Bolivia, 2001

Bolivia, 2001        Home

The Bolivian Southwest

Index 

Copyright: Jim Ciotti, 2001 

August 22, 2001

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Traveling in the southwestern corner of Bolivia is not for the faint hearted.  A few weeks ago a man froze to death while attempting to seek help after his truck broke down on the Salar de Uyuni; a group of tourists told us that when their vehicle broke down, their guide got drunk and abandoned them.  Only few Bolivians live in the region because it is dry, cold, windy, and mean.  The few towns are small and non-descript.  The roads are dirt paths strewn with rocks.  The accommodations...basic.  And yet, thousands of westerners venture into this inhospitable land because it presents a unique and striking landscape.  It is a region where the high, arid Altiplano gives way to vast salt flats and an even higher land cluttered with snow capped peaks, Daliesque rock formations, geysers, and thermal springs.  The lakes here come in a rainbow of colors, made red, blue, green, maroon, and white by blends of copper, borax, sulfur and algae - surprisingly, large flocks of flamingoes live and flourish in these toxic, frigid waters.  We thought we knew what to expect here, but around every corner was something startlingly unexpected.

Jim (and Anne)

Bolivia, 2001        Home