Bolivian Altiplano

Wednesday was finally our time to leave Uyuni, and we had made a plan to get past the road blocks by basically bribing the protesters. After a buffet breakfast and doing some shopping for food whilst on the altiplano, we left and after 15 minutes or so we're met by the road block. Unlike the others, the protesters had blocked a bridge which meant going round was impossible. We therefore went with our bribe plan, firstly trying coco leaves, and then money, but they wouldn't let us past.

Whilst this was happening I got out the truck with a few others and started clearing the road of rocks. The protesters however had phoned for back up and we were soon confronted with angry locals with rocks and pick axes and had to leg it back to the truck where we simply had to put our foot down and drive off to avoid conflict. We therefore ended up back at square one in Uyuni. We decided to have lunch when getting back to think of a plan b. Lunch was simply sandwiches. With the hotel being next to an army base, we managed to get some army officials to come to the road block with us and they eventually managed to get us through. The tail back of lorries affected by the block as we passed the other side was massive. We were finally on our way to the Bolivian altiplano.

The high Bolivian altiplano stretches hundreds of kilometres from the small town of Uyuni out across to the borders with Argentina and Chile. It is real wilderness - there are no roads up there, just a few tracks to follow, and you're
more likely to see llama or flamingo than another human being! Wild and remote, the high altiplano is made up of barren semi-desert open plains dotted by streams and lakes, many of which appear vividly coloured due to the mineral deposits in the water. The lakes are flanked by the impressive volcanic peaks of the high Bolivian Andes. The altitude is considerable and it can be very cold and windy.

As it took so long to get out of Uyuni, not actually getting out until about half 2, we decided to just get to our stop for the night in the mountain refuge before dark. En route we stopped at San Cristobal for snacks, and then later at the rock valley which had some very interesting rock formations. The drive was interesting though as we encountered a sand storm which meant the visibility was very poor. There was also a lot of lightning in the distance. We arrived at our mountain refuge before dark.

When arriving we set up our kitchens, before having some free time while they were cooking dinner where I went up to visit this plane wreckage. I managed to stand on the wing and this all took place during sunset! Dinner in the evening was chilli con carne, followed by this pannetone. We then sat inside the basic shelter we were sleeping in before having an early night with an early start morning, as well as me being on breakfast duty.

I was up at like 5am in the morning ready to cook breakfast which was eggs bread. It was pretty straight forward and after clearing up we left promptly for a full on day of sightseeing with a border crossing chucked in for good measure. The scenery from the truck was spectacular and very remote and we saw plenty of Llamas en route. Our first stop was laguna Colorada which was a redish coloured lake home to many flamingoes. To avoid scaring them we all walked in one long line and approached the lake slowly. We managed to get right to the lake edge without scaring them and got a brilliant view of them as well as some stunning surrounding scenery!

After the lake we continued onto these geysers, first stopping at this man made one where we were able to tread on this hole and make a lot of the volcanic gas spew out! We then went to the real deal where we saw a massive amount of gas come out of the ground as well bubbling mud. It reminded me a lot of Rotorua. The next stop was lunch where we ate next to the hot springs and another lake full of flamingoes. Lunch was the usual which was nice and easy to prepare.

The final stop before the border was laguna Verde which was a green coloured lake which turned blue in the wind. It wasn't windy so it was just green. We then pushed towards the border which was basically just a shed in the middle of nowhere where we got stamped out. The drive to the Chilean border was another 50km away however so we effectively drove through no man's land for a good hour. The Chilean border was a lot tougher however and unlike the other borders we had to have the truck searched and our bags scanned through x rays so it took a while.

We eventually got through, although it was quite late when arriving in San Pedro de Atacama, not helped by the clocks going forward an hour. After checking into our hotel we went out to get money and food, where a few of us went to a local restaurant where I had a bbq which was basically a plate full of meat! We then went back to the hotel and started our week of wine drinking with us passing through many different wine regions in the coming days, and it was really nice.