Post 94: Southwestern Bolivia, going through the wardrobe, and border nightmares

Fellow adventurers,

1/5/12

Day two of our tour through southern Bolivia was filled with many natural wonders. We awoke early, climbed into the 4x4 and departed from the mine town of Culpina-K, heading further south on undefined dirt roads. Our first stop was a huge rock garden, filled with boulders of all shapes and sizes. We spent time climbing the formations, and exploring the vast landscape. The weather started to turn cloudy at this point.  As we continued on down the road, we were followed by a very large storm front which seemed to taunt us the whole way.

Our travel took us past many lakes, filled with Flamingos, dwarfed by massive mountains. It was odd to see such a seemingly tropical bird at such high altitude in very unseasonable climates, but they occupied every body of water we passed. Some of these lakes were vibrantly colored due to mineral deposits from the mountains which surrounded them, from hues of yellow to deep red.

The final hours of the day were spent visiting another area with massive rock formations, some formed by erosion from the wind. These massive boulders were in the middle of flat desert, and it is assumed they were blown from a now extinct volcano, many moons ago.

We made it to the entrance of National Park in the southwestern enclave of Bolivia by 4pm, and settled down for the evening. I bought a sixer of beer and spent hours chatting with our tour guide Israel and one of the Colombians, Julian, in the evening. I discussed a myriad of things with them, including the ancient religions of the local indigenous tribes, and the difference in their way of life. Sleep was hindered by a lack of manners from other travelers, but we eventually caught some z's.

1/6/11

Our last day in Bolivia was one I both enjoyed, and would also love to forget. Our departure was at 4am, under a sky full of stars, for some local geysers. The area was full of many examples of volcanic activity. The weather was very cold, so we opted to stay in the car for some of the stops, including a thermal bath. The weather was so cold that we at times were in areas of complete ice cover, which would eventually be a hindrance to us on the border.

It was time to say goodbye to the Colombians, Julian and Diego, who were the first to be dropped off, a few kilometers before us. Finally, June and I made it to the Bolivia/Chile border, where we would spent the next 5 hours waiting for its imaginary gates to open. The remainder of the group shared goodbyes, and the other others departed for their trip back to Uyuni.

We did not know at the time, but no one was able to be let through in the morning due to icy roads on the Chilean side. We were told we would be let through if we saw cars coming through by 1pm. We passed the time chatting with other travelers, and I even played a little football. Bolivianos vs. Gringos of course. At around 12:45, a car finally appeared, and everyone responded with a cheer. Though, we really shouldn't have been all that excited, as our bus didn't arrive for another hour and a half.

This was just the beginning of our fun. The bus eventually showed up, and shuttled us into Chile. Crossing from the very poor nation of Bolivia into the very first world and modern Chile, was somewhat shocking to us at first. The dirt road out of Bolivia eventually met up with a modern, sleek and paved highway. Having just come through the poorest of South America, it was surreal to be riding through one of the wealthiest places in the western hemisphere.

Much confusion abounded at the border. First, the bus paperwork was filled out wrong and we had to rewrite it all as a group. Half way through the line when we were called to the front by our driver. We were then told to return to the back of the line because the border agents had a problem with the arrangement. Some in our group decided to try and cut back in line, leading to some anger from others already waiting. Some pushing and shoving occurred and the cops were eventually called in to separate people. We eventually got through, but not without more hassle.

The fun did not end there. It was not until well into the evening when we arrived to the center of San Pedro de Atacama. It was a must to get to Calama as soon as possible, due to our early morning flight. We managed to catch a bus within minutes of arriving, and arrived to Calama around sundown. Our next problem was some confusion with the local ATMs and a lack of knowledge about the city. We walked through Calama searching for a place to stay, and luckily managed to find a place right in the center of town for a decent price who would accept my card, and settled down for the evening. What a long and stressful day. One of the hardest yet.

more to come soon.

Gavin y June