The World's Largest Salt Flats

      Puno was our next stop after Puerto Maldonado. We made it in the morning and like usual did a little searching for a hostel. The minibus that dropped us off left us close to the bus terminal and since we were mostly just passing through Puno, we chose a hostel close by. After putting on sunscreen and shorts we went for a walk down by the Lake Titicaca. This lake is massive, part of it is Peruvian and part is Bolivian, and by far one of the most beautiful I’ve yet to see. Many treasure hunters have come to this lake because there’s a tale that when the Spaniards came chasing after the Incas, they took their precious stones and metals and took them on boats over Lake Titicaca but they never reached where they were heading and all the treasure is said to be lost in the bottom of the lake.

 

Anyways, we got on a little boat headed for Uros the floating Islands. There are near 100 of them and they were very touristy but interesting to see how they live. The floor seemed to be of reeds and it felt like walking on floating hay, they made their homes of the same. We stayed for a while and wandered, but only a small bit because otherwise we’d be in the water. Each floating island was not very big so you’d have to swim or boat to the next one over. I can’t imagine that kind of restriction to movement, I need space to run! 

The islands were interesting, they let us go on two of them, but they weren’t REALLY interesting. Just good to see and the ticket only cost us like $5 so I’d say it was worth it.

Back in town we walked into the center to find some dinner, we were pleased to find a big celebration of music and dance in the Plaza De Armas. It was beautiful! They were all dressed very traditionally and they looked like they were having a great time. (Well, by the end the women were looking very tired.) We chose a restaurant off the square and had a tasty ‘revitalizing’ juice but my pesto spaghetti was terrible! I can’t understand why they like to add so much extra salt but it really sucks. They do it to most foods and my pasta was terrible because of all the salt. I felt like I needed to wash it off. Tyler got alpaca and mashed potatoes and amazingly enough it seemed like they switched the salt for sugar and they were the sweetest mashed potatoes we’d ever had. We left slightly disappointed but sometimes that’s just the way it goes.

Dancing in the Plaza de Armas

Our yummy juice!

Next morning we were on a bus to Bolivia. Fun fact: Pretty much the only people who have to pay for a visa into Bolivia is Americans. So after stamping out of Peru and walking across the border, waiting in a long line, we were then informed that we needed to pay 360 Bolivianos. As we’d just arrived in the country we hadn’t gotten any Bolivianos yet so we had to walk back across the border to Peru, exchange all the soles we had left into Bolivianos and then walk back to immigration in Bolivia, got our visa and were directed to another woman who told us she also needed a photocopy of 3 specific pages in our passport. So outside the immigration office we went into a little shop, got our photocopies, gave them to the woman in immigration and finally got back on the bus with a carton of apple juice to soothe us after all that hectic confusion.

When we got to La Paz we immediately booked a bus to Uyuni. We had a few hours to spare so we wandered around the city a bit. 

Some yummy corn nuts!

Around 7am I think, we got to Uyuni. We then walked all over town looking for some kind of lodging with a vacancy. Right when we started to think we’d have to sleep in our tent in the middle of the road, a small but clean hostel made itself known and we quickly agreed. We purchased bread from the market and jam from a little shop and ate our breakfast on a park bench. The entire town of Uyuni is dedicated to selling you a trip to the salt flats and it is incredibly hard to choose the right tour. Travelers all over the streets were going from one tour company to the next comparing deals and hoping the cheaper one didn’t come with its own intoxicated driver.

We wanted a little more than the one day salt flat tour but we weren’t willing to pay for 3 nights either. Finally a gold toothed woman on the sidewalk asked us what we were looking for and told us she had the perfect thing at her tour company Wara Altiplano. We checked it out and considering it was 2 days and 1 night, we agreed. The rest of the day we spent at the Train Cemetery where trains that used to carry silver from the mines to other parts of South America had come to rest. It was quite a beautiful and eerie place.  

The Lonely Planet recommended a place called MinutemanPizza, saying it was by far the best in town and being the pizza lovers that we are, we decided to check it out that evening. It’s inside the Tonito Hotel and is run by a guy originally from Boston, he was incredibly friendly and helpful. We ended up with a pizza that was half spicy llama for guess who, and pesto primavera for the veggie over here. Our pizza included two delicious salads and I treated myself to a glass of red wine and Tyler had a local beer.

The pizza was delicious, we had longed for something to taste so good and we ate every bite! I enjoy walking after eating just to help my food digest so we went for a little meander around town and found ourselves in the midst of a Carnevale celebration. It seemed like a parade at first, but a strange one because instead of the people coming down the street tossing candy, they were wearing ponchos and being sprayed by the bystanders with foam and water. Everyone was having a fantastic time, including those covered in foam. They came in groups, each with their own little band and they danced along as they went. I got in on the action when I got sprayed in the neck and hair with some foam! After watching for a while we went back to the hostel to get some rest.

After some confusion we were headed out for our days activities, a quick stop at the train cemetery again, then off to a salt hotel, some lunch, all pretty uninteresting things.

Tyler and his salty llama

Tyler taking on Godzilla

Biggest. Chocolate. Bar. Ever.

 But when we reached the salt flats, oh man. The entire sky was reflected on the earth; all the beautiful blue and the gray white glowing clouds above us and below. It was glorious. Mesmerizing. I had to look between my legs too and see the world upside down which just made everything seem more surreal. It was also pretty funny to watch someone at a distance walk, because you could see their reflection perfectly and their feet connect to their other feet in their reflection with every step. I don’t know how to do this place justice through words, they  just don’t seem to be enough, hopefully my photos will help to paint a picture for you.

We stayed out on the salty sand till our feet were beyond raw, until the world was raw and the sun chose to set. It graced us with glimmering oranges and reds that flew from the sky and relay themselves at our feet. It was such a warming sight to see.

We couldn’t help but go back to Minuteman for dinner again; we barely made it in time! But we did get our pizza, different flavors this time, and more salad. Sadly, Tyler got sick that night and was sick all night and barely made it in the morning. 

Our last day in Uyuni, they took us to a little town that wasn’t much to see, it was still very much a run-down mining town. The thing of interest was an ex-president of Bolivia’s house, about fifteen feet from the house there was a wall with a door, and the door looked like any other but opened into the mine. We were told it was for the president’s escape when there were riots and protests. We drove through beautiful countryside and later arrived at the hot springs which were to be the main highlight of the day. They were hot. The hottest water I’d ever been in. Ouch. Especially with those feet I told you were destroyed, it burned! We sat on the little steps and eased our way in literally one step at a time until we were fully immersed (minus our heads).

That evening we got on the bus headed back for La Paz.

HOT springs

That smile looks a little painful!

Next stop, a last minute decision to spend a little time in Copacabana before heading back to Peru. Lots of love to all <3