September 5, 2013 - Uyuni Salt Falts, Bolivia, Day 3
It was a very cold wake up call but followed by warm coffee with pancakes and cereal. We all got ready in our swimsuits as one stop for the day includes a hot spring.
However, our first stop was in a volcanic region with steam vents everywhere! The snow on the way up was as high as the car. And we reached an elevation of 5000m before we stopped to take a look. We walked through the vents for about 20 minutes.
It was absolutely freezing. One guys watch said it was 14F. Brrrrrrrrrrrr! That stop had me seriously doubting my ability to strip off my clothes and hop into a pool of water...no matter how warm it was supposed to be.
Thankfully, the sun came out and we went down in elevation which made the temperature much tolerable at the hot springs. Though it was still cold. We were the first to arrive and eager to try out the thermal pool. The 6 of us quickly shed down to our swim gear and hopped into the pool. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. So nice, warm, and relaxing. It totally made you forget that there was still evidence of snow around. We got to soak for a half hour and then made a very quick dash for the changing room and warm clothes.
We stopped at one spot called the Salvador Dali because the landscape resembles one of his paintings.
We made a few more stops to snap photos of the views and then headed to the Chilean border to drop off 3 people from our group. The 2 swiss folks and Selami from Germany were heading to Chile after the tour rather than back to Uyuni. We said our goodbyes and got one last group photo. What a great group!
Now it was just a very long bumpy drive back to Uyuni. We stopped for lunch at noon. Tasty chorizo, veggies, and mashed potatoes.
Ronal, our guide and driver, has been cooking for us and giving information all along the way. He has been a fantastic guide. Of course the information is in Spanish but its been another learning opportunity. And there were enough of us that knew enough Spanish to usually get it all sorted out. Our tour was with Andean Salt Expeditions. The 3 day tour with transport, food, and accomodation, and guide for 700B (about 100US). Highly recommended! We took a night bus from La Paz to Uyuni and will take another night bus tonight from Uyuni to Sucre.
It was a very cold wake up call but followed by warm coffee with pancakes and cereal. We all got ready in our swimsuits as one stop for the day includes a hot spring.
However, our first stop was in a volcanic region with steam vents everywhere! The snow on the way up was as high as the car. And we reached an elevation of 5000m before we stopped to take a look. We walked through the vents for about 20 minutes.
It was absolutely freezing. One guys watch said it was 14F. Brrrrrrrrrrrr! That stop had me seriously doubting my ability to strip off my clothes and hop into a pool of water...no matter how warm it was supposed to be.
Thankfully, the sun came out and we went down in elevation which made the temperature much tolerable at the hot springs. Though it was still cold. We were the first to arrive and eager to try out the thermal pool. The 6 of us quickly shed down to our swim gear and hopped into the pool. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. So nice, warm, and relaxing. It totally made you forget that there was still evidence of snow around. We got to soak for a half hour and then made a very quick dash for the changing room and warm clothes.
We stopped at one spot called the Salvador Dali because the landscape resembles one of his paintings.
We made a few more stops to snap photos of the views and then headed to the Chilean border to drop off 3 people from our group. The 2 swiss folks and Selami from Germany were heading to Chile after the tour rather than back to Uyuni. We said our goodbyes and got one last group photo. What a great group!
Now it was just a very long bumpy drive back to Uyuni. We stopped for lunch at noon. Tasty chorizo, veggies, and mashed potatoes.
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