I am not sure what is going to happen first - my eyeballs bursting or my head splitting in two. We are on a snow-capped ridge at 5600m trudging carefully along a trail blazed by our guide Edwin. We’ve elected to add a little ‘hiking’ to our tour of Southwest Bolivia's antiplano (plateau) and today’s challenge is an ascent of the 6008m Volcan Uturuncu the region’s highest.
It’s our fourth day in Bolivia arriving via Tilcara, Argentina. After a challenging border crossing – read incompetence – we caught our second train of the trip to the beautiful town of Tupiza at the foot of the Bolivian Antiplano (highlands plateau). At 3000m we began to immediately feel the affects of high altitude. Shortness of breath, dry mouth, and a subtle but persistent headache all reminders that we were high in the Andes now.
A chance meeting with a young, enthusiastic Canadian couple helped us fill a 4*4 tour of the Salar. Melanie and Matt are recent UBC grads and avid outdoors types and they were keen to break up the 1000km / 5 day tour with an ascent of Uturuncu. Having been so close to 6000m in Nepal and Kilimanjaro we thought it would be great to break the barrier in what was described as a ‘day hike’.
Leaving Tupiza in our Land Cruiser we got acclimated with each other as well as our driver / guide Edwin and cook Miltita. We bounced across bumpy, dry riverbeds before a reasonably smooth gravel road. Ascending quickly to 3600m we stopped to see the incredible Valle de Luna reminding us again of the US Canyonlands but more rugged and obviously remote.
We climbed to over 5000m all the while awed by the bleak landscaped backed by snow-capped mountain peaks. Lunch was in a pastured filled with Llama, most of which were happy to let us get up close for a few photos. Miltita immediately proved a success preparing a colorful and healthy meal that we quickly devoured. Taking pictures is hungry work…
Our bathroom stop – drop your drawers in someone’s backyard, all the while dodging water balloons hurled by the local youngsters in honor of Carnival - in the region’s capital of Rio San Pablo. The road, like the weather, deteriorated quickly and we found ourselves bouncing slowly through craters in the road and crossing numerous raging streams as a snowstorm set in. While Edwin proved as adept at driving as Miltita was a cook, the other two trucks following us were not that lucky and we stopped twice to push trucks out of harm adding to an already long day. We arrived at Quetana Chico amid solid snowfall – Chasing Summer? – which would be the stage for tomorrow’s hike.
The snow would prove to make our summit attempt a considerable challenge. Parking significantly lower – 4500m – than usual meant 5 hours of uphill hiking proved doubly difficult over fresh snow. Did I mention the altitude? While Edwin and Miltita shuffled quickly ahead of us we needed to slowly poke along trying to maintain a steady rhythm and suck in enough O2.
By the time we reached the second ridge at 5600m after 3 hours, the soft snow and steep conditions were proving worthy obstacles. We took a short break while Edwin scouted out the next ridgeline.
“Una problema” Edwin said upon his return. The heavy snowfall has made the normal route impassable and left us with only a steep and soft ridge to traverse. Soon after starting it was apparent this route would not be feasible. We found ourselves in knee-deep snow – me deeper – and to us the proposed line a little too daunting. Reluctantly we turned around, leaving Matt and Edwin to try and blaze trail – they were turned back shortly after – on the ridge.
We descended quickly although the normal euphoria of returning from high altitude did not engulf us. Sliding down the long, snow covered valley was a good laugh, providing a numb bum in the process. Upon our return to the truck, Miltita immediately set about preparing lunch while the rest of admired the incredible views of the numerous snowcapped peaks in all directions. With the impending storm dissipating we lingered admiring the scenery and enjoying lunch.
I fell in and out of consciousness on the long, bouncy ride back to Quetana Chico, Dee and the rest having a good laugh at my tuna head swaying back and forth. Certainly we all felt better returning to 4000m although the headache persisted for me. The effects of being exposed to the wind and sun on the snow-covered mountain all day was incredible. Despite numerous application of spf45 sun block both Dee and I were glowing on the checks and nose. However Matt had the worst of it, his neck deep red – which persisted when we left him in La Paz 4 days later – along with a Rudolph nose.
It would be another long day in the truck as we entered the southern portion of the park, on the Bolivian – Chilean border. If it’s possible the land became more barren, lifeless, and remote as we headed south. We crossed two large lakes formed in the glacial scree. The water looked toxic although filled with numerous flocks of flamingos, constantly testing our camera’s zoom as they kept their distance. Edwin made us understand that the lakebed when dry provides the material used in cleaning soap manufactured in Bolivia. Pretty sure this conversation was lost in translation…
We passed the natural hot springs shortly thereafter. It was filled with 20 or so other tourists – the first we’d seen today – who were enjoying the warm water, sun, and views. Our next stop was the incredible Laguna Verde at the base of Volcan Licancabur. The combination of minerals and plant life color the lake a majestic emerald green. Carnivorous plants keep the bird-life away. Amazing!
Admiring the lake we wondered aloud why an attempt of Licancabur wasn’t feasible. From our vantage point it looked to have much less snow and putting it to Edwin he agreed, wondering why we hadn’t made that arrangement. Turns out the agency were completely wrong in their information, giving us the opposite advice needed. We collectively sighed – and silently cursed – as we took one last look at the ready to summit volcano.
Returning to the hot springs we were blown away by the incredible rock formations popping out in the distance. The final remnants of the tremendous volcanic activity that shaped the region, they hold vigils against the shaping of the wind and rain.
It appeared our opportunity to enjoy the hot spring was not meant to be when we counted near 100 people splashing about upon our return. It seemed this was the point when we met tours that had commenced from the northern town of Uyuni and there were at least 25 4*4’s parked alongside. We speculated if this meant an end to our ‘private’ tour as for 2.5 days we had had the park all to ourselves… We changed into bathing attire as almost on cue the pool emptied leaving just Dee and I with the massive pool to ourselves. We soaked in the warmth (100F) and watched the convoy of jeeps head in the direction we had come. We toasted our good fortune and lingered until Miltita rang the lunch bell.
The day of highlights ended with a tour of the incredible Laguna Colorada. The deep red lake is a haven for thousands of flamingos while its shores provide grasses for Llamas to feed on at 4300m. We loitered for far too long hoping to catch some intimate photos of the birds and laughing at the determined eating habits of the Llamas as they ripped the grass violently with their teeth, all the while keeping a watchful eye on the photographers.
Our accommodation to a dramatic return for the worse that evening. A spat between rival companies left us with the poorest of the 3 hostels available and it was a shocker; leaky toilets, unclean beds, and a musty odor throughout. While our colds mooted the later, we elected bed in our own sleeping bags and ‘hold it’ until well into tomorrow.
More incredible rock formations, salt bottom lakes, all framed by 5 and 6000m peaks greeted us for the morning of day 4. We climbed numerous formations looking for the best photo ops before stopping among them for lunch. After lunch it was long drive to Uyuni where we would spend the night before seeing the Salar de Uyuni.
Watching the garbage rolling in the wind as we approached Uyuni was an ominous sign. Entering the city brought the reality home. It is a dump. Try as I might to impress you with some redeeming quality the city has to offer I can’t come up with one. It smells. Bad. Garbage litters the streets throughout. Our hostel was disgusting, save a clean, hot shower that we enjoyed upon our arrival. Worst cup of coffee in Dee’s life. Being the last day of the 4 days of ‘Carnival’ leading into Ash Wednesday the town was at the end of collective drunk. It seems anyone near or over 18 was wandering the streets, bottle in hand, shouting incoherently to no one in particular. While we isolated ourselves in our hotel that evening we were already dreading the five-hour layover we had the next day before moving onto La Paz.
Our final morning brought us out on the Salar (Salt Flat). Edwin persuaded us to leave a little later than the hordes predicting a cloudy morning. He was right once again! After a bumpy 25k we approached the Salar after exiting the tiny village of Colchani. Covered in 3 inches of water, the white bottom gave us the impression that we were floating on top a glass table. It was impossible to distinguish the horizon from the reflection and the mirror effect from the neighboring snow – capped peaks was majestic.
Slowly Edwin guided us towards the only landmark on the 12,000 sqkm flat. The fifteen room salt hotel served as our breakfast spot, providing much opportunity to admire the vast beauty of the Salar and snap photos. The reflection creates a distorted depth perception and allowed us get some fun photos. Again Edwin timed our arrival beautifully as the dozen or so trucks left shortly after our arrival leaving the Salar almost to ourselves for 2 hours.
We reluctantly left returning across the Salar lake. A scheduled stop in Colchani to support the local market followed by lunch ended the tour. We bid goodbye to Edwin and Miltita and attempted to reconnect with the world at one of Uyuni’s internet cafes. After being able to compose and send just three short emails in 45’ we bailed out finding a relatively quiet and sunny spot to finish the afternoon.
We managed to find one redeeming feature in town when we wandered into ‘The Minuteman Pizza’ shop for dinner. Started by an enthusiastic Bostonian and his Bolivian wife 13 years ago it was an oasis of food; handcrafted pizzas with actual toppings rather than cheese smothered on top. We demolished the pizza in mere minutes and contemplated another before thinking the better of it. It was time for our first overnight bus in Bolivia. Uyuni – La Paz. 550km and only 12 hours!
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