Luna Perspectives

19 Days without laundry
3 Showers in 10 days
4 Consecutive days without a 2sie
26 Hours on a bus in 2 days
23 Hours in a JEEP in 3 days
2 Mexican soap operas that we are now addicted to
7 Times Madonna's Holiday was played in the JEEP
18 Days without a shave



The TURBUS looped a winding trail on to the clustered houses and labyrinth of tight alleys towards La Paz. It was just turning six o'clock in the evening as I shook off the last groans from my sleeping knees and turned up at the heavily guarded door of our proposed hostel for the night, The WildRover. Before settling in and unpacking we consulted a handful of tour operators as to the likelihood of joining a tour of the Bolivian Salt Flats, as we had only four days in Bolivia to play with before our return flight to Santiago. It quickly became apparent that in order to take advantage of the 3 day and 2 night excursion we would need to leave immediately on the eight o'clock overnight bus before reaching Uyuni, where the Salt Flat tours originate for before reaching the cold desert.


The Train Cemetery. Thrilling.



With weary abandon we were back at the bus station, a full two hours after arriving and with only enough time to secure a street sellers banquet of jamon y queso stuffed empanadas. Reaching the backseat of the vehicle it was a surprise to see next to us two Irish girls whom I vaguely recognised from Deco Backpackers in Queenstown. After a swift exchange covering the basics of our recollection from the South Island of New Zealand, we all reclined our seats to the full 140 degree extension and watched Old Dogs featuring the deft comic talents of John Travolta and Robin Williams, hastily dubbed in Spanish. At Uyuni after eleven hours of rocky roads, we were introduced to a ghost town of one storey buildings and a woodworm eaten quality of no redeemable value.



We winced through our animated sign language communication to the non English speaking operator who, I assume, knew very little of what we were trying to say through chattering teeth and expressive gestures as we traced the frost leaving our breath. We managed to plot our route into our JEEP and were introduced to our laid back and stonewashed jean sporting driver, Eddie and our cargo of fellow passengers herded at the back. Jaykar and Anita hailed from London, a delightful couple with a compelling surge of inquiry whilst Alexandria and Zachary, two experienced globetrotters from California, shared a balanced and friendly composition. On route to the train cemetery, our first stop which was as rusty and depleted as the name suggests, our 4 x 4 left a trail of dripping petrol from its underbelly, perhaps in homage to the Gulf of Mexico.


Most drivers have depictions of the Virgin Mary or The Passion. Eddie placed his trust in Caprice.

Eddie, for what would be a continuous practice every half an hour on the road, climbed out of his seat, stalled the engine and with a mysterious combination of waxy cloth and spanner type device, fixed the ghoul within the mechanics so as to keep the journey going. None of us quite knew what our driver was doing, but we soon were at ease once the ignition was rescued after another momentary lapse. Eddie smiled and confidently spouted 'No problem' before blaring out an absolutely intolerable mix tape of lost 80's synth songs which eroded the channels within the ear.



The Salt Flats, a breathing desert of blinding white hexagons and rock formations were lucid amid the sparseness. The horizon merged with the pale blue sky leaving the impression of floating in an empty universe. The group of us, after settling for lunch at Incahuasi (Fish Island - a shrine of lumbering cactus plants) decided to walk on to the desert for an hour to explore the enormity of the plains and we quickly got lost before Eddie finally found us marooned in the white canvas before our supplies of water evaporated alongside our confidence of survival.



Day two, starting at San Juan, a lonely town where our hostel was comprised of salt, we drove in the relative cool air of air conditioning to the Red Lagoon as the scenery changed vividly from desert to volcanoes and carved mountains. The active volcanoes waved a slither of smoke from the crater and the terrain evoked a lunar landscape with the canyons and forgotten amber caves as we reached El Desierto de Siloli and its famous Tree Stone.



Our reward for another day within the confines of our faulty vehicle was a horrific night out in a shambolic hostel where once the sun grew tired, the cruel cold of the desert seeped into the walls and under the doors throughout the night. Sleeping in our Peruvian hats, gloves, socks, three layers of jumpers and jeans was not enough to steer away the chill. After one final pizza in Uyuni to say goodbye to the group, we caught our overnight bus return to La Paz and its lofty heights.


Our new Bolivian mate soon after shared the insides of his gut with the table

With one day to finally complete a cycle of washing, shower, re-charge our i-Pods and ourselves after days in the wilderness, Matty and I stepped into a local den recommended by our guide book where we were promised lunch alongside the locals on Bozo Street. We were not misled, our feast of rice, potatoes and chicken was a simple but tasty affair and a gentlemen, in his fifties perhaps, with indigo ink stained fingers and grey ragged leather features joined our table for lack of space. As if to thank us for our welcoming embrace, he spent the duration of the meal carefully studying our faces in turn before violently vomiting into his hands as the waiter served his main course. The glistening palm with algae coloured flecks from the pits of his stomach were enough for us to softly leave and bid farewell to Bolivia as we walked beyond the stalls of the Witches Market with its llama foetuses drooping from the entrances over green bottles of remedies for almost all the ailments of the body.


The Witches Market featuring an equisite collection of Llama foetuses


i-Pod Song of the Day: Queens of the Stoneage - The Lost Art of Keeping A Secret
Strange how this song was released in 2000 and not a couple of years ago as I imagined. I guess I'm getting older. From the hard edged Rated R album. Top rated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l0nzPpvbFs