The Truman Show

The movie 'The Truman Show' reminds me a lot of San Pedro de Atacama. You remember how the end of Jim Carey's world is just a painted dome?

San Pedro sits smack bang in the middle of the Atacama desert in Chile's north. The desert is ringed 360 degrees by mountains and volcanoes, however for some bizarre reason it all looks 2 dimensional and the distance from you to the volcanoes on the horizon is impossible to guess.

SPdA was an unanticipated stop on our journey, however as it was so close to Salar de Uyuni it made sense to check it out rather than backtrack to La Paz (as much as I really did want to spend more time in Bolivia). I hadn't really heard much about the Atacama, but boy did it deliver in spades!

The Atacama is the driest desert in the world and possibly one of the highest at 2,600m. It is renowned for being one of the best spots in the world to observe the stars and a few world class observatories and dish arrays are currently being built. Unfortunately the days we were there featured the so called 'super moon', which meant that all observation tours were cancelled so we didn't get to look deep into the night sky.

We did however have a great time in SPdA! Aside from watching the final of the World Cup in a packed local pub, we took it upon ourselves to ride into the Valley of the Moon. Wow! Aside from a welcome bit of fitness the landscape in the area was amazing - huge dunes, multi coloured cliffs & valleys in addition to very unusual rock structures.

The following day we visited Laguna Cedjar, a lake so salty you can float in it really easily....like the dead sea except bloody freezing (15 degrees). While that was nice we were also taken to another lagoon close by to watch the sunset over the desert. Spectacular!

Our time in SPdA was far too short and it's definitely a place I want to come back to so that I can climb the amazing volcanoes (both dormant and active) as well as check out the night sky with super powerful telescopes.

Riding through the 'Valley of the Moon'

We only had time for a short hike into the valley as the World Cup final was to screen shortly, which made for a sweaty ride back to the town.

The didgeridoo didn't seem like a very local traditional instrument. When in Rome.......as Ron Burgandy would say. 

Oh the pain (or the joy) of watching the Argentineans celebrate the first goal of the game! Oh wait.....offside. Hahahahaha. 

A somewhat deflating end to the world cup. Germany were good, but a bit of a boring result in the end. 

We ventured out to the salt lagoons to take in the amazing scenery around Atacama

I really wanted to hike this Volcano, except we ran out of time. This caused us problems later on...... to be continued. 

As you can see the water in the salt lagoon was indeed very salty! Apparently if you dunk your head in, you are in a world of pain as it burns your eyes etc. 

Considering the current political situation, this is a great alternative to floating in the dead sea! Except for the fact it was like 15 degrees in the water. 

It was an amazing sunset in the middle of the desert... 

The mountains got pinker and pinker as the sun dipped beyond the horizon.... 

A very relaxing way to end the day and our time in San Pedro de Atacama.

The Cocaine Trail

When you step off the plane and feel like you have given blood and are about to pass out ... there's a good chance you're in La Paz, Bolivia.

Bolivia is the source of 70% of the world's Coca leaves, the primary ingredient required to make Cocaine. While the USA and buddies are not big fans of this fact, the reality is the Coca leaf is a super food of sorts, which is why the locals grow it. You'll often see a local chewing their way through a bag of leaves in order to stay awake, counter the effects of altitude or to suppress their appetite...plus possibly many other health benefits.

The city of La Paz itself rests in a valley 3,600m above sea level, encircled by 4,700m mountainous peaks. This not only means it has an average max temperature of 12 all year round, it also means it takes a while to acclimatise to the altitude. What does this mean? It means you feel like an old man - you're puffed walking up a few stairs, you're generally pretty fatigued for a few days, permanent headaches persist and you can feel quite nauseous....not to mention drinking booze can result in a wicked 2/3 day hangover.

We were only in La Paz for a few days, but I thought it was a pretty impressive place. Super cheap hostels, vibrant markets and bizarre women's fashion. While there's not really a lot to do in the city itself, it's a good hub to do day trips from, while appreciating the very light touch on the wallet.....a new beanie and gloves for $5? You bet!

Day 1 we took a bike tour, although not your average bike ride rather one down the World's Most Dangerous Road. 600m cliffs line the edge of the dirt road which runs for 54km down into the Yungtan valley, so you better hope the brakes on your bike work!

The ride itself was very cool, although unfortunately it was raining a lot of the time so we didn't get to fully appreciate the yawning abyss just 1 meter to the left of us. Our guide certainly ensured we respected the road though - as he stopped to tell us the points where a bus packed to the brim with nearly 100 people fell off, or when democracy was introduced where the 5 leading candidates were marched and pushed off the cliff (very democratic)!

We left La Paz the next day to check out the salt flats of Salar de Uyuni. This is the place where, when wet, the salt makes everything reflective making for amazing photos. Sadly it was the dry season for us, so we didn't get to witness this.

We chose a 3 day tour, which in hindsight was probably too long. The salt flats were pretty cool and the changing landscapes were amazing, but it was a lot of driving over 3 days in a rattly Land Rover. It was also bloody freezing! When we stepped off the bus in Uyuni it was -12 and our accommodation wasn't heated!

I would certainly recommend checking it out if you have the chance, but perhaps do it in the wet season, and possibly cut it down to the 1 day version. I'd also love to hear if anyone has sat on top of fish island (an old coral reef filled with cacti in the middle of the salt flats) during the wet season, to witness a sunset. My guess is that this would be incredible!

The view out of our window in La Paz for about $12 a night. Pretty impressive, although stepping off the plane to 3,600m was doing my head in at this point.

The scenic part at the top that lead to the World's Most Deadly Road. Pretty nice view, which I had a Porsche to tackle it.

Nina petrified at her death defying ride. 

As you can see the road is pretty narrow. 2 cars coming in opposite directions makes for interesting times.

One of the cliffs on the side of death road. 

What are the odds the photographer was in the right spot to capture this stack! Hilarious! Luckily she was fine apart from a big gash on her leg.

This was the point when I realised my shoes probably wouldn't dry for the next week.

The Llamas seemed to enjoy a frosty beverage in the afternoon.

Fish Island in the middle of Salar de Uyuni. It is an old coral reef from when this entire area used to be an inland sea.

Nina and I on the salt flats. Unfortunately at this time of the year there is no mirror effect. Next time!

Random rock formations in the south of Bolivia. No idea where on earth we are though!

One of the lagoons south of Salar de Uyuni with the pink flamingos.

The pink flamingos sipping on toxic algae in the lagoons.  

The landscapes south of Salar de Uyuni were pretty spectacular. 

One of only 2 desert foxes we encountered on the 3 day journey. He was happy to get pretty close to the jeep for just a piece of bread! 

A strange rabbit, rodent, squirrel thing that didn't seem too bright. 

The rock tree, formed from the brutal (and cold) winds whipping through this area. 

Another not so bright looking fella. 

Dawn at the geysers made for some cool photos. They are planning to use the geysers steam for electricity in the future too....great idea although there is not much around to power! 

It was an amazing sunrise over the hot springs on our final day in Bolivia. While it was close to 0 degrees outside, I jumped in very soon after to be the 3rd person in. When I got out of the springs there was about 30 people in there!