Breathtaking Bolivia

I spent three days in the back of a jeep driving through the highlands of southern Bolivia. The scenery was breathtaking if not a little barren. . . 

From strange rock formations:

To small dusty towns:

A windy valley nearly 15,000 feet high!

I'm Unable to Stand up Straight With the Wind!

A cactus-filled island with cacti that are hundreds of years old – several are over a thousand years old!

Who Says a Cactus Can't be Cuddly?

From a beautiful high-altitude lake made pink by the presence of minerals:

To geysers smelling of sulfur and shooting out a never-ending stream of steam.

I also enjoyed the local wildlife: llamas are never hard to find in these parts.

And I was surprised to learn that the three species of South American flamingoes fly to these icy mountains to breed. Seeing flamingoes standing in the ice and snow was a stark contrast to the images of flamingoes on beaches under palm trees!

Temperatures were near zero (F) most of the time and the cold winds kept the sun from ever really warming me up.  These were by far my coldest days in South America, but these were also some of the most beautiful.

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