Three Days Exploring Bolivia's Remote Andean Regions (Part 3)

Hola everyone! This was our final day of adventures in the department of Potosi. We woke up early that day to incredibly cold weather! Our last day in Potosi was probably the windiest and chilliest yet, but that didn't stop us from visiting its great geysers! The ground was covered with icy snow and dirt, and the air with mist and sulfuric fumes from the geysers and its boiling waters. It was truly like being in another planet, so remote, freezing, and misty was the landscape.

A lovely sunrise.

The first geyser we saw!

In the middle of the snow, mist, and geysers we  found boiling pools of water.

Strangers in a strange land! The air smelled of sulfur.

Our furthest stop south before turning back was La Laguna Verde (The Green Lake). The color of the lake can be affected by the winds, and sometimes changes color throughout the day. When we arrived, it was an aqua, bluish-green color. Copper and arsenic give it this tint, and prevent life from existing there.

After La Laguna Verde, we started driving northwards on a different route. Eventually, the landscape became less of barren mountains threaded with snow, and more of sloping hills and valleys covered with shrubbery. Along the way we saw a "zorro andino " (Andean fox), and a couple of ñandus, smaller cousins of the ostrich. We all marveled at how much wildlife we were able to spot in these remote regions!

That afternoon on our way back, we made a brief stop at the Desert of Salvador Dali. They named the desert after him because the landscape looks like something out of his distorted painting style. Afterward we stopped at a place that looked like a city, or maze of larger-than-life boulders. The Locklin kids had a blast rock-climbing that afternoon :)

The Desert of Salvador Dali.

My mom and I peeking out :)

The green mass you see is a yareta, an Andean plant

that looks like stone. 

Jonathan and our traveling companion

Lars are obviously not afraid of heights!

Next we stopped at a roadside memorial commemorating the only battle Bolivia won against Chile in the War of the Pacific. This war was won by Chile, and they took away the strip of Bolivia that connected its people to the sea. That's why Bolivia is a land-locked country to this day. Though unfortunate, if Bolivia had lost that one battle Chile would have probably taken Uyuni's salt flat. 

After stopping at a small mining town called St. Cristobal, and driving for two hours, we finally arrived in Uyuni. We spent another night there, and the next morning returned by plane to La Paz. Fast forward three days, and we've now spent them with family. In only a short while, we have seen all our close relatives on my mother's side and have thoroughly enjoyed their company! We will miss them, but are eager to return to normal life in our home sweet home, Jacksonville, Florida. Now I'll not only be saying "Adios for now!" to ya'll, but "Adios for now!" to all our awesome, beloved family here. Our adventure in Bolivia is drawing to a close! Adios for now :)