30/03/23

I will be picked up at 7:00 a.m. with the sprinter. As driver Max collects the other tourists, he reminds them meticulously of the seatbelt requirement in Chile: “In Chile seatbelt mandatory, Bolivia no, Bolivians are immortals.”

At the border, we will be unloaded and should gather in groups for the off-road vehicles. I team up with Harry (British), Anthony (Australian), and the German couple Melina and Chris. After a breakfast with plenty of avocado, we get into the old Lexus 4x4. It turns out that our Bolivian driver Josimar speaks as little English as the other passengers speak Spanish, which is why I act as an interpreter. That's why I also sit in the front hehe.

We drive through amazingly diverse landscapes with various lagoons, mountain panoramas, and animals. Josimar gives us coca leaves against the altitude headaches, the base altitude of the tour is about 3,600 m.

Before lunch, we visit a hot spring overlooking the lagoon, occasionally seeing flamingos.

After lunch, we head up to the Sol de Mañana geyser field, located on a 4,900 m high volcanic crater. Afterwards, we all crack a round, the hot spring and the altitude are quite exhausting.

Then we spot hundreds of flamingos in the Laguna Colorada.

I show driver Josimar German techno music - “me gusta”. He likes fast music, it keeps him from falling asleep, he says, cheeks bulging with coca leaves.

In the evening, we arrive in the village of Villamar, staying in a hostel with the simplest standards. One out of three toilets works and there is a moldy shower for the whole floor with about 20 people.