Leaving Bolivia

Our last morning started stupidly early. A 4:30am departure so we could be at the Sol de Manana geyser field to watch the dawn.

The geysers were the highest point in the trip, depending on what source you read, they are at anywhere from 4800m to 5000m. That's high.

Walking around them was interesting. You can hear them and smell them, but it was still pitch black. I had a torch and I'd shine it to one side and suddenly discover we were standing on the edge of a bubbling crater. We really should have been able to sleep in for an extra hour and see them in the light.

We then drove down to Laguna Collpa which has a thermal spring that flows into it. We huddled around the spring, questioning the sanity of the people who braved the cold air to hop in, while we watched the sun rise.

We had breakfast there, then headed off for Laguna Verde. The drive is very desolate, but a sort of stunning vista of nothing.

Laguna Verde was the next stop. A stunning green lake nestled at the foot of two volcanos. Another Bolivian icon. A popular spot on the tourist circuit I'm guessing.

I did love the Bolivian Chilian border. It is just a building in the middle of nowhere. There is a slight trench that runs across a gravel plain. Your car drives up, you walk in, get a stamp in your passport, then step across the trench and into a waiting car and you're in Chile. I suspect for the people who work there, its the Bolivian equilivant of being sent to a weather station at the North Pole.

And by 10am, our four wheel drive trek had come to an end. Driving down into Chile did feel like returning to civilisation, I was surprised how much I enjoyed Bolivia.