Day 262
Bolivia really is even more basic than Peru. So far we experienced a power outage, rarely had hot (even warm) water and/or internet/WIFI access. We might be spoilt, but certain things I just appreciate.
In the morning we took a bus to La Paz. The trip only took about 4 hours. And we had to cross on a float/ferry.
La Paz, the highest capital in the world, sits down in a valley protecting it from the winds on the Altiplano. Upon arrival we were greeted with plenty of rain and fog.
We checked into Bacoo Hostel. The hostel had a nice common area. Our room was a little bit too basic for my taste. It was very cold and with no heating it was rather unpleasant.
In the afternoon we checked out the bus terminal and bought tickets for the upcoming trip. Then we did some sightseeing in the downtown section of the city. My overall impression is that La Paz is not really worth spending a lot of time in.
Day 263
Our bus was leaving in the evening, so we had some time at hand to continue with our sightseeing spree. We followed various streets taking us to a few interesting view points. We also visited one of the local markets.
For lunch we stopped at a restaurant called “Vienna”. I had Schnitzl. Bettina had Kassler. Actually pretty decent Autrian/German food and decent central European interior design. In La Paz! Who would have thought this. 
Later on: Overnight coach trip with Panasur from La Paz to Uyuni in the south. 13 hours, half of which was on unsealed road making it very difficult to sleep.
Day 264
We arrived early in Uyuni and carried our belongings to upmarket Giraflores Hotel.
The remainder of the morning hours we tried to book a multi-day tour to the renowned Uyuni Salt Flats. It took some time but eventually we were successful picking one out of the plethora of choices.
The township was pretty basic with long dusty roads. Felt somehow like a frontier town in the good olde Wild West of the late nineteen hundreds.
Also, in Bolivia it’s not common for hostels/hotels to offer free internet or WIFI. This makes it difficult to do proper research which we’re so accustomed to these days.
Because: With some decent knowledge about our tour operator I’m sure we wouldn’t have booked with them. I will detail later…
Day 265
Little did we know what was awaiting. Our 3 day tour with Expediciones Empexsa started at 10:30 heading straight north to the Uyuni Salt Flats which are the world’s largest salt flats. It is elevated 3,656 meter above sea level and it is covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness.
Bettina and I were sharing our black 4WD with 4 other people (from Australia, Brazil, Spain and the UK). Plus there was the local guide called Edwin.
After a brief stopover at Colchani we got to the Salar de Uyuni which is part of the Altiplano of Bolivia in South America. The Altiplano is a high plateau, which was formed during uplift of the Andes mountains.
Since we visited during the rainy season (summer that is) the flats exhibited a minor amount of water. This was not a huge problem as our land cruiser diligently made its way through even those wetter areas.
We stopped twice for some extended periods to take a huge amount of photos. Similar to the salt flats near Salt Lake City in Utah, the salt flats appeared quite otherworldly and offered quite a number of interesting photo opportunities. Fortunately we ensured to bring a few toys and other things to play with depth of field and angles.
It was not particularly hot this day, but the sun was incredibly strong there–partly thanks to the high altitude and lack of shades.
The second noteworthy stop of the day followed soon after: The local train cemetery.
At this Train Graveyard we visited wrecked old steam locomotives showing off their rusting skills. This is actually a fairly cool place where you can easily climb on top of plenty of these iron casks and enjoy another weird atmosphere.
With the sun slowly but steadily making its way down we hit the dirt road to the south. There was still a long way to go to the hostel where we would be staying this night. And who would know that we’d encounter our second breakdown (tire anyone?) for the day.
Remember: Promises are worth nothing! After a less than basic dinner we wanted to get rid of the dirt, dust and salt we’d been exposed to all day. After some initial struggle with the powers that be we managed to get hot water. However, Bettina was the only one lucky enough to enjoy this experience. Afterwards there was no more hot water or any water at all.
Bolivia: La Paz, Salar de Uyuni–The World’s Largest Salt Flat– and a Train Graveyard
Day 262
Bolivia really is even more basic than Peru. So far we experienced a power outage, rarely had hot (even warm) water and/or internet/WIFI access. We might be spoilt, but certain things I just appreciate.
In the morning we took a bus to La Paz. The trip only took about 4 hours. And we had to cross on a float/ferry.
La Paz, the highest capital in the world, sits down in a valley protecting it from the winds on the Altiplano. Upon arrival we were greeted with plenty of rain and fog.
We checked into Bacoo Hostel. The hostel had a nice common area. Our room was a little bit too basic for my taste. It was very cold and with no heating it was rather unpleasant.
In the afternoon we checked out the bus terminal and bought tickets for the upcoming trip. Then we did some sightseeing in the downtown section of the city. My overall impression is that La Paz is not really worth spending a lot of time in.
Day 263
Our bus was leaving in the evening, so we had some time at hand to continue with our sightseeing spree. We followed various streets taking us to a few interesting view points. We also visited one of the local markets.
For lunch we stopped at a restaurant called “Vienna”. I had Schnitzl. Bettina had Kassler. Actually pretty decent Autrian/German food and decent central European interior design. In La Paz! Who would have thought this.
Later on: Overnight coach trip with Panasur from La Paz to Uyuni in the south. 13 hours, half of which was on unsealed road making it very difficult to sleep.
Day 264
We arrived early in Uyuni and carried our belongings to upmarket Giraflores Hotel.
The remainder of the morning hours we tried to book a multi-day tour to the renowned Uyuni Salt Flats. It took some time but eventually we were successful picking one out of the plethora of choices.
The township was pretty basic with long dusty roads. Felt somehow like a frontier town in the good olde Wild West of the late nineteen hundreds.
Also, in Bolivia it’s not common for hostels/hotels to offer free internet or WIFI. This makes it difficult to do proper research which we’re so accustomed to these days.
Because: With some decent knowledge about our tour operator I’m sure we wouldn’t have booked with them. I will detail later…
Day 265
Little did we know what was awaiting. Our 3 day tour with Expediciones Empexsa started at 10:30 heading straight north to the Uyuni Salt Flats which are the world’s largest salt flats. It is elevated 3,656 meter above sea level and it is covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness.
Bettina and I were sharing our black 4WD with 4 other people (from Australia, Brazil, Spain and the UK). Plus there was the local guide called Edwin.
After a brief stopover at Colchani we got to the Salar de Uyuni which is part of the Altiplano of Bolivia in South America. The Altiplano is a high plateau, which was formed during uplift of the Andes mountains.
Since we visited during the rainy season (summer that is) the flats exhibited a minor amount of water. This was not a huge problem as our land cruiser diligently made its way through even those wetter areas.
We stopped twice for some extended periods to take a huge amount of photos. Similar to the salt flats near Salt Lake City in Utah, the salt flats appeared quite otherworldly and offered quite a number of interesting photo opportunities. Fortunately we ensured to bring a few toys and other things to play with depth of field and angles.
It was not particularly hot this day, but the sun was incredibly strong there–partly thanks to the high altitude and lack of shades.
The second noteworthy stop of the day followed soon after: The local train cemetery.
At this Train Graveyard we visited wrecked old steam locomotives showing off their rusting skills. This is actually a fairly cool place where you can easily climb on top of plenty of these iron casks and enjoy another weird atmosphere.
With the sun slowly but steadily making its way down we hit the dirt road to the south. There was still a long way to go to the hostel where we would be staying this night. And who would know that we’d encounter our second breakdown (tire anyone?) for the day.
Remember: Promises are worth nothing! After a less than basic dinner we wanted to get rid of the dirt, dust and salt we’d been exposed to all day. After some initial struggle with the powers that be we managed to get hot water. However, Bettina was the only one lucky enough to enjoy this experience. Afterwards there was no more hot water or any water at all.