07/02/2012 - Bolivian Salt Flats Tour - Day 2 of 3

Breakfast this morning was lame, just bread with some spreads and tea, we waited around expecting eggs but they never came... They never came!!! :( Hopping back in the truck we drove to the entrance of the national park where we had to pay 150 Bolivianos.  The first lake we stopped at was filled with hundreds of flamingos but unlike the animals in the Galapagos islands they wouldn't let you get close enough to them to take any close up pictures, however I was able to get some good shots thanks to my zoom lens which has been a god send for these types of situations.
Arriving at the rotten egg smelling, sulphuric gas expelling geysers we had some time to take pictures but we all lasted just over a few moments before we were back in the truck ready to leave away from the stench. This absolutely wasn't the best time for the truck to break down like it did for a good half hour whilst everyone started feeling sick but when our driver (I can't remember his name) repaired the issue we sped outta there; any longer some of us would have been seeing soggy chunks of the bread we ate for breakfast spread over the interior of the truck.
After the slight ordeal of nearly retching we were treated to a nice dip in a natural hot spring
excursion on the flats.
It was lovely.
Apparently when visiting lago verde (green lake) in clear weather the lake is suppose to be a vibrant turquoise green but as the weather had turned for the worse it really wasnt impressive - certainly wasn't worth the drive there.
We headed back to the place we stopped for lunch which was similar to last nights accommodation but this time with more groups; the desolate surroundings and snow capped volcanoes in the background made the 360 view increasing none I have ever seen.
I bought a bag of cheap cookies to fill in a hole while waiting for dinner offering some kids working outside but the greedy little fuckers took over half the bag turning their T-shirts into pouches and loading it full. I ended up giving the rest of the bag to a group of three girls who tried (emphasis on the 'tried') entertaining the tour groups during dinner, their entertainment was cute to begin with but they kept on going and going. I know they are just kids but my god they were irritating.
Dinner was something to complain about too - dry and close to being stale bread with under cooked pasta, a pasta sauce that was watered down tomato ketchup with onions and cheese that mostly consisted of salt. Why did I give my cookies away? I needed them after. I'm curious to whether this place cooks the same crap food every day for the tourist groups that pass through? It wouldn't surprise me.
We played an excessive amount of shithead (the card game) for the rest of the evening before I got too hungry to be able to sleep. If it wasn't for the hot springs it would have been an awful day but with many great pictures of the national park scenery I will still consider it a good day.