Part travelogue, part love story, this weblog follows Josh Renaud's trips to Bolivia. Since marrying his Bolivian fianceé, Yoli Zegarra, they have had four kids — with whom they now travel to Bolivia.
In the morning, Yoli and I headed to Avenida Ferroviaria to find a tour company.
I had researched tours online before our trip, and was leaning toward either Salty Desert Aventours, Lonely Planet’s top recommendation, or Skyline Traveller, which had a good Facebook presence and many nice reviews. After visiting the offices of both companies and asking a bunch of questions, we chose Salty Desert. We paid them 5,400 Bs for a private tour for five people with a Spanish-speaking guide. (This was 200 Bs lower than they quoted me online before the trip). This included meals and accommodations, but didn’t cover entrance fees and taxes we had to pay to enter certain sites and national reserves.
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.
Last night Yoli and I watched a movie called “Blackthorn.” The premise is that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were not killed at San Vincente, Bolivia in 1908. The film follows Cassidy around 1928 as he prepares to come back to the United States.
It’s a great western, with action and twists. But the best part is that it was filmed mostly in Bolivia and has Bolivian actors in it.
I have seen Robert Redford’s version of the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with Yoli, and it’s kind of pitiful the way all the Bolivia scenes were filmed in Mexico. Similar deal with the recent “James Bond ‘Quantum of Solace’ film”:http://joshrenaud.com/bolivia/archives/2008/11/james_bond_movi.html — all the Bolivian scenes were filmed in other countries, and the actors weren’t Bolivian.
“Blackthorn” shows off some of Bolivia’s most beautiful features, including the “Salar de”:http://joshrenaud.com/bolivia/archives/2005/01/the_greatest_salt_lake_uyuni.html “Uyuni”:http://joshrenaud.com/bolivia/archives/2005/01/photos_salar_de_uyuni.html, which I visited with Yoli in 2005. Cassidy has a ranch, possibly in Chuquisaca, and visits “Potosi”:http://joshrenaud.com/bolivia/archives/2005/01/photos_potos.html and “Oruro”:http://joshrenaud.com/bolivia/archives/2005/01/photos_oruro.html among other places. The amazing landscapes and towns really make you feel like you’re in the right time period, and it also gives this western a different vibe (Bolivia has a different look than the American west).
The cast includes many Bolivians, and the story takes into account Bolivia’s history. Mining and colonialism definitely figure into it.
Before we started our tour of the actual Salar de Uyuni, the driver first took us to see two nearby lagoons, which were right next to each other; one saltwater, the other freshwater. This is a closeup of the saltwater lagoon.
Sorry, Utah, but Uyuni has you beat. The world’s biggest and highest salt lake is the Salar de Uyuni in southwest Bolivia. We went there, and it was a wonder to behold.
