When we got to La Paz, we mostly did homework. However, we also walked around the city a bit. The next day, we went on a city tour with our guide. He drove us around the city to monuments and viewpoints, but the coolest thing he showed us (in my opinion) was the city’s public transport system. Instead of a subway or other mode of that kind, they have cable cars! I talked to my friend Una later that day, and she said that they have the same thing in Serbia. While I’m on that note, remember how I was mad at my friends at the beginning and middle of this trip for not reading the blog? Well, apparently, now they’ve started. Yay. I’m gonna start quizzing them… Anyway, the cable cars are color-coded by line and can transport anyone across the city for only a small fee. Since their installment seven years ago, they have really changed the city dynamic. While the poor used to live on the hilly parts of La Paz, because of the new system the rich are now living there for the view. Similarly, the poor now live in the flat areas of the city. Kids can get to school without waking up early and returning late, so they no longer dread it! I think it’s wonderful that the government was un-corrupt enough to invest in this much-used system. The best part is that they go right over people’s houses, so we can see inside their homes.
After that, we went to the Sandstone Moon Valley. There, we explored amazing formations so alike to the moon that Neil Armstrong, when he came, said so himself. It was a lot of fun.
The guide also took us to the Witch’s Market, so called because of the Spaniards’ beliefs that the locals and anything associated with them were heretical. There, we saw different types of potions for sale, mainly about love, and we were each given a love talisman! They were different versions of men and women in intimate positions if you know what I mean… We also learned about and bought a good luck statue! Most interestingly to you, we saw dead llama and alpaca fetuses and young for sale. Supposedly, they died from “natural abortion”, the mothers recognize when it isn’t a good time to have a baby and therefore let them go, but they were so abundant that we doubt they were all natural deaths, especially since some of the older ones were considerably larger than fetuses.
The next day, we toured the city on our own. Notably, there were a few places to mention. The first was a place we had gone the day before. It was an ordinary plaza, but there were hundreds of pigeons! We bought some bird seed and they practically attacked us! We were in the midst of a pigeon tornado! It was so much fun.
After more strolling, we wandered into a fruit, vegetable, and flower market! I tried a new fruit called Rambutan. It’s basically lychee but larger and the skin is different. Delish!!! Also noteworthy, there are many many cats and dogs. The next morning, at four am, we checked out of our hotel. We took with us only our backpacks and two duffel bags and headed to the airport. Once there, we flew to the city of Uyuni. We were supposed to be picked up at the airport by our guide, but he wasn’t there so we took a taxi. A guide for what, you may ask? A guide to the Salt Flats of Bolivia! Years ago, there was an ocean in Bolivia. However, over time it evaporated and dried out, leaving only salt behind. This salt “desert” as some call it, it is so large that it can be seen from space. We ate breakfast and met our guide, David, and our driver, Oscar. We drove in a jeep to our first destination: a train graveyard. This was where old trains had been left following an economic crash. They had been used to transport salt. Apparently, American outlaw Butch Cassidy and his gang had been killed there. The prize for their bodies today is two million dollars.
Next, we went to see how salt is processed at a place called Colchani. We learned about different types of salt, where to find them, and how to turn them into today’s table salt.
Finally, we went to the Salt Flats. David showed us bubbling water in the ponds on the expanse, but the water was freezing! Odd…
After that, we went to the first hotel made of salt! It is no longer in use as a hotel (it’s now a restaurant), but we didn’t eat there because we had eaten a lunch that Oscar’s wife had made for us. Instead, we saw salt mounds ready for transport.
At Pia Pia Island, we took some wonderful perspective photographs. Perhaps you’ve heard of these famous images, but if not, look them up. For props, we used Asher’s hat, a toy alpaca, lollipops, a Bolivian beer bottle, Oreos, Asher’s Spiderman, an apple, a spoon, a Barbie (Raquel from Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse, if you’re interested), a toy dinosaur, David’s toy dinosaur, eggs, Doritos, our jeep, a toy car, coke bottles, and a grapefruit soda bottle. I orchestrated some pictures,
Troy directed some,
and Aba did, too.
I also made one of Troy laying us (hatching out of eggs), but he doesn’t want to put it online. It was so much fun! We got so stained with salt!
On the way to our hotel, we stopped and saw the sunset. I didn’t mention another reason the Salt Flats are so special. When it rains, the water stays on the ground (salt, in this case) and produces an effect akin to a mirror. It’s hard to describe, but you’ll see in the photos. It was magical. We’ve seen many things this year as well as throughout our other travels, but this has to be one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. It really is something you must do at least once… It was wonderful. Therefore, it was completely worth freezing our feet in the cold cold cold water.
We ate dinner at our salt hotel in a village cashed Ajencha and quickly fell asleep. Also, when I say salt I mean salt. Salt walls, salt chairs, salt beds, salt tables, the whole shebang! I was very sad when I realized that we would not see the Salt Flats again for the rest of our trip… Oh! And one more thing. When we go to Israel soon I am going to meet with some small kids I babysat in Boulder. They’re very sweet and I love them so much, so I want to make them something they’ll like. For example, the last couple of times I saw them I made them dragon straws and a robotic hand! Plead give suggestions (either on the big comments or to my email) for DIYs! We woke at seven am the next morning. After a simple breakfast of eggs and bread, we started driving. Miraculously, Oscar had somehow cleaned the car of all the salt we had previously tracked in and it was wonderfully clean! First, we stopped at a viewpoint. There, we saw amazing cacti! They only grow about a centimeter per year, and some of them were enormous!
Next, we stopped somewhere for llama sausages. However, the restaurant was not open and we didn’t get to try them. I hear they’re delicious, though! Still, we got to see beautiful moss. Like the cacti, the moss grows a centimeter per year, though in some areas they only grow three millimeters! We saw a large one and it was as hard as a rock! Nothing can hurt it because animals don’t eat it unless they have to, and touching it doesn’t hurt it unless it is scratched. I mention this because, while we were touching it, some Southern guy came over and said, “d’you suppose they put these rocks here to tell people not to touch it?” We were in a circle of rocks, but David had said it was okay to touch it. Aba replied, “yeah, no need for such a subtle hint.” The man looked so offended! We then drove through the route of Three Lagoons – Cañapa, Hedionda, and Chiarkhota, and had the most wonderful experience. Aba spotted an Andean fox and we paused to take a picture. It looked as if it had been in a fight, we guess it was a territory skirmish, and it seemed hungry. When we started to drive away, it chased us! In fact, we drove about a mile before we pulled over again and it caught up. We threw it two potatoes and whben it ate then we realized it must have been starving. This type of fox eats flamingo eggs, so we fed it three chicken eggs. You are already familiar with these eggs, as they have journeyed with us this trip. These three eggs floated in the salty water hole, were balanced upon in a perspective photo, and were then eaten by the fox. I’m so glad it had something to eat! Aba dubbed him/her Lucky.
Next, we stopped at a small lake to take pictures of Chilean flamingos. At the next lake, Laguna Colorada, we ate lunch. There, we saw Andean flamingos, Chilean flamingos, and James flamingos. The lake was a bright red from the algae within and was incredible to look at.
We paused at some interesting rock formations and I got some great photos of a Chinchilla, or Vizcacha in Bolivia. We think it’s because I used Aba’s phone and it was similar to the color of the moss, which they eat, so it wasn’t afraid. It got so close that it nibbled and licked my finger!
The next rocks we stopped to look at were among the Tree of Rock, a very oddly shaped stone.
We arrived at our hotel and traveled back in time to Nepal: it was cold, there was no Wi-Fi, there were no lights, there were only backpackers, and we played UNO (I won six games!) So much fun! In the morning, we were supposed to wake up at four am. However, Aba had planned well and we were able to leave at seven. Our first stop was at the Sol de Mañana geysers. There, we smelled the strong stench of sulfur and saw thick stream and bubbling mud. It was really nice, especially because there was no one else there. The tourists had all come at five am!
After that, we drove through the “Dali Desert”. A fun part of the day was enjoying some natural open-air hot springs. It wasn’t boiling but it was warm, so it was nice to swim in.
We then saw Laguna Verde. Though it was not green at the time, it was an interesting lake to see because it was filled with magnesium, calcium carbonate, lead, and arsenic, making it quite toxic. We passed through a few towns including San Cristobal (like in the Galapagos) on our way back to Uyuni, but before that, we saw one of the most beautiful sights on our trip. There was a valley. In this valley was a body of water. There was also green grass and marshland. It was connected to adjoining valleys. In these valleys were llamas and alpacas. Llamas and alpacas, llamas and alpacas. It was so beautiful that I can’t even describe it. It was just perfect…
On the drive back, we continued listening to music. Aba and David alternated DJ-ing, and their playlists were so similar that I couldn’t tell the difference! I want to imprint on you how much I enjoyed this trip. I did not read a single page of a single book, watch a single episode of a show, or even watch ten minutes of a movie. The entire duration was spent touring or watching the scenery, and I’m very happy with it. This is one of my favorite places so far on our trip, and I would love to come back soon. I would also want to travel to Patagonia to see the Marble Caves there if we return.
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Ella
