Bolivian Wilderness part 3
Driving downwards the headache was rough. Popping some Tylenol I prayed it would go away. Closing my eyes I wished it to go away. When I opened them again I saw my mom was clearly in the same state I was. Maybe it was all psychological.
The next stop was Laguna Colorada. For the rest of my life I will not forget the sight I saw as we approached the lagoon. Reds and pinks mixed together in the water in front of a mountain. The lagoon truly was a mixture of vivid colors. The closer we got the bigger the lagoon turned out to be!
Driving around the sides we were able to see flamingos hanging out in the water. Our driver parked at the top of the hill. As we hopped out the best view of all came into focus. From the angle we were standing the water made stores of vivid shades of pink, orange, red, and white. I felt as if I was staring at a famous painting.
If I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes I would never have believed that this existed.
Hiking down to the bottom we were greeted with another view. The pink waters attracted the most flamingos it seemed. Since we were still at a high altitude it was hard to breath and the wind was strong as we strolled along the lagoon. I do not know how the flamingos did not get blown away.
The eight was unreal! It still seems like someone painted the lake. As if the lake was a canvas and vivid colors were spilt all across it in lines.
Turning back up to the car we realized we had to hike back up the hill we came down. Boy oh boy is it hard to hike when you are a much lower oxygen intake from the altitude. I'm not ashamed to admit both my mother and I were struggling from the effects of altitude.
Our driver whisked us away to the other side of the entire lagoon. The last view was breathtakingly beautify but this view seemed to look like an illusion. The way the water mixed with sulfur and the red water did not seem possible. I blinked many times to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. For once, pictures have perfectly portrayed what I am talking about.
The drive to our last stop before the hotel was rough. It was very bumpy and not for someone who gets motion sick. The last stop was a series of rocks jutting out of the ground. Of course I had to climb to the top of one of them. Getting up was the easy part. At the top I tried to catch my breath as the wind gushed against my face. I had to grab a rock at one point because I was convinced it would blow me off!
Our truly final stop, I kept thinking the one before www our past, was a field of massive rock formations reaching out from the flat ground. Obviously I had to climb it! Not going to lie once I reached the top I was terrified.
This high altitude made it hard to breath but even harder as the hgusting wind pelted my face! I had to hold on to the rock to catch my breath!
Arriving at our hotel we truly were in the middle of nowhere! Built out of mostly natural materials the hotel was pretty cool, literally. We checked in and had an hour before dinner. My mom was pretty sick and tried to lay down for a bit. I chose to take a shower. What started out as a warm shower quickly turned cold. As I got dressed I was literally gasping for air and shaking!
Dragging my mom to dinner we sat down in the most comfortable enclosed porch area. They had a stove and heaters going and I could not get warm enough. I'm pretty sure my mom was about to have her jacket melted off. The one wall was all glass that overlooked the beautiful landscape.
The evening was the definition of rough. The altitude hit us hard and it was showing. I braved the evening after my mom went to bed and talked with my guide and driver. They are very funny and we exchanged stories and cultural differences. I really enjoy them. When I got back to the room I laid down and tried to shut my eyes. The all too familiar feeling from Everest came back. Although I was tired and exhausted I felt like someone was holding my eyes open and drilling into my head. I'm not sure how many times I woke up that evening but it seemed like the never ending night!
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