Day 2 began promptly at 6:30AM for most. I chose to skip breakfast to enjoy one more hour of the salt hotel’s bedding. If you thought Day 1 was a lot of work, get ready for Day 2. Day 2 can be summarized with one word: driving. If you enjoy Toyota Land Cruisers, you will love day 2.
The Active Volcano
After a long drive, we stopped to see an active volcano that separates Chile from Bolivia. I snapped a photo and it was back to the Land Cruiser.
Flamingos
After more hours of driving, we arrived at a body of water full of pretty flamingos. A few pics and it was back to the Land Cruiser.
Take note of the stunning alpaca sweater, fall collections 2017, which I acquired from Machu Picchu.
Lunch
Hours passed and we arrived at another body of water full of pretty flamingos. Here, we had lunch which consisted of plain pasta and one piece of chicken. By day 2, the group was hungry and was getting grumpy. Luckily, the tourists from Mexico had a bottle of Valentine’s hot sauce to spice things up.
The Bathroom
As I wrote, using the bathroom cost 5 Bolivianos. Down to my last 3 Bolivianos, I had to negotiate for Ms. TPOL to use the bathroom.
Arbol Piedras
Hours passed as we headed for Arbol Piedras National Park. Before arriving to this park, we stopped for beautiful photos of the sand, snow, and mountains. If day 2 had a purpose, it was to show the range of nature’s offerings.
At the park, there was a strong wind blowing sand in our faces. We quickly snapped photos and went back to the Land Cruiser.
Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve
We cruised to our final destination, the national park. Entering costs 150 Bolivians. Right next to the entrance was the Colorada Lake, a fascinating body of red water full of flamingos. The Land Cruiser was done for the day, so I walked the perimeter of the lake and climbed up to the top of a hill for the best view of the day.
The Hotel
The hotel looked like something out of the seven dwarfs, only in our case there were six of us. Each person had a twin bed with enough blankets to fight off the frost, so long as we were dressed with multiple layers.
The Dinner
Since we were departing at 4:30AM the next morning, everyone was eager to eat dinner and go to sleep in the igloo. The dinner had the same soup as the night before. Then came the pasta. The nice addition was the bottle of wine.
Day 2 Recap
Day 2 made me question if the three day tour was necessary. We covered a lot of distance but, apart from the Colarada Laguna, did not see anything that topped the salt flats. At the time, I only felt like I was driving, getting out of the Land Cruiser, taking photos, and getting back in. Looking at the photos now, I can better appreciate what day 2 had to offer.