FroggyRidesAgain: Bolivia

From the hostel I took a 4 day trip to Bolivia. This means I can leave Chile before my visa runs out.

And wear my lovely poncho. It is very cold at night here in the, well desert. -10C at 3am and the first hostel had a roof partially made of corrugated iron. No need to take your clothes off when going to bed. Also we got up to nearly 5000m where the O2 is 50% and thus you can get a bit tired and short of breath. The drivers carry oxygen kits for emergencies.

Not the biggest border crossing.

This bus has seen better days.

4WDs needed here.

Sightly dusty!

The lakes here often have deposits of salt and minerals like borax.

Thermal pool. Gorgeous.

Geysers.

Some pink birds.

As an amateur bird watcher I really ought to know what these are. I think the Spanish speaking guide said something about flamencos!

These are vicuna, a bit of a success story as they are growing in numbers after being protected when close to extinction.

You have to be careful when photographing South American camlids. If you approach them to quickly they can be startled, and being quite large, a dangerous situation can arise. In fact you can end up up with an Atacama llama karma drama. And that would not be very nice.

Also it is best not to wear wellington boots. In Bolivia they eat llamas, and they might mistake you for farmers, of whom they are understandable suspicious.

Llama wool is widely used for making clothes and rugs and things, for example my poncho. They also use it for making pyjamas. Well maybe. If they didn't they'd have to be bananas. With a brand name like Llamajamas they'd be made.

Theis hostel is partly made of salt. Two Ozzies, two Swiss, one German and me on the trip.

Up at 5:30 for sunrise.

Over the salt flat.

Huge cacti

Some fun photos.

Cyclists - their blog http://svjetkolem.com/

Old trains, surely some enthusiasts would like to restore them.

The Dakar rally went through here at the begiining of this year.

French cyclists on a recumbant tandem - never even seen one before http://botine.alwaysdata.net/

This bicycle might have been the one in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - I think they ended up in Bolivia.

Backpacker hangout and stopover in Uyuni.

Old US school buses like in Central America

Asked permssion for this one, they don't like fotos.

Early in the morning, five am start, for the trip back to Chile

I really like this one, kind of arty,

Thermal area again.

Desert tough on the vehicles.

These trips are quite popular, as is a cup of coffee at 8am after three hours in the Toyota.

An active volcano!

Back to the border.

Dutch girl Iris from the hostel. I am goingback, she is leaving. Like me a fan of J.J.Cale - got to play a few of my favorites in the hostel one evening. Try https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVECupaqI0M and see if you like him!