After a incredibly long delay in Miami, our flight finally left for Bonaire. We were ready for this last stop, so much so that we had a hotel and rental car already booked!
Our goal for a week in Bonaire was to scuba dive and relax as much as possible. All the water surrounding Bonaire is a protected marine park. There is a reef on the leeward side of the islands and it’s right offshore so you can walk in almost anywhere and do some great diving. The official dive spots are marked with a yellow painted rock. Some even have ladders to aid in getting down the sharp coral rocks.
The dives we did (North to South):
Ol’ Blue
Jeff Davis Memorial
Oil Slick Leap
Front Porch (Checkout)
Corporal Meiss
Windsock Resort
Hilma Hooker
Salt Pier
Tori’s Reef
We stayed at the Windsock Beach Resort just south of the main town and we had basically a one bedroom apartment. We had to rent scuba gear from a nearby resort but our resort would re-fill the tanks every night for us. Instead of going out to eat, we decided to go to the local grocery store and cook for the week. It was quite fun being in a real kitchen and also watching HGTV after a long day on the water.
In addition to diving, we celebrated Sara’s birthday on the island! We took a day off from diving and had a picnic down by Pink Beach before going into town to celebrate. Happy hour was at Karel’s right on the water. Dinner was at the aptly named At Sea where we enjoyed wahoo with lentils and leek, mushrooms and cauliflower three ways, as well as goad with spinach and potatoes.
After being at a high elevation for an extended part of our trip we decided to try something quite a bit out of our comfort level. We were going to attempt to summit the nearby Huayna Potosi mountain. Sitting at an impressive 19,975ft Huayna Potosi was much higher than any mountain we had attempted. From La Paz there were many guides available that would go for either two or three day treks. We opted for the three day trek which included an extra night at the ‘base’ camp which was still at 15,000ft.
The first day we took an acclimation hike to a nearby glacier. Once at the glacier we practiced ice climbing and using the rope that we would have to use the next couple days. Our guide prepared a filling dinner of veggie grain soup, and pasta with meat sauce.
The next morning after a breakfast of yogurt, granola and bread we donned our gear and made the trek to high camp. All through the hike we had views of the summit looming overhead. High camp wasn’t too far from base camp and we had quite a bit of time that afternoon to explore our surroundings. At 17,000ft I was really starting to feel the effects of the altitude. I was having trouble eating much food and then when it was time to sleep I was completely unable to sleep at all.
Not sleeping made it that much harder when our guide woke us at 12:30am to start climbing! The goal was to be at the summit around sunrise. Any later and the snow could get soft and make hiking treacherous. We had a very light breakfast, got all of our harnesses and crampons on and started up the snow. At this point we were hiking on ice. We each had an Ice pick and we were tethered together. It wasn’t long before we had to cross our first of several cracks in the ice. In the dark there was no way to see how deep they were.
Each step was brutal. There was no catching your breath and even at the slow pace of a step every few seconds, I was completely wiped out. At one point we climbed up a razor sharp ridge with ice cliffs on either side of us. We had to lean into the ice pick and trust that it was going to support us as we took the next step.
The climb was relentlessly steep until just after the narrow ridge. The trail leveled out for a while before making the final push to the summit. At this point the first light of dawn was starting to brighten the horizon in the east. Even though the ground was flat I physically couldn’t walk any faster than a slow crawl.
Our guide motioned for us to take a brake and we starting talking about what comes next in the climb. We were presently at about 19,000ft, with almost 1,000ft left to go. It was clear we weren’t going to make it by sunrise and we had to decide what to do next. We could either push on and see if we can get any further, or turn back. It was clear to me that I was not going to be able to make it to the summit as I could feel altitude sickness creeping in each step we took. Sara and I decided it was best to enjoy how far we made it, watch the sunrise from here and then head back down.
It was a beautiful hike once the sun came up and we were going down! In the light, we could see just how deep some of the ice fissures were. Back at high camp, we could finally rest and reflect for a couple hours before we went the rest of the way to base camp and La Paz. It was an amazing adventure and I am proud that we tried it.
Back in La Paz we celebrated by staying at The Adventure Brew Hostel, where they had plenty of beer and food to enjoy! Unfortunately our time in South America was coming to an end. We few out of LaPaz the next day headed for the last stop on our trip.
Still headed south we passed the Dali Rocks before the final lagoon of our trip, Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde. These were beautiful lakes set under an imposing volcano. Even more driving south and we arrived at the border of Bolivia and Chili where some travelers were leaving our group. After a brief stop we turned around and made the long drive back north. We stopped for lunch of rice, tuna, veggies, and skittles in Villa Mar before going the rest of the way to Uyuni.
In Uyuni we spent the night at Hotel Jumari and feasted on the surprisingly good local pizza! There was a New Yorker that visited Uyuni many years ago and loved it so much that he decided to stay and open a pizza shop. We were glad to have flavorful food after having so much soup, potatoes, and rice on the tour
The next day we all hopped in the truck and headed south away from the endless salt. We stretched our legs at a small village, then found alpaca’s a few miles further on. I was trying patiently to get a good video of the alpaca’s with the Gopro, but it just looks like I am having a face off.
Our guide prepared our lunch of breaded chicken, quinoa, veggies, and Snickers while we scampered on some nearby rock formations. Can you find the hare?
Next stop was our first lagoon of many, Cachi Lagoon. I couldn’t believe how many flamingos were there! The water is extremely salty from evaporation and flamingo’s are one of the few creatures that can tolerate the water.
More driving and we came to the famous “Rock Tree”. It was a stunning location full of boulders that had been weathered by the blowing sands. This made very sculpted shapes and impossible looking features.
As we drove higher and higher the wind steadily increased. And there are no trees or vegetation in the Atacama desert to slow it down so we took the full brunt of the wind. At Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa (Red Lake) I had to hide behind rocks to stay warm. It was worth it though to see the thousands and thousands of flamingos!
The sun was getting low as we arrived at Sol de Manana. I believe this was the high point on our tour at 16,000′! Luckily this was a geothermal area and the steam protected me a little from the piercing wind. We had fun exploring and playing around the mud pools and steam fissures being careful not to fall in any!
A bit more driving took us to our Hostel for the night on the edge of Laguna Chalviri. This hostel didn’t have much, but they did had a hot spring pool of which we took full advantage. Dinner was soup and spaghetti with meat sauce, the a dip in the hot springs and I was ready for bed! We woke to a breakfast of fruit, yogurt and pancakes before loading up the truck.
In addition to diving, we celebrated Sara’s birthday on the island! We took a day off from diving and had a picnic down by Pink Beach before going into town to celebrate. Happy hour was at Karel’s right on the water. Dinner was at the aptly named At Sea where we enjoyed wahoo with lentils and leek, mushrooms and cauliflower three ways, as well as goad with spinach and potatoes.
