Engagement, Salt Flats and Wine Tours, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile

Cush & I at the site of the proposal

Salt Flats Tour, Bolivia

We had been going full steam since arriving in La Paz, but there was one last thing I had to do before heading south. The high altitude city has been Cushla’s most anticipated destination of the trip, both because of its surrounding and the impending arrival of friends Grace and Jono. To sign off our visit Cush and I headed to the outskirts of town; boarding an extremely overcrowded collectivo bus that required hanging out the doors, to the Valley of the Moon. The dramatic clay landscape provided some truly unique views, not to mention the perfect spot for me to take a knee and propose!!! This was actually the third time I’d tried to propose in the last week, but after a few false starts I finally managed to find a lookout with some privacy and got the job done with a ring I’d purchased in Cusco 3 months ago after sneaking away to a jeweller. It was a massive day for both of us and while I’d done my utmost to make things as romantic as possible, logistics meant our celebratory meal was a milkshake and burger at Wild Rover before boarding an overnight bus to Tupiza. Not perfect, but fitting for our first day of engagement to be spent negotiating buses, cabs, and maps to get to our next awesome adventure.

Cush horseriding in Tupiza

On arrival in Tupiza we were excited about the much talked about horseriding, until I got stuck with a horse who had just given birth. It’s Pony had to follow behind us on the tour and my nag would regularly stop for feedings as we went. Not the kind of high speed horse adventure I was looking for. Still, the canyons were spectacular and with the arrival of Grace and Jono we set about celebrating our engagement!! Tupiza on a Monday night is hardly a party town, but we made the best of things sampling the local vinos in a restaurant until the wee hours.

Cushla feeling the effects on the Salt Flats

Pink Flamingo’s, Salt Flats Tour, Bolivia

Everyone had warned us the salt flats tour involved a lot of driving, what we hadn’t heard about was the altitude, which at times reaches over 5,000m. And nothing magnifies the effects of altitude like a good old fashioned hangover. So we were already on the back foot as we set off for what would become a bit of a battle. The self inflicted health problems soon turned into altitude sickness for Cush in particular and combined with the inevitable sleep apnea from being up so high. Things were looking pretty bad, until we all developed a ‘stomach issue’ which moved it into down right awful category. Hours of driving through a plumbing free landscape with the runs is pretty close to rock bottom but we managed to make the best of it and had some great laughs along the way.

Salt Flats Tour, Bolivia

The tough conditions and looong hours of driving aside, this was an incredible journey. The landscape is huge, dramatic and diverse, constantly changing as you wind your way through the scenic Andes mountain range. There’s a huge variety of wildlife, with the pink flamingo’s taking the cake for the most photogenic. While a bit monotonous, it was a good way to see a different side to a country that takes the cake as the most beautiful I’ve ever been to. If you’re into your photography this would be paradise. We stopped at the salt flats for breakfast at a hotel made of salt, before the traditional random photographs incorporating figurines which was a great laugh.

Tandom Bike time, Mendoza, Argentina

With Bolivia well and truly covered, we made our last long distance trips overnight to reach the Argentinian town of Mendoza. This is where 75% of the Argies wine comes from and with their love of red meat seemed like a great place to spend a few days. The town was a bit rougher than we were expecting, but we were here for the vino and on that front we were not let down. We hired bikes for an afternoon, cycling between various vineyards and an olive/chocolate farm sampling as many varieties as we could get in. The actual wine was all pretty average, but the locations were great and we had a pretty relaxing day biking in the sun and enjoying lunch at a winery.

Photo fun, Salt Flats, Bolivia

With our bellies full of red wine and steak, we set off for the final destination of our South American leg, Santiago Chile. This was really just our exit point so we’d not planned much, but we were both surprised by how nice the city was, and enjoyed a culture that seems very much based around eating out and enjoying themselves. We also found an enormous shopping mall with cheap everything, a god send to two people who haven’t bought new clothes for over a year and pretty much needed to throw away everything in their packs!!

Sunrise on the Salt Flats, Bolivia

Obviously the end of South America brings about some pretty serious reflection about the adventures we’d had; and I’ll write a summary for all that stuff, but to finish off with an engagement and some exciting news to take back to our family and friends in New Zealand was a pretty special way to end this part of the journey. We’ve come a long way from the people who turned up in Mexico City, not knowing a drop of Spanish, feeling complete culture shock without much clue how we were going to survive. Operation don’t get scammed, mugged or killed complete. Next stop, Aotearoa.

Salt Flats Tour, Bolivia

Nights spent – Tupiza – 2, Salt Flats Tour – 3, Mendoza – 3, Chile – 3, plus a couple of overnight bus rides

The Salt Flats – we did our tour through La Torre Tours and couldn’t have asked for anything better. We started in Tupiza which means you’re at the salt flats for sunrise on the last day but I think Uyuni would be just as good a place to start if its on your way

Lunch Break Salt Flats Tour, Bolivia

What grinds my gears – The Argentinian bag tip. Buses here are already exorbitant, before some clown requires separate tips to load your bag onto and off the bus. I could live with this if it meant some quality and speedy service, but because they know they’re getting a tip no matter what they move at a snails pace

We’re not in Kansas anymore – after being given some quick instructions for our horse riding tour, we were quickly handed over to our two guides. One was 12 years old, the other was allegedly 16. They both looked 10 but had apparently already finished their required 3 hours of schooling for the day

High altitude fun on the Salt Flats Tour, Bolivia

Quote of the week – “Wow that went so quickly” – A 26 hour journey now seems like a breeze. That’s when you know you’ve been here a while

Quote of the week 2 – “This is horrible” – Jono on the first day of the jeep tour

Fun Facts – The Bolivian salt flats are 10 times the size of Lake Taupo. It contains the worlds largest reserve of lithium which means your compass is completely useless.

Get a steak – at Don Mario in Mendoza. A massive slab of the good stuff that cooks on a hotplate in front of you, with some blue cheese and red wine for good measure. Ta

Where to stay – Chimbas in Mendoza and La Chimba in Santiago