and the guides take good care of the group. Driving back up by bus seemed far more challenging as we had time to look down the 600 meter drop-offs at the edge of the road.

Back in La Paz it was time to say good bye to Suse & Ulli after 2.5 weeks of travelling together. I wanted to see Bolivia’s Jungle and Pampas and booked a flight to Rurrenabaque in order to avoid an uncomfortable 20 hour bus ride. The girls would go for the bus after taking on the death road so we might meet again in tropical “Rurre”.

Lago Titicaca (G)

Die Weiterfahrt nach Bolivien wurde dann noch um einen weiteren Tag verschoben, da ich wohl etwas falsches gegessen hatte und darum einen Tag im Bett verbringen musste. Nach einer erholsamen Nacht ging es dann aber weiter mit Bus nach Puno am Titicaca-See. Von meinem früheren Besuch in Puno wusste ich, dass sich ein längerer Aufenthalt dort nicht lohnt und so machten wir uns auch gleich am nächsten Morgen auf den Weg zur Bolivianischen Grenze. Nachdem wir einige Korruptionsgeschichten über diesen Grenzübergang gehört hatten entschlossen wir uns, einen direkten Bus über die Grenze zu nehmen, um von der Erfahrung und Hilfe des Busunternehmens zu profitieren. Der Übertritt stellte sich dann auch als sehr einfach heraus – wohl auch, weil dutzende Touristen aufs Mal die Zöllner umlagerten und so Szenen wie die bei meiner Kolumbien-Einreise unmöglich waren.

 Nachdem unsere Uhren um eine Stunde auf Bolivianische Zeit vorgestellt waren, erreichten wir gegen Mittag das kleine Städtchen Copacabana am Ufer des Titicaca-Sees. Der Namensgeber des berühmten Strandes in Rio de Janeiro ist um einiges verschlafener als die Brasilianische Metropole, bietet aber nebst unzähligen Souvenirläden einen idealen Ausgangspunkt für Touren zu den nahe gelegenen Inseln im See. Schon seit unserer Ankunft in Puno merkten wir die Höhe von knapp 4‘000 Metern über Meer ganz ordentlich und jedes Treppensteigen oder andere kleinste Anstrengungen führten zu Erschöpfung und Atemnot.

Uns war mal wieder nach einer Wanderung und so liessen wir uns per ultralangsamen Boot an den Nordzipfel der “Isla del Sol“ bringen, um dann in drei Stunden an die südliche Spitze der Insel zu wandern. Wir hatten wohl gleich zu Beginn den offiziellen Weg verpasst und so begegneten wir keinen anderen Touristen, nur in den kleinen Dörfchen stiessen wir auf einige Einheimische und unzählige Esel, Schafe und Schweine. Dank der Höhe erscheint die Landschaft hier gestochen scharf und wir genossen die Aussicht auf ferne Schneeberge und den wunderschönen See mit seinen verschiedenen Blautönen.

Am nächsten Morgen verliessen wir Copacabana in Richtung La Paz, der Hauptstadt Boliviens. Auf dem Weg werden alle Busse auf einer kleinen Fähre über den See transportiert, was nicht immer sehr sicher aussieht. Wir durften die kurze Passage zum Glück per separatem Boot unternehmen und schon bald ging es in halsbrecherischem Tempo weiter...