Salty clouds - Bolivian babies

Slow ride! Take it patiently! Damn right. Bolivian internet sucks! But, apart from an irritatingly slow interconnectedness websitean wants AND needs, Bolivia has been better than I expected. We, meaning Jonathan, I, and our hilariously fun traveling French companion Nordine, have been biting through Bolivia. Yesterday, we awoke early to beat traffic at the border, but had a stupid issue with the sole-working border cheif, who took forever to attend to our needs to cross into Bolivia. It turned out the only thing that was out-of-line was that there were no more GREEN stickers for my passport clearance. So, we waited and waited and he FINALLY found one in a HUGE safe, probably filled with just GREEN stickers. Scared we´d miss the bus to Uyuni, we moved like dogs to the terminal. Amazingly, upon arival, we discovered that the BOlivian time zone is an hour back, giving us just enough time to buy a ticket and hot cinnamon juice and jump on the sketchy looking bus.

You know what, Bolivian buses DO suck! I still cannot believe the trek we did, constantly bumpy, winding up dangerously curvy mountain sides. The desert landscape was empty and pretty much the same the whole way, but twas nice to be on the road. After a strange vomit-like substance flooded the floor, we got some deep naps. After 8 hours, we made it to Uyuni, met two Columbian backpackers and followed them to a nice hostel, where we layed our stuff down - eventually getting 10 hours of sleep. But before that we had a great night.

Imagine a small fried chicken shack filled with Bolivians glued to the TV screen shooting big Hollywood KING KONG into their faces. Yeah, we were into it to. Yay Hollywood...or not.

Later, we followed loud noises and found ourselves inside a humungous packed gymnasium, where the Uyuni girls basketball championship game was in full force. Twas super awesome being part of another communal gathering.

On the record, BOlivian babies are the cutest in the world and I WANT ONE!

Today, we took a tour to the worlds greatest salt flats, which blew our minds to salt crystals. Imagine a vast white desert of salt. Blue sky, white ground. Even the clouds were filled with salt. In the middle of the white desert lies an island of ancient coral reef. Some quick history: the salt flats used to be an ocean tons and tons of years ago, and now it has dried, and on this random huge island, cacti have grown. Crazy views. Beautiful scenery. Lots of pictures and fun. We ate quinua and meat, salad, drank coca cola, and chewed on some coca leaves. Good for digestion and altitude sickness. What a crazy day.

Tonight, soon, very soon, we will take a night bus to La Paz with our crew of 5 and continue to on Copacabana, a Lake Titicaca pueblo. We have a few days to get to Peru, but we´ll make it. The road never ends. We are ready for more.

Shwing!

Bike ride, siesta, flat tire. Damn. I hitched a ride on a motorcycle back to Humahuaca and left my friends with the irritating task of dragging my dead bike. First time riding on the back of a moto. Id do it again.

We are now in La Quica, tippy-top of Argentina, planning our next move, probably to Uyuni, which lies next to the biggest salt flats in the world! We hope for a single day tour. From there, probably La Paz, and we´ll swing around Lake Titicaca to Cuzco. We are confirmed for our trek to Machu Pichu, which makes me feel like hip thrusting the air, which is my current sign of approval.

Jonathan and I have started a rap group called Best Rappers Alive and we rap about mundane, ordinary things. Life is a musical between us. Uh....YEAH!

We stumbled upon some traditional voodoo-like rituals, where little cute delicious brown kids set a giant scarecrow creature on fire. We also received blessing from flower-holding, water-throwing preist. Today, I experienced the coldest shower of my life. New slam poetry. Brain excercises. Siesta fiestas.

Gotta wake up early early to get to Uyuni. So long for now Argentina. Te amo.

DAVE!

Suavedad

Pasta and steak dinner. Red Mendoza wine on the side. The three of us were a great team in the kitchen last night.
This morning - egg omletes with onions, tomatoes, cheese,and avocado.
Fresh cheap empanadas today.
We will rent bikes and ride around Humahuaca, then take a bus to the border in a few hours, and probably stay the night in La Quiaca tonight, and hit the Unuyi salt flats tomorrow, hopefully.

Laundry is done. Clothes are fresh.

Onwards and upwards.

Dave

Rainbow Mountain Boys

Currently in Humahuaca. Purmamarca was beyond words gorgeous. We climbed a tough hill today, had lunch with white wine, and meditated. Fresh air. Rainbow mountains. Whoa...

Met a nice buena onda frenchman today and traveled with him here to Humahuaca and will make dinner soon.

We are getting closer and closer to Bolivia and can see the transformation in the darker faces, dirt roads, prices, etc. People are nice to us. Keeping a watchful eye but having fun.

I am over that stupid sickness and feel GREAT!

Salta was pretty cool. We saw a Incan mummy that blew our minds. My friend Katelyn from Buenos Aires met us at our kick-ass hostel and we got to hang out, dance, groove, be crazy, and enjoy life.

Jonathan and I are practicing more and more Spanish and he is improving/gaining more confidence. I, on the other hand, can speak normally and am so happy to see how I have improved over the past 5 months. I started learning French from our French cutie roommates in Salta, and caught on quickly. I have a thing for languages. It might be my good memory or something else. Whatever it is, I wanna keep going.

Speaking of going, I gotta do just that. Soon, we will hit Bolivia and hopefully see the salt flats before heading towards La Paz and Lake Titicaca. We are confirmed for our Salkantay Trail trek and the light is bright on the horizon.

Sending my love in every direction,
Dave

Flow

I stumble out of the minivan after shaken from a quick nap. Look! Colors! Mountains! Nature! God! Life! Yes!

I had doubts about this excursion, a whole day traveling around nothern Salta and lower Jujuy, pinned inside a minivan. We did get see San Antonio de Los Cobres, an ooold mining town, where we picked up lunch and picnicked on the Salt Flats. Damn. Thats a lot of salt. But, as Jonathan put it, the salt flats were kinda bizzare. Outstrected white canvas with various digging expeditions and random object thrown here and there. We took some amazing photos, continued our ¨Foto loco¨ jumping pose, which continues to be epic everytime. DAMN! I gotta post them soon. Not that easy yet... Anyways. Nature everywhere. 1 day roadtrip. Solid.

Antibiotics! Gotta get this throat healed!

USA won today so we get a FREE night at Backpackers World, AKA the best hostel ever. Such good vibes, backpackers, bar, free dinners, discounts, excursions, and so on.

Tomorrow, we will explore the city of Salta and then head to Purmamarca, a quiet village in Jujuy, by late evening. Never has "going with the flow" made so much sense.

More hot tea and good times ahead.

MUCHO AMOR!
David

Fotos

I have been taking great photos. Once I get time to sit, relax, and upload, I will post em up.

Salty Skies

We made it to Salta. Cutting through colored mountains, thermoses of tea honey lemon explosions. Still, my throat kills. Push forward. Movement. Change. Life. Love. We will probably check out the salt flats tomorrow and skip the Train de los Nubes (a touristicy lookout at the nearby gorges). We will save more intensely colored mountains for La Montana de Siete Colores in Purmamarca in the province of Jujuy. Free breakfast and dinner in Backpackers World Hostel. Argentina continues to dominate in futbol. Spirits are sky high. Mochileros. Folklore. Chivito. Back to more tea.

D