We flew from La Paz to Miami and overnighted. I remember being very happy to be back in the U.S. The following day we flew Miami to Munich. We rented a car there and headed for Austria. I remember being so impressed with the cleanliness of our rooms, cleanliness of everywhere we went! All of our hotel accommodations while on this trip were super comfortable which was made more noticeable due to some of the hotel accommodations we had in Bolivia.
The middle building, Gasthof Simony was our hotel. So pretty, so clean!
We drove from Austria to Switzerland. Did I mention I loved the food too! Below is a picture of Larry in the revolving restaurant called Piz Gloria made famous in a James Bond movie.
Here we are in the Swiss mountains - it was freezing - we weren't dressed appropriately!
We drove from Switzerland to Germany. Wine tasting on the streets in Germany. Everything so clean, so tidy....
We booked all of our hotel rooms online while in La Paz. We had no problems. We had no complaints about any of our accommodations.
Here we are on a cruise on the Rhine River.
We actually had a room in a castle - the patio had a view of the Rhine.
Our final destination in Germany was Oktoberfest - oh my gosh, what an experience. In the picture below, we were sitting at the table second from the bottom right. Find Larry!
We met these very nice fellows from Austria who were sitting at the table that we found room to sit at. We had a great afternoon with them -- talked all afternoon and only one of them spoke English so he was doing a lot of translating.
We had such a nice time on this trip and what a way to end it!
Another trip we took while living in Bolivia was to fly to the most southern part of Chile to get on a boat to cruise the Magellan Islands!! We thought we'd be able to practice our Spanish but turns out half of the boat was filled with people from France and a quarter of the passengers were from the U.S. We met some really nice people and had a wonderful time. This was such a nice cruise because it was so informal - very relaxed with great daily excursions.
Great hikes.
Our boat. All excursions from the boat were made on a Zodiac inflatable requiring that we wear gear that would have supposedly protected us in the cold water should the vessel overturn, etc.
We saw all types of wildlife.
This was a hike to a glacier. Now, I'm not a whiskey drinker but when they offered me whiskey served on glacial ice, I just couldn't pass it up. This was one of the neatest trips we took.
Another incredibly neat trip we took was to Machu Picchu! Our first attempt at this trip resulted in a cancellation because the company Larry was working for was being bought out by another company and required him at the property in Bolivia. Our second attempt required an itinerary adjustment due to a blockade of the rail lines by indigenous peoples to Machu Picchu - but we made it!
Machu Picchu was a great experience but the majority of the trip was spent in a train going to and returning. Because of the blockade I spoke of, we only had three hours there. But, you take what you can get!
One of the very most unique trips we took during our South American travel experiences was to the Salar de Uyuni - in Bolivia. Thousands of years ago, this part of the high country in Bolivia was covered by water. When it evaporated, it then lay dry for thousands of years. The salt deposits are the results of the minerals leeched from the mountains and depositied at the lowest available point.
We took this trip with a group from the Embassy - a several hour trip by bus from La Paz into the Salar to stay at a hotel (Hotel Playa Blanca) made entirely from salt blocks. The mattresses were covered in plastic (oddly enough, comfortable) and sat on top of salt blocks. The floors were covered in salt. Yes, my nose was dry. Food was great and I don't remember them running out of wine or beer. Water was trucked in so if someone took too long in the shower, not everyone got a shower. I've read that this particular hotel was shut down due to sanitation issues. Mismanagement resulted in environmental pollution and the hotel was dismantled.
People have asked which of our travels in South America was my favorite. I'm not sure I can name a favorite because they were all so very unique. We were just incredibly lucky to have seen the places we did. The world is a beautiful place!
My next blog will be of our time living in Peru.
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