None of us slept that night. I did not think I slept a wink, but apparently I drifted off for a few hours since Matt heard me struggling to breathe due the severe congestion we all suffered from. Both Jose and I woke up with bloody noses. I went to bed in all my clothes, so the only thing I had to do at 3:45am was to put my shoes on. Matt was hating life. Greg was feeling sick, Jose was uncontrollably shivering, Celine and Mark were abnormally quiet. By 4am, we were on the road, traveling through the Andes mountains in the darkness. I said a few prayers. I tried to help Matt as best I could, but the only thing that was going to help was to go down in altitude, and that would not be for another 5 hours. We snuggled together in the backseat trying to keep each other warm. The jeep did not have a heater. It was -5 outside and was just a smidge above that in the jeep. The bouncing and the cold made this drive one of the worst 5 hours Matt and I have ever experienced on our travels. From pure exhaustion, I feel into a light sleep, only to be awoken due to severe cold and wetness. I had fallen asleep with me cheek against the window and my face had frozen to the window. All the windows in the jeep were iced over on the inside!
We made one stop just after sunrise at a thermal lake to use the bathroom. Everyone was sick. Greg and Matt both had upset stomachs. The rest of us could not feel our toes or fingers. We all huddled together and tried to help each other zip up jackets as tight as possible. By 9am, we could see the Bolivian border. Matt and I were really worried how we were going to get back into Chile with no Bolivian visa or Bolivian stamp in our Passports. We were literally illegal aliens. Greg went to immigration with us to help with the explanation of our Uyuni saga. The 2 border control men remembered us and were so surprised to see us back. They still had our names and passports written down from four days earlier. After an eternity of explaining the situation, the officials called the Uyuni official “Tonto” (stupid), told us we could have gotten the visa in La Paz, and then told us we had a 4 day gift of being in Bolivia for free. I thanked the men for being so nice and headed for the van which would take us to the Chilean border. While loading up, we watched all the new travelers preparing to embark on their Salar Crossing. They all looked clean and happy just like we did 4 days earlier. We all laughed knowing what they were all about to experience.
While on the bus to the Chilean border, we met another American couple returning from Boliva. They were able to get their visas in La Paz, but only after bribing an official. We had to wait two hours at the Chilean border to get back in. When we finally made it to the Passport control window, the official closed the window and left for lunch. Just our luck, but at least it was a short break. When back, the immigration official seemed completely despondent and just haphazardly opened our passport without noticing that we had no Bolivian stamps. Then we were “processed” by opening all our bags for inspection. Greg and I kept saying, “Yo quiero Maria!” (I want Maria). All we wanted was to be back at Hostel Elim with the owner, Maria.
Finally around 1pm, we made it to Hostel Elim, safely back in Chile. When Maria saw us and how tattered we looked, she had lots of hugs for us and fortunately, a room for us as well. She took all our laundry and told us to rest. With a warm shower and clean clothes, we all felt much better. Greg, Matt & I wandered back downtown, met Jose and had a nice lunch together on the plaza. We treated them to lunch since they had truly been our saviors.
That night, Matt and I went out to an Astronomer’s home outside San Pedro. He is French and has made San Pedro his home due to the constantly cloudless, pollution-free night skies. Three years ago, he started allowing people out to his home to look through all his telescopes set up in his yard and to learn a little about the night sky. He was hysterical and an excellent teacher. I saw Saturn and its rings as clear as could be. The moon was incredible and Matt was able to photograph it through the telescope. We learned about different stars, looked at different galaxies and nebulas, and were given a lesson in mapping the constellations. It was cold outside, but nothing compared to what we had experienced earlier that same day. Our astronomy night ended with hot-chocolate by candlelight in the middle of the desert. It was an excellent ending to a very difficult day.
The Solar de Uyuni was truly an adventure. It was a lesson in extreme highs and lows. When fellow backpackers would ask us about the journey, the best response was, “It’s an incredible place, but you will truly ‘earn’ every moment of it and every amazing sight.”
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