Going to Bolivia and Tupiza to Salar Uyuni

After 2 days of buses and no showers, I made my way from Buenos Aires to the border with Bolivia. I had no time to get together all the required documents, passport photo and even money ($135 in American Dollars) before I showed up at the border. And of course, out of the bunch of foreigners, who were on my bus, I was the only one who required an expensive visa to enter Bolivia. I was somewhat nervous to be harassed for money, as I was warned that it’s quite a possibility, especially if you are missing some documents. The bus arrived at 6 am and it was freezing and dark, there was not even a bus terminal to stay warm until the sun comes out, nothing was opened…, so I decided just to go with the crowd to the border and test my luck right on the spot! Overall, the border crossing went smoothly. The officers allowed me to go to Bolivia, to get some dollars, while my passport and my backpack stayed at the border. They did not make a scene when found out that I don’t have a passport photo, itinerary, hostel reservation, and return ticket. The only thing, the guy who accepted my money, took a really long time to get my change ($ 5). I was about to tip him, because it was a small price to pay, but he decided to give it to me at some point. After I was done with all of my visa troubles, I ran into the same group of foreigners, who were long done with the border crossing and were on the way to Tupiza. Since, I've done no research at the moment of what I wanted to do; Tupiza seemed like a good place to start! Right away, Bolivia seemed like a very different place that I have seen so far! Lots of women in the colorful traditional clothes, different types of empanadas called saltenas, lots of hassling all around. We were even hassled while buying the bus ticket, and ended up paying double price… But, the bus ticket is ridiculously cheap if comparing to the prices of the transportation in Argentina and Chile. Again, it was a learning experience and a small price to pay! In Tupiza, Cristina (chica from Spain) and I hooked up and organized our 5 day trip to the Salar de Uyuni, together with the French couple, Jeremy and Leila. We were really lucky with the agency that we signed up with, with the group, and also with our driver/guide William and his mother (our cook) Stanislada, who we simply called Mama. William is very knowledgeable guide, who knew all the surroundings and always had some information about the mountains rock formations and the culture of Bolivia that he seemed to know like the back of his hand… Our Mama was there for us when we were hungry, attitude sick, had stomach and headache problems and even she was willing and posed for our pics and did some jumping pics with us. :) Everybody in the group spoke Spanish 24/7 and are all very outdoor-mountain, active and decided to climb a volcano Tunupa at the 5432m above the sea level during this trip , so I had quite a challenge to keep up with my group!! Here is what went on and what had been seen: Day 1. We left Tupiza at around 10 am. (Unfortunately, we were missing out on the huge party , 400 years of founding Tupiza, and Evo Morales, the Bolivian president, was about to address the people of Tupiza as we were driving away). Tupiza is also the place where the famous american gangster cowboys Sundancde Kid and the other dude finally got caught and died (cant remember the name). We passed beautiful scenery and stopped for lunch in the middle of the fields, surrounded by millions of llamas. While we were taking millions of photos of llamas, Mama prepared us the delicious fresh lunch! We arrived to our basic hostel for the night after dark. It was in the village of small community of 30 something families. It was getting colder by the minute. Mama prepared a tea of coca first so we could warm up a little, and then dinner. After the dinner, the host family and all the neighbors came and we had to watch the video of the local villages and its traditional fiestas while chewing on coca leaves and drinking tea to stay warm… All I could think was, getting under my blankets and into my 2 sleeping bags…it was too freezing for socialization!!!! That night I went to bed with all the winter clothes I had on, including my down jacket and the wool hat, and with 2 sleeping bags and 5 blankets. I woke up with such a headache, from all the weight on me and the altitude and the cold!!! It was -15 C at night!!!! Brrrrr… Day 2. Don’t really remember where we were… drove around the desert; saw many beautiful mountains, lagunas, geysers, lamas and vicunas. Played on the frozen lake and had a delicious lunch, again :) Day 3. I do remember this one though!! :) Day 3 was full of sights! We started in the morning with the famous Laguna Colorada with its flamingoes! Then, went to the site of the famous rocks in the shape of trees. Then, the brave ones undressed and swam in the hot springs... I did not because it was too cold for me... That night we were sleeping in the hotel where everything was made of salt, including the house, beds, table, chairs, etc... It was the warmest night in the entire trip so far!!! Day 4. This was the climbing of volcano day! We woke up at 3 am to drive to the base of the volcano. Again, headache, cold, cranky (nobody cared about this one though:)). I can’t even describe the cold I was feeling when we started to ascend! However, the layers were coming off as we started to move. On top of that the altitude was difficult to overcome. To give an example: when I was hiking in Patagonia I was able to chew on my dry fruits as I was walking, without the need to stop. Here, I had to choose either to walk or chew. I was not able to eat while walking and became quickly out of breath!!! It was a long and difficult day, but of course it was all worth it! The beauty of the Salt Lake from the top of the volcano is impossible to describe! Our group was the only one up there, so we could enjoy the piece and the beauty without being disturbed by crowds!! And we got to enjoy and stay by the Solar de Uyuni an extra day and got to see the full moon rising over the Uyuni at night! Day 5. We started the day with the beautiful sunrise! Went to the Oasis Island in the middle of the salt lake and then had delicious breakfast feast at the bottom of the Salt Lake. Then spent hours taking fun pictures, playing with the visual perception staff… That was a fun group and a fun trip!!!