After a difficult night’s sleep we woke in a cold damp room set within the desolate landscape of the Bolivian altiplano, meanwhile celebrations were beginning outside. Today was carnival, a major celebration in Bolivia.
Cute Bolivian kids had covered the jeeps in balloons and confetti and the drivers were opening bottles of Corona. Drunk drivers are often stated as a problem in reviews of this trip, however, we were lucky as our driver was a dedicated Christian and did not drink at all, or at least that’s what he told us.
As our driver headed away from the hotel he removed all the decorations on the jeep and told us it would it would be a long day. I would soon find out he wasn’t lying.
The first stop was to see some llamas.
Followed soon after by a pit stop to view a famous weathered rock.
There was no passing up the opportunity to do some rock climbing.
We passed volcanoes, drove over rocks, and stopped to take some photos of a multi-coloured mountain.
The next drive felt like an eternity, the combination of bumpy roads and the fact that I am over 6 feet tall and crushed in the back of a jeep did not make for a pleasant experience.
Laguna Altiplanicas
This lake was beautiful but my body was aching and tired. The driver was right about this being a long day. But we made the most of it
Solar de Chiguana – 3 volcanos
We stopped at the centre point of three volcanoes, having spent so long travelling people were beginning to get tired and in need of some rest.
Salt Hotel
After 10 hours of driving we arrived at our bed for the night, which turned out to be a hotel made entirely of salt. Luckily we acquired a private room, once the novelty of salt walls and the powdery salt floor wore off we realised it looked somewhat like a prison cell. At least there would be plenty flavouring for dinner.
For tea we ate the local Bolivian speciality, Pique Machu, consisting of llama, chips, fried onions, pepper and boiled eggs. It’s not gourmet but it tasted good. After we finished the huge pile of food it started to rain, we were grateful the salt hotel didn’t dissolve and were able to drift off into a much needed sleep.
