Sucre, Bolivia

We headed to Sucre in search of warmer climes after the sub-zero temperatures of San Pedro and Uyuni. The weather didn't disappoint and we were able to bask in some sunshine for a few days!

Sucre is a beautiful town, filled with historical buildings, churches, plazas, cafes and amazing markets. We were really taken aback by how different Bolivia is to everywhere we've visited so far - much poorer, less westernised and more indigenous. Many of the older women wear traditional Bolivian clothing - a skirt with lots of petticoats, a pinafore, shawl, bowler hat and two long plaits (often with tassles tied to the ends).

     

One of Bolivia's main 'attractions' is how cheap it is and this was a welcome change from the extortionate Chile. On most street corners we would find food vendors selling popcorn for 10p a bag, a pizza for 60p and freshly squeezed orange juice for 35p. We even manged to have a three course meal and a drink for £1.30!

Unfortunately much of our time in Sucre was taken up with the headache of trying to organise a way to get to La Paz for a flight we'd booked to take us to Rurrenabaque. Union strikes and school holidays threatened to scupper our plans entirely, but after much confusion we were set to take a 12 private taxi in the wrong direction to Cochabamba and then fly to La Paz from there...

Of the little free time that we did have, we managed to visit lots of local restaurants, go to the cinema and take the Dinobus to Cretacious Park to see the largest set of dinosaur prints in the world. Lonely Planet described it as a 'slick theme park', but it was more Fishers Farm than Thorpe Park. Still, it was fun to look at the prints from over 200 metres away across a dusty quarry...

We were all booked and set for our painfully indirect journey to La Paz, when we were told the blockades had ended and the roads were clear! So having wasted a lot of time in travel agents and internet cafes and a £25 flight, we quickly changed plans and booked the first direct bus to La Paz. Our bus was luxurious and just as we reclined our seats and Sam exclaimed "this is the life", another couple arrived with a ticket stating the same seats as ours...

After more confusion it was clear that we had to get off! The bus was seconds from leaving, so we pleaded with the driver to open the hold so we could climb in, scramble around in the dark and retrieve our bags. Panting and sweating - but clutching our backpacks - we were pointed to a different bus; filthy, smelly and falling apart! We found our seats right at the back, next to the toilet... Jo then discovered that her chair was broken and had to sit in a certain position all night to stop the seat collapsing! We hardly got any sleep and when we arrived in La Paz the next morning, a girl on our bus discovered that her bag had been stolen.

Next stop, the Amazon rainforest... and as far away from Bolivian buses as possible!

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

We had pretty low expectations of the salt flat tours having read the guidebook and spoken to travellers who'd suffered it first hand - we'd been told to expect a very bumpy ride, drunk guides, frozen beds and terrible food. Thankfully we experienced none of the above...

We had a brilliant group and an even better guide! He didn't speak a word of English, but luckily Kenny was fluent in Spanish and translated every fact, joke and story for us. We'd been forwarned that Bolivian people were quite shy - Luis must have been the exception, as he kept us entertained the whole way and even sharked us at cards!

The first day we went to Laguna Colorado which was deep red and purple and looked amazing as the sun was setting across the mountains... we even caught our first glimpse of wild flamengos!

We also visited some more geysers, which were very different to the ones in San Pedro de Atacama. They stunk of rotten eggs (due to the sulphur) and had created huge craters that made the landscape look like a scene out of Star Wars. We trod carefully as Luis had warned us that some could explode at any moment!

We then went for a quick dip in some thermal baths with the most amazing views. Sam made quite an entrance as he slipped on an algae covered rock and splashed everyone. Thankfully the outside temperature was much warmer than in Chile, so getting out was no where near as painful and Sam didn't scream this time!

After a bitterly cold night, wrapped in our thermals, jackets, jeans and sleeping bags, we headed out to see huge flocks of the endanged James Flamengos on beautiful half-frozen lagoons. It was amazing how close we were able to get, and how loud they were!

Our accomodation the next evening was a hostel made entirely of salt - chairs, tables, beds and walls! In the morning we set out for the slat falts, stopping off for a wander round a coral island, which was covered in 1000 year old cacti... 

We witnessed a couple of flirtatious male llamas frolicking on the salt flats!

We then spent a good three hours conducting a photoshoot....

We had an amazing trip and made some great friends along the way!

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

We don't want to talk about the journey. 26 hours, nuff said.

So, we're in the middle of nowhere, in the driest desert in the world. Yet despite the dust and lack of water, it's absolutely beautiful and it's best place on Earth to see the stars!

The temperature contrasts massively between day and night, when it plummets from 27C to -15C. One (very Chile) evening we went right into the middle of the desert to a local astronomer's house to learn about the stars and the sky before gazing at them through his ten huge telescopes. The night's sky was the clearest we´d ever seen and the sky was FULL of twinkling stars! He took amazing pictures of the moon with our cameras, but Jo went one better and managed to get a pretty snap of Saturn too! Afterwards we sat round and drank hot chocolate as he explained why we won't be visited by extra terrestrials any time soon (sorry dad!)

The next day we took a trip to Valle de Lunas (valley of the moons) and a local guide explained the complex geology of Chile and the Andes by drawing us diagrams in the sand! He took us to loads of impressive viewpoints (including Death Valley!) where we saw where the mountains that divide Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. The best bit was when we saw the sun go down over the mountains, watching the sky turn from blue, to orange, to pink to purple within a matter of minutes... 

4am the next morning we were on our way high into the mountains to catch the volcanic Tatio Geysers at their most active as the sun rises. It completely exceeded our expectations - huge fountains of steam and boiling water shooting into the air around us from cracks in the ground. We were then given the opportunity to bathe in some natural pools that were heated by the lava below. The water was 40C but outside it was -10C. Regardless, Sam braved the elements and took a dip, only to lose all his man points when he screamed like a girl when he got out! Jo had to hold out a towel and help him get dry quickly before he turned blue.

Our last day coincided with Fiesta de San Pedro, an annual festival where the town celebrates its history with colourful processions through the streets. A great way to finish our time in Chile!
 

Valparaiso, Chile

Initially Valparaiso wasn't on our list of places to visit, but so many people had recommended it we decided to see for ourselves... We left Mendoza early in the morning, hoping to arrive in Valparaiso mid-afternoon and have a few hours to get our bearings around the city. The journey started really well as we were upgraded to the first class and the views from our window were incredible. We stopped at the Argentina/Chile border in the heart of the Andes, looking out at clear blue skies and snow covered mountains! However, we didn't move from that spot for another six hours...

After a horrific border crossing, we arrived in Valparaiso at close to midnight, tired and hungry. A group from our hostel were about to go out for a bite to eat so we dumped our bags followed them into town. Given that we wouldn't be able to retrace our steps, we decided to stay out with them and ended up in a nightclub! Unfortunately it was more like a school disco, with girls on one side and boys on the other... that is until Jo came and got the party started!

Our hostel was full of friendly travellers who gave us good tips of what to see and do, although we spent our first day so in awe of Valparaiso that we completely lost track of everything we'd planned. The town is stunningly beautiful, set in the hills overlooking the Pacific ocean. Each house painted in bright colours or by local artists keen to show of their talents. The streets were cobblestoned and lined with small cafes and boutique shops.

To get to to the top of the hills we took ascensors, which are 100 year old lifts that save you from walking up huge staircases. The views across the port and the city's waterfront were amazing and it was great to see the sun and enjoy 20C+ temperatures for the first time in a few weeks!

We tried a number of local dishes, with mixed success... One Chilean staple we took a shine to was the 'completo italiano' - a hotdog smothered in a layer of tomato, avocado and mayonnaise to resemble the Italian flag. The cafe next door to our hostel sold the best coffee, ice cream and hot chocolate. Our favourite was the Submarino, which was hot milk with a slab of milk chocolate, chocolate sauce and whipped cream... All the weight that we had lost was quickly being put back on!

We'd originally planned to stay for just two nights, however we couldn't tear ourselves away and it ended up being four... One day we took a short boat strip around Valparaiso's harbour to see the brightly painted houses from afar and were fortunate enough to see a group of sealions asleep on a buoy and swimming around our boat! We watched a live band performing rock classics in the park and did a walking tour of the city during which we found out lots of interesting facts... including how to get a Valpo girl into bed using chicken!