October 4th 2015
We wake up early to an alarm we’ve mutually set. It’s around 5:15 am but we’re determined to go out and watch the sun rise over the salt flats. After all, how many times are you in this incredible part of South Western Bolivia. For most people once, for me it should be 3 or 4 times by the time I leave South America, but still. Even Sara manages to make it out of her coziness all bundled up and ready for the cold.
We walk out from the hostel and through the same gateway to the flats just as the pre dawn light starts to creep above the distant peaks. We wander out a little further and find some flamingoes just waking up as the predawn light shifts to a brilliant blaze of orange tearing across the sky and colouring what few clouds they are. The flamingoes seem eager for the warmth and walk towards the sun quickly, we follow trying to maintain a respectful difference. What follows, well it’s one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen, forget that even, just one of the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. Words just can’t and while pictures come a bit closer even they don’t really do it justice.
Eventually the sun comes up fully and the flamingoes continue along the moat like lagoon further than we care to follow so we turn around and head back towards the gateway to the island. On our way though we find more flamingoes who did not let the wiles of the sun lure them away from town quite so far.
As we reach the gates back towards the hostel Sara and Janosch decide to head back to the hostel for a little pre breakfast nap but I’m drawn by some distant flecks of pink barely visible to the naked eye. There’s about an hour until breakfast time so I continue out along the flats, following the edge of the laguna in pursuit of more flamingoes.
I walk quickly, if in more of a zig zag pattern than I’d like, as the lake on this side of town has quite a few inlets into the salt flats. As I walk Llamas begin to flood the field across the lake, but the flamingoes start to retreat towards the large mountains so instead of slowing down, I accelerate, breathing heavily thanks to the altitude at around 4000 meters.
Eventually I catch up to the biggest group of flamingoes yet, huffing and puffing and take some pictures of them, the lagoon providing stunning reflections of both the bird as well as the mountains behind them. I linger a few moments to enjoy the beauty of these stunning birds, not to mention the impressive landscape that surrounds me.
After letting the flamingoes go I check the clock on my Ipod and realize I’m going to have to hurry back to make it in time for breakfast, still by now the fields in front of the volcanoes have filled with an almost unbelievable amount of Lamas and I feel determined to get across to them. The problem is probably obvious, theres only the one place to cross the lake, back at the gate we came out of, but I’ve got no time to backtrack that far. Luckily I find an almost crossable bridge of rocks and nimbly hop from one to the other, somehow avoiding falling into the water, even when I find and stretch for a lovely pink flamingo feather floating in the water which I end up giving to Sara, mostly because I know I’d wreck it within the week.
I manage to make it across the makeshift bridge and then it’s Lama time, hundreds of the fluffy South American creatures surround me, looking up curiously from their grazing as I weave through them, snapping photos of them with the stunning volcanic crater in the background.
One thing this morning teaches me, and trust me when I say it’s a very important lesson with countless practical applications. So important in fact that it comes in two parts, Lamas Poop together, and Lamas also enjoy eating the poop of other Lamas, and I’ve got the photos to prove it.
I hurry back to the hostel and find Sara and Janosch still sleeping so I wake them with our doggie friend and we enjoy a simple breakfast before heading up towards the center of town planning to hike up the volcano which dominates the skyline around us.
In the plaza de armas we get the first downside of our tour company abandoning us here when we have to pay 15 bolivianos each instead of the 10 we’d been told to head up the volcano. It’s just an extra dollar and to me not a big deal, what is more frustrating is starting up the dusty road and watching a few jeeps speed past us, bathing us in dust. Turns out the normal tour takes you about halfway up by car, making the whole walk a lot more manageable, especially for someone in my physical condition with leg issues to boot. Oh well, we make do.
I insist that Janosch and Sara go on ahead, knowing we will all be happier that way, me allowed to walk at my own pace and them allowed to explore further. I’m just hoping I’ll be able to make it to the halfway point, where we’ve been told there’s a cave holding some mummies who are roughly 2000 years old.
The great thing about hiking in South America is that usually there’s such amazing views all around you, that you have a constant built in excuse for breaks just to turn around and take photos, and here is no exception. Since I need a bunch of breaks it means you guys get a bunch of pictures.
As I finally reach the end of the car road I find Sara and Janosch have waited for me, though Sara kindly assures me it’s only been about ten minutes. (I think she was lying) At any rate we head down the small path together and wind down into a shallow gorge in the mountain side following the path to it’s end outside a small opening in the rock to our right. One by one we crawl in and our greeted by a truly spooky site, the mummies somehow perfectly preserved and nestled into various nooks of the rocks, staring straight back at us as our flashlights fall over their ancient bones.
Throughly creeped out we leave the cave behind and climb back up to the small car park, all the while glancing up at the volcano which still seems like a long hike for us. Still,we have lots of time left so we do set off up the path, which is more than most of the other tourists are doing. Janosch quickly goes off ahead, but I manage to almost keep pace with Sara at least keeping her in sight the whole time.
After a short while we come to a decision, are we going to try to make it to the crater, or should we settle for a viewpoint. The map near the mummies is incredibly deceptive making it seem like it’s all one trade, but up the mountains the signs indicate otherwise. Checking the time Sara and I decide that we had best settle for the mirador and so strike off further up the mountain together.
After another 40 minute walking mostly uphill we reach the viewpoint which is surprisingly close to the salt flats and still quite a distance from the crater, though it does offer beautiful views no matter which way you look. Sara and I spend a good chunk of time there taking more incredible photos and enjoying being utterly alone up atop the island.
Just as we decide to leave a group of 6 french tourists comes up the trail and we’re glad to be headed on our way, not wanting to ruin the serenity for the others. On our way down we find a few Llamas and still more terrific views of the sprawling salt flats below us.
Once at the mummies Sara and I take a break from the downhill walk which is a little hard on the knees (god I’m getting old) and before long Janosch has joined us, claiming he made it all the way to the crater. We’re a little jealous since apparently the walk was much shorter than suggested, but still our viewpoint was amazing and we can’t be that disappointed.
Together we head down back into the tiny little town and back to our hostel getting there at about 1 oclock and finding a big group of tourists eating lunch. We figure since there’s six of them they can’t be our group, especially since it’s a completely different SUV and driver, but we are quickly informed they are our group and that 2 of the 6 will be staying here for the day, meaning it will be 7 of us plus the driver in the car. In other words it’s going to be a crowded few days.
We sit down to lunch and meet the rest of our group, a friendly British family of three and an Italian woman who speaks next to no English or Spanish, and my Italian is more than a little rusty, but as we all pile into the car, me crammed in back, we fall into staring at the endless white rather than talking much.
After about 40 minutes we pull up to the famous fish Island where I watched the sunrise back in May. This time Janosch Sara and I decide not to pay the entry fee and rather to walk around the outside of the island appreciating the giant cactuses from below. As we make it back to the car we see a solitary figure running towards the island and later find out he;s running across the Salt Flats all alone. People are crazy.
We end up waiting a while at the jeep for our drive rot reappear but before long were headed across the other half of the salt flats towards our hotel for the night, which sadly is about an hours walk from the real edge of the whiteness. We’re all tired though and after dinner everyone’s getting ready to sleep when the possibility of a cave visit is brought up. A lot of people pass but between the 4 or 5 groups staying at the hotel we manage to gather a group of about six people, including James, the son in the british family, who has just graduated with a degree in geology. In other words not a bad person to bring along for a cave visit.
We pay the owner of the hotel the 15 bolivianos each entry fee and he walks the 500 meters with us to unlock the door to Caverna del Infierno. It was only discovered recently and has since been outfitted with a few basic lights to allow tourists to explore it no matter the hour. The hotel owner flips on the lights for us and gives us each a hardhat, explaining a little about the cave to me in Spanish, which I then translate for the rest of the group.
The cave, like all of the Salt flats used to be underwater, because of this the walls of the cave are entirely covered by fossilized coral giving the space a jagged and other worldly feel to it.
James explain a lot more scientific detail as we explore the various chambers of the cave, sadly the inconsistent lighting makes good photos hard to come by, but here’s what I could capture.
Exhausted and ready for sleep we head back to the refugio’s simple but warm beds and curl up, knowing we have to wake up by 5:30 the next day, and that we’ll need our rest for the next two amazing Day in the Southwest of Bolivia.
