Deserts, salt plains and higher altitudes

Having written the last blog post almost a month ago, I know I have a lot of catching up to do. I will continue from where I left off last and will just have to try my best to remember everything.

After my last blog post I chilled out in Santiago for some more days, visiting for example the Tupahue swimming pool on the mountain and some parks. Sometimes it is just good not to do anything for a couple of days, because sightseeing for days on end just gets boring. I also met an old friend from university times, which was great! She is working in Santiago at  the moment, and we ended up going to Valparaiso to meet some of her friends. So, I got one more night to see the nightlife in Valparaiso, which for sure I would not have done had I been there alone. The port city just turns a bit dodgy at night.

 

From Santiago I took a flight to the north of Chile, Calama, to visit this teeny tiny but VERY touristic town called San Pedro de Atacama. You would think that in the middle of the desert there is nothing, but there it was, this little buzzing town. Even some foreigners have been so infatuated by the place that they have stayed there to work. To give an example of how small the town is and what the atmosphere is like, I´ll tell you an incident that happened (and this wasn´t the only one!). On the first night I went to a restaurant which had a duo of guitar and percussion. Both guys, the other one Chilean and the other Spanish, were singing as well. The funny thing was that the next night I went to dine at another, much smaller place, and as the place was so full I asked to share a table with one guy sitting alone and it happened to be the Spanish percussionist! So, had a nice meal and a chat how he had ended up to play in San Pedro just a couple of months ago. 

The city centre of San Pedro.

Although incredibly expensive for a backpacker’s budget, San Pedro was wonderful in regards of both the people and the activities or tours you could do there. Already on the plane to San Pedro, I met a Chilean man around his forties, with a great sense of humor. We chatted for the whole way we travelled together which meant I had company for around the 5 hours of travelling from Santiago to San Pedro! At the hostel and the tours I also got to know absolutely amazing people. Guys, if you are reading this you know who and what I am talking about! And thanks to Sergio, Pedro and Patricia, I also improved on my Chilean accent, thanks guys! ;)

The salty Laguna Cejar in the middle of the desert.

Ok, about the sights then. In the city there is not so much to do, but you get full or half day tours to locations that are really close and definitely worth seeing. I think much nobody knows before going to San Pedro that there is actually a salt lagoon (Laguna Cejar) that has 30% more salt then the dead sea! That was definitely one of the highlights of San Pedro for me, as I have always wanted to go to swim in the dead sea. There are also small salt plains, geysirs (which unfortunately I did not visit due to my first traveller’s diarrhea), a so called moon valley and awesome look-out points to the desert. Also as there are no clubs in the town, people organize "desert parties" which means that there is a transfer to the valleys in the desert starting around midnight. I was really buggered as the one night we had planned to go there, the transfer did not work. So instead, we ended up going to the "beach" to have a party, which meant actually the river shore of a river that actually was dried up, hahahah... The last day I spent in San Pedro I went to relax at some thermals. Given that it is the Atacama desert, I was surprised how much water-related things there were to be seen…but nevertheless, and unforgettable experience, and I will definitely cherish San Pedro as one of my highlights from South America.

Sunset at Valle de la Muerte (death valley).

Higher altitudes and different shades of sickness

During the last past weeks I have also gotten my share of being sick, everything from stomach problems to altitude sickness. I experienced diarrhea already a couple of times in three weeks. Diarrhea itself I guess was to be expected at some point. After the second time only I started to get other symptoms too, so I went to see a doctor in Sucre (sorry to jump ahead in time - this was after already a week in Bolivia). Have to say that at least the hospital, even a public one, seemed to work amazingly well. Then again, I think everything in Sucre worked well in comparison to many other cities in Bolivia. Of course it has to be mentioned that it is very rare you will find a doctor who speaks english, but I was lucky enough to have walked in with my pocket dictionary, which came in handy in the waiting room. But yep, to the point. They found out I had caught a bacteria a bit similar to salmonella which spreads through dairy products. Actually this did not give me diarrhea but all the symptoms I thought I had due to diarrhea, even fever. So now I am on antibiotics, which I hate, but then again I am happy that this is being treated. Lesson learned: when in doubt, always see a doctor when travelling.

But this is not all. When I had a break from diarrhea, I got something else to keep me entertained, namely altitude sickness. From San Pedro I took a three-day tour to go to Bolivia and visit the Salar de Uyuni, world’s biggest salt plain. Before telling you the following, I want to say that the trip was absolutely amazing, the views were breathtaking and despite everything I highly recommend the tour to everyone! Just do not be as ignorant as me if you go.

So embarking on the trip to Bolivia, I thought I was prepared, having even bought coca leafs in San Pedro to relieve the symptoms you might get when rising to higher altitude. Turned out I was not. Personally, I blame the tourist agency for not warning us about what could and would actually happen – and I chose one of the most reliable ones! The thing was that during only one day, we rose up nearly 2000 meters, to over 4000 meters over sea level, on the very first day! Having looked up the recommendations later, to avoid symptoms you should not rise more than 500 meters a day. You do not get the symptoms immediately, so only by the sunset I started having a headache as did most of the other group too. For most people this is the only thing they get, but I was lucky enough to experience the nausea and vomiting too, which started in the night. At that point, I could have killed the tourist guide, whose only remark to my sickness was that “it’s just the altitude, you will feel better in a couple of hours once we go lower”. Lucky for him I did not even have the power to get out of the bed at that point. As for me, I was fortunate enough to be travelling with a wonderful group who helped me, felt for me and kept checking on me all the time. Thanks Nadia, Frank, Karin, Kevin, and Masako! Could not have wished for any better company to travel in! 

I do not know if it was the coca tea, the nausea tablet from Kevin or actually going to a bit lower altitude, but by lunch time I felt that much better that I could actually eat a little portion of rice. In the evening when we arrived to Uyuni I went straight to the farmacy to get medinice for the headache that still was bothering me. Uyuni was “only” 3600m high, so by the next day, with the help of the magic pills of the farmacist, I started feeling a bit more normal again. 

Laguna Blanca, one of the many lagoons...

Putting aside the one horrid night and the next day that took me to recover, the tour was spectacular. The feeling you have when driving through the desert and the mountains is just something you cannot explain. And you get a lot of lagoons. And I mean a lot. Telling the truth, I think after the third one the amazement factor was zero but I kept taking photos for the tour guide´s sake. I feel he was equally bored because every time when we arrived to a new spot, his words were "Chicos, llegamos aqui, pueden bajar y tomar fotos" (guys, here we are, you go and take fotos). But if you get a bit bored by the lagoons, the salt flat definitely blows your mind. Another thing that words nor photos can capture...

World´s biggest salt plain, as far as the eye can reach.

At the moment when I am writing this my trip to Bolivia is already over, but this country needs a whole different chapter. Will get on in soon though, I promise!