La Paz, Uyuni and the start of Chile

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November 11th - November 16th: 

Hey y'all! It's Andrea yet again!

Real quick! Here are all of our social media accounts so just in case if the blog isn't up to date you can all stay in touch with us on our other sites that we update more frequently!

Jackie: 

Snapchat: Jmalenf 

Instagram: @Iamjmalenf

Maria:

Snapchat: Mcgies

Instagram: @McG8608

Me:

Snapchat: itsmeandrea13

Instagram: @Andreuhhh13 

We arrived in Uyuni, Bolivia! The overnight bus was amazing! We were passengers on "Todo Turismo" out of La Paz. We had some difficulties finding the station because it was literally a hole in the wall compared to the actual bus station! But once we were there we checked in, had access to wifi, and the employees were A-plus! We were all very impressed with their work ethic and their hospitality. They were very attentive and you could tell that they loved their jobs and were proud to be working for the company!

Once in Uyuni we checked into our hotel, not hostel! It was named Hotel Reina del Salar. It was decent! We had our own beds, a shared bathroom, and breakfast! The town of Uyuni itself is very small. So we took the day to rest (because that's very important traveling and in real life too!) and were able to talk with our family and friends for a bit. The only thing on the agenda that day was to eat at "Minuteman Pizza" at 5! Minuteman Pizza is all the rage in Uyuni! It is owned by an American who met his Bolivian wife in the states, they fell in love, and now own a restaurant in Bolivia! Good pizza is hard to come by these days so I was definitely intrigued and he was from Boston so I had a feeling he knew what he was doing! We arrived at 4:55PM and were one of the first ones there! We ordered with anticipation and took our seats. I noticed that Anthony Bourdin had visited so again, I was even more intrigued! The pizza wasn't terrible but it wasn't like Marco's Pizza at home but it fell right in the middle. The crust was the best part of the pizza! We walked around town, bought snacks and water and cheap $4 sun glasses from children.  We then went back to the hotel and chilled and let our bellies digest!

The next day we started our "Red Planet Expedition" tour! Now, Jackie is all about reviews and I LOVE her for that because she does her research and I reap the rewards! So she did a lot of research on which company is the best to tour the Salt Flats and Red Planet was highly recommended! Yes, we paid a little bit more for the three day, two night tour ($195) but we figured in times like these you get what you pay for! All in all we were blown away with Red Planet and our guide, Carlos! The vehicles and our driver were superb and we felt safe as we crossed the difficult terrain. The food was good and they bought us FREE wine! Carlos was a complete gem! I cannot say enough nice things about him. He went above and beyond with our group to make sure that we got the best pictures on the Salt Flats (I mean the man came prepared with a car mat and everything so he could lay down flat to get the perspective pictures you all saw on Facebook!), he took time to explain the history and culture of Bolivia and gave us time to ask questions, and he was very accommodating and helpful! He made sure that we all were welcomed in his country and was just an amazing person inside and out! Red Planet, if you are reading this, GIVE THAT MAN A RAISE! Not only did we see the salt flats aka Salar de Uyuni, we visited volcanoes, lagoons and different deserts. We walked with llamas and flamingos and visited geysers and hot springs. We had a picnic on rocks and ate a delicious lunch out of the trunk of our Toyota 4 runner. We took a visit to Incahausi aka the cactus island, and stayed in a hotel completely made of salt! The floor was even salt, it was so cool! Carlos also took us to see the sunset and then taught us about the different constellations in the Southern hemisphere. He was a true gem! The second night we stay in rustic accommodations, with no heat or water. However, the place was very comfortable non the less. We had warm drinks, a delicious spaghetti dinner and then went swimming in a natural hot spring. We walked to and from the hot spring in the freezing weather, kind of stupid of us since we were in our wet swimsuits. The hot spring was glorious though! We enjoyed the stars, wine and great conversation with people from all over the world. 

After three days with Red Planet and many memories and new friends made, we crossed the border into Chile. The border crossing was quite hectic. Red Planet got our passports stamped exiting Bolivia and linked us with the bus that would take us to customs and immigration. When we got on the full bus we were given a form to complete and then was driven for about 40 minutes to immigration which I thought was confusing within itself because why didn't we do the immigration stuff at the border? But oh well, it wasn't a time to ask questions! We were hustled off the bus and given our bags and was told in Spanish that we had to get in line with our passports. We complied and was quickly given an entrance stamp on our passport and then shuffled along into another line that we had to have our bags x-rayed. We passed with flying colors! Then we were on the bus again where the bus driver told he would drop us off at the City Center, but then we found ourselves with other tourists out in a parking lot with our bags while the locals sat on the bus and the bus drove off. Now I know what you're thinking- "why didn't you just stay on the bus or say something?" To be honest, I thought the same thing, but it happened so quickly that we didn't have time to ask questions until it was too late! But we adapted and overcame (the motto of this whole trip!) and walked to our hostel which wasn't that far. 

We stayed at Hostal Juriques in San Pedro, Chile! It was a cute little hostel that reminded me of camp. We had a four person room with two bunk beds and a shared bathroom. The first night we didn't have a fourth person so it was like we had our own room! We just chilled for the night. The next day we explored San Pedro which felt like such a tourist trap compared to where we have been! It was a cute little overpriced town that had tours for everything under the sun! We signed up for "The Valley of the Moon," tour for that afternoon! To kill some time before the tour we met some friends from the Red Planet tour for lunch and we hung out in a coffee shop that afternoon. Then we began our tour! First off, we booked the tour through our hostel so we had no idea the name of agency, and second, we quickly realized that our tour guide did not speak English when he approached us and said "yo hablo Ingles un poco." So as he was explaining things to the group others translated for us. Thank god for the others! They were like our translating angels sent from the heavens to tell us about the rock formations we were looking at! The tour itself was meh but the views were cool! We literally felt like we were on the moon! We learned that 15 seconds of Star Wars was filmed where we were and that Pink Floyd almost had a concert in the Valley. NEATO! We also crawled through caves, up rock walls and down into old salt mines. 

After the tour was over, we met our friends from our Red Planet tour for dinner. Dinner was filled with wine, delicious food and great conversation! We said our good byes. Which I've learned that travel friends are made quickly and the good byes are just as quick. What's cool about meeting people while you're traveling is that you instantly have a passion that you share and can talk for hours about. I've learned that the people you meet traveling are some of the most kind, interesting, and open minded people that I've ever met. Everyone sort of looks out for one another and bonds are formed pretty easily! Another cool thing about meeting friends while traveling is that you both love traveling so hopefully some time in the future you'll either meet again in some remote place or visit them in their country (because let's be real: no one will be in Ohio in the future! Lol). 

We went back to the hostel and met our new bunk mate who asked us about our new President when he found out we were from the states. I think from here on out I'm going to say that I'm a Trump supporter just to see the reaction from others! HA! We quickly got ready for bed and mentally prepared for our 24 hour bus ride to Santiago in the morning. I remember waking up that morning tired and groggy but feeling it was going to be ok to feel this way because I had 24 hours to catch up on my rest! We walked to the bus station and ran into a couple who we did Red Planet with. Another thing we realized was when you're traveling on a pretty popular route through South America is that you'll run into and see a lot of people you saw from other tours and stuff. It REALLY is a small world out there! We were then shuffled on the bus and our bags were shoved to the back of the storage since we were going to be the last ones off the bus. The bus ride was filled with movies in Spanish which I appreciate because it helps me learn new words! The last movie was called "Stealing Cars," and what do you know it was the only one in English. It was a weird movie but I forced myself to watch it just because it was in English (lol). 

The first half of the bus ride was good! I slept a lot. The second half, Jackie and I got off to stretch our legs and were approached by men from the bus. At first we made light conversation and they explained to us how they didn't speak English and we joked about how we didn't speak Spanish. We then boarded our bus and found out quickly how vulnerable we are as women. The two men followed us back to our seats. Now it wasn't as scary as it sounded when you just read that last sentence but it definitely made me go into fight mode and be on alert. The sun was setting and it was becoming night. I realized then that we were the only women on the bus filled with local men in the middle of Chile. The guy kept talking to us and as a woman I felt like all we could do in that situation was to smile and be polite because if we did anything different you never know what could happen next and you know? And that sucked. All I wanted to do was tell this guy to leave us alone who was making lewd and inappropriate comments to us but especially to Jackie and touching her arm every so often. This was not an ideal situation to be in and it rarely happens when traveling but it got me thinking. The lesson that we all took out of it: be aware of our surroundings and if we can pay a little more for a flight instead of a 24 hour bus ride that we should think about doing it. Now, I don't want you to think that traveling is unsafe and that women shouldn't do it but that it can happen at home too and that we all should be aware of our surroundings and who we interact with. Not all people are bad and not all people are good and we need to realize this and not be naive about the world. Luckily for us there was a man sitting in front of this crude guy telling us that he drank too much and for us to just ignore the guy until he fell asleep. Luckily, he went back down on the first floor of the bus and left us alone.

So after what turned out to be only a 22 hour bus ride we have arrived in Santiago!!! So far from the window I saw a lot of fast food chains and shops and I am feeling it! Some times you just need a cheeseburger ya know?! We got off the bus and booked a hostel and when we were dropped off at our said hostel we realized that the reservation wasn't for tonight but tomorrow. So we have been hanging out in a coffee shop named "Marley Coffee," for about three hours booking our hostel for tonight (which we found one!) and catching up with our friends and family and most importantly updating the blog! Thanks Marley Coffee for being so great and allowing us to use your wifi! Until next time guys I'm sending lots of love your way and we'll talk to you guys soon! Xo

HUGE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TODO TOURISMO FROM LA PAZ TO UYUNI!!!