day 2 en route

the next morning we woke up to a blanket of snow

all was fresh and white

it made everything more fun

and the desert rock formations more incredible

I had the best road-trip crew and guide, Oskar

after the snow (which was the highlight!), we saw more lagunas,

flamingos, 

and crazy volcanic rock formations

location: not positive but somewhere closer to Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

tour to the salt flats: day 1

after one final, beautiful hike in Chile, headed out on a 3 day tour to Bolivia

after loading up the 4x4

we crossed into Bolivia (fancy border crossing, eh?!)

first stop was laguna blanca

where the water was like a mirror for the sky

second stop was laguna verde

we saw crazy wildlife in the desert, including foxes

and boiling geysers at >5,000m above sea level 

last stop was laguna colorada

full of flamingos

and a reddish-pink glow in the light
location: Uyuni tour from Chile into Bolivia

San Pedro de Atacama

the Atacama desert is the driest non-polar in the world (ironic because it rained every day)

you can see sunrise over the 3rd largest geysers in the world (Tatio Geyser)

the valleys of the desert have incredible landscapes (above: the three Marias)

Valley of the Moon

sand dunes in the desert

the static electricity was so strong you could hear it buzzing

Valley of death ...also called Mars Valley

location: San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Chilean lovin

maybe I like so much Chile because the flag makes it feel a bit like home #texasforever

or maybe it´s because it is full of colors and good vibes

view from my hostel
location: Valparaiso, Chile

Mendoza!

I am staying at the most amazing hostel in Maipu in the heart of Mendoza's best vineyards

here you can go on a bike tour to do tastings at as many wineries as possible

the views are stunning

 

and when you've had too much wine, you can just hope on a tandem bike and have someone else do all the biking

 

if you're really lucky, you can get the tour guide to fill up your water bottle as a souvenir

for lunch you can stop at an olive grove and do an olive oil tasting

and then finish off with a liquor and spirits tasting

overall, I'm probably enjoying myself way too much here :)
location: Maipu, Mendoza, Argentina