We were collected from our hostel at about 7:45am and were then driven to the Chilean border control who 'checked us out' of Chile before we drove for about an hour on the bus through no mans land. Next up was the Bolivian border control which for some people didn't go too smoothly. Apparently you can't leave Chile on a different passport to what you entered on so those with dual citizenship had a few issues (and there were even some tears). Jimmy and I had no trouble however and so we were happy campers as we set off on our jeep. Our jeep was made up of six of us including the driver - Jimmy & I, Khalid from Singapore, Frederic from Germany, Irina from America and our driver Chino from Bolivia. Quite a diverse mix!
After only about an hour of driving Jimmy and I were alarmed to notice that our driver was very clearly struggling to stay awake (as were the rest of us - probably due to the altitude being about 4,500m where we were). It was not a good start for us so were pretty on edge keeping an eye on him and woke Fred and Irina up so they could try and chat in a Spanish with him to keep him awake.
Our first stop was not long after that, at the highest hot springs in the world. I hadn't been that keen on getting in as it was FREEZING outside of the hot springs but once I'd heard they were the highest in the world I figured I had better. It was well worth it and we seemed to set a trend as when we first arrived no one was in but after not long it was full of people all thawing out for the first time that day.
Thankfully after our next stop the driver's coca leaves had kicked in and there was no more nodding off. The next stop were some geysers that took us straight back to being in Rotorua.
The formations were however quite different as the mud pools were a lot deeper and more crater like in comparison to Rotorua. But still the same lovely smell to be enjoyed!
The rest of the day was spent stopping off at different Lagunas which were all sorts of incredible colours due to their mineral content.
After a late lunch at the hostel we were staying at that night, we headed out for one last sight seeing stop at Laguna Colorado. The colour of the lake is an incredible red and dotted about the red were a heap of flamingos. We couldn't believe they could stand to be there in the water as we were absolutely freezing just being on the shore in every item of clothing we had, while these spindly birds were grazing through the sand for food. They are obviously a lot thicker skinned than they look!
After 45mins in the cold temperatures we were all frozen to the bone so it was back to the hostel for some tea and biscuits to try and warm us up. Now when I say hostel, that's probably being a bit generous as it was most definitely the most dilapidated place I had ever stayed. With no heating, concrete floors and no hot water, we knew we were in for a long cold night. After a decent dinner of soup and vegetarian spaghetti bolonese we all figured we may as well head to bed so we could try and finally warm up. I wore merino pants, wooly socks and three
merino tops, a scarf and a beanie. Just to give you an idea of how cold it was. Oh and Jimmy and I shared a single bed so we could double up on blankets! Needless to say, it was a pretty restless sleep for everyone. Welcome to Bolovia.
2 comments:
Well Tooz I think you have still managed some stunning photos regardless of camera deficiencies. Hard to believe so cold with blue sky and desert conditions.
I remember this nice "hostel". Not a five stars! And as it was our 4th night in the tour, we even took a (cold) shower! I bet the temperature was much warmer!! Hope you are enjoying anyway this magical place of the world!
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