Our entry to Bolivia was by way of a land crossing about 45 minutes from San Pedro de Atacama. The only way to travel over the desert and salt flats (‘Salar’) is by tour group. The standard one-way trip is 3 days/2 nights. We were picked up in a Sprinter van at 6:45 am to be driven to the border. There was a one-hour wait to get the exit stamp from Chile. As the sun rose, it was only 2C on the high plateau. And the greatest indignity was there was no baño – we were directed to squat behind a pile of rocks ! This was followed by a 15-minute drive to Bolivian immigration, and another 1-hour of standing in line to get our entry stamps. The vans from Chile cannot cross into Bolivia so at this point, we were transferred to Land Cruisers in groups of 6 for the rest of the tour. But wait! There is another stop at Bolivian customs to make our declarations that we’re not carrying more than 10,000 USD or arms. This is done by QR code no less, and to be boastful, we completed it before we left San Pedro. The rest of our group were not given the same instructions so we had to wait before we could carry on as a group. A final stop involved us paying the National Reserve entry fee. Our group consisted of an architect from Brasilia, Brazil, a travel agent from Bogata, Columbia, a French cardiac biomechanical student living in Montreal, and a cyber-security technician from Paris, plus us, the elderly contingent. Our driver, Javier, spoke no English whatsoever, so some miscommunications ensued. However, we would be much more grateful for his driving skills.

Our Group

Altiplano

Laguna Blanca, Laguna Verde & Volcan Licancabur

Desierto Dalí

Aguas Termales de Polques

Sol de Mañana Geysers

Laguna Colorado

Arbol de Piedra

Canyon near Colca “K”

Julaca

A town of 66 inhabitants at over 3600 m in the altiplano. An abandoned rail station where the remaining train only slows down. It does now offer cervezas artisinale which become a welcome stop on 2nd afternoon.

Salar Uyuni

the largest salt flats in the world

Sunset on the Salar

Isla de Incahuasi

climbing on lava and coral in the middle of a high desert felt weird

Sunrise on Wet Salar Uyuni

Antics on Dry Salar

Train Cemetery, Metal Art, & Artisans Market

Grub & Digs

all meals were provided (we ate well) and rustic accommodations including the 2nd night in a salt hotel; if you’ve ever wondered where the coloured bath fixtures and mismatched tiles have gone…come to Bolivia

We have to acknowledge the incredible skills of the drivers. Several vehicles drive sort of “together” and they need to not only navigate these undefined tracks in the desert and across salt flats with barely seen markers on the endless horizon, they must also bring all the gas needed for 3 days and serve as repairmen in collaborative fashion. They must have worked for almost two hours, with very basic tools, trying to replace a wheel while we were enjoying cervezas in Julaca. In addition, they serve (and sometimes prepare) our meals. And for the icing on the cake, they also create the group pics and videos. For 3 days work, they will be paid approximately USD $100.

Uyuni (pop ~ 30,000)

where our tour ended and where we organized the next leg of our travels in Bolivia