We were then heading in the direction of several apparently beautifully coloured lakes to spot flamingoes and admire yet more stunning montainous backdrops. We could tell that there was a bit of anxiety among the drivers about the health of our jeep, and so we weren't especially surprised when it made a very odd noise, Abel shouted out "Dios mio" (My God) and we came to an abrupt halt. It was around 9.30am. The cheery Swiss guy and friends from the other jeep also had to get out whilst their driver took ours to the nearest town to phone for a replacement jeep. They said they'd be back within 3 hours which to be fair they were, and this meant that the other group carried on, smirking at us as they left. However, the promise that it would take another hour and half for a replacement to arrive was at best an underestimate.
It was at this point that we really bonded as a group, and the reaction of 'Eduardo' in particular was very entertaining. Lots of other jeeps passed us and stopped to offer help, to which he continually requested beer! Sadly we didn't get any but Emily did entertain us by playing her travel size guitar, we played cards, wandered up a nearby hill and read lots of sections of the Lonely Planet South America guide, irrespective of whether we were planning to visit the country in question! Fortunately we had broken down in a very lovely place, but after 6 and a half hours the attraction had worn rather thin.
We were finally on our way again in the replacement jeep at around 4pm. The boss of the company was absolutely certain that we would be able to see everything that was on our itinerary. We pretty much did albeit a bit more quickly that would usually be the case, including beautiful lakes and hundreds of flamingoes. As it begain to get dark, however, our anxiety levels rose - bear in mind that the road is not really a road at all, so very rough and rocky, and there are certainly no street lights! We were however treated to an illuminated view of the arbol de piedra (rock tree) courtesy of our replacement driver Felipe´s headlights. We also saw the most amazing views of the full moon, an incredible sight which we would have missed if we hadn't been driving so late in the day. Finally we arrived at our destination around 8pm and after dinner close to 10pm we were more than ready for some sleep.
After our first night of sharing a freezing cold dorm we were up at 5am the next day to head off again. In summary we saw geysers, bathed in hot springs, saw more lakes, more stunnng countryside and really did have the feeling that there was something more beautiful around every corner. Again the photos say it all. There is no doubt that if so much natural beauty was found in one area in another country, the tourism trade would be stronger but the fact that it is still relatively untouched is a big part of the attraction. Unfortunately due to the delays the night before we didn't get to see the apparently beautiful Laguna Colorada which is a rusty red colour, but we had seen so much that we didn't feel like we had missed out on much at all.
After another fun evening (despite eating the world' most overcooked spaghetti!) we were off again early the next day to head towards Tupiza on the final leg of the journey. This was by far the worst day, mainly because the roads were so steep and the driving so scary. There were also no notable sights and we were not happy that we had been lied to about going to see the place where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed. We felt that we had been very patient and good humoured through the problems of the trip, and although we were more than happy to go with the flow we really didn't appreciate being lied to.
We were back with Abel at this point - jeep number 3 - and really there should be a law against 24 year old guys driving too fast around steep mountains! We climbed up and then descended from just over 5000m - at the highest point when he stopped for us to admire the view I honestly thought that we were heading off the side of the cliff. This wasn't helped by the fact that about 10 munites earlier I had overhead Abel tell the cook that there were problems with the brakes - sometimes I really wish I didn't understand Spanish! We were very relieved to reach Tupiza 2 nerve wracking hours later and after making our concerns very clear we all booked into a lovely and very cheap hotel - our first shower in 5 days was very welcome!
Dishonesty from guides seems to be a common complaint in Bolivia, which is really unfortunate as it is wonderful place. It has without a doubt been fascinating to spend a bit of time here and they really do have claim to some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. We have now had a relaxing stopover in the small town of Tupiza. We were due to go horseriding but refused because the guide was extremely rude to us when we asked for the helmets we'd been promised - we felt we had enough of living life too close to the edge for a few days at least! We are now about to head to the border with Argentina and are certainly leaving Bolivia with many happy memories.
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
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