It was always a welcome sight to see the cookies, tea, and coffee waiting for us after a long day of driving and frigid weather. By day 2 we felt disgusting with a thick layer of dust plastered to our clothing. The pro to the cold weather meant sweat was not a problem (i.e. nobody smelled bad).
The highlight of these tea sessions was this plant below. The green leaves are coca, used for making tea, coca cola, and cocaine among its many other uses. But next to that is shrubby light green plant whose name has escaped me. It could be rosemary for all I know but it added a nice almost sweet but minty flavor with claims of helping combat altitude sickness. By the way, to the right of the tea is the book The Damage Done,
which I recommend for quick read about life in a Thailand prison.
Next up I want to demonstrate how cold it really was in Southwestern Bolivia. Take my basketball short for instance. After swimming in the hot springs with them I had left it to dry in our jeep overnight. The next morning I awoke to a frozen fair of shorts. Literally a block of ice.
This next day of the tour began with more lakes and pink flamingos.
Odd rock formations.
and dangerous places!
We began our approach to the salt fields finally reaching flat ground but no salt yet.
Again another long day only reaching our hotel at dusk.
Shayne Beesmer says
Your blog is superb. Great work!