After more than a month spent in Argentina, with its ups and downs, we were eager to discover this country that everyone considers as their South American favorite. Bolivia has a very rich culture, still well established (the country is officially called “Plurinational State of Bolivia”) and also diverse very preserved landscapes. It is quite logical that when drawing our itinerary and choosing our two stages on this continent, Bolivia has imposed itself. Come on, we turn the page on all our little worries and we are reconciled with the Latin!
Colourful lagoons and salt not from Guérande
We get back to our first loves during the arrival in Bolivia: bus line and then crossing the border by foot (no bribe!) before negotiating a collective taxi. It smells like Asia and we like it. The important small plus is to be able to talk with our fellow travelers (football in this case), people do not even know that we are also good in cheese and red wine now.
Here we are in our first little Bolivian town, Tupiza. Before becoming a starting point for excursions to South Lipez, Tupiza was the economic center of this agricultural region of the country. By economic center we do not want to say that it is the New York of the south of the country, no, it’s just that there are two markets, a bus station, a few hotels and restaurants, a charming little place and always people on the street. And to be noticed, the Bolivians are totally different from the Argentineans. Not necessarily smiling, a bit rough even, you might think we’re not going to laugh here. Pof, nothing understood! We are gladly told our way, we talk with us, and we do not bows, it’s really nice. Ben even has the right to a little mockery from a granny carrying his stall through the meanders of the market when he offers his help: “and the gringo there he wants to help me, ahahah”, before disappearing she and her top hat.
If we are here it is to discover the south-eastern region of the country, South Lipez. It is not well known abroad, but any good tourist traveling in Bolivia passes through this region, and apparently it is magnificient. We embark in the morning with two new traveling companions, Annalena and Amir, aboard a 4×4 which will be for the next four days our best friend (and that of our buttocks especially). At the controls, Cristobal, seven years of driving in the region and having for passion the satisfaction of the tourist. At his side, Noémie, his wife and travel cook who has a goal: fill in our belly as soon as the engine is turned off.
The first day is especially dedicated to the road to approach the national park that we will visit. We are slowly gaining altitude in the middle of mountains and canyons in shades of brown, gray, green and ocher. This is the continuation of what we discovered in northern Argentina, the chickens are not impressed beyond measure, but the best is yet to come and we know it. We visit an abandoned mining village at 4690m altitude, the region is full of galleries leading to veins, mainly silver and copper, extinguished or exploited. After eight hours of driving, and before arriving at our hostel for the night, we discover our first lagoon, the Laguna Morejon, and some flamingos. A lagoon is a body of fresh water that fills up during the rainy season and then gradually dries up during the year. They can be of different colors (can even vary over the day or seasons) depending on the chemical composition of the soil (and therefore water) or microscopic algae living there. Audrey loves pink-feathered waders, seemingly sharing a kind of elegance with the birds. No doubt she goes to bed with a smile on her lips in the small lunar village Quetena Chico.
The second day is supposed to be mind blowing. We enter the Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve, the South Lipez Park. As every morning Cristobal presents the detailed program, timed, optimized for our beautiful eyes. He is not afraid to get wet a bit and warn us, there will be amazing sceneries. We’re not going to keep the suspense any longer (and then it’s complicated in a story like this, we’re not sure how Stephen King does), he did not tell us lies! Laguna Hedionda Sur and Laguna Kollpa are linked together, the second used to harvest salt (inedible), before crossing the so-called “Salvador Dali” desert because of the color gradient of the surrounding mountains. The landscapes are magnificent. It is not far from 5000m altitude and it is a bit cold but the sun is hot and warms us. Finally arrives the first major attraction, the Laguna Blanca (you guess the color?) but especially the Licancabur volcano (5920m all the same) reflected in the Laguna Verde (it is only green when the sun is at its zenith). There are no landscape of amateurs, it is mind blowing. Before heading back north and after a lunch of kings, we take advantage of local geothermal energy and we paddle in a small bath at 35 ° at the edge of the lagoons, in the midst of flamingos.
A few kilometers further we discover another manifestation of the volcanoes of the area. Bubbling baths, gray and scarlet, give off sulphurous fumaroles. Prohibited from dipping, a tourist (Nobel price of prudence obviously) has already left his life insurance here not so long ago. A thought for the guy and here we are at the back of the 4×4 for a small nap (you were told Noémie fed us a little…). The last stop of the day will certainly have an impact on us. The Laguna Colorada. Unknown by the chickens until then, this lagoon is a jewel. Ruby red in color with its concentration of seaweed, this gigantic body of water is superb. Hundreds of flamingos wander around, llamas graze peacefully on the shore, the mountains in the background are perfectly reflected on the surface. It is a crush on the chickens who hang out and take advantage of their luck. And then Audrey tries by all means to capture a llama or flamingo to bring it back, it’s a bit embarrassing and it will take the help of law enforcement to control her (this part is a bit exaggerated). Rest assured by all these wonders, the chickens find a peaceful sleep at the second base camp, the small village stage of Villa Mar.
The program of the third day is quite different. We start (after a huge breakfast prepared by Noemie) to go to admire formations of volcanic rock zone called Italia Perdida (an Italian tourist biker would have lost his tent after going to admire the stars, ah the legends millennia <). The principle is to let go your imagination to see appear animals, trees, everyday objects. Ben is not conquered, and although he is a big fan of the same activity when it concerns clouds, big stones, it does not inspire him. Well, there is this big stalactite that everyone agrees is the football world cup (the one we raised in July yes yes). Then comes the moment dreaded by Audrey since her awakening, the last flamingos of the excursion. The Laguna Vinto is an opportunity to add a new burst of two hundred photos to the memory card of the device… The tears of Audrey stop flowing at the next stop (said like it looks like a trip by subway but imagine each time 30 minutes of track, in the middle of a desert of steppes, between 4500m and 5000m of altitude. It is not the same thing as a trip “Patte d’oie – Jean Jaurès” of our friends in Toulouse). We arrive at the heart of a small canyon covered with a green carpet, where streams wind, and where some llamas graze. It slices a lot with what we saw until now. At the end of the canyon, we discover a new lagoon, Laguna Negra (very dark green, what were you thinking?), A small lake with ducks. It’s cute and according to our guide, it pleases the French. The rest of the day is dedicated to the road to approach our hotel for the night. The next day starting early, it is planned to rest a little before going to sleep in our salt hotel on the edge of Salar Uyuni. Yes yes, a building whose walls are built with bricks of salt, the basins made of salt brick, the tables and the benches made of salt brick and coarse salt covering the ground (in salt too). It is rather charming and original, the chickens appreciate. In addition the salt isolates well and the night is really warmer than the previous ones.
That’s it, we are there. The day of Salar. The chickens hit the road to the heart of the Salar even before the first light of dawn. It is dark and Cristobal led lights extinguished on this immensity flat for a few tens of kilometers. He orientates himself with the silhouettes of mountains and volcanoes bordering the salt desert in the distance. Our destination is an island in the middle of Salar: Isla Inkahuasi. Inhabited by the Incas, this small hill covered with cactus is slightly arranged so that we can climb and admire the sunrise from the summit. The show is beautiful. We discover a white ocean gradually taking orange and pinkish colors. No doubts, the chickens love sunrises. The Salar is impressive, we do not see the end, and no matter in which direction we look. We continue with the traditional trompe l’oeil photo session in the middle of the white desert. It’s not so easy but our experienced guides help us to take some nice pictures. Before closing this wonderful four days, we pass by the monument honoring the Dakar Rally, the pile of flags where everyone adds his own (guess if there was a Breton flag) and the train cemetery. Well, it was really great and we did not expect all these landscapes, especially in South Lipez. The Salar is known worldwide, but the southern region of the country is equally impressive.
At noon we take the road back to Bolivia’s capital, Sucre. A trip of 3 hours by bus where Audrey misses little to pee on herself, followed by a rally by collective taxi of 2:30 in the mountains, we arrive safe and sound (and dry).
Three days in Sucre, sweet sweet town
We discover Sucre at a relatively quiet pace. The city seems to extend on hills as far as the eye can see but we are confined to the streets of the center, classified world inheritance of UNESCO. The facades of the houses are immaculate white with colonial style and hiden colorful patios. Pretty cafes bloom everywhere, we take advantage of it. Some offer magnificent views of the roofs of the city, from the roof of a church for example. We are conquered by the Bolivian capital that offers us this stop city. It feels good to lower our guard and walk around the market and buy a fresh fruit juice for the little ladies armed with their mixer. Oh no, we shouldnt have lower our guard, Audrey found her Asian habits and spend a day cloistered in bed, we can not trust this child!
Fortunately, it is only a bad day and the next day we have the opportunity to visit the Asur Museum on indigenous arts and the art of weaving in Bolivia. We discover the traditions still practiced today on the occasion of annual festivals, but which we will not be able to attend unfortunately. Like all the developing countries we visited, there is a trend towards homogenization with the West as a model. Bolivia, however, seems to benefit from greater consideration of its multi-ethnic origins by its current government (it should change to more economic goals next year …). Although Sucre looks like a little bobo town and there are fewer little ladies wearing a hat on the water, this museum is there to remind us that there are still some Bolivians fighting to conserve indigenous knowledge. The weaving with incredible patterns that can be discovered at the Asur Museum is a shining example (it is truly incredible and without doubt the finest weavings we have seen of our lives).
It is now time to head back to La Paz, the other capital of the country (where the government and most institutions are located). And a night bus one! But compared to those we took 6 months ago during our Asian adventures, it is more comfortable, our buttocks are even the first it has the leisure to convoy. And yes, the chickens are tired like little old people so if it is to do 12 hours of bus, 3 euros extra comfort are welcome! We will tell you more about this capital strewn at 4000m of altitude in the next article of chickens, promised!
See you soon,
Audrey and Ben