Salt Flats

So I sit writing this after two overnight bus rides in a row. One Saturday and the return Sunday. Saturday, just before leaving La Paz, I got a lecture from a verbose 21 year old British broad about going to the salt flats for one day was damaging the ecosystem. She was adamant that I should go for three days so the locals could see an economic benefit. My response to her did not make friends...especially considering her personal party activities don´t do too much to stimulate the local economy in a healthy, sustainable manner. I am all for making the world a better place but hypocrisy isn´t going to help too much. I am getting very tired of the idealist super young adults who know how the world works and have no problem telling you that you are ruining the ecosystem or don´t understand economic sustainability principles, or how KYND you have to be to your brothers and sisters. Maybe it is just time to get out of La Paz for good...maybe I am starting to turn into the old man who gets mad at the ice cream guy driving through the neighborhood, or maybe I am still the old soccer coach that players laughing means we aren´t working hard enough even when we are nine years old. Regardless, it is pretty comical to listen to the late 20/early 30´s English folks bag on the 19 year old English kids that are traveling the world for a year before they go back to start university studies.

So off we get on the so called luxury busline. Nice reclining capabilities, warm, food, etc...until about 2 am, when ice began forming on the inside of the window as we raced down a 550 kilometer road, of which 190 kilometers were unpaved. NIGHTMARE!!! And the justice is yet to be shown. Finally we get to Uyuni and wait around for about three hours to start the one day salt flat tour. Breakfast was great. Nothing like eggs, bacon, cheese, salsa, bread, Justin Timberlake´s "I want it that way" (at least I think that´s him). Christina Aguillera´s "Genie in a Bottle" and Cher´s pop hit, " Do you believe in Love." At that moment, I realized that Uyuni was tourist central. Michael Jackson was a vandalism favorite. So the salt flats were cool, made for some great pictures, and met a lot of

interesting characters out there. I have never seen anything like it. I am also glad I did not do the three day tour, which I am sure is spectacular but I have seen enough salt for a few weeks. But it was worthwhile to make a day and a half out of it.

I guess the highlight was the bus trip back, which was the exact luxury model we came in on. About ten minutes into the bus ride, dust started shooting through the cabin as if all the windows were open. A couple of older Israeli gentlemen started freaking out and screaming...of course it wasn´t working the way it is supposed to. (But note to self: opening the roof top escape holes doesn´t do much to help either.). So as they are McGrubering the escape routes, the bus folks started walking through the cabin to explain that we would be switching buses...in 6 hours. It was awesome. Everyone was tweaking out, folks were breathing with shirts over their mouths, I tied a winter hat around my face, and everyone tried to get some sleep. Then we get to switch buses six hours later, and they threw a group

off of our new bus and put them on the bus that was just leaking all of the dust through the cabin. Finally got some sleep and reflecting now, the first bus we had did not have heat and was leaking dust from 3 am until 6 am when we got there the first day. You have to love Bolivia. Great stuff.

So Peru is next in the coming days. Apparently the road blocks, protests, and unrest is still happening at the border crossing. There are 4 options. Fly to Peru (which costs $500 bucks, up $400 from ten days ago), 2-Go across the lake for ten hours and walk a few miles with your bag on once you cross Lake Titicaca. 3-Take a small camion and have rocks and sticks thrown at you and get the tires slashed. or 4. Go through Chile and a 24 hour bus ride to get to where you need. I want to visit the lake, as a Canuck said it was the nicest lake he has ever seen (as opposed to someone from Arizona saying it was gorgeous). I guess I will hitch a boat and cross the border as such. It

should be an interesting way to cross to say the least. I spoke with folks that have taken all of those options and that sounds like the safest and quickest...and most scenic. I got a total kick out of the guy who took the camion that was getting rocks and sticks thrown at him by 8 year olds was from Manchester and he said it wasn´t that bad...give me a break. He was a total rough neck who just needed a smoke and the clothes on his back. Getting stoned to death just to cross a border does not sound like fun.

I thought I was going to do a jungle trek but then I saw that Cuzco has some pretty wild white water rafting for multiple days. Then there is also the Colca Canyon in Arequipa. Now I just need to figure out the pathway to get all of that done in addition to the Salkantay trail to Machu Picchu. Not much time left and way too much stuff to do.
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