Today I’m featuring this cute shot from Salar de Coipasa in Bolivia taken by Jen Sotolongo from Long Haul Trekkers Blog.
Jen along with her partner Dave Hoch, and their Australian shepherd, Sora, have been travelling the world together, mostly by bicycle, since April 2015.
They are currently in Colombia. Do follow their adventure on Instagram and Facebook.
Photo Story: Salar de Coipasa in Bolivia
A pair of neighbouring salt flats in Bolivia—the Coipasa (Salar de Coipasa) and the Uyuni makes up the world’s largest swath of salty surface.
So flat and expansive, what seems just a few pedal strokes away, takes hours to reach.
Cars zooming across in the distance look like marbles rolling along the hexagonal surface.
So much of our bike set up was not ideal for a raw and rugged place like the Bolivian salt flats. In between the two, villages consisting of perhaps six streets are connected by sand.
The “good roads” are made from rocks pressed into the ground from years of motorised vehicles. And those “good roads?” They’re always uphill.
Food is limited, especially for two travellers on a vegan diet. From the basic selection in the tiendas, which more often than not, are storage areas in the back of someone’s home, we had our choice of chips, soda, pasta, and rice. Sometimes we could proffer a vegetable or two.
And the bathrooms? Many of these towns have no running water. The trick is to wake early each morning to find a secluded spot to do your business.
All this at an elevation of 3,656 meters (11,995 feet) under an unforgiving and relentless sun.
For a week, we spent hours dragging our bicycles through sand and up and over rocks, some days only advancing 15 kilometres, unable to go further on account of pure exhaustion.
We pedalled over mud-like surfaces, at times directly into a constant wind, which burned our faces and numbed our fingers and toes.
As we travelled through one of the poorest regions in one of the poorest countries in the world, we learned what poverty is and is not.
While the communities lacked many basic needs like running water and a variety of nutritional foods, they did not lack in life.
Each family produced what they needed on the large swaths of land in the hills on which they cultivated their food.
Friends gathered in the town plaza each afternoon to catch up on the day and drink a beer together.
Children swarmed us after school let out to ask about our adventure and learn where photos go once snapped with a digital camera.
Dave played soccer with the local schoolchildren, whose extra room would be our home for the evening, while I educated the teacher about my camp stove and the strange concoction I prepared for dinner.
Yes, life is hard in the Bolivian high desert, but the people who live here make do with what they have and exude the type of happiness for which so many of us spend our lives searching.
By far, the Bolivian salt flats provided some of the most difficult rides of our journey, and our experience also opened our eyes to the world previously unknown.
Where we learn that poverty means living without, the people we met in these tiny altiplano villages showed us how to live happily with all that we have.
Lago Coipasa or Salar de Coipasa is a lake in Atahuallpa Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia.
At an elevation of 3657 m, its surface area is 806 km². It’s on the western part of Altiplano, 20 km north of Salar de Uyuni and south of the main road linking Oruro and Huara (Chile).
Coipasa Lake is a tectonic saline lake with a depth of 3.5 metres that is surrounded by the Coipasa salt flats (Salar de Coipasa), and the volcanic cone of Wila Pukarani.
Thousands of flamingos have settled on the shores of Lake Coipasa.
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Here you have a great Travel Blog and I like your Instagram PhotoFeed Channel. Great Pictures. Also this one with the Dog and the Dog Sunglasses. ;-)
Glad you like it and thanks for checking my IG :)
Marysia recently posted…Captivated by Edirne/Adrianople, Thrace
wow this is awesome article thank for sharing
Thanks
Marysia recently posted…Captivated by Edirne/Adrianople, Thrace
Wow, what an ordeal you had cycling across. Definitely not a leisurely adventure, but one I’d like to take nonetheless; loved your post!
Who says that leisurely adventures are the best, I always remember those crazy ones, they make for the best stories :)
Marysia recently posted…Captivated by Edirne/Adrianople, Thrace
What an interesting place – the largest swath of salty surface! Who knew? Not me… what a cool photo.
Hey, we learn all life :)
Marysia recently posted…Captivated by Edirne/Adrianople, Thrace
The dog is so adorable, Maria. It must be great to meet so many inspiring people.
When you travel for 12 years you got enough inspiration for the rest of your life I think Agness :) But you know that very well :)
Marysia recently posted…Captivated by Edirne/Adrianople, Thrace
A beautiful yet tough place. Not a place you want to get stranded :) Gotta love that picture :)
Yeah rather not :)
Marysia recently posted…Friday Lens Affair 183
What an eye-opening and moving post! I love to travel and I was really touched by their attitudes and experiences. Thank you so much for sharing Jen Sotolongo and Dave Hoch’s experiences biking the Bolivian Salt Flats at the Healthy Happy Green and Natural Party Blog Hop. I’m pinning and sharing. Wishing you a healthy, happy year ahead!
Thank you kindly for your nice words my Dera!
Marysia recently posted…Friday Lens Affair 183
Very funny and interesting photo! However, the recount of life in the salt flats is way more interesting to me. I am glad locals have the opportunity to make the most out of life with family and friends. #TPThursday
I must agree, as many great shots you can get there I ould be more interested in visit villages and people living there on daily bases!
Marysia recently posted…Friday Lens Affair 183
That photo sure does tell a story! I love it!
Same here, love it! :)
Marysia recently posted…Friday Lens Affair 183
OH MY GOODNESS! This is the cutest, Marysia! I’m glad the difficult ride was worth it. :)
Totally, doggy is too cute for his own good :)
Marysia recently posted…Friday Lens Affair 183
Jen & Dave’s ride over the salt flats sounds grueling but also gives them exposure to a completely different type of existence. A very interesting view.
Totally Rhonda, I think it is important to get a different perspective on otherwise very touristy places! :)
Marysia recently posted…Friday Lens Affair 183
What an amazing story. I have read about those salt flats, have even seen them on TV, but have never had the desire to visit such a stark landscape at such a high elevation, but I can imagine how the combination of stark landscape and thin air would affect a rider.
Congratulations to you. Intrepid, indeed.
But as a dog owner, I must say I enjoyed the photo of the dog in goggles — such a good idea on salt flats.
Kay
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel
Taking care of your dog is as important as taking care of yourself in my opinion. And he looks so cute in those goggles! :)
Marysia recently posted…Friday Lens Affair 183
What a thoughtful and beautiful post…
Thank you for stopping by my blog :)
Marysia recently posted…Friday Lens Affair 183
Thanks for linking up at Monday WRites
Best Wishes for the New Year
much love…
Thank you Dear and vice versa!
Marysia recently posted…Friday Lens Affair 183