Sur Lípez, Bolivia

Shivani and I are up early again, this time the bags are packed and we are heading to Bolivia. The driver actually picks us up early which is a first in South America and has Shivani lamenting over having to ditch her morning cup of tea. I have been up for a few hours, slightly apprehensive about Bolivia and hoping the tour will be ok. We climb into the bus and there are 3 people already in, unbelievably it is a German girl, Larissa who I met in Salta and Vanessa who I sat next to on the bus to San Pedro. The fifth is a Israeli guy, Yuval but we don’t realise this is our group as when we booked there were 2 English on the tour. Chatting to them as we wait for the immigration office in San Pedro to open we realise this is our group and we have been bumped onto another company White & Green. There is nothing we can do about this, I think there were good reviews on them but time will tell. Stamping out of Chile is easy and we hop back in the bus to head for Bolivia. We stop stationary on the road outside San Pedro for 30mins, seems to be a blockade but the police turn up and just open the gate so it must have been a checkpoint of sorts. Once open the traffic is released at pace heading onwards for the border that is only about 20minutes away. The Bolivian border is high up, windy and dusty in the middle of mountains. For us the check in was straightforward, Yuval has a more complex process of 2 forms, passport photos and $100 US dollars. The Bolivian president made it harder as a protest against Israeli invasion of Palestine, makes me realise again what a privilege travelling on a British passport is. We transfer to our jeep and meet our driver Paulo, who seems nice and willing to speak in slow Spanish. Paulo explains that our tour companies are the same and we will follow the same route which is comforting. We get a good breakfast including good coffee served at the border. A bit of a laugh when Larissa can’t find a banana because a driver took one, and she questions each of us as to how many we have had. This earns her a nickname of ‘Banana girl’ and is the first sign we will all get on well. We shove our big rucksacks onto the top of the jeep where they are wrapped in tarpaulin and strapped down. Climbing into the jeep ( I get the front!) we set off into Bolivia, following tracks rather than road… The scenery is majestic and it’s not long before we have arrived at the White Lagoon, coloured by minerals it is vast. We stroll along the edge taking photos before climbing back into the jeep to head over the hill to the Green Lagoon (different minerals create a greener blue). We continue along the gravel tracks, enjoying a flat landscape framed by volcanos. In one section we stop to view the Dali rock desert. It looks like huge rocks dropped from the sky or perhaps out of a volcano and is named after Dali as it resembles his desert paintings. Onward to Salt Lagoon Chalviry which has lots of salt deposits, there are thermal pools you can sit in, but to be honest I cannot face the cold when you come out so I just take a walk around the shore. Lunch is surprisingly good with chicken stir fry and excellent mash potato eaten in a hut above the lagoon. The Morning sun geyser basin is our next stop, nice location but not as impressive as the Geyser Tatio area I saw in Chile. A couple in the group are starting to feel the effects of altitude, headaches and nausea but I am feeling okay. Our final stop of the day is the Lagunas Colorada or Red lagoon, and it lives up to its name almost looking like blood in patches from sediment and algae. This is the best spot of the day for me as it is filled with flamingos. There are 3 different types here, including James’s flamingos which are rare. I have no idea which are which but love watching them strut and fly across the shallow Lagoon. We then have 2 hours drive to our accommodation for the night in Villa Mar. It is fairly basic, all of us in one room but we get a couple of blankets and a sleeping bag to keep out the cold. It is freezing, but we have hot tea and break out the cards for a couple of hours entertainment. Dinner is a basic tomato and onion sauce with spaghetti, with water. There is another group with us of Brazilians who have brought vodka, but I decline their kind offer as I am not sure about mixing it with altitude tomorrow. If I am honest it is so cold I just want to go to bed, I make it to 8.30pm before climbing into the sleeping bag fully clothed and wrapping all the blankets around me.