Day 22- La Paz, Bolivia

After a quick breakfast at Loki hostel we hailed a cab and headed down to Plaza Isabela La Católica. We waited there until a double-decker open top tourist bus arrived. I'd seen an ad for the tour at the hostel yesterday, and since La Paz is very hilly and spread out I thought it would be a good way to easily see the city (and allow me to avoid walking on the sea urchin spike!). The price wasn't bad at all, so we climbed on to the top level. Every seat had a set of headphones so we could hear a recording stating historical facts and what we were looking at. The bus quickly filled up, and it was a very diverse group. Our tour guide asked John and I where we were from, and she was surprised to hear the US. She said not many Americans come to Bolivia because it is not very popular with the US, and many Americans are hesitant to come since our country has somewhat negative relations with the Bolivian government. The US ambassador was recently asked to leave the US embassy in La Paz actually! It is also expensive and somewhat difficult to obtain all the necessary things for the Visa that Americans need to enter the country. It did make me feel good though that despite that, we were still adventurous enough to give the country a try!

We began to ride around the main streets of La Paz and saw many plazas and statues. Most of the monuments were of heroes from the many wars for independence, as well as a few of the original indigenous leaders. One thing I noticed about La Paz, besides being extremely filled with people, is that there are a mass amount of electric wires strung over the city streets. The bus was very tall, and there were several moments where the wires were just inches away from hitting the bus. There were many close calls that made me a little nervous, and a few times we had to duck our heads down!

After about a half hour, we stopped the bus at a mirador called Killi Killi. We walked up the steps to the overlook and instantly had a fantastic view of the entire city. We could see how massive the city is, and how it continues on into the mountains. We could see the infamous "death road" in the distance (the world's most dangerous road- it has crazy narrow streets looming on the edges of steep cliffs), the soccer stadium, and the large mountain called Illimani. It was a fantastic vantage point, and it was easy to get some great photos. We then got back on the bus, continued driving through the city, and returned to the Plaza.

Since the tour was over, John and I decided to get a cab to take to the Plaza Murillo. When we arrived, the place was buzzing with activity. Families were out enjoying the sunny day, and vendors were selling their goods while the large population of pigeons walked around begging for crumbs. Many people were gathered around the steps of the Cathedral, so John and I went in to take a look. Mass was going on, so we quietly walked around. It was a European style Cathedral, clearly built by the Spanish. Once we left the church we tried to go and look around the President's mansion. Unfortunately, the place was closed for construction. It was a bit of a disappointment since that was the plaza's main attraction. Despite that, John and I continued to walk around the side streets. We came across a smaller church that was decorated for a wedding, and after peeking in to get some pictures, we saw the guests and wedding party begin to file in. I had seen several other brides at churches during our bus ride, and it seemed odd to me that there were so many weddings going on in January. I guess I should have thought about the fact that it is summer in Bolivia! After I bought my mom some religious themed jewelry from a vendor by the church, we started walking up the hill to find food. On the way, we saw the same German couple we had talked to in Puno! We introduced ourselves, and once they remembered us, we chatted for a little bit. I am still so jealous that they can travel the world by docking their yacht at various harbors- they had been out of Germany for nearly a year!

Once John ate his usual empanada, we cabbed it back to the hostel. After quickly freshening up we walked back to the main Plaza San Francisco. On the way there I was hunting for some lunch "to go", but fast food options don't really exist in La Paz. Out of desperation I had to get a kids meal from Burger King. The chicken was very odd tasting so I didn't even end up eating it. Once we got to the plaza, packed with people as usual, I bought some ice cream from a vendor. That hit the spot! After strolling around, John and I decided that we wanted to see the lower part of the city, so we decided to cab it back to Plaza Isabela and do the second tour offered by the bus company we had done earlier.

We paid for our tickets and were ready to go on the tour which would explore the "southern circuit" of La Paz. This part of the city is the wealthier part of town, and it is unique because in most cities the wealthy people live at the higher elevations, or on the mountaintops. In La Paz though, the higher you climb, the more poverty you will see. On the bus ride we drove through a tunnel that was very low, and it was somewhat scary sitting on top of the bus. We also drove through some neighborhoods were political protests were going on. There were some rallies and people picketing, and the cops were of course nearby. There is much political unrest in Bolivia because of the huge money gap. The wealthy few make thousands, but the rest make almost nothing. There is no such thing as a middle class in Bolivia, and this imbalance naturally creates a lot of tension.


The final stop we arrived at is an area known as the Valle de La Luna, or Moon Valley. It is a very beautiful and interesting landscape, somewhat reminiscent of the southwest US or Grand Canyon. It is a national park, but in the surrounding areas you could see many newly built mansions and upscale country clubs. We entered the preserve, and got to walk around and explore the many unique rock formations. The rocks have crazy shapes, formed from erosion. The one in the photo is an odd rock named "Lady's Hat". Climbing the steep rock formations was actually fun- luckily there were little trails to follow. In the distance we could also see an oddly shaped mountain called El Diente Del Diablo, or the "Devil's tooth". There were also many steep crevices and little caves throughout the tall, narrow rock formations. It was all so unique, and beautiful. I think these views are on of the highlights of the trip that I will always remember first when I think of my time in La Paz. As we continued to explore we got many great photos, and at one point a random man started playing some tribal flute while standing on a rock. Towards the end of our time exploring, it began to rain. We got onto the lower level of the bus and headed back to the Plaza.

Once we were dropped off, we weren't exactly sure what we should do next. We decided to go back to El Mercado Hecicheria (Witches Market) to get in some last minute bargain hunting and souvenir shopping. I had seen on the Internet that there was a Hard Rock Cafe in La Paz, and since I collect their merchandise we began a hunt to find it. While we were in a shop buying chess sets which hilariously depicted the Incans vs. the Conquistadors, I chatted with the woman about it. She gave me directions, but when John and I walked there it didn't exist. It was very confusing. We eventually figured out that a local bar called itself the Hard Rock Cafe- copyright infringement anyone? After that futile search, we went back down to the fruit market. I got some more apple juice in a plastic bag, and John got a huge papaya. By this point, my foot was killing me. Walking around on the hilly cobblestone streets filled with potholes and people traffic is not easy to navigate while having a gimp foot!

Back at Loki Hostel we decided to check out the oxygen bar on the third floor. It is the self proclaimed "world's highest oxygen bar", and after picking out our flavors (I picked lavender) we sat back, and relaxed. The oxygen bar is supposed to help people like me, who have some soroche (altitude sickness) but after the session was done I basically just felt drunk. Not sure why. At that point though, we discovered that you could climb onto the roof of the hostel. There were some Brazilian teens hanging out up there, and it provided a perfect view of Mount Illimani in the distance. It was beautiful to see!

For our final venture in La Paz we had the hostel call us a cab that would take us back to the Killi Killi Mirador. We arranged for him to take us there so we could get photos, and then wait for us and bring us back. I was glad about this because the mirador was in a somewhat sketchy area of the city and I was paranoid about being stranded there at night. Once we arrived we got some photos of the city lights and took in our final views of La Paz. The cab driver took us back to Loki, and we decided to check out the restaurant and bar on the second floor. The place was totally packed with travelers, most of which were from New Zealand, England, and Ireland. After ordering some food at the bar, I noticed a table behind me that consisted of 12 young British guys. I texted Christina saying that our life dream was happening- if only that table had been there when we were single ladies traveling together two years ago! Haha.

After enjoying some celebratory drinks, John and I sadly went back to the room to pack up. The hostel has a glass ceiling, and at that point it started storming and raining really badly. It was pretty cool to see, especially since the hostel is so pretty on the inside. Once we were done packing I headed downstairs and decided to put my brown shoes I had bought in Lima in a collections box so that the they would be given to the street children in the city. They were only used once, so I hope whatever kid ends up with them will enjoy them! It was then time to shower, and after the first three stalls I went to weren't emitting water, just scary noises, I finally had success. Then, I went to sleep listening to the sounds of thunder and young travelers loudly partying the night away.

Day 21- La Paz, Bolivia

The majority of last night and this morning were spent on a parked bus at the Chilean-Bolivian border. Once the border crossing office decided to open, we could finally move. We did the whole visa-stamping business, and said adios to Chile. Then we got in yet another line to re-enter Bolivia. They searched our bags and while standing there I realized that my foot was throbbing in pain. On the rest of the smelly bus ride I tried to elevate my foot a little, but it was so bumpy that didn't quite work out. Finally, we arrived in La Paz! We got a cab and made it to our next hostel, Loki Backpacker's. It was a huge 4 story place, and I learned it was a Victorian era hotel and theater that they had renovated. It was definitely a really eclectic and nice place.

Our room was trashed when we first got to it, so while we waited on the maid I tried to tend to my foot. Apparently the best cure for sea urchin wounds is to soak it in vinegar. I had no idea where I would find this though. I tried to just ignore it, and so John and I headed into town towards the Plaza San Francisco. Luckily he was being patient because my gimp version of walking was a bit slow. We basically just looked around and tried to get our bearings, making a quick stop at the Cathedral, and had an overly slow lunch at a tourist restaurant. After that, we wandered up the crowded, narrow cobblestone streets towards the mysterious Calle Linares, where the Mercado de Las Brujas (Witch's Market) is located.

We walked down the narrow street- it was a bit dark from the clouds, and that added to the mystical vibe. There, the local witches known as the yatiri, who dress in dark hats and carry coca pouches, sell their goods. In the past, the yatiri were healers who studied herbal remedies (many of them involving coca leaves) and who were seen as religious leaders. When the Spanish came they of course labeled these revered people as "witches". At first the street just seemed like another place filled with various trinkets for sale, but upon closer look I realized that the merchandise was a little different. In addition to the jewelry, ceramics, and Incan god pendants being sold, many of the old women were selling dried up llama fetuses and dried armadillos that were hanging from the ceilings. It was a bit grotesque to see, and when we entered a small shop the odd smell of their bodies took over. It might sound disgusting, but it was actually really interesting! We tried to haggle with the old woman in the shop, and successfully walked away with our hands full of some souvenirs (no llamas here!).

Apparently Bolivians believe if you burn a llama fetus, sacrifice it to the Pachamama (Mother Earth), and bury it under your house you will have good luck and prosperity. It is supposedly common for most Bolivian households to do this! In addition to these goods being sold, many people were selling odd talismans (owl feathers, toad legs), herbal remedies or "potions", unique jewelry amulets, and some places even had signs advertising spells for sale! I ended up buying a necklace that is the Incan sign for the sun, and also bought a ring for Christina. John and I also bought several small pendants that depicted different gods in the Incan religion, and that each symbolize something different. While some of the stands were obviously touristy and fake, there were a few you could tell were legitimate "witch" shops. They had signs for sorcery and fortune telling, and rather than selling t-shirts and rings they had gems, little potion bottles, and a variety of dried up animals. The yatiri are wary of having their photos taken, so we didn't get the chance to take all that many.

Another interesting tradition we saw while at the Witches Market was that many people were selling statues of a short, little fat guy. His name is Ekeko, and he is the god of material possessions. People will buy statues of him, put it in their homes, and hang miniature items on him to represent what they want. If you want financial success, put little dollars on him, or even a lottery ticket. Many people deck him out with chocolate, coca leaves, money, tickets, photos, etc. and for it to become "real" the statues have to be blessed by a yatiri. If Ekeko thinks you are too greedy, he will keep with the Aymara tradition of "all things in balance", and your wishes may not come true. Upon learning this, John of course bought an Ekeko statue.

We departed the Calle Jimenez and headed down hill towards the crowded and never-ending town of tent booths known as El Mercado Negro: The Black Market. There you can find cheap knock off designer items and pirated entertainment. The booths went on forever, and there were so many items for sale and so many people it felt a bit stressful. I didn't find very much I wanted, though I did buy a Spanish copy of the Twilight book! We continued to roam around the loud, crowded and chaotic streets towards a large outdoor food market known as Mercado Lanza. They had many fruits for sale, as well as some unidentifiable meats. After purchasing apple juice, made by smashing up apple slices and then serving it in a plastic bag with a straw stuck in it, we continued on (I thought the apple bag drink was funny, it was their version of a "to go" cup I guess). We passed a large crowd gathered around a man story-telling, and after walking through the local flower market, we attempted to find a place for dinner.

The restaurant choices in La Paz seemed a bit limited. We had a hard time finding places, and we ended up eating at Angelo Colonial- somewhere our guidebook recommended. The food was okay but the restaurant was a bit creepy. It was medieval themed, but it was really dark and full of antiques, plus we were the only customers. Walking up steep, narrow hills all day in the tiring altitudes of the world's highest capital city can really suck up all your energy, so we returned to Loki. Next to the hostel's doors I noticed there were 3 children sitting on a blanket- one was an infant. They were just there on the side of the street, no parent in sight. I had seen them earlier but didn't realize the sad reality that were likely homeless children, maybe waiting on their mom alone all day. It really upset me to see that. I later found out that there are an estimated 9,000 "street children" in the city. Charities have some homes set up, but the local government does nothing for them. Thinking about them, I counted my blessings, and it was time for bed.

Day 20- Arica, Chile

Today we again woke up early, packed, and left our things at the front desk of the Surf House. We chatted for a while with the very friendly hostel owner named Curt, and got some suggestions on things to do with our last morning in Arica. After a quick breakfast on Calle 21, we took a colectivo taxi to the nearby San Miguel de Azapa Archeological Museum. Once we arrived, we went in and had the chance to see many Pre-Incan native artifacts, as well as the world's oldest mummies! Yes, it is true, they are older than the famous ones in Egypt. I had never even heard of these Chilean mummies before, but they were truly unique and amazing to see. I am surprised they are not more famous since they are very well preserved, and the oldest known existing mummies. They were very tiny, almost shrunken looking, and had creepy faces with clay accents. The people wrapped them in tight cloth to mummify them, and then put clay on them to keep the features pronounced. While they were a bit scary looking, it was fascinating to think how long they'd been around. After walking around and seeing our fill of ancient artifacts, we headed back to Calle 21 de Mayo again. Instead of having a real lunch, I persuaded John that we go to a heladería (something America needs to pick up on). A heladería is basically just a restaurant, but the menu only consists of amazing and intricate desserts! It is a heavenly idea. We sat down, and the waiter brought us out banana splits. Yes, I ate the whole thing. No, I am not ashamed. Delicioso! We had a bus out of the city at two, and when we got back to the hostel we realized that there was a time change we had not noticed. We thought it was noon, but it was actually 1pm. Good thing we checked! We grabbed our backpacks and cabbed it quickly to the Arica bus station.

Once we were there, I walked up to the office where we had bought our tickets yesterday from the company Trans Salvador. I showed them our receipt, and the woman looked confused. She said the bus was sold out. I was also confused because we had proof of having bought seats. She made some calls and then informed me that they had accidentally sold our seats to someone else. I was furious! I mean, really- enough is enough! I officially hate South American bus companies. I started losing my cool, and yelled at the woman saying that since we bought the tickets first we should get the seats, and the other people should have to wait. For some reason that made no sense to her, so John and I were the ones stuck. I found out that the next bus didn't leave until midnight that night, and so I demanded a refund. She said no other bus companies were leaving for La Paz sooner than that, and wouldn't refund it. I started getting emotional from all the frustration, and cried in front of her. It was embarrassing, but at least she knew how her horrible business practices made me feel. I should have left to calm down and made John talk, but she spoke no English. I continued arguing with her, and finally just gave in and swapped for the bus leaving at midnight instead of at 2pm. I then told her that since her company had inconvenienced us, they had to pay for John and I to take a cab back to our hostel so we'd have a place to leave our things and spend the day. Apparently customer service isn't the best in Chile. She should have been nicer and gone out of her way to help us since she had ruined things, but no. She didn't even once say she was sorry or apologize. Since she wouldn't help us I went to the other desk for the company, and after some arguing with another lady I finally got my way. John and I left the bus station in a free taxi, but we were so mad! We would now have one less day in La Paz thanks to the company being idiots.

After all the drama, we were back in the central part of town. Curt, the hostel guy, was shocked about what happened and said we could use the common rooms and showers at the hostel for the rest of the day. At least he was nice! Since we didn't have many things left to do in Arica, we decided to change and head to the beach. On our walk into town we noticed a street light that had an "ultraviolet ray indicator" on it since Arica is so close to the equator. It had 5 levels of strength, and today the light was on orange (the middle one) meaning "high risk". It said for people with pale skin, it is only safe to be exposed to the sun for 17-20 minutes max! Making sure we had sunscreen, we took a small bus down to a different beach than the one from yesterday. It was extremely crowded with people, and the area to swim in was a small inlet of water, almost like a lagoon. There were many rocks in the water, and children were swimming everywhere. It wasn't exactly relaxing, but I was happy to be by the ocean regardless. John and I ventured out into the water, and for some reason it was freezing! The water yesterday had felt great. As we were swimming around, I noticed there were many sharp rocks on the ocean floor. We were getting pushed by the undertow and kept hitting our feet on them. At one point, I stepped down and then felt a surge of pain. I thought I had just bruised or scraped the sensitive middle part of my foot on a rock, and so we went back to our towel. I looked at it, and noticed it was very purple and splotchy, and then noticed several long, black, splinter-looking things in my foot. I wasn't sure why it was like that, but I knew that it hurt. After a while we got up to catch the local bus, and I then realized walking was very painful. I had to limp my way to it!

Back at the hostel, Curt took a look at my foot and told me that I had stepped on and been stung by a sea urchin! He said they leave dark purple or black spikes in your foot if you step on them. He advised that we try to get the spikes out so that walking wouldn't be so painful (the photo is of a sea urchin, I obviously didn't take it though). So, John and I sat down in the common area of the hostel. There were about 5 other people in the room and they witnessed this whole ordeal, which was embarrassing. John took out his head lamp to be able to see where the spikes were in my foot, and then got out some supplies. I saw scissors, needles, and a tweezers and knew I couldn't watch. He began the painful process of cutting open the areas around the spikes, trying to dig them up with a needle to be closer to my skin's surface, and then using tweezers to remove them. After about an hour of me sitting there in pain, crying and making odd noises in front of strangers, only 5/6 of the spikes were removed. The biggest one was very deep in my foot and wasn't coming out. John didn't want to cut a huge slice in my foot, so I resigned myself to the fact that walking was going to be painful for a while.

After that lovely event, John and my gimp self headed out for dinner. We chose a nice place on the main street with outdoor seating, and our waiter Felipe was very chatty. I decided to get apple juice, but it was just chunky apple slices blended up together. It was odd. Afterward, we decided to do some window shopping and stroll the main street for a final time. I was trying to figure out ways to walk that wouldn't put pressure on the spike- I was only partially successful. We returned again to the hostel, and weren't sure what to do to kill time before our bus left. We ended up watching TV with some New Zealanders in the common room for a while, and then I took a shower. Curt called us a taxi to the bus station, and we gave him a few dollars to thank him for letting us stay there that day.

Back at the dreaded bus station, I was surprised that our seat was still ours and hadn't been re-sold again! We boarded the charter bus at midnight, and then for some unknown reason it went about one block away, and then stopped. It stayed idle for an entire hour. I was getting furious again. It didn't help that it was insanely hot on the bus and my window was stuck shut so I couldn't get any breeze. By that point, I had lost all patience. Finally, the bus decided to move. We didn't travel very far, and then we stopped at the Bolivian border. The border crossing was closed for the night, so the bus parked from 4am-8am. This 6 hour journey was now going to take about 11 hours thanks to the bus company being horrible!

(As an update, the sea urchin spike stayed stuck in my foot, partially dissolving until it was close enough to be tweezed out in mid April-- 3.5 months later!)

Day 19- Arica, Chile

Waking up after dawn is a great feeling! Being clean is nice too. To start our day on the coastal town of Arica, John and I got some advice from the owner of our hostel. We then went to the main street in the town and exchanged our remaining bolivianos for some Chilean pesos. While there, we stopped and had some omelettes then took a colectivo taxi to the local bus station. While there we bought our tickets from Arica to La Paz. Now, to give a little background on the city, one thing you should know is that Arica has extremely strong UV rays. It is so dry that many of the houses, stores, and buildings are open-air and have whole nice furniture sets and paintings just sitting outside. It is so arid that our hostel owner said it hadn't rained more than .03 inches since he was a little boy. Arica is thus known as one of the "driest inhabited places on Earth"! It also is well known for its great surfing waves, and is the surfing capital of Chile since the 2007 Rip Curl Surf Championships were held there.

Next, we went to the Catedral de San Marcos. It was designed by Gustav Eiffel, the man who designed the Eiffel tower. We walked around inside, interrupting a field trip, and got some photos. We then stepped outside into the Plaza Colón and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. The weather was of course, sunny and beautiful, and there were fountains everywhere. After getting some fresh squeezed juice at a street stall we began to walk uphill towards a large rocky hill/cliff overlooking the whole city. It is known as El Morro, and it had a Chilean flag flying atop of it and a banner saying "Feliz Año 2010!" There was a path leading from the residential streets (filled with turn of the century colorful homes) that lead up to the top of the morro. The path zig-zagged up until it reached many steep, narrow steps. The intense heat made this journey not so fun. Arriving at the top was worth it though because the view was great! You could see the coastline, beaches, downtown, and the dry, rocky mountains. There was also a Jesus statue (which is apparently a popular thing to put on top of hills) as well as a historical museum which contained the old cannons the Chilean army used during their war for independence. As we walked around the perimeter of the cliff enjoying the views, I also appreciated the breeze. As we were leaving we found a man selling popsicles, and I gladly bought one for the walk back into town.

We headed back to Arica Surf House hostel, and decided to do some laundry. We filled up a tub in a back room and handwashed some of our things, hanging them out on a line to dry. Afterwards we went back at the main plaza. There we found an interesting McDonald's called "Auto Mac" that was an outdoor walk up stand. The monetary symbol for pesos is the dollar sign $ and since one USD equals 490 pesos, we saw advertisements that said "Big Mac: $1700", it was pretty funny. After walking down the main street filled with shops, restaurants, and street vendors we went back and got our things ready for the beach!

We decided to walk to a nice beach area known as Playas Corazones, and after a 25 minute stroll we finally arrived! The beach was very wide and had a decent crowd. There was a playground on it, as well as some hotels and snack shops. We set down our towels and then went out into the refreshing water. It felt awesome, and I was excited because it was my first time ever swimming in the Pacific ocean! We went out somewhat deep, and as we were swimming I noticed something large and grayish swim by about ten feet away. I freaked out for a minute thinking it was a shark or a whale or something, so we swam back. About 5 minutes later I saw it again, but this time I realized it was just a sea lion! It was so cute! I was enjoying the ocean, but since John isn't a big ocean lover we went back to the towel and I bought myself a snack and sat down, soaking up the sun. It was great to get a chance to relax since the last few days had been so full of activity!

When it was time to leave I made John find us a cab since I had bad blisters from the wise decision of walking in flip flops. After that, we decided to stroll the lively main street called Calle 21 de Mayo. It has a really fun, beachy, atmosphere so I of course loved it! Filled with many unique shops, street musicians, colorful flowers, and food, it was also a great way to get a feel for the city. While walking I noticed a bunch of teenagers carrying around signs saying "abrazos gratis", meaning "free hugs". I'm not sure what it was for, but for some reason I went up and asked the girl to give me the free hug. You know, just bonding with the Chilean people. Anyways, we then returned to the hostel, showered, and headed out to the other side of town with all the large open air markets and shops. All of the stands are totally packed with the goods for sale, and the walkways down the rows were filled with people. I ended up buying a keychain, a little red pot, a locally made shell necklace, and a lovely purple dress. I was happy because as always, they were all purchased at a great low price! So, there is this energy drink popular in Chile and it's called "cocaina", and John wanted some. Needless to say, it was a little awkward walking up to different shops and asking if they had cocaina- but don't worry, I always made sure I specified it was the drink! After we had our fill of shopping and bartering, we strolled back towards Plaza Colón and then headed towards the walkway that went along the beach. On the way there I started hearing a very weird sound coming from the trees. It honestly sounded like pigs oinking. It was actually coming from these huge crane looking birds that were everywhere. They were splattering giant drops all over the sidewalk too, so we were very cautious! We then sat down to watch the sunset over the ocean, and were entertained by some lively pelicans.

We headed back to the main calle for dinner and chose a place called Cafe del Mar. We assumed from its name "Ocean Cafe" that it would have primarily seafood, but oddly they only had one seafood dish! We sat at a table outside on the street, and after chatting with our waiter, a few stray dogs came up next to me. In Chile they don't seem to have a very good animal control system, because stray dogs are very common. They seem to be all over the place and it is normal and accepted by the locals. These two dogs were dirty and likely had fleas, and they started barking and biting each other. It was dangerously close to my legs and I was getting scared. The waiter tried to shoo them away but at one point just gave up. Oh well- when in Rome...

While finishing up our meal we noticed that some sort of parade was beginning on the street. It was getting dark, and several people walked by chanting with t-shirts and banners saying to re-elect Edoardo Frei for President. It wasn't that interesting at first, but then the musicians came followed by a huge crowd of people singing some song about how great this guy Frei is. It was a little bit comical, but definitely a great thing to witness. After the chorus the flag wavers came, and then a group of dancers in elaborate costumes danced down the street. It felt impromptu because the streets weren't blocked off and people were confused, yet despite that it was a very entertaining political parade. I was glad we had front row seats for it too! With the music and the energy it was really fun and definitely made me feel like I was in a hispanic culture.

El Desfile Politicó

Since nothing else could top that display, we headed back to the surf house for the night. The TV was playing shows in English, I was so excited. After speaking to people in Spanish all day it is nice to just check out and stop trying at the end of the day. As I was falling asleep later on, I heard an odd noise. I was convinced it was cockroaches evilly running around in the walls. There was a cockroach in the shower earlier, so I was on guard. However, it only ended up being the sound of the ice in my cup crackling and melting. It didn't last very long, Arica is so hot.

Day 18- Oruro, Bolivia - Arica, Chile

To preface this entry I would first like to say this is probably the worst day I've had this year. Second, I hope it doesn't get any worse. Third, it wasn't all that bad so I should consider myself lucky! Anyways, John and I were on the bus from Uyuni and we were dropped off at the small town of Oruro whose main attraction is its large bus station. We got off our bus at 3am, and started wandering around the very confusing and disorganized two-story bus station plaza. Our goal was to find someone who would sell us a ticket to our next destination Arica, Chile and to get on that bus as soon as possible. In retrospect, we should have just found a hostel, passed out, and come back later that day- but no.

I started asking workers and people in the station, and someone told me "oh there is a bus to Arica leaving at 4am!" I think "yes, perfect." Apparently this was a lie. No such departure existed. We learned that at 6am the rest of the kiosks opened for the other bus companies, so we decided, "we can wait 2 more hours... then get our ticket!" Those two hours of waiting seemed to last forever though. We were sitting on a hard, broken bench next to a window letting in the cold. People were all around us, and there were tons of locals sleeping on sacks of food they placed on the floor with blankets covering them. I deduced that the homeless women and children come to the bus station to sleep, or they are so used to the slow system they just come prepared. It was an interesting thing to witness though. At this romantic moment, John and I realized it was our one year of dating anniversary- sitting on a broken bench, angry, and smelly at a bus station in Bolivia. Wow. Despite that, I was still tired and mildly miserable. Also, because Bolivia always charges you to use the restroom, none were opening until 8am. So, I wandered around on a hunt, but to no avail. I had to get creative again, and determined that an abandoned hallway with a tiled floor would suffice.

Two hours later we started looking around for these companies that supposedly opened at 6, but few of the places inside the bus station had "Arica" listed as a destination. Only about three did, but none were open. No one around knew when they were opening either. I was, at this point, extremely cranky, gross (no shower in 4 days) and distraught that we'd be stuck in this godforsaken town. In my desperation I found a cop and asked him what we could do. He wasn't very friendly, or helpful. He said, "just wait a little longer because a bus leaves at 8". I was comforted, and I thought, "well we've been here for 4 hours already, we can handle 2 more". Then 8am came and went: no bus, no companies selling tickets. Mentirosa! At this point, I broke down and started crying (lack of sleep will do it to you). So, John and I gave up and went upstairs and sat on a bench near the few Arica ticket selling stands, and decided to just wait and stake them out until the workers finally came in for the day. The only entertainment or hope I saw was found in a video jukebox by our bench; kids were watching Michael Jackson music videos and Spanish rap intermittently.

Finally, a worker came in to one of the stands. I optimistically inquired about bus tickets to Arica, but they had sold out of them the day before. I felt mildly panicked, and was really upset we'd spent a miserable night wandering around a bus station when we should have just left when we arrived 5 hours ago. Then, a bit later, another woman came in. I tried to explain our situation to her in Spanish, and I said "I'll give you a tip if you call your friends and see if any companies go to Arica." She said there were maybe one or two, but that the workers would not come in for some time more. I know patience is a virtue, but it was to hard to keep in mind! I was convinced we were stranded. Maybe two hours later, a man arrived at a neighboring stand. I ran up to talk to him. His name was Hernán, and he is now my hero. Hernán chatted with me and, God bless his soul, he finally sold us a ticket to Arica after a horrible and uncomfortable 7 hours of uncertainty. There were only two seats left in the very back, and he made some calls to double check we would be on it. I asked him if he could tell them we were foreigners and to help give us instructions when we had to change buses, and he said he would. I was a little worried that it was not a direct route, and based on our last confusing bus changing experience, I was a bit hesitant. I couldn't afford to be so picky though.

Finally... food! The bus station was close to this nice hotel, so John and I wandered up there and discovered a buffet room offering all you can eat for a cheap price. It was like heaven! Resting, filling up on food, and knowing we had a ticket made me cheer up and feel instantly better. Since it was daylight we decided to leave the dreaded bus station and head out into the city of Oruro. It is a small, urban town so we just walked a big circle around the bus station and explored. There were several stands where young boys were selling fresh squeezed lemonade. They would smash and squeeze the juice out of the lemons right in front of you, and John was in love with it.

Finally, the time came for our bus to leave Arica. Hernán met us at his ticket stand and then personally escorted John and I out to our bus that was headed to a no-name town called Patacamaya. He told the driver we'd need help with the bus change to Arica, and so we thanked him and I gave him a couple bolivianos as una propina (a tip). Then, we waited patiently for the slow Bolivian bus system to finally depart Oruro. I was not sad to leave!

Two hours later, we reached Patacamaya-a small deserted town with no shade, and no people. It felt deserted. The bus driver decided to ignore Hernán's instructions to help us, and when we stopped in the middle of the road there he screamed at us to get off. He then literally chucked our backpacks out into the road, and said "wait here for the next bus. It will be soon." We didn't know where the new bus would pick us up, what time to expect it, etc. It was a bit scary and abrupt. John was mostly calm but I was slightly panicked. This would be a worse place to be stranded in than Oruro! So, John and I sat there in the shadeless heat in the middle of this concrete median, waiting. It started to get really hot and we hadn't seen any buses pass by, so we decided to cross the side street and wait in the shade. Every time a bus drove by we checked its name, and a few times I yelled to the driver asking where they were going, and if he knew when our bus was coming. I was convinced it never would.

About an hour later, the bus still hadn't come. I was freaking out a bit. Many had passed by, but few had even stopped. One bus did stop to let off a few people, and I asked them if they knew about Arica and they kept saying "ya viene," meaning it already came. This did not help calm me down. I was pessimistic about our prospects, and I did have reason to be based on past experience. I was worried why we were still stranded there. The company we left Oruro with was called Paraiso, and since there were two intersections John and I split up to stake out the roads for buses with that name on it. Another hour later, one came to the side street John was at. It said Paraiso, and a few locals were loading things onto it. I sprinted over there and frantically asked the driver if they went to Arica. He said "no the bus is full, the one to Arica already came". I was on the verge of tears, and as a last attempt I yelled to him as he was about to close the door. He then said, "this does stop at Arica. Hurry up!" We rapidly threw our bags on, and ran onto the bus. As we were walking down the aisle it was driving away. All the seats were full. Ugh. I'm not sure why the driver changed his mind, maybe he didn't fully understand me the first time, but thank God I asked him twice!

We showed our tickets to the two kids and woman sitting in our seats, and they got up and moved to let us sit. Then they sat in the narrow aisle on the floor next to the bathroom, and us. It was very cramped, and slightly awkward. The woman spoke Quechua, so that made things even more interesting! I felt bad making them sit on the floor, but they didn't buy a ticket and that was likely what they were used to. It was also extremely hot, and there was barely any breeze. As we drove on the attendant passed out immigration papers, and we filled those out. The woman next to me somehow helped me and we actually communicated successfully- not sure how though!

Over time we began to enter more mountainous areas with narrow roads. After a few hours we were randomly stopped and some intimidating looking policeman got onto the bus. I was a bit freaked out, but they simply handed us all brochures instructing us not to litter the highways once we entered Chile? Our next obstacle to overcome now was crossing the border from Bolivia to Chile. Tons of buses were already in line, so we pulled up and parked for a while. The surrounding views of the mountains were amazing! Finally we went through and got our passports stamped. Then, we had to go through the drug and bag screening building. We all threw our bags in a pile and a drug dog walked around sniffing them. Then the bags went through a scanner, and we were all questioned about our belongings. The scanner beeped when John's bag went through, and so the Chilean officer started asking him questions about what set it off. I translated into English for John, and explained to the man in Spanish that it was probably this ornament with seeds in it we bought in Lima. The machine likely thought it was drugs or illegal plants, haha. We dug through and found it, and were given the okay. The officer then randomly started speaking perfect English, and complimented me on my accent and proficiency. I was very flattered!

After several more hours on a bus ride winding down the mountains towards lower elevations and the coast, we had a brief dinner stop overlooking the Andes mountains at sunset. Then, after the 12 hour journey, we finally arrived in the darkness to our destination- Arica, Chile! Earlier, I had told the bus attendant to personally inform me when we stopped at Arica, because everyone else was headed to this other city Iquique and I didn't want him to forget about telling us. Luckily, he listened. We stepped off the bus, had our bags thrown out on the curb, and it drove away. John and I were instantly hounded by cab drivers begging us for business. This one very pushy man followed us around and wouldn't shut up. We couldn't figure out where to go, so we just gave up and let him drive us. We had the directions to our hostel, Arica Surf House, and he claimed he knew where it was. He drove into the city, and stopped at this hotel that was not at all what we told him. He got out and tried to make us get off and stay there. He then acted like he didn't know where the street was we had been telling him. It was a bit sketchy. I yelled at him and firmly said, "no, we need to go to our hostel. We have reservations." I knew he probably had a friend who owned the hotel we were at, and he was trying to trick us to stay there so he'd get some reward. So then he lied and was all "oh, I didn't know you had reservaions!" Then, after telling us he didn't know where our hostel was, he suddenly remembered and drove us there without any problems. Shady! He also overcharged us, but we didn't feel like dealing with him anymore. (Pink line on map shows our route)

Finally, we entered the long awaited paradise of Arica Surf House Hostel. It was a cool, breezy evening, and the hostel is mainly open air. It had a great atmosphere and was decorated with surfboards and canvases on the ceiling. The common area had a kitchen, computers, TV, couches, and ping-pong. It was a great place overall. The owner also spoke fluent English and was very friendly and helpful. We checked into our room and I almost cried from happiness when I saw a shower. It was the best thing ever. I have never loved a shower more in my life.

Day 17- Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

At 4am John, Emma, Jo and I woke up and struggled to pack our backpacks up in the darkness. Luckily everyone had a flashlight! We walked outside and it was surprisingly cold considering we were basically in a desert. Andrés loaded up all the bags and we headed out from the hostel. There was a really disgusting, moldy smell in the car though. I'm still not sure what it was, but it was sick! Us girls in the back had to cover our faces for most of the ride. It was still dark, and that was because our first stop was at an area of geysers known as the Sol de Mañana geyser basin, and the geysers are most active early in the morning (hence the early wake up call). My guidebook describes the area well: "The main interest here is the 16,000 feet above sea-level geyser basin with bubbling mud pots, hellish fumaroles, and the thick aroma of sulfur fumes". We all stood around and watched the geysers shooting up steam and water with the sunrise in the background- it was amazing! This area is known as the "geothermal hotbed of Bolivia" due to all the underground activity from the volcanoes and such. It reminds me a bit of Yellowstone in the US. It was also the most crowded place I'd seen in days, many of jeeps were there in addition to our own.

Geysers in the morning

After the sun rose, we drove on to another area filled with active geysers. I was a bit surprised at the lack of rules or restrictions around them, because they could potentially be very dangerous. People were stepping on them and getting uncomfortably close, and some people got splashed. Also if you stood at certain parts, the sand would start to sink in a little, and it would be all too easy to slide down and fall onto one. My guide book says "approach the sites cautiously; any damp or cracked earth is dangerous and cave-ins do occur. Serious burns have been reported by tourists." People never listen! Anyways, these geysers were even taller and more bubbly than the first ones, and despite watching dumb people be risky, it was amazing!

After that, we were off to our next destination- the natural hot springs known as Las Termas de Polques. Although everyone was talking about bathing in them, it was so cold us girls couldn't imagine putting on a swimsuit, plus I didn't have a towel handy. When we arrived there was a decent crowd of people, and at 6am all the Brazilian girls climbed in the water sporting their lovely not-leaving-much-to-the-imagination style bikinis. Actually that choice of swimsuit seemed to be the trend there, haha. Some of our group ended up swimming, and the rest of us just put our feet in. It felt great, plus the view was fantastic. After a quick breakfast consisting of stale rolls, we were back in the car for another long stretch of bumpy driving.

Most of us slept, somehow, during this portion of the trip. Our next destination is known as Laguna Verde, and it is another beautiful multi-colored lake. In the background was the giant Volcano Licancabur. It is very popular for people to climb actually. We learned that in pre-Incan times the top of the volcano was a site where the locals made human sacrifices for the Pachamama (Mother Earth)! Crazy stuff. After we took a group photo, we drove on through an area filled with randomly placed, crazily shaped rocks everywhere. They're known as the Rocas de Dalí since they look like they came out of one of Salvador Dalí's surrealistic paintings. They look like someone just stacked together several individual stones, so it's weird to think they are naturally formed. We also drove by a rock that looked like the Devil's face, it was a bit creepy actually. The area we drove through after Laguna Verde is described as one of Bolivia's "harshest wilderness regions", and I can see why. Our next stop was at the Chilean border. At the border crossing office travelers had the option to take the jeep back to Uyuni, or to continue on to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. At this point Yuri left our group to go climb the volcano with some friends, and Emma and Jo left on their way to Chile. I was sad to see everyone go, we all had so much fun together!

After that, there were only four of us passengers left in the car. It was much more spacious, but still an incredibly bumpy and long lasting drive. We continued on past more strange and interesting sights until we arrived at another tiny town for lunch. I find it interesting that throughout this whole trip, whenever you have to pay to use a restroom (the majority of times) you never get paper or soap. When it's free though, you usually do. Odd. After we left, there were hours more of driving. We didn't stop at all, except to help other stranded broken jeeps along the way or change tires. Once we were nearing Uyuni again a storm set in. Because of the flat terrain of the altiplano you could see how far the clouds went on, and which way it headed. It looked like a bad storm, and with the heavy rain I was a little worried about our bags on the roof. Despite the bad weather, we stopped at one last place called the Train Graveyard, or Cementario de Los Trenes. Out there un the middle of the Salar there are just tons of abandoned trains sitting there. No tracks. It was a little creepy feeling. John loved it. As he put it "there was a large silver boom at the turn of the century causing explosive expansion in Bolivia, but once the silver mines 'dried up' there was not a need for the large train network they built. The leftovers were then parked in one place to spend eternity. This allowed for some creepily awesome pictures."

The storm finally died down, and we arrived back in Uyuni. The streets were all uneven and there were massive puddles everywhere- walking was interesting. We headed to an Internet cafe with the world's slowest connection, and then had lunch at this little place. For some reason, it was really dark in there. Also, our server was a 10 year old boy, and John got his food and ate it before mine was even brought out, haha. Our next task was to find the bus station in the town. We started walking, and realized it wasn't where we thought. We were a little lost, and continued wandering around for a while until we finally found it. As usual, it was a place of confusion and disorganization. It was very crowded, and local traditionally dressed women were loading multiple giant bags of seeds and crates of food into the storage compartment at the bottom of our bus. I was surprised they don't have bag limits.

Finally, John and I sat in our seats. During the whole ride people were standing in the aisles of the little bus though. I think it's a normal custom in Bolivia to let people without tickets just stand up in the aisle on the bus if they pay the driver a little bit. It was aggravating, plus being that close to someone's armpit who doesn't use deoderant can be pleasant. Our overnight bus, en route to Oruro, also stopped continuously about once every 20 minutes it seemed to pick up random locals and drop off the people in the aisles. To top it all off, they had loud and cheesy hispanic music blaring on the bus speakers all night. Luckily, it kept cutting out. Also the bathroom on our bus broke, and we never made any stops or breaks, so at one point I had to get creative. This "creativity" involved the middle of some dark Bolivian street behind the bus. Anyways, as you can imagine, sleeping was a bit tricky. As a side note, John and I hadn't showered in about 3 days, so I know that we looked and smelled amazing, haha!

To sum up our time at the Salt Flats, John's journal entry does a good job: "The Salar is home to many salt hotels and adventure seeking tourists. There were not many older people on the Salar, I believe due to the bone rattling 4x4 rides. This was three days of the bumpiest ride of my life (I couldn't even read a book it was so bumpy). Everything was covered in salt and dust, but I loved it."