The queue at the Chilean borders was long. Good thing we set off early. Hadn’t seen that many tourists in any one place in my time here so far. But our driver was awesome. Not sure what he did but we were able to jump a fair bit of the queue.
On the Bolivian side, things got a little shady. We didn’t have a Bolivian visa. There is no Bolivian embassy in Singapore and the tour agency had assured us it would be fine. When the officers realised we had no visa, they emptied out the room and offered us a “special” deal: 50USD per pax to enter Bolivia. They said that as we would only be in Bolivia for 4 days, there was no need for a visa and passport stamp. An express visa would be much more expensive. We were concerned about re-entry to Chile on the return leg without a passport stamp but they insisted that there would be no problems. At this point, our Bolivian guide came in and confirmed the officers’ assertions. Trusting in our guide, we paid up, received a green slip of paper, and went on our way.
We were in Bolivia!
Outside the border control building, our Chilean driver introduced us to our Bolivian guide and driver, Oscar and Chino. They had this cheerful breakfast spread waiting for us by the van.
After breakfast, we were transferred to another car. This would be our vehicle for the next few days. A short drive later, we were in Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa. While our driver, Chino, went to pay the park entrance fees, Oscar shared with us the route the tour would take. We would only reach the salt flats on day 3.
Right off the bat, the landscape was breathtaking.
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