Into Bolivia, Seeing Salar de Uyuni

After a long three days on numerous buses, we made our way to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, which we used as a home base and launching point into Bolivia. Our plan was to see the infamous Salar de Uyuni. San Pedro itself is a small, quaint town designed for tourists. It has a couple dusty pedestrian streets with a lovely plaza. Down each street are plenty of tourist companies, restaurants, and craft shops. If you head just outside of town you find a few farms and expansive desert. In fact, the Atacama Desert is the driest place on earth.

We walked into the little office of Cordillera Traveller and was able to set up a tour for the next day. Early the next morning we were climbing into the mountains in a small tourist bus toward the Chile/Bolivia border, which was nothing more than a hut in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, we had an issue with getting our visas that took up a significant amount of time and was quite frustrating. As American citizens we had to pay a large fee in only US dollars. The problem was that the serial number on the bills we received in San Pedro were recorded as counterfeit. Thankfully, our guide had enough cash on him to help us out, and we were able to continue on into the country with the promise of paying him back.

The next few days we were crammed into a jeep with five other people that took us off-roading into phenomenal landscapes. We visited a series of colorful lakes lined with shores of stark white borax and dotted with pink flamingos. We saw vast, open desert with occasional weathered stones in strange shapes. Colorful volcanoes towered in the distance, and we even got a close up view of boiling springs and streaming geysers. The sky was clear and incredible day and night, albeit cold. Surprisingly enough, there was life out there. Llama and alpaca were a common occurrence with a smattering of vicuña. A couple of foxes made an appearance, and we fed cookies to a group of adorable rabbit-like creatures called viscacha.

The third day was all about the salt flats, Salar de Uyuni. We woke up before dawn in our hotel made of salt in order to make it there in time for sunrise. It was entirely worth getting up so early. The salt flats are so wide and open, and so bright white. The reflection of colors was beyond words. No picture could actually do it justice. This is the reason why we went to Bolivia. We spent most of the day taking pictures and speeding along the flats. Of course, we had to create some iconic perspective photos, just like everyone else who goes there. We stopped at an odd island in the middle called Isla Incahuasi that was a major contrast on the landscape, and even more strange was that it was covered in tall, spiky cacti.

The last of the tour before a long day of travel back to Chile took place on the edge of the nondescript and not so pretty town of Uyuni. There, being eroded away by the desert and sinking into the sand are the remnants of old stream trains. Rusted engines and cargo cars were stripped of their important parts and left to disintegrate in the Train Cemetery. It was an interesting sight,and a great way to end the tour. The last highlight of our four days in Bolivia was a small town we stopped at on the way to our hotel. While the town wasn't much, it had a great little church made of stones and a grass thatch roof. It was an unexpected site on an unrelated bathroom break. Overall, this trip was a bit expensive, but worth every penny. Salar de Uyuni is now officially checked off my bucket list.

Arica, Chile
Hotels:
Hostel Sunny Days

Restaurants:

Transportation:
Colectivo to Cusco: 20 soles/ea
Bus to Arequipa: 120 soles/ea
Bus to Tacna: 30 soles/ea
Taxi over border: 25 soles ea
On foot

Activities:


San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Hotels:
Hostel Corvatsch: $51/night
Lodge Licancabur: 48,000/night chilean pesos

Restaurants:
Adobe
Las Delicias de Carmen
Transportation:
Bus to San Pedro de Atacama: 22,000 chilean pesos

Activities:
Salar de Uyuni jeep tour with Cordillera: 140,000 chilean pesos ea + $15 tip + $44 Uyuni park fee

Getting a Feel for the Inca Empire in Ollantaytambo, Peru

Peru is full of immense history and rich culture. I feel lucky to have had the time to explore so many of the ruins that were left behind throughout the Sacred Valley region. When people think of Peru, often Machu Picchu is what comes to mind. However, that is not the only remnants of the ancient civilization in the area. After spending a few days in Cusco, we made our way to a much smaller town halfway between the city and Machu Picchu, called Ollantaytambo. While it is a bit touristy, it also has amazing charm. Nestled at the bottom of a canyon, it is surrounded by beautiful mountains covered with ancient terraces and buildings. It puts the cobblestone streets in Cusco to shame with no more than 5 or 6 square blocks made up of adobe and stones. A little plaza is in the middle of town where you can find a variety of craft shops and restaurants. Some of the locals were dressed in traditional brightly colored costume, while others were adorned in the typical dress we have seen all over the country. We spent two days wandering these streets and hiking the neighboring mountains even discovering that the there was the face of Wiracochan carved into the side of one of the mountains, which could be seen from the right angle at the edge of town.

Our fist day, we arrived mid afternoon via colectivo from Cusco. After spending about an hour finding a hotel and eating lunch, we decided to hike Pinkuylluna ruins. It took no more than a half hour, but it was straight up a cliffside with nothing but enormous inca steps and a questionable wooden railing. What we saw when we got up there, however, was an incredible view of the valley, the more famous Ollantaytambo ruins, and the town. Several large stone structures are built into the mountainside, with the same picturesque views from the windows.

The entire second day was spent exploring the Ollantaytambo ruins, residing right on the edge of town. They are enormous, which is why it took all day. Like Pinkuylluna, the buildings and terraces are built right into the mountainside. We climbed in wonder at the scale of the site,and at the top we discovered a small doorway with a trail leading even higher. With our adventurous spirit, how could we not follow it? We were awarded with more ruins and the most fantastic view of the whole area. Even better than the day before. We could see the valley split by the river and it's tributaries in several directions. Bright green patches of farmland was scattered throughout the region. Hiking the rest of the ruins, they were viewed in amazement with numerous carved fountains, giants stones, and scaling terraces. We went on a smaller afternoon hike across the Inca Bridge, which was nothing more than a modern footpath. However, it was definitely a pretty walk on the other side of the river. More terraces and more ruins, and a great view of the trains bound for Machu Picchu.

Our last day, we paid a taxi to takes us to some more of the famous sites nearby: Moray and Salinas de Maras. Moray was an impressive indentation with terraces designed for growing crops at different temperatures. It only took a few minutes to walk the rim and hike a trail toward the center. It rested on the edge of the same valley we had been staying in for the past few days. Fields of wheat and quinua are harvested here by hand with small scythes and shaggy donkeys. The more interesting of the two things we saw that day were the still active salt pools of the tiny town called Maras. This town has been dehydrating and harvesting salt from a natural spring for generations. There are hundreds of pools rolling down a narrow valley, contrasting a bright white against the green mountains nearby. It was a good end to our time in Ollantaytambo before the three days of long bus rides to Chile. This was well worth the side trip.

Ollantytambo, Peru
Hotels: 148 soles/night

Restaurants:
La Esquina
El Albergue

Transportation:
Colectivo to Ollantaytambo: 10 soles/ea
Taxi to Salinas and Moray: 140 soles
On foot

Activities:
Salinas de Maras: 10 soles/ea
Ollantaytambo Ruins (tourist ticket)
Moray (tourist ticket)

Exploring Cusco, Peru

We arrived in Cusco, Peru a few days ago after a long overnight bus from Arequipa. While it was plush and comfortable, it still doesn't replace an actual bed. This is why we were thankful for the woman who owned the B&B we stayed at. She picked us up, quite early, from the bus station and even had our room ready. We immediately crawled into bed and napped until the afternoon. It was wonderful. Being well rested we were ready to see the city. We have been here before, and like before I was struck by how lovely it is. The cobblestone streets narrowly wind up various steep hills, and the enormous churches in the plazas tower above everyone. Tiny shops full of crafts and trekking gear line the alleys, and numerous restaurants and pubs are scattered among them. It's no wonder why there are so many tourists in this city. We spent a good few hours wandering the streets, visiting the local market, and seeing the sights.

While many people come here to see Cusco itself, many more are here for the infamous Machu Picchu. While it is a wonder to see, we saw them last time, and it is more money than I'm willing to spend to see a second time. Hence, we found ourselves exploring the many other ruins within a short cab ride or walking distance from city center. For 130 soles each, we bought a tourist ticket providing entry into all of them including many we plan to see in Ollantaytambo. The closest and perhaps largest of these is a short 20 minute walk. It is called Saqsayhuaman, which we have decided is pronounced "sexy woman". There are two Hills at the top of a ridge. One is composed of rolling rock that looks like it was formed by slow moving lava flow. The other is comprised of enormous carved stones, some as tall as two people. From the top of the latter hill you have one of the most phenomenal views of the city.

Some of the others we visited were not far away: Tambomachay, Puka Pukara, and Q'enqo. My favorite was Puka Pukara because it overlooked a wide valley with green farms spreading throughout. It was a beautiful sight. The other two were much smaller, but equally as old and interesting. They were so close that we managed to see all of them in a span of a couple of days.

The reason for coming to Cusco, and by far the best thing we've seen here is Rainbow Mountain. The trek was definitely a challenge not because of the distance, approximately 9 miles, but because of the altitude. At one point it felt like walking through jello while being out of breath. We started at roughly 14,500 feet and ended at a whopping 16,500 feet. However, the view the entire way was surreal and entirely worth it. We hiked through a valley with nothing but herds of alpacas and multicolored ridges. The final stretch was the most difficult, but at the top the sense of accomplishment was incredible as you see bright colors striping the next Valley. It was breathtaking, literally and figuratively. The bright blue sky seemed to highlight the colors even more. This trek was definitely one of the top things we've done yet on our trip.

Cusco, Peru
Hotels:
Tawa B&B: 400 soles/night

Restaurants:
Jack’s Café
Paddy’s Irish Pub
La Bodega

Transportation:
Bus to Cusco: $40/ea
On foot

Activities:
Tourist ticket 130 soles/ea: Sacsayhuaman, Tambomachay, Q’enqo, Museo Historico Regional, Puka Pukara, Statue of Christ, Salinas de Maras, Ollantaytambo, Moray
Plaza de Armas: free
Mercado Central de San Pedro: free
Rainbow Mountain trek: 150 soles/ea