I remember vividly it was 23rd of December I opened my lovely fly4free and there they were… cheap tickets to South America! From Italy, but who cares! It’s so easy to get to Italy from Bulgaria. Then I was like in coma and when I woke up I already had tickets from Sofia to Rio de Janeiro for 2 weeks in May.
After that I completely forgot about it for a couple of months until the time came to plan these 2 weeks. Of course there’s Iguazu. But to spend whole 2 weeks only in Brazil was unbearable when there’s Salar de Uyuni or Machu-Picchu at the same continent! Even though South America seemed so small I understood that I have time for only one of these. So the choice was really hard, but Uyuni was more interesting and a bit closer. 🙂 That is how the Brazilian trip was expanded on Bolivia, northern Chile and Argentina. And here is the programme day by day:
5th of May – Friday night after the workweek I had a flight to Bologna [20:55 – 21:40]. Stopover in one of the hostels Albergo Pallone – not because it’s good, but because it was the cheapest. Even with breakfast included (that they don’t serve at 5 a.m.!).
6th of May – airport day! As it turned out to get to La Paz from Rio is a huuuuge challenge. And to make it as cheap as possible for my dates there was an option only with 2 stopovers! So it was the longest Saturday I’d ever had! I checked in in 4 new airports and full trip was: Bologna ⇒ Madrid [07:00 – 09:25] ⇒ Rio de Janeiro [11:50 – 17:45] ⇒ São Paulo [19:05 – 20:20] ⇒ Santiago de Chile [21:50 – 02:20] ⇒ La Paz [06:45 – 08:45]. Finally! How do people say, no rest for the wicked? 🙂
7th of May – day in La Paz.
For your information – La Paz is situated at an elevation of 3600 meters, and all the Bolivian guidebooks frighten tourists with the altitude sickness at such a height. I thought that after 6 flights I would have and with the 8-hour jet lag I was gonna die at the pass control in the airport. But just in case I booked free walking tour with the Red cap guys. What if I’m still alive and have to entertain myself in the new city? As it turned out I sleep like a log on a plane (once I even missed the food!). There was no sign of an altitude sickness or a jet lag. So, I had breakfast, booked the bus tickets to Uyuni, walked with a tour, tasted llama meat at lunch and even rode a cable car!
Cable car in La Paz is the highest in the world and it takes you up to 4150 meters above the sea level! It was one of the first used for urban transit. And as wikipedia says if in other cities cable cars were used as additional means of public transport – in La Paz it was the first and only. I think I spend more than 2 hours riding different lines and by 8 p.m. I’d seen enough and it was time to go to Uyuni. By the way, the Trans Omar bus that took me to Uyuni was really good and comfortable with cama seats [cama means bed], after all my flights it was like a 5-star hotel! 🙂
8th of May – finally I’m in Uyuni! At 5.30 a.m.! And the most interesting part of the journey was about to start – I needed to choose the company for the Salar de Uyuni tour. I read so many reviews back home, but hadn’t decided yet. Many tourists wrote that it’s better not to buy anything in advance, as you may stuck on the halfway from La Paz as the busses and the roads are not so good and you’ll be late for the tour. This was enough for me to stop looking for a tour at home. But here at 5 a.m. in such a perishing cold [the altitude is 3670 meters] to choose something……. And I chose breakfast! Coffee should have helped! Fortunately, some kind people told me about Breakfast Nonis that was open so early. And there was coffee, food, wi-fi and other tourists. I met one couple who had been travelling for a year all over the world and with them I went to the tour. We picked Andes Salt Expeditions – 3 day tour for 650 bob – highly recommended!
First day programme included locomotive cemetery near the Uyuni and the Salar: salt flats, salt museum, salt hotel, salt salt and some more salt!
9th of May – the second day of the tour. There were no more salt, today was lagoon-day. We’ve started with the Ollagüe volcano viewpoint, that is almost at the border with Chile. It looked like the surface of Mars. Believe me – I’ve seen the Martian with Matt Damon! It’s a pity we had only one hour to walk around as we had to go to a lagoon valley. Well, to call it valley is to overstate it a bit – there’s only 4 lagoons. But anyway it’s an interesting experience! At one of them I even managed to frighten the flock of flamingos and on another one we had amazing lunch with a view! All the food for the 3 day tour is included to the price and it’s coming all the way from Uyuni with you in the car. 🙂
After that there was one more interesting place – a desert with the stone formations. This place is called Arbol de Pierda, from Spanish it’s Stone tree, because one of the stones looks like a tree (I would argue with that). And the final stop was another lagoon – Colorada. This name comes also from Spanish and means Red – because of the colour of the water in it. By the way it’s included to the The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat. Who would have thought that this kind of convention exists!
10th of May – the third day of the tour. I’d better say half-day as then I was not going back to Uyuni, but headed to Chile! We started really early, around 4 a.m. to be in time on the geysers Sol de Manana when the sun rises. As it was early morning and the elevation was 4850 meters I put on all my clothes but was freeeeezing! Anyway it didn’t stop me from taking hundreds of pictures of geysers.
Then was the warmest place of the tour – a thermal spring Polkes. Let me draw the picture for you. It’s around 6 a.m., the altitude is almost 5000 metres, the wind is really strong, and you have an amazing opportunity to get to the small pool with another 20 tourists, who haven’t had a shower for the last couple of days…. It was tempting, but I courageously refused!
And the final stop of the tour for those who’s going to Chile was one more lagoon – Verde with Licancabur volcano at the background. According to experts and those who writes articles in Wiki, in this place was documented the highest level of ultraviolet radiation ever! I guess that’s why we spent so little time there.
And now the time came to go to Chile! As all other guys from our jeep went back to Uyuni I had to change the car. It took us about 15 minutes to get to the border, and then 45 more to go thorough the pass control. I didn’t know that it cost 15 bob to get out of Bolivia. Seems like this money goes directly to the customs police… Anyway, around noon I was in San Pedro de Atacama! My original plan here was to buy bus tickets to Argentina, then get to the hostel and finally get some decent sleep after the Uyuni tour. As it turned out there were sooooo many cool places in Atacama, that I booked one 5-hour tour to the Valley de la Luna and after that had an amazing dinner in Barros Cafe. I will write separately about the Moon Valley, but about the cafe can say that it was the best seafood quinoato in my live! Maybe because it was the first and only. 🙂
11th of May – the calmest day in my South America trip – Chile-Argentina bus ride. Of course when I got to Chile the day before I was thinking that I’d love to spend here a couple more days. But according to my plan I needed to be in Salta for the flight the next day. By the way, if you buy tickets between 2 countries in South America it will cost you 4 times more than if it’s in one country. Originally I wanted to fly from Chile to Argentina, but it was like 800$. 10-hour bus ride to Argentina saved me 600$.
12th of May – after lunch I had a flight to Puerto Iguazu so half the day I spent walking around Argentinian Salta. It seems like the most boring city in South America for me so far. The coolest thing there is a cable car and the park nearby! That’s where I’ve spent most of the time. My backpack I left at the hostel, and asked the girl at the reception call for a taxi to the airport for me. Sounds like my Spanish gets better and better! I arrived to Puerto Iguazu just in time to see the sunset at the border of 3 countries: Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. And then it was the right time to find some fancy place for a dinner. La Vaca Enamorada seemed good enough.
13th of May – Argentinian side of Iguazu falls. My hostel in Puerto Iguazu was just around the corner from the bus station. It was sooo convenient as you can get to the bus right from your bed. And now about the waterfalls – it’s something indescribable! I’d never seen anything like this before. And the main advantage of Argentinian side is that you can walk anywhere you want: on the path below the falls, above the falls, you can go to the island in the middle or get to the Devil’s throat! There’s a train that gets you right in front of it. That is the place where you get all soaked to the skin! As I was already all dripping wet I wasn’t even worrying when tropic thunder started. I just slid into the Aqva restaurant to get another amazing steak!
14th of May – Brazilian side of Iguazu falls. Thanks God there’s a bus to Brazil from the same bus station (that is twice as cheap, by the way)! So, I had the same plan – from the bad right to the bus. People say that Argentinian side is more interesting and breathtaking as you’re just a step away from the falls. Whereas on Brazilian side there are only panoramic views and that’s it. I don’t know what is wrong with me but I spent more time on Brazilian side. The weather was amazing and there were rainbows everywhere!
Also wanna say a couple of words about the Bird Park on the Brazilian side that is just across the road from the entrance to the falls. Even though I’m not a big fan of birds (not even small fan) I’d really recommend to check it out. Look at my face! It’s the best indicator of how cool the park is!
15th of May – final flight to Rio! The day before in Foz do Iguaçu I checked in at the one and only hotel during the whole South America trip. You should have seen how much I ate at breakfast! Anyway, I had one more activity to do before heading to Rio – helicopter flight over the Iguazu falls! Unfortunately, so early in the morning I was the only one interested in it. And the only company doing this flights asks for at least 3 people. The fact that I ate like 3 huge guys at the breakfast didn’t help. At all. That was very disappointing, but I had no more time to wait. So I had to content with the usual plane flight to Rio. My hostel for the next 5 nights was near the Copacabana beach, so after the flight I had the time only to walk around this neighborhood.
16th of May – from that day I wasn’t hurrying anywhere at all and was just enjoying Rio. In the morning I had free walking tour in the city center, then I went to the Museum of Tomorrow (luckily on Tuesdays they have free entrance). I really liked the place – very informative and interesting if you do care about our planet and wanna know how do people ruining it and how you can preserve what have left. After lunch I went to another famous beach – Ipanema. That was one of the most picturesque sunset!
17th of May – Christ the Redeemer day. Now I can admit that this was the most wanted place for me in Rio. After all these Brazilian TV series that we all watched I wanted to see it with my own eyes!! I read about the tram that goes up to Corcovado, but first you have to get to the station and it’s not that easy. Fortunately, there are companies that organize the whole trip right from the Copacabana and it turn out to be way faster and cheaper. One hour in a bus and I am at the foot of the statue! As well as other hundreds of people… 🙂 Anyway the Christ is awesome as the view of the city. I almost cried! Also I got to another view point – Mirante Dona Marta – that’s where you see the most popular view to Botafogo bay.
18th of May – the most productive day in Rio. Early in the morning I had a tour to one of the favelas – Rocinha. This is the biggest one in Rio. No one else wanted to go the tour so I had a private one with a local guide! 2 hours flew by and then I had the most thrilling experience – helicopter flight over Rio! I’ve chosen Heli Sun company and was more than happy with them. Not only that they organized the transfer from the hotel, but also after the flight they took me to the Botanical garden! And the coolest thing is that I was the only passenger with a cute pilot! 🙂 Half an hour of unbelievable experience for 630 reals. Highly recommended!
19th of May – the only rainy day in 2 weeks. Because of it I had a pretty calm day starting with another free walking tour in the Praça Mauá area. All that I remember now is awesome graffiti. After the tour I went to the AquaRio as I thought that in Rio they should have like the best aquarium in the world. As it turned out in Russia we have way better ones! It was such a waste of money. I’d better spend these 80 reals on caipirinha.
20th of May – the last Rio adventure – Sugar loaf. As I do love any kinds of cable cars I left the best activity for the last day. Thanks God there was no rain this day, so all the way from Copacabana to the Sugar loaf I went on foot saying good buy to Rio. The ride itself was very interesting especially because of the fog. The main station was not seen at all. 🙂
21th of May – going back home day. 3 more flight for my flight diary and many hours spent looking through all the photos for the last 2 weeks. It seemed like the most adventurous trip I’ve ever had and would definitely come back to South America again !