Isla del Sol:
After getting over the $135 visa that is good for 5 years, I spent a night on Isla del Sol which is an island on Lake Titicaca. The lake is majestic and the views are incredible. Breathtaking as they say. The sun beats hard, but the cold nips you.
The first Inca is said to come from Isla del Sol.
I was going to spend a night on one of the reed islands in Puno, but due to the time constraint I had to press forward. By the way, from the looks of it, Puno is a shit city and you should just try to get straight to the reed islands and then get out of Puno as soon as possible.
La Paz:
When I first was driving into La Paz, the landscape reminded me a lot of Bogotá. However, it felt a lot more dangerous than Bogotá once I started walking around. The tourists area is pretty small and I found it quite easy to navigate around La Paz. The altitude got to me! Step, step, puff, puff, puff. Gah, I felt like I was 60 and needed a cane or something because I was so out of breath. We climbed to the top of the hill instead of the bus in efforts of saving maybe 50 cents. Hey, when you are abroad all money is big money!
The Infamous Death Road:
I forgot all the statistics, but it was something crazy like the road averaged 2 deaths per month and on average 26 vehicles plummet down a cliff each year.
You start at 15,500 feet and finish at 3,700 feet. Yep, that is me doing a cartwheel!
When biking, it sometimes felt like it wasn't scary at all and it was easy breezy. Then, I would look slightly to my left and my hands would start to sweat all over again. Ya, I avoided doing that too often.
Uyuni Salt Flats:
I had to get south rather quickly and the days were ticking. I booked a tour and headed down to Uyuni Salt Flats.
I took a nap for an hour or so and still woke up to this. Salt. Salt. Salt! The mountains looked super cool from a distance because it appeared as though they were floating. Awesome!
Fish Island:
Cactus! With all this salt, I didn't think that there would be much vegetation. Apparently, the Inca planted the cactus. It grows 1cm every year. Wowzers!
Flamingoes:
The flamingoes are vacationing in Bolivia. They migrate from Chile. They looks so pretty. So delicate.
Green Lagoon:
After the Salt Flats, there are a bunch of different colored lagoons, some of which have flamingoes. All of the lagoons are utterly beautiful, but it was so freaken cold I did not know what to do with myself. Photo is courtesy of Antonio from Spain.
And yes, I was that cold!!!
Side Note: Not too many people know of my aversion to aviators. So for those of you that do know, do not think of it as selling out please! The sunglasses were only $2 and I needed some to protect against the brightness of the salt. I think other people look good with them, but I feel like I am trying too hard or something.
Red Lagoon:
I remember pulling up to this scene. I am in a green Toyota Landcruiser behind the passenger's seat and I remember feeling like I was going to Mars. Red all over the show. Ahh, not too many things astound me, but I had goosebumps.
Volcano:
The very back of this photo there is a volcano, but what I thought was surprising were these green mound plant things. It reminded me of scuba diving.
Geyser:
We woke up rather early to catch the geysers. Once the sun is up, it is too difficult to see the smoke.
Face:
Heading South to see the lagoons, there was a bunch of rock formations that we would stop to see. This one looked like a face to me, but I was the only one who could see it. The boys were saying I ate too many coca leaves. yehahahaha, but tell me you see it!
Chile: San Pedro de Atacama
I had a brief stint in Chile as I was trying to reach Argentina. Sara was meeting us up on 09/29 and I wanted to have time to see Iguazu Falls and so I wanted to reach Iguazu ideally by 09/25. I spent 1 night in Calama to reach Salta.
To the left is the Atacama desert. I only caught glimpses of the desert as I was on the bus. There are huge cracks in the ground because of all the earthquakes. Stunning, wouldn't you say?
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