Losing Perspective

We wanted to take the tour with our pals Jared and Marie who we met way back on the Navimag in Chile, so it meant we had five nights in Tupiza as they made their way down to meet us. It meant plenty of time poolside during the sweltering days and devouring books and movies during the chilly nights.

Morning stroll through the wild west


Could not stop laughing at this chap

When our amigos arrived, we took a day tour around Tupiza – the ‘Triathlon’ aka Drive + Horse ride + Bike ride (or duathlon for those allergic to horses). The highlight was certainly the 17km bike ride down hill in the afternoon overlooking some phenomenal scenery, which would be a taster of what we would be treated to during our Salar tour.

The following day we (Santos – the guide) packed up our land-cruiser and headed for the hills.
Typically, we had been blinded by the much-hyped Salar and of course the amazing photographic trickery that can be achieved when perspective disappears. This meant we were pleasantly surprised for the first three days being treated to otherworldly landscapes – Lakes, mountains, canyons, towns, random rock formations and geysers plus plenty of llamas and flamingos thrown in.



Hayley teaches Agostina the heel click

Graceful as ever


Team shot

Arvo tea

Salty hotel

Our coca-chewing guide Santos and our cook Agostina spoke less English than we speak Spanish meaning basic conversation was the order of the day but still plenty of room for jokes. Santos enjoyed playing on the gringo faux pas – when trying to say one is hot, el gringo often mistakenly says ‘Soy caliente’. Whilst literally it stacks up, it actually means ‘I’m horny’. So for four days we all exclaimed how horny we all were much to the entertainment of Santos and Agostina. Fun with languages.

The final day of the tour was spent on the mind-blowing Salar itself where we had a ball in miniature.

Panoman at sunrise

Four days, no shower

Here is a motion picture of epic proportions to wow you all with our antics (It is actually very amatuerish but we love reliving the past week)

We write this from La Paz after a rough overnight bus and not a lot of zzz’s. Time for some R & R and (hopefully) some international cuisine.

Xoxox

Soph n Hayley