Traveling High!

Getting back to mainland, we spent a few days relaxing and checking out the sights in Lima. We had booked the Inca Trail hike to Machu Pichu, but that was still two weeks away and we were still figuring out our next course of action, when Awanti suggested we head to Bolivia (Picasa link). Bolivia wasn't really on our S.American itinerary, but seeing that they issued visas on arrival, we booked a flight to La Paz for the next morning (literally).

Love the hats

La Paz is the highest capital city in the world at 13,000 ft, and stepping off the plane it certainly felt that way. The approach to the airport is over the Cordillera Real range - a snow-topped set of peaks that top out at over 20,000 feet. The sight of the mountains and the city takes your breath away, a feeling that continues once you disembark and attempt to breathe in the rarefied atmosphere. The setting of the city is quite spectacular - the airport and the new city is located on the altiplano, or high plain, while the old city and the nicer neighborhoods are located in the valley below, a vertical span of almost 4000ft! We spent a day and half exploring the sights and attempting to ward off any signs of altitude sickness. Given our time restriction, we decided to focus on two popular areas of Bolivia beyond the capital city - the Uyuni Salt Flats and Lake Titicaca.

Nap time

First up were the Salt Flats and the surrounding volcano and lagoon spotted desert. After an overnight bus we arrived in Uyuni, a dust bowl of a town that evokes memories of old Western towns, only a lot dustier and grimier. The town does serve as a base for all trips into the desert and we signed up for a three day tour, glad to be getting out of there. The tour consists of piling oneself, along with a couple other travelers, into a 4x4 and then driving across the salt flats and the volcanic landscape. The driver, who also doubles or rather triples up as the chef and guide, provides commentary (in Spanish) and sustenance along the way. Each night you stop in some remote hamlet where rustic living takes on a new meaning. The weather's very cold, the food basic, and the lodging spartan - but the views more than make up for everything else. We were lucky to be clubbed with a tour group from Intrepid though, and thus were treated to an English speaking guide and I assume better food. We piled into the car and headed to the train graveyard, which as the name suggests, contained of a number of ancient trains rusting in the desert, one of which was supposedly robbed by none other than Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. From there we headed to the Salt Flats, which at 10,000 sq km, are the biggest in the world. Its hard to describe the sensation of standing on an enormous white plain, so I'll let the pictures do the talking. From there it was onto the first of the aforementioned lodgings. The one consolation was the stunning night sky. The desert is part of the great altiplano and lies at over 13,000 feet. The total lack of artificial lighting for hundreds of miles meant that there is no light pollution and you are treated to a stunning display of stars and the Milky Way each night.

Sweet reflections

After spending a cold cold night in the desert, with temparatures dropping down to -15 C, we headed out the next day to catch some of the other sights the desert had to offer. These included in no particular order a valley filled with twisted rock formations, a black colored lake (courtesy the algae in that lake), a couple more differently coloured lakes, and my personal favorite, a red colored lake filled with flamingos called Lago Colorado. The lake derives its color from the various mineral deposits in it and the flamingos derive theirs from eating the bacteria that live in the lake. Another freezing night later we trooped out at 5AM to catch views of geysers at sunrise, climbing up to more than 15,000 ft. The desert contains a number of volcanoes and the area contains geysers, fumaroles and hot springs, which did look stunning at sunrise. Having almost frozen to death in the early morning cold, we then headed to one of the best hot springs I have ever been to. Smack in the middle of the desert, with water at a warm 40 C, and views of snow capped volcanoes in the distance - its hard to ask for more, and we spent a fair amount of time soaking in the thermal bath. From there it was back to Uyuni and then to La Paz via an overnight bus from hell. For a reason I cannot begin to fathom, the buses out here refuse to turn on the heat, or close all the windows, and when you are traveling overnight at over 13,000 feet on dirt roads, it gets very cold and very dusty indeed. They do provide the token blanket, which is a pitiful defense against the cold, and we arrived in La Paz with our extremities ready to fall off.

Hiking across Isla del Sol

Last up on our Bolivia trip was a visit to Lake Titicaca, one of the highest navigable lakes in the world at 13,000 feet - and yes, every damn place in this country likes to situate itself at an altitude that encourages pulmonary edema. One of the highlights of the lake is Isla del Sol - or Island of the Sun. The island is the legendary Inca creation site and the birthplace of the sun in the Inca mythology. Rather than take the boat directly to the island from Copacabana - the base town for exploring the lake - we decided on doing a long walk to a small village just across from the island, and then take a rowboat across. The walk was beautiful and wound its way through the countryside dotted by small villages perched on picturesque bays, and the occasional rabid village guard dog. We made it just in time to convince a villager to row us across, and after climbing the famous Inca staircase, found a hotel to spend the night in. The island has no roads and consequently no cars or bikes - or even bicycles! It is dotted with walking trails, and we spent the next day walking from one end of the island to the other, exploring the Inca ruins enroute. Having seen all the ruins on offer, we caught one of the slowest motor-boats ever for the two hour ride back to Copacabana. If the water wasn't so damn cold, I had half a mind of giving the boat a run for its money. We arrived back in time to have a grilled trout dinner on the lake-front and settle into our splurge for Bolivia - La Cupola - which they say is one of the best hotels in the country.

Peru and the famous Inca ruins of Machu Pichu are next.

- Ashish