Day 10 - July 27, 2017 Uyuni, Bolivia

I don't recall having such basic accommodations from all of our travels (perhaps the one with the homestead at Lake Titicaca or the one at Mulu National Park in Borneo rivals this experience but not nearly as cold).  Last night, after entering into the national park, we were dropped off at a compound where aisles of buildings were built close to each other. The one we assigned had 30 beds in 6 rooms. Most of the rooms had 6 single beds but all the occupants were expected to share the only bathroom with two toilets and two small sinks with no hot water and no shower facilities. There was high anxiety on how to manage the washroom facilities next morning when everyone goes out to their different tours all at the same time. Worse still, there was no heat or heater provided. The night temperature was closed to -18C degrees. The blankets were heavy but provided little insulation. I slept with three jackets, socks and covered my head with a scarf. Even with all these extra layers of clothes and inside a sleeping bag, topped off with the blankets, I felt the cold. I don't think we felt this cold for a very long time, may be during one of those disaster camps we had in our youth when the weather turned sour and rain pouring in all day. The only place that provided some resemblance of warmth was in the dinning room which had a tiny wood stove burning during meal time. Despite these basic facilities, we thoroughly enjoyed the tour as we experienced so many unique sceneries, landscapes, rock formations, colorful lakes, and wild animals. Bolivia will definitely be discovered more by the world in the years to come when their infrastructure improves.

In order to beat the rush, I woke up at 4:10 am to use the washroom as breakfast was served at 5:00 am and we would leave the compound at 5:30 am. I did not sleep well at all. It was cold, uncomfortable and sleeping with other people, including two strangers. This was hardly the recipe to induce any good sleep for me.

The first stop was to see the geisers field Sol de Manana at an elevation of 5000m. It was quite amazing to see so many jeeps packed with eager tourists from all over the world to witness the wondrous geisers and bubbling mud right in front of your eyes. In fact, the area was very misty in the early morning before the sunrise, and you could easily step into one of these thermal vents with mud bubbles about to burst out. I don't think we could be this close to an active geiser in NA.

The next stop to a nearby hot spring was one of the highlights of this tour. It took considerable courage for us to change into our bathing suit, in subzero temperature with bare minimum facilities (no showers after the soak).  The lady change room consisted of three separate rooms with only a piece of clothes served as a door. It so crowded that people just change outside and ran into the hot spring. Thank goodness the hot spring was only a few steps away. It was heavenly to be able to soak in 33C hot water after feeling so cold for the last few days.

The Deli desert was not as impressive (it was hard to compare to the ultimate Sahara desert) but the landscapes were quite interesting and unique. The famous Spanish artist, Salvador Deli, was inspired by the landscapes in this area for many of his paintings.

We were totally at awe by the Valley of the Rock. The rock formations, the moss in the valley, the wild animals, and the peaceful Andean lake were absolutely beautiful. We wish we could spend more time there to absorb more of this wondrous sight, but we had to drive 5 hours back to Uyuni in order to make it to the flight to La Paz.

The airport at Uyuni was very basic, despite the fact that it is the gateway to many of the unique sites and a very popular destination for SA and European tourists.  There was no heat at the airport and they only had heaters in the waiting areas.  The flight left early because everyone had been accounted for. The flight attendants hand you a cookie and a tetra juicebox as you climb into to the airplane from the stairs. Quite an efficient way to take care of the snacks. The aeroview of La Paz was very impressive, especially at night where the valley and mountains were covered with lights, forming a spectacular view to impress tourists.

Reflections on the tour:
The specular sights were well worth the time and "suffering" from the lack of modern facilities. I can imagine that these services will be improved soon as more people no doubt want to visit these sights.

This trip was another loud reminder for us to travel while we still have the energy and health. This tour was incredibly demanding on your physical body and stretch your psychological comfort zone to the limit. It was also another testimony on how pampered we have been in NA where most of the new inventions and modern facilities were available for us. We need to take it as it comes and enjoy the moments, the good and the less ideal ones. The tour also provided an avenue for us to meet people all over the world and learned of some interesting facts of their country. It humbled us tremendously on how much people travel and how far they had been traveling to - we still have a long ways to go.