Bolivia and onto Chile

Its been a while since my last update and I am now in Chile. Following on from my last post, I have survived the most dangerous road in the world...with a little altitude sickness. We left at 6am to get geared up (knee pads, elbow pads, full face helmets, gloves, trousers and jacket) and got our bikes ready to begin the cycle down from around 4700m to 1000m above sea level. It was freezing cold and I soon started to feel dizzy and sick, I got into the minibus and was given coca tea and an altitude sickness tablet and recovered fairly quickly. Its soon warmed up and stopped raining as we got out of the cloud cover and lower down the mountain. Initially you start the Death Road on tarmac to try out the bikes and get used to cycling etc, we then moved onto the Death Road and this is where it got pretty scary with a huge drop at the edge of the road. We made it down though and got taken to a hotel at the end for lunch and showers. That evening we met the 4 new additions to our group and our new guide, Jarred.

 The following day we got a nightbus from La Paz to Sucre we paid 30 soles each to upgrade the bus and it was definitely worth it, the best night bus so far! Sucre was lovely, possibly one of the nices town/cities we have been to so far, and there were loads of activities to do! After getting off the nightbus and having a few hours to shower and change we headed out on an orientation walk of the city followed by a stop at Joy Ride Cafe (where we could book any activities). The whole group signed up for a cycle, walk and swim activity the following day and three of us also signed up for horse riding. The next day we went on our cycle, walk and swim activity...definitely one of the best days so far! We cycled mainly downhill for a couple of hours and then  began the hike for another 45mins or so to the 'Secret Canyon' there we ate our lunch and got to swim in the canyon, there was also a dingy boat that we could paddle around, then we had the hike back to the bus and drove back to Sucre along some very narrow paths with huge drops at the side of the road! The following day we went horse riding and this was defintiely the best horse riding so far, the horses were lovely and our guide let us go ahead if we wanted so Marit and I did lots of cantering, until her horses shoe fell off!! The ride lasted around 3/4 hours and then it was back to the hotel. Back at the hotel we found out that miners were protesting due to the Bolivian government trying to tax them and therefore they had created a blockade between Sucre and our next stop, Potosi. At this point out guide said it was best for us to wait it out in Sucre and hold off on the transfer to Potosi until we knew more. So that evening we just headed out for a few drinks and karaoke, ending up back at the hotel at 5am. The next day we had to decide on the best option for moving on, we had to be in Uyuni for our salt flats excursion in two days time so either way had to make it to Uyuni by then. We had the option of a 30min flight for $200 from Sucre to Uyuni, or a 22hour bus for $50, as a group we went with the flight. The next day was pretty much a write off with everyone hungover but seeing as we had extra time in Sucre (the two nights we should have had in Potosi) 5 of us decided to book rock climbing for the next day. The climbing was really fun and I actually managed to make it to the top of the rock face that we were climbing three times! The following day was the flight...

We got to the airport for around 11am to find out we were flying with Aerocon (google them...NOT good!!). We boarded out 19 seater, twin prop plane and got ready for the 35 min flight (no safety briefing and we could see the pilots in front of us). The flight was probably one of the scariest things I've ever done...the plane was really old and noisy and there was a fair bit of turbulance! Landing was the worst, the first attempt we overshot the runway and had to circle to try again. Second time we made it back on the ground with serious relief, it was only afterwards that I found out Aerocon had crashed a plane, exactly the same as the one we were in, only 1 month previously and it works out that they lose 18% of their fleet every 5 years...great track record!!! Finally though we made it to Uyuni and the three day jeep crossing could begin. Uyuni was a bit of an odd town in the middle of the desert and it was pretty good to only have one night there before getting in the jeeps the following day. There were 4 to 6 people in each jeep (2 toyota land cruisers and a lexus) and our main backpacks went on top strapped on and covered over with tarpaulin to protect from the serious amounts of dust. We had three days in the jeeps, the first was out to the salt flats which was pretty amazing. We initillay stopped to see how the salt is refined before driving out onto the pure white surface that seemed to go on for miles and miles! We stopped for lunch on an 'island', a rocky bit of land in amongst all the white, filled with cacti. Then it was out deeper into the flats to take photos, we used loads of different props to make it look like we were standing on them. After this it was onto our hotel for the night (with several photo stops in between). Out hotel that night was made out of salt, including the tables, bed frames, walls, floor etc. it was in the middle of nowhere and was quite nice to be compleltely isolated from everything, electricity only came on from 7pm to 10pm. The next day was mostly spent in the jeeps, stopping to look at several lagoons (with flamingos!) and to take photos along the way. That night we stayed in a 'shelter' made out of mud, our guide called it a shelter but actually it was pretty nice considering. Lack of showers here was a bit annoying seeing as the previous day I had trodden in flamingo poo and covered my flip flops, we were also covered in dust from the jeeps, but other from that it was alright. The final morning we woke at 4:10am to get up to visit the geysers and hot springs. These were amazing, we could jump over a fumarole, and see the boiling mud in the geysers, after that we went to the hot springs, these were really great after no shower. Plus it was freezing cold outside (we hit 5200m that morning) and the water was really warm and not too sulphury!

After the hot springs (and breakfast) it was onto the Bolivia-Chile boarder. We stamped out of Bolivia and headed off in our transfer to the Chilean boarder. We had to queue for 2 hours to get into Chile but finally we made it and headed to our hotel in the Atacamba desert. We are staying in San Pedro de Atacamba for two nights (one night left) before moving down towards sea level (finally, after 5 weeks at high altitude). Last night we headed out for more drinks, although finding open bars was difficult! And today we have been sat by a swimming pool and spent all day correcting the ridiculous tan lines that we've acquired so far, its really hot today and not a single cloud in the sky...definitely doesn't feel like the end of October!! Tomorrow we have a 16 hour night bus to get to La Serena, the town that our guide is from which should be good. This tour then ends in Santiago on the 5th November when we lose 7 of the current group and meet another 7.

E

X