1 Lake 2 Lake, Red Lake, Blue Lake

Well, Bolivia really ended with a bang. We joined a three-day tour with two gals from Australia and a guy from Japan. We crossed salt-flats and desert over the next two days, and saw sights I have never seen before! The salt flats are literally miles and miles of flat plains made of salt. Some of this salt is processed by locals into what we use on our dinner tables! Years ago ocean water collected here, and when it dried up they were left with the plains that remain today. If felt weird driving across the plains, it was hard to convince myself that I wasn´t driving across a frozen lake! Here are some pictures, quite a phenomenon:

After a night in a fly-infested room (they didn´t move from the ceiling, only threatened), the next day was my birthday!!! Here are some "firsts" I experienced on my birthday:

Driving across a desert with snow capped peaks in the distanceSeeing flamingoes! (three different species)

Seeing a red lake (there were blue and green lakes, too)

Witnessed groups of vecuñas (wild llama/deer-like animals)

Our group had a great evening drinking wine, playing cards, and laughing our heads off! And to top it off, the next day we got up early in the morning to see geysers and bathe in natural hot springs! Covered in sulfur from the hot springs, we headed to the border of Chile where the tour ended. From there we caught a bus that was to take us to San Pedro, Chile, where we planned to spend the weekend before heading to Salta, Argentina. As we were getting our passports stamped in Chile, we saw a bus on the other side of the road heading to Salta. On a whim, we decided to skip San Pedro and hopped on that 10 hour bus ride to Salta! That made it three countries on one day : )

Entering Argentina has been quite a culture shock. I could tell as soon as we crossed the border that this country was different - the streets were paved (with white and yellow lines), there are guard rails on hairpin turns and they even have street lights! (FACT: only 5% of the roads in Bolivia are paved.) As we made our way further in it really started to remind me of home - neighborhoods, painted houses, trees, and no llamas! Now, walking on the streets of Salta is a very welcome surprise. I never realized how much I missed store-front window displays until now. And since I mistakenly sent our bathing suits and towels on the bus heading to Chile, we´re going to go shopping! In real stores with walls and windows! I can´t wait. Yesterday we had fresh milk for the first time, and even though I´m not a big beef eater, I can´t wait for a hamburger with real beef! We had a delicious Easter meal today, too, so much flavor! I´m in heaven. Can´t wait to head to the Argentine wine country later this week!

Keep the emails and comments coming, Happy Easter,
Joan