so so hight

Location: La Paz Bolivia
Altitude: 3600 meters or 11,800 feet

I may be a colorado girl, but I am dizzy. Regardless, today was incredible. We began at sea level in Arica and climbed climbed climbed. I sat next to an incredible nice man on the bus, a former tour guide who gave me detailed description of the landscape change between Arica and the Bolivian border.

We began the day in the dry, barren, lifeless Atacama desert. Nothing grows, lots of minerals but little else. Higher up you see some signs of live and farming. He told me that only two rivers flow at all through northern Chile, the one up near the Bolivian and Peruvian border is called the Lluta. It is kind of salty so the only thing they grow down there is corn.

Then comes the pre cordillera, like the foothills. This zone is marked by yellow and green low lying brush, still dead looking, but gorgeous when they line the canyons. Here you see your first of the four camel species, the gnanaco (also seen in Patagonia).

Higher up, we enter the infamous beauty of the Altiplano, marked by bright bright green rocks, they are covered in lichen, the only source of kindling to start a fire in this Up here is the town of Putre, they grow potatoes, corn, artichokes and animal feed. The altiplano is beautiful, the bus takes you through all the Parque Nacional Lauca, marked by clear lagunas, volcanos, flamingos (I learned there are 5 species globally and 3 live in this park), watering holes with tufts of green moss and algae, and our other three camels: Alpacas, Llamas, and Vicunas.

The border crossing rests at a whopping 4500 meters, or 14,800 ft. I collapased to my kness when I stepped off the bus, kind of scary. The kind man next to me did what any local would do, brought me rubbing alcohol to inhale and a hot cup of coca leaf tea. I felt much better to my surprise.

I'll keep you updated and the journey through bolivia. Right now I am taking it easy in the hostel and getting ready to dive into the madness of La Paz tomorrow.