A Night at 16,000 ft

I just got back from a 4 day jeep tour thourgh the Salar de Uyuni, which winds through the high altitude mountains in the Southwest corner of Bolivia. We saw some amazing stuff, but it feels very nice to have technology again. Not just computers, but paved roads, flush toilets, hot water, and 24 hr electricity! One of the craziest nights was the one we spent at just under 5,000 meters, which is about 16,000 ft. To give that a little perspective, Denver, the ¨mile high¨city, is 5,280 ft.

From Salar de Uyun...

Before leaving the country we both got a perscription for Diamox, which is supposed to help with alititude sickness. However, the side affects from it (frequent urination, dizzyness, tingling in the hands and feet) were worse than any problems we had from the alititude. The Bolivian remedy for alitutde sickness is coca leaves, which are legal in Bolivia and Peru. Basically, you chew on the dry leaves along with a little pinch of catalyst (sweet, sticky, goo). Every time I started to get a bit of a headache from the altitude, I had a couple leaves. I didn´t really notice much from the leaves, except a slight tingling in my mouth. I definately noticed getting out of breath quicker from the altitude, but I never had any real issues.

From Salar de Uyun...

One of the things I quickly learned about high altitudes is that they tend to be extremely cold and windy. On top of that, from what I´ve seen so far, heated buildings seem to be somewhat rare in Bolivia. Most of the places we stayed were just a big room filled with twin beds. The beds have really nice, warm blankets, and on top of that we would put our sleeping bags under the covers to stay as toasty as possible. That night at 5,000 m we were very excited that our ¨hotel¨ had a room between the bedroom and the outside, which added an extra barrier of warmth. In addition, that exterior room had a little furnance! However, we learned that at such high altitudes, it is somewhat difficult to get a fire going because there is so little oxygen in the air. They had to coat each piece of wood in gasoline to get them going!

From Salar de Uyun...

One of the neatest things I noticed at high altitudes was while I was tucked away in my sleeping bag, hiding from the cold. Dan and I had rented bags from the tour company and mine was lined with black fleece. I´m not sure if it was the altitude, dry air, or what, but every time I brushed my fingers across the fleece, I could see a little trail of sparks. It was almost likely being in my own little Bioluminescent Bay.


I mentioned that the sparks in my sleeping bag were neat, but some of the other things we saw on the tour were flat out amazing. Words really can´t describe it, but here are a few pictures (or click here to view the entire album):












In addition to all of the beautiful landscapes we saw, I was also amazed by all the natural resources there are in the mountains of Bolivia. We passed by a giant lake/field of Borax, another of some ingredient commonly used in shampoo, and of course, an enourmous field of salt (bigger than Lake Titikaka). The salt plains looked like giant fields of snow, but it was actually just salt. Apparently, many of the lakes in the area evaporate over time, leaving behind useful minerals just waiting to be scooped up into a truck.

From Salar de Uyun...