In Salta we took in the main attraction which is an “exhibition” of three children from the Inca times who were sacrificed on the highest mountains in the area.  The cold preserved their bodies until they were discovered by explorers about 10 years ago.  The exhibition was interesting if not a little creepy, as you actually get to see one of the children’s bodies (they rotate them every week to help preserve them) in a glass display.

Salta provided us with both the worst and the best meals in Argentina.  The first was the worst, it looked promising for the outside but when a cockroach scuttled across the wall behind Sarah’s head I knew we were in for something special.

Cathedral Salta

We both ordered lasagne, as the restaurant name suggested it was a specialist in Italian,  but what came out could not be attributed to any culinary origin.  It consisted of a layer of cheese half an inch thick, a layer of soggy pasta, slices of ham (like the cheap ones in the supermarket), another slice of soggy pasta, another layer of cheese which was even thicker than the first and a layer of what could have been spinach but we couldn’t decide. To accompany this cheesy brick was a cocktail bowl of yes you guessed it, grated cheese, as if the Chef had thought we may not have enough already! He should had focused more on making it hot, as to make it worse it arrived no tepid. The following night, scarred from the lasagne experience, we headed for a restaurant that had been recommended as one of the best for steak and as this was to be one of our last meals in Argentina it seemed fitting to eat there. Luckily it didn’t disappoint and we had the best red meat we’d had in Argentina, accompanied by fine wine (which we knew a little bit more about after the winery tours in Mendoza) and traditional folk music performed by the waiters.

The next day we set off on a tour north of Salta to see the coloured mountains of Quebrada de Humahuaca. At first the weather was overcast so although we could see the colours they weren’t as vibrant as they should have been. To make things worse as we moved further north towards the Bolivian border we had our first experience of being at altitude.

Pete spies a coloured mountain

When we stopped for lunch in Humahuaca at 3000 meters above sea level we both felt very light headed and out of breath. However, we still managed to climb up the hill to the viewpoint but continued to feel out of sorts even when we stopped at our last destination Tilcara where we were staying the night before heading into Bolivia. Tilcara is 2500 meters above sea level so we were also very cold and started to get apprehensive about heading towards Bolivia and the salt flats where we would be reaching heights of 4800 meters. To try and combat our coldness and make us feel better we went to a local café and tried a drink called a Submarino which is a mug of hot milk with a chocolate bar submerged into it.  The café also had a log fire so although the headaches and breathlessness was still there we were felling a bit warmer.  In the evening we went to a restaurant where the owner put on a musical performance taking us through the history of Tilcara and the surrounding area, the one drawback being it was all in Spanish. However, it didn’t detract from our enjoyment as he was very animated and a born performer. The Spanish speaking patrons were laughing a lot which raised our spirits too and we went to bed feeling a bit more positive and ready to take on the affects of altitude.

The next day we felt a little better so took a bus heading to Bolivia. After a long bus journey to the border we met a Dutch couple (Robert and Femke)  and two English girls (Laura and Tamie) who also wanted to do a Salt flats tour. We all crossed the border together and got on a very bumpy local bus to Tupiza. We decided to do the Salt flats together and went to a couple of agencies to enquire about prices. In the first, which was attached to our hotel, we met another English couple (Rhys and Laura) who wanted to do the tour and we made up a group of 8 which meant we filled two jeeps. We tried one more agency which was cheaper but after meeting the guide; Archie, from the first place, we decided to spend a bit more to get the best experience. That night we went for dinner to get to know our tour mates a bit better. We went to a local place which served giant portions and was only 9GBP for all of us which was nothing after prices in Argentina.
After a good nights sleep we set off for the Salt flats at 9am. My (Pete) headache had subsided a little so I was feeling a bit better about climbing to higher altitudes, unfortunately as we started the ascent into the beautiful alto Plano my headaches started again, fortunately Sarah was feeling ‘ok’,  but she was  putting a brave face as I was starting to get a little panicky about some of the symptoms I was feeling…

The scenery on the first day was very wild westwith lots of wide open spaces and sharp jagged mountains.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid last showdown

The most interesting bit was seeing the place where Butch Cassidy  and the Sundance kid had their last showdown. As the day wore on the scenery got quite monotonous as the jeep was winding along tiny paths clinging to the side of mountains.  We arrived after dark to the village where we were spending the night and as we got  of the jeep realised how cold sleeping at 4200 meters wih no heating was going to be. At dinner we all wore our coats though the hot llama stew and  playing card games warmed us up a bit. We turned in about 9pm and took our coats off to get into our sleeping bags but as it was so cold in the rooms we kept our hats and gloves on! None of us slept well as we were so cold and were woken up at 6am when it was still dark. That day were all feeling the affects of sleep deprivation and altitude.

View of the first volcano

None of us paid much attention to the first stop which was a ghost village (ruins) but when we reached the highest point of the whole trip (4850 meters) our sprits rose as we got our first view of one of the largest Volcanoes reflected in a beautiful lake. The guide also gave us lolly pops which also helped distract us.  After lunch we entered the national park and as soon as we did the scenery became very impressive. There were volcanoes in every direction, a dessert which is named afar a Dali painting because of the unusual rock formations and a variety of  lakes all different colours depending on the mineral content. We stopped at some hot springs in a stunning setting but decided not to go in as Pete was not feeling well.  He continued to et worse ( headache and numb arms) and at one point we thought we would have to make the 8 hour trip to Uyuni which is at a lower altitude.

Geysers at sunset

Thankfully he started to feel better and we were able to visit the Geysers for sunset which was an amazing sight, like walking on another planet. After this we headed for the accommodation which was much nicer that the previous night and we all got as good nights sleep despite the cold.

When we woke up at sunrise the first sight of the day was the spectacular red lagoon which is frequented by flamingos. We spent ages taking pictures and were all excited about the rest of the day.

The Red Lagoon

We drove thought a dessert,  stopped to see a rock that looks like a tree, passed more lagoons and finally  reached the first patch of salt flats. It was only small but wet our appetite for the next day. The nights accommodation was a little bit warmer as we were now only at 3600 meters and we were even able to have a hot shower and sleep without our hats!

We set off at 6am to catch sunrise over the salt flats. It was a short drive and as the sky lit up we got our first view of the stunning white environment we were about to explore.

Salt flats at sunrise

As the sun peaked over the horizon we stopped to take our first novelty pictures where we tried to hold the sun in our hands or played with the long shadows that the sun was creating. The drive through the flats was amazing, all white around us with volcanoes in the distance. Our next stop was the cactus island ( one of 6 in the salt flats) which was completely covered in giant Cactus. After a tour round the island (its only small) we had breakfast and then set off to a deserted place in the middle of the salt flats in order to take the famous optical illusion pictures where you can play with the perspective of people and objects. We spent about 2 hours leaping around taking crazy pictures with props such as a plastic Godzilla, a Pringles packet and a toy aeroplane.

Sarah and Pete popping out of a pringles packet

The grand finale was a video we made where the whole group emerged from a camera into a Pringles packet! We were all very happy with ourselves after this as it came out really well. After the photo shoot our amazing cook Vikki (who had provided consistently  food throughout the trip) had made us whole roast dinner complete with roast potatoes, chicken and gravy. We all ate at least two plates each while we listed to the spice girls ( our guide Archie liked cheesy music) and kept pinching ourselves as we marvelled at the surreal white landscape around us.
After lunch we made our way out of the salt flats and headed for Uyni which was the end of the trip. We were all excited about sleeping in a proper bed with real showers but were also sad as we’d had such a good time together. The two English girls left us to get a bus to Potosi and we (and the other couples) found a hotel, had a hot shower and went to eat what turned out to be the best Pizza we’d had in ages.

Local schools celebrate Sucre's independence

The next day we set off on a 9 hour journey to Sucre. It was very uncomfortable but we finally made it to our destination at about 7pm. After settling into our hotel we went out for dinner but we all flaked out early after the long journey which was a shame as there was a fiesta in the square as the town was celebrating the 25th anniversary of their independence. The next day was the town was deserted so we pottered around taking pictures, exploring the market and then climbed the steep hill to a cafe where we spent a pleasant couple of hours drinking good coffee and looking at the spectacular view of the town. We all loved Sucre with its stately white buildings and relaxed atmosphere but were all on a tight schedule so we booked our tickets to La Paz for the next day and prepared for our last night. We had a lovely dinner at a shamefully western restaurant and also met up with one of the people we’d met in Mendoza. It was fun to compare notes about the salt flats experience and good to know that ours was much better!

On our final day we were lucky enough to catch some more of the 25th anniversary celebrations. This was the day that all of the school children of Sucre paraded around the city dressed in their uniforms and playing instruments. We watched for about an hour and were amazed at how many children lived their as the precession seemed to be never ending.
We finally left the town about 7pm on the night bus. We all had trouble sleeping as one window didn’t shut and the roads were quiet bumpy but after a stop at 2am we all passed out for a few hours. We woke up at sunrise to a spectacular view of La Paz from the lip of the bowl that the city sits in. As we continued down to the centre we were all amazed at how much we liked that place as we’d heard mixed reviews about La Paz. We got to our hotel very early and unfortunately they had messed up our booking and only had 2 rooms instead of 3. We tried to find other accommodation for all 6 of us but we ended up splitting up so we stayed with Femke and Robert  in the one we had originally booked. The hotel was really nice, it had wifi and satellite TV so we didn’t want to leave the room as we’d both been missing media since we’d been in Bolivia!
After some time with the media we explored the witches market where they sell potions and creepy fully formed Llama foetus’ for good luck. We also went to the square that houses the famous San Pedro prison. Apparently its possible to take a tour of the prison but its very expensive and the guards looked pretty scary so we decided to just view it from the outside. We had some great in La Paz the most memorable being lunch at a popular French restaurant where we had amazing chocolate mouse!

Us at the Super Classico in La Paz

On our last night we were lucky enough to go and see a Super Classico football game, the Strongest versus the Bolivars. We had great seats for only 25 boliviano‘s, so much less that we paid for the game in Argentina. We were with The Strongest fans so asked a local about the stats so we knew the odds of our side winning. It was a really exciting game and The Strongest won 2-0 and so we celebrated with the locals when they won and joined in their chants of ‘Tigre’ which means tiger. It was our last night with the gang we’d travelled with so after the game we went to Wild Rovers (a party hostel) for some drinks and felt quite tipsy as we left at 1am to go back to our hotel.

View from our hotel room in Copacabana

Pete and I had an early start for our 4 hour buss journey to Copacabana, a small town on banks of Lake Titicaca. We arrived at about 11 and headed to our lovely hotel, La Cupola,  which was perched on the hill overlooking the lake. The room was stunning with panoramic views but we were really tired so we climbed into bed and slept for a few hours. We had some late lunch in the restaurant which also had great views and decided to explore the town. The town was based around one touristy street which led to the water front. It wasn’t a great beach but the scenery was stunning with the bright blue water and  green mountains in the distance. We tried to go on the internet but it was so slow so we gave up and went to watch the sunset which was striking as there was a storm brewing and the clouds were lit up with lightening against a sky that was still pink from the sun. We had dinner in town which was not very good and as the rain started to pelt down we decided not to do the full day trip to Isla del Sol (the main attraction in Copacabana) as we wanted to sleep in and didn’t thinking that trekking in the mud would be much fun. When we woke up the weather was better so we had a leisurely breakfast and caught 1.30 boat to the island. The trip was a bit boring as we were inside the boat and our expectations for the short tour of the island were low.  But we were pleasantly surprised. Even though our guide spoke only a little English we learnt a lot about the history and economics of the island and enjoyed the walk up 1000 steps to the stunning view of the lake, through fields of runner beans and exploring the Inca temple of the sun. On the boat back we met another English couple who were turn out to be our travel companions for a couple of weeks as they were heading in the same direction as us. For our last night we had a nice dinner in the hotel and an early night to prepare for our journey the next day to Arequipa in Peru.

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