Getting Salty in Uyuni, Bolivia

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Weekenders

Day 1 – The Flats

Our three day road trip around southern Bolivia started in the tiny town of Uyuni. We met our guide, packed up the truck and we were off! Very quickly we came to the first stop on our journey – a railroad cemetery. We scrambled over the rusted hulk of steam engines like an adult playground.

Next stop was a salt factory in the small village of Colchani. We saw how they processed the salt from the salt flats into cooking salt in building made of…salt!

Now we were finally headed into the real salt flats, the road ended and became two tracks in a sea of white. There was nothing around for miles and miles except perfectly flat salt. It was confusing since there was no frame of reference my depth perception was all out of wack. We tried to take advantage and make some silly pictures, but the camera focus wasn’t set properly and they didn’t turn out well. After driving what seemed like forever in a straight line we came to an island covered with cacti.

After even more traversing the white expanse we arrived at our hostel for the night. Of course everything was made of salt! The floor, the tables, the chairs, even the bed was salt! It was surprisingly bright and refreshing. The food was basic Bolivian fare, broth soup with fries and Platos Macho for dinner. For breakfast we had eggs and bread.

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Finding Adventures in La Paz, Bolivia

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Weekenders

After our good experiences with Loki travel in Cusco we happily booked the Loki Hostel in La Paz, Bolivia to be our home base. One of the benefits was an onside travel agent to help find and book our adventures. As usual we didn’t know what there was in and around La Paz so it was great talking to other travelers and staff about things we couldn’t miss. We had a flight booked out of La Paz to the Caribbean that neither of us wanted to change so we had a very set amount of time in Bolivia which felt strange for us.

As the highest capital city in the world at 12,000′ even walking around the city could get challenging at times. The roads were very hilly! Luckily the city had something I hadn’t seen before – a cable car used for public transportation. We rode the cable car up to Jach’a Qhathu to visit a local market which was packed with people.

For a different view of the city we decided to jump off the top of a nearby skyscraper, Hotel Presidente! Of course we were completely harnessed up as we repelled down the building.

Sara found several restaurants for us to try in the city. One night we decided to get an ‘American’ pizza delivered to the hostel from Mozzarella. At Tia Gladlys we had Chicken with Chochellata and Salteno with beef. Sabor Cubano was a tasty treat of Masa de cerdo a la criolla (pork in sauce) and a Cuban sandwich. Oliver’s Travelers was Fish and chips, and Chicken and guacamole. My favorite was Restaurant 1700. I had a Beef, veggie, and fries plate while Sara ordered the Pork chop.

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Drifting across Lake Titicaca, Peru

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Weekenders

High in the Andes at over 12,000 ft sits the highest navigable lake in the world, lake Titicaca. Our adventure on the lake started on the Peruvian city of Puno. We hopped off the PeruHop bus and hopped onto a small boat. The boat took us to Isla los Uros. These islands are actually floating islands that started as reed boats and evolved into larger and larger islands as more reeds were added. We stopped at one island where a lady was fishing and our tour guide explained how the island was built and how the locals still live on the islands.

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Back on land a short bus ride took us across the border into Bolivia. In the city of Copacabana we hopped on another boat that was taking us to a real island this time: Isla del Sol. Our hostel wasn’t too far from the docks, but I didn’t realize how hilly the island was going to be! At 12,500 ft carrying all our gear up step after step was a grueling endeavor. I was envious of how easy the locals seemed to manage the altitude. Soon enough we arrived at Willka Wat’a Hostel. There was a lovely terrace overlooking the lake where we could rest and enjoy the views. Before dinner I decided to try and shower. While washing I kept feeling a tingling sensation… It took me way too long to realize that the electric hot water heater was the likely culprit. I saw some sketchy wiring coming out the heater! Cold showers after that!

It was a very small island with only a few options for food. We decided on Pachamama Restaurant for dinner. There were beautiful views of the lake as the sun slowly set on the horizon. The local menu was Quinoa soup, Grilled trout, breaded chicken and banana with chocolate.

The next morning we hiked to the island summit at 13,350ft. Along the way there were beautiful views thanks to the lack of trees and terraced farms that covered the island. We even made friends with several donkeys and alpacas! On the island there are no motor vehicles or roads, all the transportation is by animals. This made the island a very quiet place!

After exploring more of the island we went to Inti Jalanta Restaurant for lunch. We had more Quinoa soup, grilled trout and chicken – with a view! Our short stay on the island was coming to an end so we picked up our bags at the hostel and easily took the steps down to the docks. We had a relatively short bus ride ahead of us to La Paz.

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Becoming one with Nature at Manu, Peru

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Weekenders

We said bye to Erin who had to go back to the states, we were back on our own. Before heading into Bolivia we decided to hop over to the Peruvian jungle and cloud forests near Manu Nation Park. We booked a four day expedition to Chontachaka Ecological Reserve.

After driving through the mountains and clouds for hours we finally stopped at a small hut. Several of us were instructed that this was our destination and then the mini-bus promptly drove off. We had no indication of where we were or where to go except for a trail leading into the jungle. The trail ended at a zip line trolley across a river – so that was the next logical step. Once we crossed the river we saw a few huts and eventually found the keepers who welcomed us to the Jungle!

Over a pasta dinner the hosts told us what to expect in the jungle. To my surprise this was home to the famous “Bullet” ant who’s bite is a bad as a bullet. I didn’t expect to see it at all, but they were surprisingly numerous. Luckily they weren’t aggressive and would only attack if really provoked. To work off dinner, the hosts took us on a night hike. We saw bio-luminescent mushrooms while we thought about if we wanted to partake in a San Pedro Ceremony.

The next day was a beautiful day in the Jungle. We took a morning hike to see some big trees and several waterfalls. There was plenty of time to cool off in the fresh water filled with a surprising about of fish. Lunch consisted of soup, veggies and banana chips. After lunch the hosts took us to their ‘secret’ waterfall and we had a great time swimming in the splash zone.

As the sun went down our hosts setup the San Pedro Ceremony, which everyone had decided to attend. They tea it made tasted horrible and not to long after I felt incredibly nauseous. Luckily that soon passed and Sara and I had a wonderful time thinking about life while watching the lightning light up the trees into different beings. We wandered back to the main hut where we saw everyone else chatting and having a good time. Just as everybody started talking about food the host brought out a large pot of rice they had preemptively made, which was fantastic!

Our last day there we relaxed in the river before more rain moved in and forced us to relax at the lodge. We played games, petted the animals, and caught up on the blog. I even made the pasta dinner that night!

We really enjoyed our time in the cloud forests and were sad when it was time to take the mini-bus back to Cusco. To make it even tougher Sara’s ring slipped and fell through a crack in the floor – we looked for it until the bus came but couldn’t find it again.