October 11th , we left at 6 AM from Uyunyi Town to drive about 3 hours to the Lipiz Sur region, in the extreme Southwest of Bolivia, in the 15,000 foot range along the Chilean border. We left the paved road, which we would not see again for 2 days. Above is Laguna Verde, a beautiful lake at 15,000 feet. Laguna Verde is actually arsenic, and is deadly to all life forms.

Though it is early spring , the temperature does not go above freezing ,even in the day and at night falls to about 10 degrees F or about -14 C. Snow that fell in July and August is sculpted by the high dry winds. However ,TotalAdventure did swim in a 40 C hot spring. That is all on video. Unfortunately due to very slow hotel internet speeds, video will be added later. Even to upload still photos can take several minutes.

Thousands of years of freezing dry winds created this natural sculpture.

Before heading into the mountains , TotalAdventure took video of llamas.They are not wild, but do graze independently. THeir owners use them for wool and meat. Llama meat is tasty but tough – lean and high protein. Goes well with quinoa.

As evening approaches, the temperature drops rapidly. For astronauts heading to Mars, Lipiz Sur would be a perfect training venue. The night was spent at a comfortable lodge at 15,500 feet with hot water,  hot meals and even a bar. Video to follow.

This is a very quick post as TotalAdventure has been on the road for two days, spending last night in a mountain refuge with not much sleep. On the road at 6AM tomorrow,

A 21,000 foot mountain. Name to be updated later. We went as high as 17,200.

Mate de coca is legal everywhere in the Andean Republics and is used to treat altitude sickness.

La Paz from 14,000 feet.

Lake Titicaca Duck.

Shaman Graveyard,

Hauri.

Solar Uyuni Sunset,

After A Six Hour Flight From Miami, Our Flight Landed At El Alto – The World’s Highest Airport – 13,850 Feet – Four Kilometers Above Sea Level.

The Surrounding Andes Are Even Higher – Up To 21,000 Feet – 6000 Meters.

We Drove Down Into La Paz To Refresh.

And Then Got On The Road To Lake Titicaca.

At 12,000 Feet It Is The World’s Highest Inland Navigable Body Of Water. Lake Tahoe Is Tiny In Comparison.

A Reed Boat – In Use By The Incas For Hundreds Of Years. Aymara, Is The Language Here, Not Spanish.

Sunset Over Lake Titicaca. Peru Is In The Distance. Bolivia Is An Amazingly Different World,So Close To Miami.

Tonight At 10:30 PM ,TotalAdventure departs Miami for La Paz Bolivia. After a relatively short short flight from MIA , which sits at just above Sea Level, our plane will land at the world’s highest commercial airport – El Alto at 13,323 Feet ,  4100 Meters – descending only about 60% from cruising altitude. For the next week TotalAdventure will explore the highest peaks of the Andes, Lake Titicaca and Salar de Uyuni  before moving south into Argentina for the Adventure Travel World Summit in Salta.

On the night of October 3, 2015 –  TotalAdventure boarded  LAN’s 787 Dreamliner from Miami to Santiago. It was the start of a two week journey,  with the main focus on the Adventure Travel World Summit in Puerto Varas Chile.

The trip covered a huge range – from the snowy Andes to the steamy Amazon.

After clearing customs in Santiago, TotalAdventure boarded a 90 minute flight to Puerto Montt, which was near Puerto Varas.

It was a cold misty day – especially for someone who had just flown from the 95 degree heat of Miami.

TotalAdventure warmed up with a  piping hot bowl of Parihuela – a fresh spicy seafood stew. For TotalAdventure’s Chilean adventures – CLICK HERE !

After a long and productive week at the Adventure Travel World Summit, where TotalAdventure met with hundreds of Adventure Travel companies who will be part of the TotalAdventure community, we headed back north to the sunny springtime of Santiago.

The next morning my host and I headed one hour from Los Condes to the top of El Colorado. October 12 was supposed to the the last day of a long season -El Niño has dropped many meters over the winter – but even more heavy snow later that week kept the mountain open to November 1 – the equivalent of May 1 in the Northern Hemisphere.

Afterwards we headed back down to Santiago so that I could catch my evening flight to Buenos Aires. The snow is only at the highest elevations.

THe temperature was nearly 70 degrees ( 21 C ) just one hour below in the Valley. For TotalAdventure packages in Chile – CLICK HERE !