Tupiza and Salar de Uyuni

Rugged. And beautiful. And very real.

Crossing from Argentina to Bolivia, it’s hard to believe they share a border. From the moment I walked across the bridge from La Quiaca to Villazon I felt like I was stepping on to a dusty, rickety rollercoaster. The bus ride to Tupiza was stunning with more detours around crumbled road than I thought possible in two hours.

Tupiza itself is beautifully dilapidated. Surrounded by awesome mountains and sparse landscape it has a comfortable, ragged feel to it. The roads are dirt, the buildings are small and cramped. Tupiza’s main attraction is the tours to the Salar de Uyuni and the locals tend to regard the (mainly gringo) tourists with a mixture of curiosity and bemusement. I spent one night in Tupiza which was awesome. Mike and I went to the local ‘disco’ for a beer. It was a room with five Bolivian men staring at the wall and one really drunk local who instantly became our best friend. He insisted on indulging in the Bolivian tradition of raising your glass for a ‘salute’ every few sips and we’d occasionally be treated to two or three ‘salutes’ for every sip. He even gave us a hug when we left.

Mike managed to assembled an awesome group of people and the next morning Rosie, Eve, Jono, Mike and I left on the four day tour from Tupiza to Uyuni. I’d heard that it was amazing but the reality of it far surpassed any expectations. We drove through a catalogue of surreal and impossible landscapes. In four days we saw mountains of red, brown, green, white and black; each with a distinct texture and some so beautifully unique, they felt extraterrestrial. We drove through a mild snow storm and swam in hot springs, chased llamas and saw countless flamingos. Each day brought a myriad of lagoons of different, vivid colours. Hot geysers bellowing steam and crazy ‘rock-trees’ were thrown in for good measure.

Our guide and driver, Julie and Dionicio, were amazing and full of knowledge of the local area. Dionicio (who became Donny for the sake of the gringos) rattled off the exact altitude of pretty much everywhere we stopped. This was always done through a cheek full of coca leaves. The highest we got was around 5000m. It was absolutely stunning.

The food along the way, which Julie seemed to conjure out of nowhere, was excellent and the accommodation ranged from comfy-ish mountain hostel to comfy-ish rural village. On the first night we stopped in a settlement which couldn’t have had more than 50 inhabitants. The simplicity was stark. Seeing people living in such an uncomplicated way puts a lot into perspective. Forget internet. Forget restaurants and cold beer. Forget even hot water and a fridge. A few small buildings surrounded by desperately beautiful landscape. The room next to ours was a 'museum' of sorts which contained two stuffed fox-like creatures, a bunch of random crystals and a human skull. I can safely say it’s the most bizarre, most simple, and most interesting place I’ve ever spent the night. That people can be content with so little was a bitter-sweet reminder of how fortunate we are. And possibly that there’s more to life than Facebook and Friday night piss-ups.

Driving through epic landscapes with Bolivian music on repeat, it felt completely surreal. By the end of each day we’d driven for 10 hours and feasted on scenery which most people would be happy to see in a year. The whole bizarre, amazing adventure culminated in the Salar de Uyuni. On the third night we stayed in a hostel made entirely out of salt. The buildings, constructed exclusively out of salt-bricks, looked like bizarre paintings. The dining room had salt chairs and salt tables. It was incredible. On the final morning we drove out to the Salar itself and witnessed a shimmering sunrise. It’s the largest salt lake in the world and going during the rainy season means the entire thing is submerged in a few inches of water. It’s an enormous, barren mirror intensifying everything in sight. I’ve never seen anything like it.

By the end we were tired, filthy and in slight disbelief as to what we’d just witnessed. Without doubt four of the most breathtaking, awe-inspiring days I’ve been lucky enough to live. 


Check out the photos here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.500430596889.272748.514871889&l=c1eb1c5cc8

Salta

Salta was the much needed beer chaser to the tequila shot of Buenos Aires.

After the constant barrage of partying in BA, Salta was a welcome change of pace. Being in BA you often forget you’re in Latin America. Salta is very much more Argentinean. The scenery is mountainous and beautiful. The people have a more indigenous look. The streets are narrower and a bit more rough- around-the-edges. Old, comical cars straight from the 70’s drive without stopping and there’s a stray dog on every corner, foraging for anything edible. It’s small but full of character and it makes you feel more like a traveler. Like you’re somewhere very different. My lack of Spanish was even more obvious and not being able to interact properly made it feel like I was watching a slightly obscure, art-house film happen all around me.

I only spent a couple of days in Salta but it was plenty to get a feel for the place. Most people do excursions from there to the surrounding areas, which are apparently stunning. I was on my way up to Bolivia so unfortunately couldn’t indulge but I have it on good authority that Cafayate is not to be missed.

The highlights in Salta? I had some of the best steak I have ever eaten. Ever. It was a fair bit cheaper than BA and definitely superior.

In terms of sightseeing, there are a couple of impressive churches, a huge leafy park and an awesome plaza in the centre of the city. Salta is situated at the foot of a hill, which you can access via a little cable-car/funicular. It has amazing views of the surrounding area, which were particularly dramatic due to the mass of clouds, ever-present during the rainy season. I stayed in a nice hostel and met some awesome people who had useful tips and inspiring stories.

The next stop after Salta is Bolivia and the Salar de Unuyi. I get the feeling that the trend towards the rugged and unfamiliar will get a lot more dramatic. I can’t wait.


Check out the photos here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.494642336889.270491.514871889&l=4f883cf96e

Buenos Aires

Lots of beer. That’s how it started.

Arriving in BA on a Friday gave me little option but to immediately start partying. I met some awesome peeps on the roof terrace of the hostel and one cold litro of beer lead to many others. SuperMike the Canadian and Tilly the Aussie made sure I knew exactly what BA is all about: the party! The nightlife is a blur of plazas, bars, clubs and restaurants. Going out before 2:00am is pointless and no one gets home earlier than 6:00am. The partying carried on in a similar vein for the entire week with only one night of being sensible. Even then I stayed at the hostel drinking and talking ‘til 3:00am. The highlight of the parties was definitely La Bomba de Tiempo. It’s a Monday night institution in BA. Fifteen percussionists on stage building the crowd into a frenzy in an amazing open-air warehouse with funky murals and graf everywhere. Absolutely essential for anyone visiting BA.

It’s a tricky balancing act between living the party life and seeing what else the city has to offer but I managed to walk around a fair bit. BA has a very European feel with dramatic architecture, generous plazas and statues on every other corner. People are beautiful and always smiling and happy to meet foreigners visiting their city. The area I stayed in, Palermo, is a larney, spacious neighbourhood with a laid back attitude and plenty of great places to eat, drink and pretend you’re a local. The highlight of the sightseeing for me was the Recoletta Cemetary. It’s a maze of marble and ostentation with a slightly creepy feel. I always like seeing things in a city that are unique and this is certainly one of a kind. It’s not so much a cemetery as a neighbourhood of mausoleums, each more incredible than the last. Other than that, just walking around the streets in the centre is fascinating and there are awesome monuments dotted around the city centre, flanked by amazing buildings and huge churches. The market streets are a constant hive of action with hawkers peddling the tacky to the bizarre to the beautiful; and tango dances luring people into their shows with brief, passionate displays. You could walk the streets for days and never get bored!

Most of the people I’ve spoken to who’ve been travelling around South America say that BA is very atypical for a city in Latin America. I’m really looking forward to getting a bit more rugged. Next stop is Salta in the North of Argentina and then on to the salt flats in Bolivia which are apparently surreally beautiful.

I’m thinking of you all plenty and I know everyone of you would love this crazy place.


Check out the photos here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.489484771889.267859.514871889&l=941c4f244b