My journey through America with G adventures continues. We started in Peru A week in Cuzco, Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley, Aguas Callientes and Machu Picchu and then crossed the border into Bolivia Beautiful Bolivia! 2 Days in La Paz and 2 days in Sucre and now we head into the infamous Bolivian salt flats. They did NOT disappoint. Bolivia boasts the largest, highest salt flats in the world.

April 1, 2023

The 15 of us were introduced to our drivers. Umberto was ours and the 5 of us passed him out bags as he expertly packed the 4×4 land cruiser. Our first stop was the train cemetery. Salt and supplies are still transported by rail once per week but these trains are no longer going anywhere.

Then we drove through nothing but white nothingness. We were lucky as it had rained the previous week so parts of the flats were covered with water, in some places up to 6″ deep. This being the end of the dry season we got to see both water covered and dry flats. How incredibly lucky! Both have their beauty. The water provides incredible reflections and the patterns in the dry, cracked salt are fascinating.

Our first stop was in water where the reflections are amazing. There are also places where the water bubbles up. They’re not springs but just the shifting earth allowing water up from underneath. Driving takes expertise as some of the holes can be very deep.

At mid day we stopped at Dakar. There’s a building there that was a hotel and is now a dining area all the tourist groups stop in for lunch. The entire thing is made of salt except for the roof.

We continued our journey stopping at a volcanic island covered in ancient cacti, a llama and few cats.

The drive seemed endless. Nothing but white salt flats and blue sky as far as the eye could see. The lead driver randomly picked a spot in the middle of nowhere. There wasn’t a soul in sight! We stopped to take pictures taking advantage of the space to play with perspective. They had some fantastic ideas and it was so much fun

We carried on and the temperature started to drop as soon as the sun did. In another area covered with water we stopped to watch as the sun took it’s time setting. Gorgeous!
Driving in the dark is a bit treacherous when it’s wet so we took our time until they found an actual road. I don’t know how they know where they’re going out there.

Tonight’s accommodations was in the Santiago de Agencha community. The lodge is a project started by G adventures. They helped with building the huts and start up and the locals have run with it and now doing quite well.

April 2

After a nice breakfast that included fried bread and eggs, we left the salt flats and headed into the Atacama desert.

Today we drove through more rough terrain and viewed fields and fields of blooming quinoa in a variety of colours. Apparently the black is most nutritious. There was lots of wildlife including picunas and an ostrich like creature called the nandu. Then there’s the friendly Viscacha that looks like a cross between a rabbit and a chinchilla.

We stopped many times to enjoy various views including the strange lagoons, most of which are toxic for different reasons. Some have borax, others sulphur or a mix of calcium and other minerals that make them appear colourful. Flamingos are the only animal able to filter the water to get at the algae they eat.

Our stop for the night was in a town that looked deserted. We had a nice dinner and some of us got hot water for a shower. The power supply is mostly solar. The house was warm as the roof is a corrugated plastic that lets the sun warm it up during the day. There’s no heat. The electricity for the town is shut off from 11 p to 9 am. They managed to make us a nice breakfast anyway and we were on the road again by 8 am.

April 3. Happy birthday Stephanie!!

More of the desert today with lots of sketchy roads, beautiful views of volcanoes and lakes and a stop at a thermal pool fed by volcanic water. The altitude is still killing me and the relaxation of a hot soak was just what the doctor ordered.

Then we crossed the border into Chile. That was interesting. The procedure had recently changed so there was much confusion. Apparently we no longer had to fill in forms so just handed the passports over, had them stamped and crossed into no man’s land to meet the mini bus. The driver was in much of a hurry. We couldn’t figure out why and wanted to say good bye to our 4×4 drivers. Umberto had driven us over treacherous roads for the last 3 days and we wanted to thank him properly. Carlos insisted so we hurriedly thanked them while we piled luggage , then ourselves into the bus. Ioan gave them our tip and thanked them for the group and we rushed off. Enroute Carlos explained that border control was to close in 10 minutes as the offiials had a meeting to attend. If we didn’t make it we’d be waiting at least 3 hours. It had happened to him before. Since this border is the middle of nowhere, with no cell service or anything, they often don’t find out till they get there.

The minibus parked inside the hangar and all the luggage was removed. Then we filed out to go through passport control. Next we each had to claim our bags, place them on a table and open them for inspection while the official asked questions. I lucked out with a funny guy who asked me if I had the usual then threw in a question about cocaine. He got a laugh out of my shocked reaction. Um no, I have no cocaine!

Finally we entered Chile! That’s the next post