Tag: bolivia

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Geysers, hot springs and a black lagoon: Our adventure concludes

The wake-up call came very early — 4:30 a.m. — for the final day of our tour. We ate a simple and quick breakfast, used the bathroom, then headed to the 4×4.

Jafet took us to a place near the Sol de Mañana geysers to watch the sunrise. The landscape was very Mars-like: red and orange dirt, small rocks, and distant mountains. The stars were still out, and gold-and-pink glow began rising over the mountains on the horizon. This, Jafet said, was the highest point we would reach on the tour: 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) above sea level. Down the road we could make out the tops of the vapor streams of the geysers.

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Getting there: Making our way to Uyuni

We walk across the tarmac after taking our first intra-Bolivia flight from Santa Cruz to Sucre.

Our goal for Day 2 of our Bolivia trip was to get from Santa Cruz in the lowlands up to the town of Uyuni in the altiplano. From there, we would set out a three-day adventure on the great Salar de Uyuni, a vast salt flat, and nearby deserts. Yoli and I had previously visited the salar on a one-day tour as part of our epic trip across Bolivia’s altiplano cities about 18 years ago.

But this time would be different. We were bringing the whole family, taking a three-day tour, and coming during the dry winter season, rather than the wet summer season.

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Back in Bolivia, 2023 edition

Our family poses at Laguna Hedionda.

It’s been a few years since our last full-family Bolivian adventure. But we’re back!

From the beginning, we knew this journey would be quite different from the others we’ve made here. In the years since our last full-family trip …

  • We lost our oldest daughter, Jadzia, as well as Yoli’s dad, Don Hector
  • We gained new family members, including Melany’s husband, Ariel; and their son, Adrian.
  • American Airlines stopped flying to Bolivia
  • Santa Cruz has kept modernizing, changing some of the old patterns we were familiar with.

Since our children are now old enough to really remember this trip — and Ludi will be finishing high school before we know it — we thought now was the time to try taking a big adventure outside of Santa Cruz. We had to scale back our early ambitions of touring several cities in the altiplano, and instead we settled on taking a three-day tour in the Salar de Uyuni and its surrounding deserts.

In the past, I have often tried to blog in real time during our trips. That hasn’t really worked out this time. We’ve had little or no internet access for most of the first 10 days of the trip.

Instead, over the next few days I plan to share a retrospective account of our Uyuni trip, and then give a few updates later about our time in Santa Cruz visiting friends and family.

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Walking the tarmac

Photo of our airplane, taken from the tarmac.

Our plane trip to Miami went well for the most part. Of course there was the requisite waiting in various lines for lengthy periods of time. But one thing was very different: we got to walk on the tarmac and climb the stairs to get into the airplane, like they used to do in the old days. I guess something was wrong with the jetway. However, before I could get to the tarmac, I was informed I had been selected for extra screening. So Yoli and the kids walked on, while I stayed behind to take my shoes off and let a security person swab my clothes and luggages checking for contraband substances.

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Singing, catching, praying

View of the church service at iglesia Esmirna.

It was hard to wake up Sunday after the late quinceañera. But church is important, and I want our kids to have a different experience of church than what they get back home.

Yoli’s old church, Esmirna, is right next door to her dad’s house. It’s a small neighborhood church full of people Yoli has known since she was young. Though I don’t really know any of them, I recognize many, and I know some names.

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Lights out!

Alcides, Aby, Noemi at Aby’s quinceañera

A quinceañera can be a major production. This year it was Aby’s turn, the daughter of Noemi and Alcides. We had swept and mopped, and later set up the tables and chairs.

Then came my favorite part of any special event: forcing my kids to shower and wear dress clothes.

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