Salar de Uyuni!

Way behind on the events over here but the jeep expedition to Salar de Uyuni was a great success! Our guide Jona was a soft-spoken 20 year old Bolivian who navigated us safely and comfortably through the desert and graciously endured our 2000 stops for “pipi” or photos. There are so many companies to choose from in order to do this trek and everyone walked away feeling like we chose a winner. Go with Cordillera, people! They did a great job. I had imagined way colder and rougher conditions for the trek but it was really quite easy. Spending several hours in the jeep bumping along the terrain was fun, obtaining my $135 Bolivian visa was a breeze, and the altitude that I was worried about didn’t phase me. On the first day crossing the border into Bolivia we were at 5000 meters and most of the crew wasn’t feeling too great. Other than feeling slightly light headed on the first night when we got to our lodging I have been altitude sickness free! I finally tried chewing the ubiquitous Bolivian coca leaf, which many travelers swear is helping them deal with the altitude in Bolivia and Peru. It is sold in every form imaginable and although I’m not exactly sure what it really does, a few leaves in warm water makes for a nice green tea of sorts.

Our jeep group of 6 joined with another jeep of 4 from the same company, so it was 10 of us in total on the same route, sharing same meals and lodging for the 2 nights. It was a really cool, easy-going group and beyond seeing the most incredible landscape ever we had fun playing cards, listening to music, and taking 50000 photos...






Our lodging in a hotel made of salt



Quinoa growing everywhere










So we ended this Salar de Uyuni trip about 14 days ago and since then our traveling circus/dysfunctional family of 6 has been quite busy... we have seen the town of Uyuni, Potosi, Sucre, and now am in capital city of La Paz. After hearing so many mixed tales of Bolivia I must say I have been pleasantly surprised. Potosi and Sucre were beautiful cities, lovely and helpful people, cute little winding streets/colonial architecture. Unfortunately I didn't get to see much in Sucre because I was beat down for a few days after food or water or something did a number on my system. Everyone gets struck down in Peru of Bolivia at some point, and well, my bout came pretty much as a Bienvenidos a Bolivia. Back to normal now though and am really enjoying Bolivian food...quinoa galore, llama, and excellent soups. AND everything is SO much cheaper here, which has been a relief on the ol' budget. After seeing sights of La Paz I am off to Copacabana tomorrow morning, Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca, and then it is on to Cusco to meet Erin for our 5 day Salkantay Machu Picchu Trek!!!

Much more love from Bolivia coming soon... Besos!